CFI Pay Question
 

Hi all,

Out of curiosity, I was wondering if you instruct at an FBO or Flight School, what do you make per hour, and do you still get paid at all for a flight that gets cancelled due to maintenance reasons?

Thanks!

I suppose I'll start...$14.25/hr and no pay for Mx cancellations.

I got paid $11.00/hr for my first CFI gig doing Pt. 61 instruction at an FBO. This was a few years ago. I only lasted 6 months and moved on to another FBO in a different state doing Pt. 61 & 141 instruction. I started at $16.50/hr there for ground/flight instruction, scenic flights, MX flights, etc. We also got paid $8.50/hr for paperwork, talking to walk-in students, meetings, etc. I did some Simulator instruction as a contract CFI for an aviation college and got paid $25/hr for doing that. We didn't get paid for MX cancellations.

The bottom line is, CFI pays sucks. Flight Schools charging $50/hr, while the CFI doing all the work is only getting between $10-$20/hr. To make money as a CFI, you need to work at a school teaching foreign students (TransPac, IASCO, etc.)

I made no less than $20/hr back in the '80's. How did it get so low now?

I work at a flight school just north of Tampa, FL and we get payed $22hr for day flights and ground school and $27 for night flights.. We are a 141 school with mostly foreign students.

2004-2005 I made $20/hr for private, $22/hr for instrument students flying C152's and 172's(old ones). No pay for non ground/flying activities. I did supplement pay by working in the shop for $8/hr and helping the mechanic's with 100hr's etc..

I had 120hrs dual given prior to that job, but even zero-time CFI would've gotten that there, all part 91 small FBO, detroit area.

$30/hour.....contractor basis.

I make $20/hr ground and flight, this is about half what the school charges for my time. No pay for cancellations of any kind. No free flight time to get/stay landing or instrument current. Currency is on our own dollar.

Pretty much any compensation increases that were in the works got killed coincidentally at the time the regionals stopped hiring. :rolleyes:

Base pay was $12 with a $2 raise each for CFII and MEI and any FAA Safety Seminars attended. Max of $25/hr, flight/ground. No mx cancellation pay.

From 17.50 to 27.00 based upon hours worked, there are a couple pay grades in between those numbers based upon hours also. Thats for basic flight training. 2 more per hour for anything beyond private, and finally 15 for ground and sim. Pretty complicated but also pretty good pay.

P.S. No money for Mx cancellations :(

I charge $125 an hour for flight, ground, sim, or consulting time.

I probably take home about $0.10 per hour worked.

While we don't charge for maintenance cancellations, depending on how it was discovered, there might be a ground time bill for some portion of the process leading up to said cancellation. The before flight instruction, the preflight inspection, taxiing, obtaining mechanic 2nd opinion, and obtaining maintenance processes are all learning opportunities and one's certificates are at risk for it.