Why go to Flight Safety?
- Thread starter bramlett
- Start date
davetheflyer
New Member
At FSI it is at least partly due to mismanagement.
A big selling point in the program is that you can work there after you get your CFI. They keep hiring so they can tell people that the CFI hiring program is still open.
The same thing happened post-9-11. They kept hiring IPs long after student starts dropped off. A few IPs got hired over the summer and they immediately started doing stan classes again.
They need to determine how many CFIs they actually need based on the student population rather than hiring willy-nilly to help the marketing department.
It wouldn't be so bad if there were some sort of guaranteed salary, but FSI IPs get paid only when they work (except for a select few). You don't fly, you don't eat. And by that point, you also have a monstrous student loan to pay back.
What the management is doing is really not fair. They make you sign an 800 hour contract and then make it practically impossible to fulfill it. If you leave early, you add to your loan payments.
I, and a few other IPs, really thought that FSI needed an IP union, but no one wanted to risk upsetting management and losing what little income we did have. Rumor had it that an attempt was made to organize a union at one time and the instigators were fired.
At this time, I would have to say that it is not a good idea to work at FSI. It is still a good school to earn the CFI license, but you would be better off to work somewhere else until they get things together.
A big selling point in the program is that you can work there after you get your CFI. They keep hiring so they can tell people that the CFI hiring program is still open.
The same thing happened post-9-11. They kept hiring IPs long after student starts dropped off. A few IPs got hired over the summer and they immediately started doing stan classes again.
They need to determine how many CFIs they actually need based on the student population rather than hiring willy-nilly to help the marketing department.
It wouldn't be so bad if there were some sort of guaranteed salary, but FSI IPs get paid only when they work (except for a select few). You don't fly, you don't eat. And by that point, you also have a monstrous student loan to pay back.
What the management is doing is really not fair. They make you sign an 800 hour contract and then make it practically impossible to fulfill it. If you leave early, you add to your loan payments.
I, and a few other IPs, really thought that FSI needed an IP union, but no one wanted to risk upsetting management and losing what little income we did have. Rumor had it that an attempt was made to organize a union at one time and the instigators were fired.
At this time, I would have to say that it is not a good idea to work at FSI. It is still a good school to earn the CFI license, but you would be better off to work somewhere else until they get things together.
pscraig
Well-Known Member
Any of you guys at FSI right now care to share some insight on what the near future holds? I had heard IPs were getting 40-50 hours a month; that's not too bad but 20 hours a month is a tragedy. My CFI gets more than that instructing only on Saturdays.
More to the point: Do you feel that FSI is making efforts to find jobs for grads and raise enrollment? Unless these two factors change there can be little hope for improvement.
More to the point: Do you feel that FSI is making efforts to find jobs for grads and raise enrollment? Unless these two factors change there can be little hope for improvement.
I don't think you can attend FSI with the hopes of instructing there - if it happens it's a bonus. But right now it seems we'd be better off planning on heading somewhere else after graduating. Who knows, maybe things will change by the time we go through. My question is, what if you put your name on the waiting list, and 8 months down the road when your number comes up, you have moved on to something better? Just wondering if you're burning a bridge there and destroying chances of instructing there, or if you would still have the option at a later date of working there. Any ideas?
Baronman
Well-Known Member
It's my understanding that when your number gets called, you have the option of deferring for 1 standardization class date. After that you've pretty much given up your spot, remember there are many more waiting behind you. I agree with this policy, it keeps things orderly.
Something you must keep in mind though about FBO's. The national average for getting a PPL is about 70 hours training part time. I was able to finish mine at FSI with just over 41 hours and in exactly 1 month flying time (just under two months total with ground school). If you figure out the prices for training part time using the national averages, the costs aren't a whole lot different.
FSI instructors are restricted to 40 hours per week. I know my IP has a hard time meeting this cap. She has to keep a detailed log of her hours worked to stay under the 40/week limit. Then again, she has three steady students and had four up until last week. But, on the other hand, FSI told her she had to give up one of her students b/c some IPs only have one or two.
pscraig
Well-Known Member
I wonder why there is such a disparity there. I suppose it's good that FSI gave one of her students to someone else though.
I did plan on instructing for FSI. My Plan B is to get my additional CFI ratings elsewhere (probably ATP) and come back home to instruct. I definitely want the CFI-A training from FSI though. We'll see (and hope) things recover soon. I hope my class (Jan) is a big one.
I did plan on instructing for FSI. My Plan B is to get my additional CFI ratings elsewhere (probably ATP) and come back home to instruct. I definitely want the CFI-A training from FSI though. We'll see (and hope) things recover soon. I hope my class (Jan) is a big one.
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