Originally Posted by
geosync
I know of a couple of CFIs at a very busy part 61 flying club in California that have been doing quite well. Of course they have CFI, II, MEI, tailwheel, so they basically take all comers, 6 days a week. Their current rate is $55-60/hr at 50 hours a week, and they'll take maybe 2 weeks of vacation a year. So it's one HELL of a grind, but they're doing well. I know this is true because I've been threatening to get my CFI and have been checking their club schedule regularly for the past 2 years to see how well they're doing. I finally asked them about it and they said "yeah we're doing ok and we could use the help". And we're talking career instructors, people who love flying bugsmashers with some charter work here and there, they have no desire to go the airline route. Now, I do think this is an exception, not the norm, but with the right mix of factors- student flow, good airplanes, all your instructor ratings, you can do pretty well.
All very true, plus you can easily take some 3 day weekends here and there. Also true is that many of those students would not even consider the $20 or even $30 an hour instructor. Many of these students, accomplished and successful, figure you get what you pay for, hence your rate determining your worth in their view. Many students wonder why the rate isn't even higher. Typically these type students want and expect top notch instruction and are willing to pay for it. However anyone thinking of working with the type of client/student that pays these rates better be very good at what they do and make the students success a top priority. I would also caution that it would normally take a couple thousand hours of instruction, a Gold Seal CFI, and having built a superior reputation to think of attempting this. BTW, some of these instructors charge $100 an hour and don't have a great deal of difficulty getting it. This same deal applies to other pilot compensation as well. A friend just hired a pilot for her King Air. She got it down to two guys. One wanted $350 a day, the other wanted $450 a day plus expenses. She went with the higher... She said "If things start going bad, I want the 450 guy!"