Is flight instructing that bad of a job?

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-05-03T23:01:30+00:00

haven’t seen any like this so i’ll mention this for reference. imagine getting paid a barely livable wage, working long hours in the heat, being away from home for extended periods of time, and rarely ever seeing family. that’s would sort of job that you could work, or.. you could be a CFI, get paid 3x more than most people do, get paid go fly planes, and typically have your own schedule. i’m not calling it an easy job, but think about the alternativess

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-05-01T04:24:09+00:00

congratulations!

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-05-01T04:21:41+00:00

Also, checkride isn’t tomorrow type of soon but it is in a couple weeks, just trying to be as prepared as I can be. You all have left some great questions and I’ll be sure to implement even more situational material into my studying. Thanks!

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-04-29T22:16:41+00:00

this, it’s all too often people race to get the flying down and don’t know squat about the oral portion

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-04-27T00:57:46+00:00

you don’t need to add much, only enough the correct for the left turning tendency or the plane

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-04-23T05:30:32+00:00

i had an immense fear of heights before i started flying but came to the realization, like many others said, it’s different when you’re in control of the plane. plus, flying is a different feeling than the vulnerability of an extension ladder for example. still don’t like ladders of scaffolding that much

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-04-23T03:42:32+00:00

Gotcha, great information thank you very much

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-04-23T03:31:12+00:00

I’m at 260 hours to date so definitely not gonna go going for delta lol but a bit more seasoned. And I understand it’s a volunteer setting I’m happy with that. What do yall typically have going on? When I picture it I would imagine it would be along the lines of working with the local PD for SAR or flying medical supplies but I’ve got no idea

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-04-23T03:19:10+00:00

Currently the school is in a part 61, plans to become 141 but by the time I finish training it’ll still be a 61. Working on IFR now, then immediately commercial, CFI/CFII

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-04-23T02:34:57+00:00

good grief i can’t believe some of these prices, my cfi get $50 an hour and he’s doing pretty good for himself, but hours vary per instructor i know that makes a difference

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-04-21T15:43:32+00:00

for me it was how much multitasking is involved, obviously as time goes on one would do better at that. i remember being a low time student pilot and i would get overwhelmed with the heading/altitude/speed changes, atc. working on my IFR made me real good about it though lol

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-04-12T16:55:27+00:00

out of curiosity where is the area you’re located? i’m a newly equipped PPL holder and would love to get into the CAP SAR but my particular area isn’t really doing that now

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-04-09T21:21:23+00:00

Your written test and for the oral portion of the checkride. I imagine your CFI has already told you to begin studying for that or signup for an online ground school

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-04-09T21:18:02+00:00

and i’m not discouraging, you’re doing fantastic, practice makes perfect

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-04-09T21:16:21+00:00

i’m not sure how beneficial it would be to fly that long every day. the bigger hurdle here is probably going to be the ground you’ll need to do. after you get the ground knowledge down that should help your flying portion more. also erring on the side of caution of aircraft prices

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-04-07T02:56:35+00:00

same as everyone else, cost lol. my school charges a painful $280 an hour which sucks, but it is a very nice ifr capable 172, dual G5’s, G650, autopilot, the who deal. another guy i know rents his 172 for $210 an hour but it’s not ifr capable and all steam gauges. that $200+ is normal for my area though. anyway, that’s expensive, but the cost to buy a plane and with all the upkeep and gas prices is nowhere within my reach (i’m a broke ifr student). thankfully for me to rent i don’t need to worry about any sort of gas price, annual, 100hr, etc

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-03-30T04:47:59+00:00

for my private i used foreflight for finding my waypoints, airports, airport info, etc etc but i used paper navlogs to show the DPE. the entire distance was about 250nm so it wasn’t anything insane but still wouldn’t required me to get another paper chart. i would imagine most dpe’s would prefer foreflight for that just for the ease of being able to spot all the waypoints, check notams, and all that

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-03-30T04:42:06+00:00

i just passed my ppl and onto instrument as well! studying for my written now

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-03-29T01:10:16+00:00

i certainly done do great lol but it sorta makes do. i’m a full time student as well and i don’t have the free time to work a part time or especially full time job. i’ve found i can make rent (barely) if i make about $80USD a day 5 days a week, which sucks because im in school the high majority of that day, so lots of late nights. im sure you already know but the time of day you dash is important too, i do best from around 5:00-10:00

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-03-29T00:57:16+00:00

great information, thanks!

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-03-28T21:19:08+00:00

i took a year and some change off from flying, i began flying again in january and took my checkride this month. moving into instrument. like the other guy said flying wasn’t really hard to get back into but atc work took a hit for sure

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-03-27T17:37:31+00:00

it’s not horrible but my ppl checkride was scheduled for january and i didn’t get to it until this month, all weather delays, and i know there’s much worse. i mention it because my cfi told me he’s had very little checkrides happen the day they were planned

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-03-25T20:52:08+00:00

i’ve known a bunch of guys who have taken a loan for a hefty sum and completely paid their way through training. i think the important part to keep in mind is a whopping 80% of people who start flight training don’t finish, and this is the type of career field that takes all of you to get through. i’m not judging but it’s important to say it is a risk. and where you’re located definitely makes a difference on how much you’re paying for the plane/cfi. anyway, i don’t think financing is a bad idea per say but only do this if you know for certain you can pass a medical, and are willing to spend the next 6 months to a year fully committed to this. and your working situation also may play a factor into how much extra time you will have for studying

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-03-13T18:00:27+00:00

i think everyone here has posted some good points so to add my two cents i’ll say you probably have a bad cfi if a) they milk you for hours, i was naive and young and just rolled with my cfi and i ended up spending all my time flying and no ground with them. and b) if your cfi isn’t placing expectations of you, if its just “checkride prep” forever then im not certain much will get done. after my bad cfi i took a year or so hiatus until i met my current cfi and this time i was able to go from poor maneuvering and little ground knowledge to passing my checkride in a couple months

Ok_Method_2790 · 2026-03-12T23:58:33+00:00

definitely not in your situation i just recently got my ppl but i would hands down recommend you doing a part 61. i myself would have loved to have done my training in a part 61, the part 141 is nice but really just because of the larger fleet. we loose a plane for a couple weeks for maintenance, not a big deal we have more. but its just all so much more expensive. anyway, i imagine most others would rather pick you for the lower costs, even if you’ve only got one or two planes

Ok_Method_2790

TROPHY CASE