CFI time building
 

Hi,

Can anyone tell me on average how long it may take to build 1200-1500hrs as a CFI? Starting point will be about 250-300hrs after finishing CPL and CFI training.

Depends on where you work and how many students you have. My CFI has 15 students, works just about every day, and is getting well over 100 hours a month.

I did 1,200 hours in 12 months. It's definitely doable. Keep in mind that flying 5-6 hours per day means you're probably at the flight school for 10-12 hours because of pre/post briefings with students, preflights, etc. And, you likely can't fly every day of the month due to weather or maintenance issues.

If you are trying to build time as fast as possible, I highly recommend going to a flight school with a lot of international students. Schools that cater to international students probably have a lower hourly wage, but you'll end up making more because there are lots of readily available students for you--meaning that you don't have to go out and recruit your own students.

Another trick to increase your flight time per month is trying to get as many instrument students as possible and flying at night. You don't have to compete with other students/instructors for airplanes because nobody else wants to fly at night, the airspace is much less congested meaning that you can do nearly any approach you want, and in some cases, the weather is better at night.

Thanks for the info. I'm guessing Miami would be the best place since most international students go there.

On another note, do any 135 operations take F.Os with 250-300 hrs? I know some take you at 500, but is 500 the minimum?

There are also some places in Texas and California with large international student populations.

I'm pretty sure you can get on with Ameriflight on their E120 at 500 hours. Same thing for PlaneSense. Honestly, you'll accumulate hours much faster as a CFI than doing the 135 stuff.

Historically all the southern states from California to Florida are flight Training states. Miami area you’ll be severely handicapped if you don’t speak Spanish.
It’s hard to find but the info is somewhere on the FAA website (screwy search engine) but California and Florida battle yearly for the top spot as far as certificates and Medicals issued.

May I jump onto this thread and add a question in regards to pay as a CFI. While I know you get paid when flying, do you get paid for the groundschool time and briefings as well? I only have 800 hours to go to get to my minimums to go to the regional airlines but with a family to support I wonder if I'll be able to do CFI full-time.

Any decent flight academy pays you for both ground and flight time. If you're looking for somewhere to apply, US Aviation Academy in Texas is hiring.

Thank you Kingsnake2! I'm not ready yet but I'll check them out when ready. Glad to hear they are paid on ground-schooling.

If you come across a school that doesn’t pay for Ground school then walk away. Your time and experience is worth money.