On 2007-07-19 18:34:56 -0700, "Morgans" said:


"C Gattman" wrote

That's kinda what I think, too. It's a shame that a working CFI can't
earn enough to support a family just about anywhere in the Pacific
Northwest.

Yep, but as long as teaching flying continues to be a time building step for
flying the big stuff, it is destined to stay that way.

Added to that, is the fact that GA flying is about dieing out, and one
reason is cost. If instructors were to be paid what they are worth (at
LEAST double) there would be a lot of people not able to start flying,
because of the higher instructor cost.

Frankly, learning to fly is cheap. People talk about the cost, but
learning to fly is a lot cheaper than golf or boating.

The financial cost is not the big deal. It is the time commitment. Most
people are put off immediately when they learn that it will take them a
year or more, flying once a week, rain or shine, in order to get a
pilot certificate. Now, that is a big cost.

Then they look at an airplane. You can get something that looks like
the old beater you drove in college for a mere $90,000 or so. Or, for
the price of a nice home, you can buy a new plane. Or you can rent --
and the plane will never seem to be available when you need it for as
long as you need it. Renting? Forget about that weekend trip to the
Catskills. You will never be able to block out a plane for that long.

People want to learn to fly because they think they might be able to do
something practical with it. They are sick of TSA, tired of being
slaves to airline schedules, and tired of the two year old who kicks
the back of your seat while his colicky little brother screams for four
solid hours.

But people quickly learn also that general aviation is not a simple
solution to those problems. And they don't derive great pleasure from
just going up and boring holes in the sky for an hour or two.

That is why general aviation is dying. You get very little benefit for
the cost in time and money. That comes out as 'expensive,' and they are
right.

If pilots, especially instructors, were paid more, however, it might
actually attract *more* students -- people might see flying as
something that might actually give a worthwhile return on the
investment.



--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor