What are you paid?

Asta

Asta

New Member
Will CFIs weigh in on their pay and typical hours?

I get $15 an hour for ground and air and typically work from about 8 to 3, getting on average 2.5 flight hours a day. The rest of the time is spent on ground or waiting around. I know I'm being abused :) but I want to know how badly!
 
moxiepilot

moxiepilot

Well-Known Member
Before I switched jobs a few months ago my CFI pay was as follows:

$25/hr flight & ground
$100 weekly base pay
health insurance (medical,dental,vision)

average 100-120 hours billed a month = ~$3,000/mo + benes


Now I'm instructing on the side, so my main job takes care of the bills and bene's and I charge $50/hr for flying
 
ILS37R

ILS37R

Well-Known Member
$20 flight/ground, plus $2 for hours > 60. $14/hour for hanging around the FBO on weekday evenings and weekends when a lot of customers are coming in. 50% bennies. Decent perks: discount rentals, free charts, fantastic insurance.
 
tpaRob

tpaRob

Well-Known Member
ILS37R said:
...$14/hour for hanging around the FBO on weekday evenings and weekends when a lot of customers are coming in. ...
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:yeahthat:
That is a great idea. I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "Sorry, there are no instructors working right now" while trying to find an instructor. I see it all the time now too on the weekends when I go flying by myself. These potential "income streams" just flushed down the drain because instructors don't get paid to just stand around.

Is this a common to get paid for hanging around?
 
S

Shep8

New Member
Well I think I win for worst instructor gig. $10 an hour flight & ground. No benefits. Billing maybe 70 hours a month max. oh and to top it off a 6 month contract that says if I leave within that time I have to pay back the cost of my standardization flights(warrior,arrow,seminole,172). which comes out to around $1,200-1,500.
 
bike21

bike21

9-5 Ruins Lives
Which of you are paying for CFI insurance? And how much does that cost? (never had to pay for it during my CFI days)
 
fosters

fosters

Well-Known Member
bike21 said:
Which of you are paying for CFI insurance? And how much does that cost? (never had to pay for it during my CFI days)
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I thought it would be a good idea since I'm doing some freelance stuff. I'm paying $250 a year.
 
bike21

bike21

9-5 Ruins Lives
fosters said:
I thought it would be a good idea since I'm doing some freelance stuff. I'm paying $250 a year.
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Gotcha. The reason I ask is because my old flight school took care of that for us among many other things. All we did was fly and teach and didn't worry about sales, dispatch, supplies, admin type paperwork, washing airplanes, greeting customers, etc. The amount of 'extra' work being done can really drag down what you are actually earning per hour.

We used start folks off at $18/hr and topped out around $34/hr for check airman with some benefits included. Most CFIs at the school billed around 80-120 a month if memory serves.
 
S

SlantG

Well-Known Member
$125 an hour, $80 an hour for certain clients. It doesn't matter if I'm instructing, consulting, flying, traveling, or sitting.

The folks aren't lining up, but at this rate I don't need a bunch of clients, nor do I want to handle a large load of clients. For the ones that do want my time, it wouldn't matter if I charged $500 or was free. Their perceived quality of the instruction given by me and the value for their money is what matters to them.

Usually my response results in a bunch of guys posting they'd never pay that rate for an instructor. That's fine. Don't schedule my time and you won't. :D
 
Asta

Asta

New Member
Shep8 said:
Well I think I win for worst instructor gig. $10 an hour flight & ground. No benefits. Billing maybe 70 hours a month max. oh and to top it off a 6 month contract that says if I leave within that time I have to pay back the cost of my standardization flights(warrior,arrow,seminole,172). which comes out to around $1,200-1,500.
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Ug. I thought I had it bad.
 
moxiepilot

moxiepilot

Well-Known Member
Good on you Slant G for charging what your market value is and what your clients perceive your worth.

As for the insurance thing, I've always moved that on to the employer if they don't already cover it. Basically stating that if they want me as an employee, they pick up the tab with good coverage.

As a freelance instructor really it comes down to weighing the risks and benes.
 
ProudPilot

ProudPilot

Aeronautics Geek
Getting 14.50hr right now part time, billing about 40hrs a month, no benefits. When I go full time I'll be $24/hr for anything billable, with benefits, and guaranteed work. Estimated 100hrs billed a month.
 
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