Short on CFIs

Mr_Creepy

Well-Known Member
The CAP Flying Group at Orlando Executive is a little short in the CFI department.

Although there are 13 listed on the site, all but 5 of those are pretty much inactive.

We especially need some MEs that have experience in a Grumman Cougar.

It's not really a JOB, but CFIs are allowed to join the group and charge members for instruction. You can even recruit members, basically running your own little "flight school" although I'd be careful with that.

I charge $50/hr but I am on the experienced, inactive side.

I believe a $40/hr CFI would stay busy.

More info at http://capflying.com
 
Mr_Creepy said:
We especially need some MEs that have experience in a Grumman Cougar.

From what I have seen of the Cougar its pretty much a Twin Comanche:)

Gee, how come nobody says a Cougar is a bad training plane? :sarcasm:

Sounds like a nice set-up, sure beats making spit and beeing starved out like I have heard about some places.
 
wheelsup said:
keep in mind you have to pay your club dues, CFI and health insurance, it's contract work.
... and you've found a flight school that pays health insurance ????

LOL


I'd call it "self-employed" rather than contract work. It's not a club so there are no club "dues" but there is a monthly maintenance charge that includes 1 free hour. It's less than $80 so you instruct 2 hrs and you break even.

Just a cost of doing business.

bwt, what the heck is CFI insurance? And where are you working that insures YOU?

(If you are referring to liability insurance I GUARANTEE your company does NOT have a Waiver of Subrogation for the CFI! I tried to get one once - INCREDIBLY expensive, we're talking 20k a year.)
 
Hey my company has health insurance. We're not even that big, just 3 cheif/assistant cheif instructors and about 5 full time instructors. They pay for some of it and I pay for some of it.

Mike
 
Mr_Creepy said:
... and you've found a flight school that pays health insurance ????

Erby-Diddle just sent me a spam mail looking for instructors, and they actually had a pretty good benefits program:

Our total compensation and employment program for Instructor Pilots is the best in the industry.
Embry-Riddle offers a minimum of 27 paid/accrued leave days annually, a highly competitive wage base, and two comprehensive health insurance programs.

All full-time instructors (and spouses or domestic partners) are immediately eligible for a 100% tuition waiver for both undergraduate and graduate courses, and a 100% tuition waiver for undergraduate courses for dependent children, up to age 26.
Embry-Riddle will contribute 5% of the instructor’s earnings into one of two retirement programs. We will also match additional contributions up to 3%. These funds are fully vested after only one year of service.
Full pay for departmental meetings and directed non-flight activities. 100% uniform allowance.

The pay leaves something to be desired (top pay, according to their structure is $21/hour, with starting pay at $15), and no way on earth I'd ever wear a uniform to hop in a C-172. Some people this would definitely be a pretty good gig for, if they build flight time quickly.

There are your benefits. Some places offer them, but not many.
 
Mr_Creepy said:
(If you are referring to liability insurance I GUARANTEE your company does NOT have a Waiver of Subrogation for the CFI! I tried to get one once - INCREDIBLY expensive, we're talking 20k a year.)


Actually, when I worked at Air Orlando, they had exactly that. Although that is a very uncommon benefit.
 
I am very familiar with Air Orlando's insurance and unless it has changed since 2003, no, it is not what you think.

There is NO coverage for the CFI, just for the liability the CFI generated. There is no Waiver of Subrogation.
 
Mr_Creepy said:
... and you've found a flight school that pays health insurance ????

LOL

All of them did. MAPD's was the best, but the other two it cost around $70/month or $120/family coverage. Much cheaper than buying it on your own for the levels of coverage provided.

I'd call it "self-employed" rather than contract work. It's not a club so there are no club "dues" but there is a monthly maintenance charge that includes 1 free hour. It's less than $80 so you instruct 2 hrs and you break even.

Just a cost of doing business.

Yep, and so are the additional taxes one must pay. Those will factor in, reducing the effective pay rate, although they aren't that much reduced (around what? 7.7%?).

bwt, what the heck is CFI insurance? And where are you working that insures YOU?

(If you are referring to liability insurance I GUARANTEE your company does NOT have a Waiver of Subrogation for the CFI! I tried to get one once - INCREDIBLY expensive, we're talking 20k a year.)

Hmm, well according to JP we had it. I must've misunderstood. The company was granted a waiver and as employees I was under the understanding we were under that. But you would know more than I, you are the native insurance guy (seriously) :). I was under the impression I was protected while employed by the company as well for other things.

I wasn't digging at YOUR post, I was trying to show the other poster that at $40/hr it's not all cut and dry.

It's like saying an aircraft is $70/hr, but then in fine print seeing it's a dry-rate. Looks like a good deal at first but when you factor in the cost of gas it's not *such* a great deal.

The way I look at it, "working" at CAP is sorta like cutting the middleman out of the equation, which allows you to make more. You just have to do a little more work (ie advertising your services) but that can be well worth it financially if you are good at limiting your risks.
 
wheelsup said:
All of them did. MAPD's was the best, but the other two it cost around $70/month or $120/family coverage. Much cheaper than buying it on your own for the levels of coverage provided.

So you had to PAY for it after all. There may have been a small company match.

Yep, and so are the additional taxes one must pay. Those will factor in, reducing the effective pay rate, although they aren't that much reduced (around what? 7.7%?).

Well only if you are doing it full time.

Hmm, well according to JP we had it. I must've misunderstood. The company was granted a waiver and as employees I was under the understanding we were under that. But you would know more than I, you are the native insurance guy (seriously) :). I was under the impression I was protected while employed by the company as well for other things.

I wasn't digging at YOUR post, I was trying to show the other poster that at $40/hr it's not all cut and dry.

It's like saying an aircraft is $70/hr, but then in fine print seeing it's a dry-rate. Looks like a good deal at first but when you factor in the cost of gas it's not *such* a great deal.

The way I look at it, "working" at CAP is sorta like cutting the middleman out of the equation, which allows you to make more. You just have to do a little more work (ie advertising your services) but that can be well worth it financially if you are good at limiting your risks.
Wheels you and I know a lot more about AO than most people here from our own history of course :D

CFIing for CAP Flying Group certainly allows you to make more, as long as you can run a business, and market yourself.

As for the insurance issue, remember that a while back an AO CFI and his student crashed while buzzing his ex-girlfriend's house in a C-152. Now Ray A. paid for all of that CFI's medical bills and did the right thing, but after that he made sure that there were no waivers of subrogation in the policy for the CFIs. He told me, that he want the "option" of paying for the liability, but not to be automatically liable for stupid pilot tricks.

You also know that I was in negotiations with Keith at one time to by AO. It never came to fruition but I learned an awful lot about that operation.

It has it's good points, and as a time builder it's pretty hard to beat.

But CAP Flying is not really looking for the pure time builder. We'd like the more "professional CFI" type anyway.

I know there are some out there.
 
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