Chief Flight Instructor vs. Flight Instructor
 

I'm currently flight instructing at a part 61 flight school. The Chief Flight Instructor is directly instructing students. Is this right?

How can a regular flight instructor compete with a chief flight instructor. When given a choice the student is clearly going to pick the chief.

Curious?

I don't know how it would normally work, but I remember way back in the day where I started to train the Chief Instructor doled out students to the 'regular' flight instructors. He was also the one to fly with students on the phase checks and basically was suppose to keep the instructors standardized.

I'm curious to see what other profession flight instructors have to say about this situation.

USMCFLYR

This sounds like a question of size? What is the size of the flight school you are at? The flight school I am instructing at is small and the Chief Flight Instructor also instructs full time as well. That is simply a matter of business and size. We do not have enough CFI's or students for him to have the role solely as the "chief."

I would agree thought, that under the circumstances of a larger school, a chief instructor should deal with standardization and proficiency checks.

I agree with this post as often times its a business and numbers decision. I'm the chief at a smaller 61 school and I a large chunk of the school's training. This is primarily to keep myself busy enough to help make the company money so they can afford to keep me full time. When it comes time to assigning students we look at how full my roster is vs how regular the student will be and what the odds of them completing are. If it is someone that is a floater or an irregularly scheduling student more often then not it will be flowed down to one of my other instructors.

How can a regular flight instructor compete with any more senior instructor? When given a choice the student is clearly going to pick the more senior one.

Hopefully it's not as clear as that.

For a Part 61 school, a "chief" CFI has no official FAA role. He is really just an effort for the flight school to broadcast a more professional image and, as others have said, has a role that varies with the size and other aspects of the operation.

"I'm currently flight instructing at a part 61 flight school. The Chief Flight Instructor is directly instructing students. Is this right?"

Yes. If they are on a salary or rely on the job to feed their families, then they have to stay busy. They are the top dog and seniority is everything in Aviation.

"How can a regular flight instructor compete with a chief flight instructor. When given a choice the student is clearly going to pick the chief."

You can't compete with a Chief Instructor if it's the Chief Instructor who assigns students. If the school assigns students, then you should probably talk to them about it.

At the school I instruct at, I usually get assigned a student if it's busy enough. But if the student flow slows down, I need to get out there and get my own customers in. Otherwise, I'd have an open schedule during the winter months. Same with you. Don't rely on the school to keep handing you students. Getting your name out there and meeting future pilots is part of the game.

Best of luck.

Maybe it is a function of size as others have mentioned, but if it is a big enough school to have a "Chief Instructor", AND that person is salaried, then it would sound to me like that person would have other duties as Chief Pilot to keep themselves busy with generating business and bringing in students. Since the *regular* insturctors are getting paid by the flight hour, then they should be pushed students in my opinion.
I had similar thing happen to me recently. Only one flight available and the full time guy (salaried) gave it to me since I got paid by the flight hour.
I do agree though with pilot1278 - you ought to always be looking for potential student/clients and always network!

USMCFLYR

As a former part 141 chief CFI, I got stuck with all the students no one else could teach. That sucked. I did get a lot of multi-engine students though. :D

Yeah - that happened with the experienced instructors (or the standardization pilot in each phase) in the military too. That was always fun to have one of the other guys come up to you and say "we've had some problems with....." or "watch out for...." :eek:
But that is why the "Chief" gets paid the big bucks right? :p

USMCFLYR

x2

In 61 the chief is just another dude...how much he flies depends on how much other stuff he has to do, how much he gets paid for not flying, and how badly he needs the flight time.

If he's airline bound, why would he sit at a desk all day for fast food wages and let junior people pad their resumes at his expense...that's not why he's their.

Better get used to it, same thing will happen at the airlines...you will be on reserve on Xmas while senior people get paid more to fly less, and still be home with their families.