Flight instructors are possibly the least-paid professionals known, which I think is asinine. Many instructors, myself included, have invested not only $10,000 or more in licenses and ratings, but have a college education and/or degree as well. I find the average price nationally for flight instruction (quoted at $25.50 in the above-mentioned article) not only absurd, but a shame. This price is fifty cents more than I charge for my professional services, and I still have potential clients complain about the "ridiculous prices some flight schools are trying to charge." How much per hour do these people pay their attorneys, doctors, accountants, plumbers, golf instructors, etc.?
Let's realize that most flight instructors are not making $25.50 per hour but the company they work for is charging this. How much is a flight instructor earning? Many instructors are paid only for the time they fly. What about the ground instruction (pre- and post-flight briefings, logbook endorsements, supervised preflight inspections, phone conversations, etc.) which many times is overlooked during billing, charged at a lower rate, or not expected to be billed? My attorney and accountant don't bat an eye at charging me for every ticking minute on the phone, for every minute I use of their time in their office, and for every photocopy made, etc.
The article mentioned the reported annual incomes of the student respondents ($41,000 and greater than $75,000) but failed to report the annual income of their instructors. As if that weren't bad enough, flight instructors and flight schools around the nation are now expected to have the latest high-tech equipment outlined in the "High-Tech Approaches" article - CD-ROM ground school courses and PCATDs (PC too), GPS, flat-panel-display-equipped (new) airplanes and facilities which "?resemble a corporate office park or a modern, high-end fixed-base operator rather than a contemporary flight school with its traditional "rumpus room decor." (This was especially irritating considering a typical small flight school).
These two articles contrasted so drastically. How frustrating it is to be a licensed professional with thousands of dollars invested in a career that pays about minimum wage for more-than-full-time work, who is facing customers who demand or expect the latest technological advances in the aviation industry and corporate office park facilities. The two concepts clash drastically.
The bottom line solution is for CFIs and their employers - raise your rates to reflect the professional services the CFI is providing.
On a related issue, here's some food for thought. What are these same people (students with money to spend) paying to rent snowmobiles, horses, jet skis, etc. and what are the operating costs of these machines in comparison to the average 20-year-old aviation training fleet flight schools maintain? No wonder we don't have fancy facilities, fancy new airplanes, and big salaries!
Thank you for your consideration and thank you for your articles. Despite my disagreements, I very much enjoy Flight Training. Please continue to encourage professionalism in the industry and work with us (CFIs) to encourage professional treatment and standards.
Rilla Epling, CFI and flight school owner
Jumpers away
Although I don't advocate people jumping out of airplanes, parachuting doesn't seem to be inherently dangerous nowadays with all the new safety features and instructional programs. However, Amy Laboda makes a good point in her December article, "Dropping In," when she says, "avoid airports where skydiving is taking place."
It seems every time I turn around or listen to Unicom, I hear about a parachute school being formed at a nearby airport or I hear "Jumpers Away!" I don't have a problem with a parachute school being held on any field, but I do have a problem with parachute jumpers landing at any airport. Most people don't realize what kind of economic effect this has when a landing site is formed at an airport.
Airports are valuable assets and provide jobs, taxes, and most of all promote the industry. Most small county airports struggle to make any profit year round; and when you add parachute landing to that struggling business, it is a recipe for disaster because transient airplanes tend to avoid the airport. Furthermore, jet traffic will more than likely divert to a different airport because of the risk factor of hitting a jumper. I'm in full agreement with those pilots, and I think it is unsafe and an unnecessary risk to have a jump site located on the field, or anywhere in the vicinity of an airport.
Kathryn L. Zelnar
And the winner is?
For years I've entered the reader service card gift-of-the-month drawing, but I've never seen the names of the winners printed in the magazine. Is it a real contest, and can you tell me how I can know who's the winner?
Sui Lam
Flight Training's gift-of-the-month is a real contest, and we pick winners monthly. You make a good point about naming the winners, and in addition to the list of recent winners that follows, we're redesigning the gift-of-the-month description to include the winner of each month's drawing.
5/96 issue - Stefan Kwee, Greenville, SC; Jeppesen Private Pilot Test Prep Video Set
6/96 issue - Rachel April, Boston, MA; AVCOMM AC-200 Headset
7/96 issue - Steve Pylypiw, Crystal Lake, IL; CH Products Virtual Pilot Pro
8/96 issue - Paul Krause, Los Angeles, CA; IFT Pro by Flight Deck Software
9/96 issue - Wes Padilla, Placentia, CA; King Schools METAR/TAF Made Easy video
10/96 issue - Guy Rosenschein, Brooklyn NY; David Clark Model H20-10 headset
11/96 issue - S.A. Madaus, Winthrop Harbor, IL; Gulf Coast Avionics GCA-6T headset
12/96 issue - Gregg Stultz, Florissant, MO; Jeppesen MentorPlus Flitestar
1/97 issue - Harry Jordanides, Indianapolis, IN; King Schools METAR/TAF Made Easy Video
2/97 issue - Jeff Concheff, Colorado Springs, CO; Pilot Avionics Pilot Cadet children's headset
3/97 issue - David Crusoe, Phoenix, AZ; ASA HS-1 Headset
4/97 issue - Randall Koontz, Savannah GA; Flightcom IIsx Intercom.
5/97 issue - Adam Rosen, New Rochelle, NY; Jeppesen TechStar Pro
6/97 issue - Bob Chapin, Springfield, VA; AVCOMM AC250 child's headset
International ownership
Just a friendly note about a minor error in Amy Laboda's fine article on international flight planning in the March issue. Laboda said pilots need written permission to fly a rental airplane to a foreign destination, and said that the permission should come from the FBO. That's true only if the FBO actually owns the rental airplane. If - as is the case sometimes - an individual owns an airplane and leases it to the FBO, permission to fly the airplane out of the country must come from the person named on the aircraft registration. Otherwise, the local authorities will scratch their collective head and say, "uh, these don't match."
Kevin Murphy
Touch and go revelations
I just finished reading the March issue that arrived the other day and once again was reminded of why I continue to subscribe. This month's issue contained an essay by Leslie G. Miller entitled "Touch and Go: Revelations on the Runway" which beautifully revealed some of the same feelings I've had since I began to fly. When she said, "You love to fly as much as you love to breathe," it put it perfectly. Since I took up flying about five years ago, I too feel blessed every time my own feet do their dance upon the pedals, I ease the stick back and feel myself leaving the ground. Thanks, Leslie, for a wonderfully written piece and thanks to the editors of Flight Training for publishing it.
Pete Muir
Phonetic madness
Here's a story I wrote while studying for my written exam. I memorized the alphabet in a few hours after writing this and although it's rather silly I thought I'd submit it so perhaps others could find a new way to remember the phonetic alphabet.
Brave Charlie ate alfalfa before flying Delta. Memories of his vegetarian girlfriend, Juliet echoed throughout his mind. She loved to foxtrot but he preferred golf. They once vacationed to India and stayed in a beautiful hotel. Charlie's friend, Mike from Lima was arrested for carrying one kilo last November. His papa, Oscar, bailed him out and now he's starting clean in Quebec. Mike's brother, Romeo, lives in the Sierra Mountains where he teaches the tango in tuxedo uniform. His uncle, Victor, loves whiskey but xrays show liver damage. He's a diehard Yankee and will never stop 'til he's put in a "zoo-lu."
Carol A. Foster
Sky Highway Inc.
Camden Air Ltd.
Camden, South Carolina
via the Internet
via the Internet
Oxford, Iowa
New York, New York
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