Best CFI jobs...
 

Hello all,

In the next couple of months I will have my CFI/CFII about 400TT and will be on the job hunt. I am ready and willing to go ANYWHERE in the world and instruct. Just looking for information on where the best jobs are, and the ones to stay away from. Thanks everyone.

You might want to rethink this statement. Where did you get your ratings? You may need to spend additional money to have your licenses transfered if you go to another country.

I recommend the school you got your CFI at for a bit. The reason I say this is there are still quite a few CFIs out there competing for jobs. You are a LOT more competitive with a few hundred hours of dual given as opposed to the wet CFI. Most schools like to hire their own first, then hire outside. Usually there isnt too much of a shortage to hire their own. Most schools if they hire outside are training academies and they want 100-200 hours dual given first OR a pat 61 school who wants a lifer.
Fortunately, the airlines have been hiring some of those CFIs who have 1000+ hours of dual given so the slack is starting to get picked up. Good luck on the CFI oral!

I recommend checking out Panorama Flight Service at KHPN. Last I knew there were some furloughed corporate pilots CFIing there but I think they are getting ready to go back to their fancy jets soon.

Transpac aviation academy in Phoenix. Great pay, students, and planes

Fsa
 

Look at Flight Safety Academy in Vero Beach Florida. Great place to build quality time. After a year or two, you are given the opportunity at one of the FSI sim centers as a First Officer. This allows you to "rub shoulders" with the clients and possibly get a job with that company....if you are looking to go the corporate / frac route.

Good luck:cool:

Are they hiring? Do you know anything about what it's like to work there?

Become your local cirrus/cessna 400 (previously Columbia) guru. Sure single engine piston time only gets you so far, but I was able to make $50/hr or $500/day instructing in those aircraft. Also, the people who fly these aircraft often use it as a springboard to get into turboprops and light jets, so you might find some additional opportunities there. As your clients move up you may be able to as well...as long as you meet insurance requirements.

IASCO has two training centers. One in Napa and one in Redding. I used to work at the Napa location. It was much much better then (I was making 60k a year salary working 30hrs a week). The JAL contract went away and now they have Chinese contracts. Still, I think it's around 34-40K per year. The management is very good and you will get a lot of hours in well-maintained airplanes.... Good luck!

Bellanca,

Cirrus is very organized with their CSIP program and many insurance companies do require policy holders to fly with CSIPs. I've recently come into contact with an insurance company that requires cirrus owners to fly with a CSIP every 6 months. Crazy! Cessna, however, is not nearly as organized and do not have a designation similar to the cirrus CSIP. You might also have luck with cirrus owners who are the 2nd or 3rd owner of the aircraft. Often times these owners will insure their aircraft with companies that do not require the CSIP designation. Also, you may find a school that will allow you to teach in cirrus aircraft under their CSIP until you get you 250 hrs dual given. Plenty of options.

Great students??? Haha..

FIT Aviation at Florida Tech in Melbourne Florida just sent an email to alumni saying that they are looking. $21/hr starting... Free tuition if you want a degree. It was a great place to work when i was there, but disclaimer, that was 6+ years ago.

This is a good piece of advise! I did that and there were plenty of perks teaching people in that! If you can convince a rich student to buy a cirrus and have him let you go to the factory training you can become a CSIP and enjoy all the benefits associated! It's a small niche but you can charge way more than the average cfi! Thank the insurance companies for that!

FIT in Melbourne, FL is currently hiring Instructors. $23/hr if you have all three Instructor ratings. Lots of students and lots of flying.

...It's still a great place to work, just started recently and am very happy with my experience so far.

I wonder if anybody will hire an instructor that only has an MEI, no CFI?

How does that work, isn't the MEI is an add-on to a CFI?

Always do your research before going to work for a flight school. I always found it easier to be an employee than an independent contractor. Both have their benefits. See how many people are walking through the door, or how often do the instructors fly and planes go out. Nothing like sitting all day behind a counter. And how many schools are at the airport or how many instructors work at the school. Just more people to split the pie.

I will agree, where you got your CFI or did a majority of your training will paint the best picture for you. You know the aircraft, staff, and management...and maintainence. ;) If you have your MEI, will the school let you teach in it with "X" amount of multi if they have a twin.

Just my two cents. Anyone else care to add to that list? Either way you will learn so much as a CFI. Good Luck!

At the ATP flight school you get ur MEI then CFII and then CFI in the cessna 172, that's cause u need to have a complex airplane for a commercial and cfi checkride and seminole is the only complex plane they got. So they do their multi commercial first and then add-on single to their commercial and it's the same way on CFI course, MEI first then add-on single to the CFI. So with an MEI only u cannot instruct in a single engine airplane.

For instance - if you had instructed in T-44s in the military.
With the Mil Comp, you would get a MEII - no CFI since you had not instructed in a single engine aircraft.

USMCFLYR

I know you usually have to pay your dues instructing single before getting ME students but there is an instructor shortage in FL, so maybe it is possible to bypass the single at a larger school that has enough CFIs.

Any other flight schools/FBOs currently hiring CFI/CFIIs?

Spartan School of Aeronautics......

New Kent Aviation, LLC near Richmond, Virginia. No multi's though.

Parks College at Saint Louis University is hiring

I'm currently lookin for CFI/CFII work. These folks still hiring?

still hiring?

Aero Sim
 

What have do you guys know or think about Aerosim Flight Academy?

TransPac is always hiring.

I was thinking of applying there too. Can't find the pay scale anywhere :confused:

Lufthansa ATCA in Goodyear, AZ is hiring. Not looking for newly-minted CFI's, but if you have hundreds of hours of instruction they might need you. Here is what the website (Lufthansa Airline Training Center, Arizona) says:

We are currently recruiting experienced CFI’s, with a demonstrated passion for flying and flight instruction.

Our hiring minimums are as follows:

oClass 1 medical
oCPL, CFI, CFII
oMinimum flight times:
§500 PIC
§200 Flight Instruction given
§200 Instrument Instruction **

** (Any instruction given towards an instrument rating, instrument instruction given in a simulator (max. 50 hours), any night instruction given, any instruction given towards private pilot where the student is under the hood or receiving instruction in the use of radio navigation equipment)

An ideal candidate possesses:

o 1000 hours of recent Flight Instructor experience
o Enthusiasm in pursuit of long term employment as a Flight Instructor
o Experience as a crewmember in an airline type environment
o Demonstrates thorough understanding of aerodynamics


We offer a comprehensive compensation package with a competitive salary, 401(k), medical and health benefits, reduced fare flight privileges.

Please submit a cover letter and resume to the Flight Operations department.

mailto:[email protected]?subject=Job Application

The IRS has ruled that it is ILLEGAL for an established flight school to consider a flight instructor an independent contractor and provide them with a 1099 at the end of the year. The IRS has a list of questions on their website that determines whether you are an employee or contractor.
Short list: if the school is providing the airplane, the student, and the office you're an employee and they have to tax you and take out FICA.

I owned a 91 school in Michigan in 1996 for a number of years and every instructor was an employee. However, when I started working as a CFI in 1991 I received a 1099 as an independent contractor. One of the other instructors turned in the school since he didn't like the tax bill at the end of the year. The IRS gave them a warning to be followed by a fine. A lot of schools label CFIs contractors to avoid taxes and workers comp insurance; the IRS either never finds out or is too short-staffed to deal with the problem. Unlike an electrician/plumber, etc. that provides their own tools and works by the job, a CFI is "scheduled" by the school. Be weary of a school that says you're a contractor.

From the IRS website:

People such as doctors, dentists, veterinarians, lawyers, accountants, contractors, subcontractors, public stenographers, or auctioneers who are in an independent trade, business, or profession in which they offer their services to the general public are generally independent contractors. However, whether these people are independent contractors or employees depends on the facts in each case. The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if the payer has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not what will be done and how it will be done. The earnings of a person who is working as an independent contractor are subject to Self-Employment Tax.

If you are an independent contractor, you are self-employed. To find out what your tax obligations are, visit the Self-Employed Tax Center.

You are not an independent contractor if you perform services that can be controlled by an employer (what will be done and how it will be done). This applies even if you are given freedom of action. What matters is that the employer has the legal right to control the details of how the services are performed.

Here's the form to determine contractor or employee. When you start answering the questions you'll see the CFI is an employee.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fss8.pdf

You too were once a student.:)

I currently instruct at KIWS, West Houston Airport, in Houston, TX. Both myself and a fellow CFI are leaving. I got hired on with Skywest. We need CFI's. Atleast 3.

CFI/CFII needed but an MEI is nice.
Base pay of 7.25/hr plus 15hr for both flight and ground instruction.
Health insurance, I think I pay 16/mo.

Started working there with a wet CFI ticket and 217 hrs 23 months ago. Have 1800 hours now. So you fly a lot. My W-2 last year was 36k for 11 months of work. For a CFI thats pretty damn good. Students come to you.

Equipment wise you can not get much better.
1979 B-55 Baron
1978 F33C Aerobatic Bonanza
Both of these are the airport owners personal planes and are babied.

6 172S (3 G1000, 3 Steam) 3 of the planes have A/C
Redbird FMX full motion sim.
plus the ability to fly many of the customer owned airplanes. I do a lot of pilot services. Great networking. just in the last 3 months two CFI's left to fly corporate out of the same airport.

Houston Airport, Airport Houston Texas, Aircraft Rental, West Houston Airport

Why don't you try ATCA Arizona or even IFTA Bakersfield. They are well paid. IFTA is not currently hiring.

Is there any chance to move up within the company? I see that it is owned by Lufthansa. Is there any chance to actually fly for Lufthansa?
Is the pay really that good?
Do they like candidates with degrees?

I think ATCA pay starts out around 35K and moves up from there. From what I've heard its a pretty good place to work for a professional CFI. There is no multi instruction given in the U.S., so it may not be the best place to work if your looking at heading to an airline down the road. The single engine work is preformed in the US, and they transition to the multi-engine and airline training in Germany.

Lufthansa Airline requires EU citizenship, German BA degree, speak German fluently (aptitude tests are done in German), and have a JAA license.

Lufthansa ATCA starts at about 45K after training. Training takes about two months, this has to be completed to be certified by the Luftfahrtbundesamt (LBA, our FAA equivalent) with a special permit to instruct JAA students. Company and LBA checkrides come at the end of the training program. Pay is approximately 40K annual rate during training. Salary currently tops out at 70K after 10 years (could reach that 3-4 years sooner depending on how many hours of instruction given you currently have), plus company matching contribution to 401K, health, life, and pretty good vacation program (I've got 3 weeks now after being here not quite 4 years). Not too much turnover, but we will be hiring and expanding this year. See my above post for details.
If you want to fly for Lufthansa, it is correct that you have to have a JAA license, authorization to work in the EU, and speak fluent German.

Horizon Flight Center in SE Virginia is looking to hire a few flight instructors
Part 141 flight school with VA and foreign approval.