CFI Interview @ Riddle

[LCFlying]

Hey Everyone,

I'm applying for a job as a CFI with ERAU-DAB. Ive been a CFI for just over 2 years with some experience under my belt (about 350 dual given). I have apparently done alright on the written exam and the personal/technical interview. They scheduled my sim and flight evaluation for Monday. I have no done any training at riddle myself, so all I have to go on about their training program is what I see from friends, hear on the street, etc.

Anybody an IP for riddle (or knows an IP for riddle) that might be able to give me any tips/advice/heads up on what to expect on the sim & flight evals?

Any info is appreciated.

Thanks.

[crashmbern]

well good luck, can't help you thought but will be turning my application in this week for the instructor position. Just got my CFII today.

[LCFlying]

Well completed the interview process today. Overall things went well. The flight was good. Just your basic stuff. He'll have you demonstrate a private and commercial manuever and then critique his flying a little bit on say a landing.

The simulator is basic instrument stuff. DME arc with approaches and possible holding. Then you switch places and teach him a few things and thats it.

I should hear back next week or so.

Overall I feel pretty good.

best of luck to you as you go through the application/interview process. are you at DAB or PRC?

[LCFlying]

[ QUOTE ]
well good luck, can't help you thought but will be turning my application in this week for the instructor position. Just got my CFII today.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ah, never mind. I see your from DAB. and LI. I grew up there. What part are you from? I hail from Patchogue.

[crashmbern]

actually as i speak or type and just finishing up the application and am about to head up to school to turn the application in. Hopefully will get a call in the next couple of weeks.

but yea i am from levittown. went to st. anthony's HS in S. Huntington and my grandparents live out in patchouge.

[wheelsup]

Watch out - it is not as good as it seems. Riddle is going part 142, meaning they will be teaching in Frasca Sims for 2/3 of the training time. I've flown these sims when the first got them (the 172 and Seminole) and they're ok but don't have motion - nothing special.

The Pros:

-Students will solo in the 172 and then fly the seminole exclusively
-Almost all multi time for instructors (when you fly, see below)
-Most of the flights are sims, so you won't get weathered (a big deal in FL!) and you'll bring home a nice paycheck
-Full timers get benefits and get to attend school for free
-I think its around $12.80/hr right now (not sure but may be as much as $14.00
-You don't have to teach much, the ground school there does plenty for the students and gives them a great background
-Students know what must be accomplished and can't get pissed off at you and stop flying if you tell them you must do something xxx way...I find that some of my students doing this for fun are in it for enjoyment rather than education and you always have to please them...

The cons:
-You'll be in the sims almost the entire time
-You'll log approximately 30 hrs per month flight time if you're lucky - I did 100 hrs last month with about 15 multi
-You have to dress up and wear a 'custume'
-It's been my observation that ERAU instructors are getting hired at regionals with MUCH more time than my part 61 FBO in Orlando (on the order of 1700-2500 hrs and 300-400 multi for riddle guys and 1300-1600 hrs and 200 multi for my school, all ending up at the same regional)
-You have to put up with a lot of crap
-You make almost no decisions yourself, all the instructors are doing in the sims are reading a script, and they setup the sim to the lesson specs and you fly it
-No external connections (i.e. several students of mine are/have bought aircraft that I fly)
-Summer time blows, my friends that are IP's there MIGHT get lucky and bring home $300.00 paychecks (that's 2 weeks worth!) for April through August


I got a call to go instruct for them as well, as I went to school there and did my CFI/I there. Luckily I found a great 61 school with even newer equipment that has a much larger customer base. I talked with a buddy who was at 950 TT a fews months back and I was at 600 or so, I'm not at 850 and he's at 1050. After investigating it I found that it was in my best interest to stay where I was logging some good time and a few hours of cabin class twin time per month than go be a sim instructor with the option of flying 30 hrs per month.

Find out all the info you can before taking the job!
~wheelsup

[skyrunner1500]

How much do they charge their students for the CFI/CFII/MEI-Course? I was just told, that it's expensive....

[RiddlePilot]

ERAU's flight instructor course (FA417) does not include an MEI. At the end, you get a CFI/CFII after having spent $8k-$10k and wasting a lot of valuable time in the process. I've known a guy working on his CFI/CFII at Riddle for 4-5 months now, and he's still plugging along. I'm training elsewhere, and I should have my CFI on monday after about 4 weeks of study, and then CFII very shortly after that. Cost is also much less.

My advice: stay far, far away from the ERAU CFI program unless you know 100% for sure that you want to be a Riddle IP. Since they are going Part 142, I just don't see the draw anymore.

[LCFlying]

Even if you want to be a riddle IP I don't think you have to go through their program. I have done absolutely no flight training at riddle, I did most of it in MI and the ME and MEI down here in FL at an FBO. The interview for me went really well and everybody seemed to like me. I'll let you know if I get an offer (although after the flight portion of the interview the standards pilot said if it were up to him (its not) I'd have the job, so we'll see).

I mean I think (i would hope) it all comes down to knowing your stuff, being a decent teacher and being a decent pilot. Ive heard of people going through riddle's program and then not getting the job because they dont "meet riddle IP standards".

But yes, going through riddle most likely is the most expensive route to go. I don't think the 142 program is going to be fully up and running at least for a couple years, so might get some good experience in that way.

I guess I'm still not used to the "find your own students" philosophy at the FL FBO's. In MI they were assigned to you and so thats one attractive feature of working for Riddle. And some people like the benefits.

I was told today that they generally start you off around $15.50/hour.

[Doug Taylor]

A lot of my CFI's at ERAU weren't riddle trained, but of course that was the late 80's/early 90's.

[RiddlePilot]

They put a rule out 2-3 years ago that all Riddle IPs either 1. had to get their CFI/CFII at ERAU, or 2. have 300 hours dual given. I think it's pretty pretentious of them to hold a guy fresh out of FA417, and a guy with 300 hours given on the same level.

[LCFlying]

[ QUOTE ]
They put a rule out 2-3 years ago that all Riddle IPs either 1. had to get their CFI/CFII at ERAU, or 2. have 300 hours dual given. I think it's pretty pretentious of them to hold a guy fresh out of FA417, and a guy with 300 hours given on the same level.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmm, thats interesting. I hadn't heard that. I do have over 300 dual given, but I don't know if thats why they called to interview me or not.

I agree though, comparing a freshly minted CFI with an experienced one is kind of silly.

[MikeD]

It's Riddle, does that surprise anyone they'd have an asinine reg like that?

[TallBoy85]

Oh but remember...a lot of flight schools would put their own fresh instructor on a higher level than a 417 grad with 300 hours dual given? Why you may ask?

Because the 300 hour guy is gonna cost money to retrain to standards, the instructor you taught yourself is not.

Every hour a flight school puts an airplane in the air standardizing a new instructor is revenue that company has lost, revenue a lot of flight schools are not capable of sacrificing. The reality of it is, is that until a company can invest a 4 week ground school and a 10 day beat down in a simulator, then there's no point in hiring out of house.

Unfortunately the successful flight schools boil down to the fact that they were well managed and the money was closely monitored. Besides...who wants to hire someone they don't know anyway? That's lame.

[MikeD]

[ QUOTE ]
Oh but remember...a lot of flight schools would put their own fresh instructor on a higher level than a 417 grad with 300 hours dual given? Why you may ask?

Because the 300 hour guy is gonna cost money to retrain to standards, the instructor you taught yourself is not.

Every hour a flight school puts an airplane in the air standardizing a new instructor is revenue that company has lost, revenue a lot of flight schools are not capable of sacrificing. The reality of it is, is that until a company can invest a 4 week ground school and a 10 day beat down in a simulator, then there's no point in hiring out of house.

Unfortunately the successful flight schools boil down to the fact that they were well managed and the money was closely monitored. Besides...who wants to hire someone they don't know anyway? That's lame.

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL......and the inbreeding continues..........

[TallBoy85]

Get it? Owned...

Nevermind I need to go study. Carry on.

[RiddlePilot]

[ QUOTE ]


Get it? Owned...

Nevermind I need to go study. Carry on.

[/ QUOTE ]

Man, I love ebaumsworld. Good stuff right there.

[wheelsup]

It's supposed to be up and running full force for the incoming freshman this fall. A few of my friends there are already doing almost all sims...

I agree about the finding your own students...I'm in a downswing right now with almost no students as they're on vacation or have stopped flying simply because of heat. My solution? Take flights with other people to build time...might not be getting paid but I'm sure as hell flying a lot more than my riddle buds.

~wheelsup

[RiddlePilot]

[ QUOTE ]
It's supposed to be up and running full force for the incoming freshman this fall. A few of my friends there are already doing almost all sims...

[/ QUOTE ]

I did my commercial multi in those things. 4 sims and 3 real flights before the ride. *shudder*

[skyrunner1500]

[ QUOTE ]
I did my commercial multi in those things. 4 sims and 3 real flights before the ride. *shudder*

[/ QUOTE ]

was that already the new 142 program? i thought they will introduce it in the next months?

4 sims and 3 real flights seem very little to me, but i haven't done any commercial checkride yet, so i guess i can't say if it's enough or not....

[RiddlePilot]

Yes, this was the first Part 142 course established by ERAU from what I understand (and thankfully the only one I did throughout training). You're right though... 4 sims and 3 flights really isn't enough. I really felt as though I was 1. a guinea pig, and 2. given training in preparation for the checkride, not to be a good commercial pilot.

[skyrunner1500]

Are there other hour requirements for the 142 programs than in 61 and 141? I could imagine that they require less total time if you spend more time in the sim.

I'm not really a "sim-friend", I always think that there is no substitute for a real plane and therefore didn't enjoy my 3.2 hours in the Elite-Sim during my instrument training. I didn't learn anything in these 3.2 hours, because I was so busy controlling the very sensible sim, that I could not concentrate on flying IFR maneuvers....I was really happy being in the "real" plane for the rest of my training!
But I was charged for the 3.2 sim-time+instructor.

[crashmbern]

LCFlying did you hear anything yet???

[RiddlePilot]

[ QUOTE ]
Are there other hour requirements for the 142 programs than in 61 and 141? I could imagine that they require less total time if you spend more time in the sim.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm pretty certain there are. I just don't see someone getting the usual 200 or so hours by sitting in a sim all the time. That's really unfortunate for both the student and the instructor. The student doesn't get the valuable total time and aircraft experience, and the instructor makes peanuts while not able to log a damn thing.