Quote:
Originally Posted by jrh  
Unless one is a very well-established, highly experienced CFI with a large student base (in other words, busy enough that they can afford to turn away business), CFIing is not a 9 to 5 job. It just doesn't work that way.
When I was CFIing full time, that was a huge key to my success...I took Saturdays off, but otherwise I made sure people knew I could fly whenever they wanted. Usually the late morning and early afternoon time slots were slow, but from late afternoon until about 9 or 10 p.m. I was booked every day. I had a lot of the "fly after work" crowd. It got to the point that I once had to fly a cross country with an instrument student from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. on a Saturday night/Sunday morning because there was nowhere else we could match up our schedules.
Coincidentally, that instrument student is now a busy CFI himself and flies at all hours of the day and night. He was just telling me a few days ago about how he's picked up some students from another instructor because that CFI is very much a "9-5" kind of guy, yet this other CFI's students want to fly after hours and on the weekends--so they come to my buddy looking for extra lessons.
If you limit your schedule, you can manage 50-60 hours/month usually. If you make yourself completely available, you could probably double that and fly 100-120 hours/month at a busy school. |
i tell all my students what you just posted there, it helps a bit, but i don't have many students at the FBO i work for. at UND i have 5 students, but i want more at the FBO since it pays more. too bad my area of the country sucks for students unless they are affiliated with the college, and if so they have no desire to fly at an FBO