How much does a CFI make?

I know I will probably get alot of 'it depends' in response to this
question, but I guess I'm curious when a flight school charges a
student $25/hr for flight instruction, what chunk of that actually
goes to the CFI?

And realistically your average CFI is not flying all the time. Figure
in weather delays, ground school, etc - what would a 'good' yearly
salary for a full-time, low-hour CFI be?

In article ,
(Peter Gibbons) wrote:

I know I will probably get alot of 'it depends' in response to this
question, but I guess I'm curious when a flight school charges a
student $25/hr for flight instruction, what chunk of that actually
goes to the CFI?

Anywhere between around $8 and $20, depending on various things.

Where I used to work, instructors were paid on a sliding scale, with the
pay rate increasing with the number of flight & ground hours billed
during the month. With time and after passing certain milestones, the
base rate (the rate at which you were paid from hour zero for the month)
could be increased, which was definitely a good thing during the slow
months. During the busy months, it wasn't uncommon for instructors to
reach $20 an hour, which gave them a gross income of $2400 for the
month. One great thing about that system was that any instructor could
reach that level, whether they were brand new on the staff with a base
rate of $8 an hour, or had been there for a couple of years with a base
rate of $12 an hour. It was motivation to get out and fill your
schedule and be productive.

And realistically your average CFI is not flying all the time. Figure
in weather delays, ground school, etc - what would a 'good' yearly
salary for a full-time, low-hour CFI be?

Expect to work two hours for every hour you bill. I knew instructors
who struggled to bill 50 hours in a month, and those with established
clientele who could make 100 hours a month without breaking a sweat.
That ranges you between $400 a month and $2000 a month - probably more
now since I left instruction in 1998. I also knew instructors who did a
lot of charter flying and were regularly able to gross $3000 a month
much of the year.

--
Larry Fransson
Aviation software for Mac OS X!
http://www.subcritical.com

In article ,
(Peter Gibbons) wrote:

I know I will probably get alot of 'it depends' in response to this
question, but I guess I'm curious when a flight school charges a
student $25/hr for flight instruction, what chunk of that actually
goes to the CFI?

That depends :-). At the flying club I'm part of, instructors can
officially charge up to $35 per hour -- and they keep every cent of
that. The club makes its money from aircraft rentals, rather than
instructor fees.

Hamish

"Peter Gibbons" wrote in message
om...
| I know I will probably get alot of 'it depends' in response to this
| question, but I guess I'm curious when a flight school charges a
| student $25/hr for flight instruction, what chunk of that actually
| goes to the CFI?
|
| And realistically your average CFI is not flying all the time. Figure
| in weather delays, ground school, etc - what would a 'good' yearly
| salary for a full-time, low-hour CFI be?

Most flight schools pay their CFIs between $15 and $20 an instructional
hour. Most CFIs probably make less than minimum wage.

"C J Campbell" wrote in message

Most flight schools pay their CFIs between $15 and $20 an instructional
hour. Most CFIs probably make less than minimum wage.

I guess this begs the question, how in hell do they pay their bills?

How long do they have to do that in order to start making decent money?

-c
PP/SEL, Portland, OR.

A young lady from our field just finished her education... 4 year BS degree,
all ratings through multi CFII - including D-18 and C-90 time - , pretty and
bright... She just got a job at KPTK for $16 an hour for flight
instructing... Seems to be the going rate... How long she will be at that
level is a combination of sweat and luck... Who can say... She is currently
doing part 135, right seat flying for free, to build hours...
Denny

Most flight schools pay their CFIs between $15 and $20 an instructional
hour. Most CFIs probably make less than minimum wage.

"gatt" wrote in message
...
|
| "C J Campbell" wrote in message
|
| Most flight schools pay their CFIs between $15 and $20 an instructional
| hour. Most CFIs probably make less than minimum wage.
|
| I guess this begs the question, how in hell do they pay their bills?
|
| How long do they have to do that in order to start making decent money?
|

There are really three kinds of CFIs. Some treat flight instruction as a
retirement job, more of a full-time hobby than anything else. Others are
young people working their way toward an airline job. And there are those
for whom flight instruction offers its own career path.

The retirement guys are able to support themselves through some other income
source. The young CFIs hope to just survive long enough to get a job that
pays decently. The most interesting CFIs are those for whom flight
instruction is a career in itself. It is possible to do fairly well as a
CFI, as John and Martha King have more than amply demonstrated. While most
of us will probably not reach the level of the Kngs, it is reasonable for a
CFI to make upwards of $70,000 a year.

The career CFIs acquire unusual specialties and ratings. Many of them charge
$80 an hour or more for instruction. Additionally, they may own their own
aircraft, including aerobatic or seaplanes which they give instruction in.
If you want to fly a Caravan on floats, you will pay $100 an hour or more
for a decent CFI that meets all the insurance requirements.

Aviation pays poorly, though, no matter what career path you choose. The
average college graduate is now earning in excess of $55,000 right out of
school. The pilot pays $50,000 or more for an additional year or two of
training, then gets a job as a CFI earning $12,000. It will be ten years or
more before he starts earning as much as his peers did when they graduated.
The pilot's salary never catches up, either. By the time he is a senior
airline captain earning $200,000 a year, his peers are either earning more
than that or they have been getting an equivalent salary for much longer. If
you really want to earn a decent living in aviation, you are better off
becoming an airline executive than a pilot.

It depends. Ok, you want something more real. There are two types
of places a CFI can choose to work at. The big schools that keep you
busy and work you a lot of hours will pay in the area of $10/hr. Make
sure mom and dad keep sending you checks. A small FBO or club will
charge the CFI around $5/hr. So if you charge $30/hr, you keep $25.
However, a small FBO or club is unlikely to provide more than 2 hours
a day of teaching to a full time CFI, so you make more money and more
hours working for peanuts at the big schools.

However, most FBOs and clubs will wave the fee if you find the student
yourself. This is what I do when teaching with the local clubs. If I
find the student and bring them to the club, I keep the entire fee.
However, I have the overhead of paying club dues when I never rent
myself.

-Robert, CFI



(Peter Gibbons) wrote in message . com...
I know I will probably get alot of 'it depends' in response to this
question, but I guess I'm curious when a flight school charges a
student $25/hr for flight instruction, what chunk of that actually
goes to the CFI?

And realistically your average CFI is not flying all the time. Figure
in weather delays, ground school, etc - what would a 'good' yearly
salary for a full-time, low-hour CFI be?

When I took training at Wiley Post (PWA) airport in OKC, the owner of the
rental planes was the CFI and got the whole $20/hour for instruction. I had
a couple other instructors there and paid them similar and they also kept
the entire amount for training. The owner got his rental fees.

When I got some training at McCreery in McAllen, TX (MFE), I paid $25/hour
if it were their rentals or $35/hour for instruction in my own plane. I'm
not sure how much the CFI got of that.

I also took CFI's up in Iowa, again what I paid them for the instruction,
they kept. Some of the smaller airports with a CFI around usually aren't
working for a flight school or FBO and get to keep all they're paid. Check
out the bulletin boards (Not BBS!) at the airstrips...

YMMV!

I've noticed that no one is quoting an "Annual" amount. Sure they charge
$25-$40 per hour but what does their Form 1040 say? I knew a guy once who quit
instructing to become a janitor. I thought it was sad that he would try to
live on $7-8,000 annually for years. I loved flying when I got my license at
21 but knew I wanted to make more than I saw people making. Sometimes I wish I
could fly everyday but I also like what I do for a profession. I admire those
who keep at it, following their passions.


Trip



In article ha8_a.128723$YN5.86441@sccrnsc01, says...

When I took training at Wiley Post (PWA) airport in OKC, the owner of the
rental planes was the CFI and got the whole $20/hour for instruction. I had
a couple other instructors there and paid them similar and they also kept
the entire amount for training. The owner got his rental fees.

When I got some training at McCreery in McAllen, TX (MFE), I paid $25/hour
if it were their rentals or $35/hour for instruction in my own plane. I'm
not sure how much the CFI got of that.

I also took CFI's up in Iowa, again what I paid them for the instruction,
they kept. Some of the smaller airports with a CFI around usually aren't
working for a flight school or FBO and get to keep all they're paid. Check
out the bulletin boards (Not BBS!) at the airstrips...

YMMV!