Freelancing

[mhcasey]

Alright guys, maybe you saw my post about Pay last week...I think I've decided that this school is just not worth it for me at this point. $15/hr is a joke. Management is a joke. Worst of all, KGTU must be the most dangerous uncontrolled field south of the mason dixen...maybe some of you DFW areas guys could dispute that, but after my second very close call this week on downwind, I'm ready to bail.

Trouble is, there aren't too many other schools around here. My best option is going to be instructing for the UT Flying Club, which is more or less a freelancing gig. I pocket $35/hr, but I recruit students.

So aside from "word of mouth" and handing out business cards like crazy, anyone else have any tips for picking up students?

Also, I want to make sure my ass is covered. Can I just call the club's insurance provider to make sure I'm good to go?

As far as MX, it is the owner's responsibility to keep up with inspections and AD's. Before I sign up anywhere, I'm going to check the logbooks to keep everything current, but after that the books will not be too readily available. Just so I can know to what level of paranoia I should divulge over this, what can the feds nail me on if there is an out of date AD, open squawk, etc?

Any other freelance tips more than welcome.

[bdhill1979]

I carry a non-owned aircraft liability policy on myself, not expensive and its good CYA.

Definitely be on top of the Mx logs, its a good student lesson too, charge for that time to go over the Mx logs with the student and make sure everything is Jim Dandy. It also shows them the right way to start flying an aircraft you have never flown before. It may be the Owner Operators responsibility to maintain it, but its your responsibility to verify that it has been maintained prior to flight.


Don't forget that you will now be responsible for putting money aside for taxes as well.

[moxiepilot]

read The Saavy Flight Instructor by Greg Brown. Lots of good tips.

Also if you have the means and are not getting the business you want, just pick up and get to a school or FBO to train. You gotta do what you gotta do to make ends meet

[t82]

The problem with freelancing is that it takes time to build up the contacts and reputation necessary to make it worthwhile. In my case it took about a year for it all to come together.
If you work at a flying club make sure to hang out with the front desk guy or mx guy so they call you first if something comes up.

[jrh]

Originally Posted by mhcasey

...I think I've decided that this school is just not worth it for me at this point. $15/hr is a joke. Management is a joke....I'm ready to bail.

Good for you! I wish I'd reached that conclusion sooner in my time as a CFI.

Originally Posted by mhcasey

So aside from "word of mouth" and handing out business cards like crazy, anyone else have any tips for picking up students?

Make sure to make yourself known to other instructors and operators on the field. Let them know you're not trying to steal business, just that you're there if they need you. I've gotten more than one student that way.

For instance, the local flight school doesn't have an MEI on staff, and some guy came in with a twin to get a BFR. They called me. Some guy wanted an insurance checkout in his plane from the chief pilot of the local charter company, but the CP was too busy to do it, so he called me. Being on good terms with other leaders at the airport can be a significant source of referrals.

Originally Posted by mhcasey

Also, I want to make sure my ass is covered. Can I just call the club's insurance provider to make sure I'm good to go?

The key words to look for are "Named insured." Make sure you're a "named insured" on the club's policy. Also, read the policy for yourself, don't trust the head guy to tell you what all is in it. The idea that insurance policies are impossibly hard to read is mostly a myth. Sure, they've got some legal speak in them, but it's not as bad as people make it out to be. By reading the policy yourself, there'll be no doubt over what circumstances you are or aren't covered in.

It's kind of like readings the FARs for yourself versus the local airport bum telling you what is or isn't legal. The airport bum is mostly right, most of the time, but it's better to get your info straight from the source whenever possible.

As far as owner aircraft insurance is concerned (outside the club), it gets a little more sticky. If the owner is PIC, the CFI doesn't have much to worry about. If the CFI is PIC, the CFI could ask the owner to make them a "named insured" on the owner's policy, or take their chances without coverage.

Also, the "non-owned" aircraft policies that some CFIs get will only provide liability protection, without any hull protection. That's because the value of the non-owned aircraft could be anything from $15k to $500k. It's impossible to predict what the pilot might be flying that he doesn't own. Liability, on the other hand, is much more predictable and easy to insure for. Just something to keep in mind if you're flying expensive planes on a regular basis, you probably ought to ask to be covered under the owner's policy for the sake of protecting the hull value.

Originally Posted by mhcasey

As far as MX, it is the owner's responsibility to keep up with inspections and AD's. Before I sign up anywhere, I'm going to check the logbooks to keep everything current, but after that the books will not be too readily available. Just so I can know to what level of paranoia I should divulge over this, what can the feds nail me on if there is an out of date AD, open squawk, etc?

My understanding is that the feds can't really hold a CFI accountable for mx issues because, as you pointed out, that's an owner/operator responsibility. But also, as has been said, it's a good idea to look them over. It's a good lesson for the owner and gives you piece of mind that the plane isn't going to fall out of the sky.

But here's my take on this issue in the real world--there are times I'll check the logs and times I'll let it slide. If I'm going to be doing a lot (say, 10+ hours) of training with somebody in a plane, I'll ask to see the logs. If I'm going to be jumping in for a quick evaluation flight for another CFI's student, or giving a BFR, or some other "one time" sort of flight, I don't care. I'll take my chances and assume it'll hold together for one more flight.

Originally Posted by mhcasey

Any other freelance tips more than welcome.

You HAVE to be a good instructor to make it work. It's sort of an obvious point that you probably already know and won't have any problems with, but I felt like I ought to say it again. Aircraft owners have a lot invested in their hobby/travel machine/training tool and they expect good service.

You have to show up on time, be prepared for every flight, know what you're doing, be clear about setting standards and expectations from day 1, be safe, don't be too anal, don't be too relaxed, be easy to get in contact with (return phone calls promptly, etc.), etc.

Basically, do everything an instructor should do at a normal flight school, but do it better. You no longer have the flight school to feed you business. Your livelihood depends solely on your reputation now, so work hard.

[tgrayson]

Originally Posted by jrh

My understanding is that the feds can't really hold a CFI accountable for mx issues because, as you pointed out, that's an owner/operator responsibility.

Four instructors at my flight school underwent a 709 ride due to an instructional flight with a briefly lapsed annual.

[texas17]

Good luck with this.

If anyone asks for an instructor I will let them know about you.

[USMCmech]

Originally Posted by jrh

My understanding is that the feds can't really hold a CFI accountable for mx issues because, as you pointed out, that's an owner/operator responsibility.

The FAA will bust you if you fly with an overdue annual or 100 hr. That is something you can check.


Now, the Feds won't hold you responsible if the owner used a non TSO alternator and didn't tell you about it. Because realisticly how could you tell?




If you want a better paying job in Dallas PM me, we are turning away students because of the shortage of CFIs. I just started last month and flew 20 hours last week, billed 86 last month. We have guys timing out on a regular basis.

[mhcasey]

Originally Posted by jrh

The key words to look for are "Named insured." Make sure you're a "named insured" on the club's policy. Also, read the policy for yourself, don't trust the head guy to tell you what all is in it. The idea that insurance policies are impossibly hard to read is mostly a myth. Sure, they've got some legal speak in them, but it's not as bad as people make it out to be. By reading the policy yourself, there'll be no doubt over what circumstances you are or aren't covered in.

As far as owner aircraft insurance is concerned (outside the club), it gets a little more sticky. If the owner is PIC, the CFI doesn't have much to worry about. If the CFI is PIC, the CFI could ask the owner to make them a "named insured" on the owner's policy, or take their chances without coverage.

My understanding is that the feds can't really hold a CFI accountable for mx issues because, as you pointed out, that's an owner/operator responsibility

Will the insurance company willingly and easily provide this information? I'll ask the owner to go through the info with me and see what I can find.

"If the CFI is PIC..." does this include any time I log as PIC. I hate to get into this discussion again, but he is sole manipulator. If he is rated for the aircraft, he is PIC, and I'm just instructor guy logging PIC. Does the insurance company see it this way?

As far as MX, great info there. Thanks to Tgrayson for the heads up too. I figure it will be pretty easy to keep up with inspections myself after seeing the logs once, but AD's might be a bit tougher.

Great info from all. I'll keep you posted, and keep the words of wisdom coming!

[tgrayson]

Originally Posted by mhcasey

"If the CFI is PIC..." does this include any time I log as PIC. I hate to get into this discussion again, but he is sole manipulator. If he is rated for the aircraft, he is PIC, and I'm just instructor guy logging PIC. Does the insurance company see it this way?

The consensus of the aviation community is that if a flight instructor is on board the aircraft and something bad happens, the instructor is subject to a violation, regardless of any designated PIC. The student may or may not be violated as well.

Don't know the criteria the insurance company uses, but they'd just have to make a case in civil court that you were responsible. The logging vs acting distinction would likely be lost on the non-piloting population, since it's generally lost on the pilot population.

[MidlifeFlyer]

Originally Posted by mhcasey

"If the CFI is PIC..." does this include any time I log as PIC. I hate to get into this discussion again, but he is sole manipulator. If he is rated for the aircraft, he is PIC, and I'm just instructor guy logging PIC. Does the insurance company see it this way?

As far as MX, great info there. Thanks to Tgrayson for the heads up too. I figure it will be pretty easy to keep up with inspections myself after seeing the logs once, but AD's might be a bit tougher.

Just another take on the theme.

Whether or not "technically the PIC" a CFI holds a special place. The one-armed blind CFI with no medical, no current flight review, etc who is giving instruction may not be able to act as PIC, but the FAA will definitely expect him to behave as and apply the knowledge of a professional =instructor=. My guess is that those 709 rides tgrayson mentioned were a result of the FAA questioning the qualifications of an =instructor= who gets into an airplane to teach and fails to have the owner go through the simple student pilot tasks of explaining what inspections and maintenance records are required.

As far as the insurance company goes, same concept. One of the three most common legal fallacies in aviation is that the PIC's ultimate responsibility for the safety of flight means that the PIC is the =only= person responsible for what happens on a flight. Not so. There are situations that are pretty clear cut, but on a typical instructional flight where something goes wrong, there are likely to be multiple levels of responsibility, some of them having very little to do with who was technically "in charge."

Watch out for reliance on any labels; whether FAA or civil court, there's a tendency to look beyond them.

[Blackhawk]

Originally Posted by tgrayson

Four instructors at my flight school underwent a 709 ride due to an instructional flight with a briefly lapsed annual.

"Owner/operator." As a pilot, you are an operator. Thus, YOU are responsible for checking on maintenance. Does this mean you have to look through all of the maintenance logs? It depends. If I'm flying at an FBO with maintenance sheets, I feel this is good enough (although I don't have a legal ruling for this). An owner telling me "It's A-Okay."? No way. I want to see his logs or something showing me that maintenance is up to date.
I've looked through the maintenance sheets at more than one FBO where airplane annuals, 100 hours, etc were overdue on the sheet. The work had been done, but the sheets were not updated. The planes had been flying for weeks in this condition. If the planes had actually overflown the inspections, EVERY pilot who flew the airplane would be subject to action by the FAA.

[USMCmech]

Originally Posted by Blackhawk

"Owner/operator." As a pilot, you are an operator. Thus, YOU are responsible for checking on maintenance. Does this mean you have to look through all of the maintenance logs? It depends. If I'm flying at an FBO with maintenance sheets, I feel this is good enough (although I don't have a legal ruling for this). An owner telling me "It's A-Okay."? No way. I want to see his logs or something showing me that maintenance is up to date.
I've looked through the maintenance sheets at more than one FBO where airplane annuals, 100 hours, etc were overdue on the sheet. The work had been done, but the sheets were not updated. The planes had been flying for weeks in this condition. If the planes had actually overflown the inspections, EVERY pilot who flew the airplane would be subject to action by the FAA.

Yes and No.

"Owner/Operator" Operator refers to leased airplanes, NOT the guy "operating the machine", re: FARs Explained. This is the person who recived the AD in the mail telling them to check the exaust for cracks. Properly complying with this is their responsibility. As I mentioned before, a owner could replace a TSO alternator with a Ford part (they are identical) and never tell the renters.

As a renter pilot, or a CFI teaching at a school you are responsible for checking that the annual, 100 hr, ect have all been done, and doing a through preflight. Overflying a 100 hr or annual is something that the FAA would hit a renter for because this is something you can check.

[MidlifeFlyer]

Originally Posted by USMCmech

Yes and No.

"Owner/Operator" Operator refers to leased airplanes, NOT the guy "operating the machine", re: FARs Explained. een done, and doing a through preflight. Overflying a 100 hr or annual is something that the FAA would hit a renter for because this is something you can check.

"Operator" can refer to "the guy operating he machine" as well. Ref: NTSB decisions.

[mhcasey]

So per the usual, the phraseology seems to be flexible enough that the FAA can bust anyone they think actually screwed up - not necessarily a bad thing. I guess at some point I could be on the other end of things.

I think, and correct me if I'm wrong, that if I just get out the mx logs and make a record of the last annual, 100 hour, altimeter/pitot static, transponder, elt, and recurring AD's (and VOR's it IFR), and just keep track of all of those (and make sure everything in the plane that needs to be working either works or has been placarded inop), I should be in pretty good shape. It would seem kind of ridiculous to bust me on a one time AD that I could not possible have been aware of as a renter/flight instructor in the airplane.

[Blackhawk]

Originally Posted by USMCmech

Yes and No.

"Owner/Operator" Operator refers to leased airplanes, NOT the guy "operating the machine", re: FARs Explained. This is the person who recived the AD in the mail telling them to check the exaust for cracks. Properly complying with this is their responsibility. As I mentioned before, a owner could replace a TSO alternator with a Ford part (they are identical) and never tell the renters.

As a renter pilot, or a CFI teaching at a school you are responsible for checking that the annual, 100 hr, ect have all been done, and doing a through preflight. Overflying a 100 hr or annual is something that the FAA would hit a renter for because this is something you can check.

Negative. Operator most definitely IS the person "operating the machine." As pointed out by Midlifeflyer, this has been upheld by the NTSB on more than one occasion.
As you pointed out, however, this does NOT mean the renter/CFI needs to look through the actual maintenance logs. Taking the word from some person behind the counter, however, would probably not cut it.

[USMCmech]

Originally Posted by MidlifeFlyer

"Operator" can refer to "the guy operating he machine" as well. Ref: NTSB decisions.

I didn't phrase that properly

Owner - person or buisnes that the airplane is registerd to.

Operator - person or buisness who is actively useing the airplane under a leagle agreement with the owner to manage the maintence (ie leasbacks).

PIC - the pilot



The reg in pt 43 holding the "owner/operator ultimately responsible for maintianing the aircraft in an airworthy condition" does not refer to the PIC.

The regs in pt 91 are what pilots (esspecially renters or CFIs) can be held responsible for, checking that the required inspections have been done and preflighting the airplane.

Example:

The owner could have gotten a "quickie annual" that didn't find a crack on the engine block near one of the rear cylinders.

You rent the airplane, check that the annual, 100 hr, ect are all up to date.

You preflight the airplane, but since the cowling dosen't come off you can't possibly see the crack.

Your engine fails in mid flight, and you land in some farmers field.


The FAA will (in most cases) only go after the owner and the IA. Since you can prove that you made a reasonable effort to verifiy that the airplane was airworthy in compliance with pt 91.



Exceptions will occur, but that is the basic limit of your maintence responsibility as a renter pilot.

[MidlifeFlyer]

Originally Posted by USMCmech

I didn't phrase that properly

Owner - person or buisnes that the airplane is registerd to.

Operator - person or buisness who is actively useing the airplane under a leagle agreement with the owner to manage the maintence (ie leasbacks).

Still not necessarily limiting. Look at the definition of "operate" quoted above. Note that it specifically refers to piloting.

Yes, if you limit your discussion to the Part 43 context, dealing with maintenance, in that regulation subpart, "operator" tends to refer to either the owner or someone else taking the place of the owner with respect to maintenance issues.

But that doesn't mean "operator" is universally limited to the Part 43 usage. For example, "operator" appears 110 times in part 91. "Operate" appears 185 times. Here's an example:

==============================
§ 91.131 Operations in Class B airspace.
(a) Operating rules. No person may operate an aircraft within a Class B airspace area except in compliance with § 91.129 and the following rules:
(1) The operator must receive an ATC clearance from the ATC facility having jurisdiction for that area before operating an aircraft in that area.
==============================

I'm sure you don't mean to suggest that PIC of a VFR flight in a rental airplane who wants entry to Class B airspace needs to call the FBO so the FBO can call ATC to get the clearance?

Point is simply that "operate" and its variations ("operator" = "one who operates") have a pretty broad meaning in the FAR that gets adjusted based on the regulatory context.

[USMCmech]

Originally Posted by MidlifeFlyer

Point is simply that "operate" and its variations ("operator" = "one who operates") have a pretty broad meaning in the FAR that gets adjusted based on the regulatory context.

Point taken, but I think we both agree that in 91.403 and 91.405 "operator" dose not refer to the PIC.

My point is that a nonowner pilot's maintence responisbility is fairly limited (especially renter and CFIs) to the stuff the you can reasonably check. The owner or operator could have done all manner of things that would cause the aircraft to be unairworthy, yet the renter or CFI has no way of determining.

I have personally seen a twin flown without one of it's generators for months. Obviously unairworthy, and the mech that signed of on the 100hr obviously made a fraudulant logbook entry. However the renter would normally not be held responsible because he had checked to see that the 100hr had been done, and had been told "start the right engine first, cause the LH gen dosen't charge very well".

(except in this case the renter in question was physically helping do the 100 hr, and knew all about the missing generator. In this case the FAA would hold the PIC responsible for knowing flying an unairworthy airplane)

[t82]

310?

[USMCmech]

Originally Posted by t82

310?

Yup.

Parked at SAT

[Jdehawk]

Originally Posted by bdhill1979

I carry a non-owned aircraft liability policy on myself, not expensive and its good CYA.

Definitely be on top of the Mx logs, its a good student lesson too, charge for that time to go over the Mx logs with the student and make sure everything is Jim Dandy. It also shows them the right way to start flying an aircraft you have never flown before. It may be the Owner Operators responsibility to maintain it, but its your responsibility to verify that it has been maintained prior to flight.


Don't forget that you will now be responsible for putting money aside for taxes as well.

All of this is good advice in my opinion. I've found NAFI to have the best insurance coverage. http://www.nafinet.org/