Instructor Report

A strong argument can be made that there is no more inherently entrepreneurial position in the world than that of the certificated flight instructor. As a CFI, the license to work resides with the individual, not the flight school. In fact, in the eyes of the FAA, an independent CFI who does not work for a flight school is a flight school of one. The upshot of that perspective is that each and every one of us who holds a current flight instructor certificate is a Part 61 flight school. That reality leaves us with a pertinent and nagging question: How well do we manage our business?

A CFI can have a profound impact on his own success, as well as the success of the school where he works. The primary factor that determines the prosperity of an early career is attitude. The ability to act on that attitude effectively is a secondary issue—fortunately, it is a skill that can be learned and improved over time. Just as it took practice to perfect stall recovery technique, the ability to be a truly effective and financially solvent flight instructor will require some thought, a bit of focus, and a continuous effort to achieve long-term goals.

The first step is to recognize our place in the big picture. A CFI is not just a teacher, he is also the leading salesperson on the team—whether it’s a team of one or 100 instructors all working for the same employer. The CFI is the contact point between a flight school and the customer. Accept that role for what it is in order to fill it well.

Now let’s be honest, most CFIs don’t have a burning desire to teach. The majority of CFIs harbor career goals that involve transitioning to larger, turbine-powered aircraft where there are fewer work days, larger paychecks, and benefits packages that seem almost unimaginable to the entry-level CFI. However, few of us ever benefit from a mentor who teaches us how to make the most of our time in the right seat of a training aircraft—or, more important, in the pilot’s lounge or wherever we spend our time between flight lessons. Consequently, we founder around as businesspeople, even if we have learned to be excellent instructors.

Clearly, salesmanship plays a role in the overall success of a CFI. We can let someone else take on that role, but it is us, the CFI, who suffers the consequences if someone else is less than stellar at drumming up new business. Alternatively, we can take the reins of our own careers and find new students on our own. If we take the latter approach, not only will the CFI benefit with new students, more flight hours in the logbook, and a more stable income—but the flight school we work for will come out ahead, too.

Even the student benefits when a CFI gets more personally involved with the operation he or she is a part of. Would you rather fly with a CFI who is motivated, active, cheerful, and enthusiastically embracing an opportunity to fly with you—or book time with the guy lying on the FBO couch who looks like he’s taken up residence there?

The most effective method of finding new students is to start with old students. Every flight school has students who fall out for some reason. They may have had a personal or professional conflict. Maybe they temporarily ran short of money. Maybe they became frustrated and needed more personalized attention than their instructor was giving them. There are myriad reasons a student may quit taking flight lessons. But that rarely means he no longer wants to learn to fly.

A good flight school keeps records of its students, including their progress toward whatever certificate or rating they were working on, as well as their contact information. A motivated CFI can make use of that information to bring back to the flight line students who dropped out of their training, helping them to accomplish their goals.

When I was a young flight instructor, newly hired by a flight school in Meriden, Connecticut, my first assignment was to rummage through the file cabinets and contact former students to see if I could encourage them to return to the cockpit. That certainly wasn’t the most glamorous assignment in the world. But by the end of my first week of calls I had a full schedule, and was logging time with my new students nearly every day.

Although it may seem at first to have nothing to do with flight instruction, public speaking ranks high on the list of things people are most afraid of. However, if you can overcome the butterflies in your belly, you can speak to Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops that not only have aviation merit badge requirements for their members, but also have members actively interested in flying. The same is true for Civil Air Patrol squadrons and Explorer Scouts. Those young people go home and share their excitement with their families—and those family members go to work and school, where they share those stories with friends and coworkers. Speaking with youth organizations, school groups, and civic clubs such as the Lions, Rotary, VFW, and Kiwanis all can lead to introductory flights and potential new students.

CFIs have far more opportunity than they may be aware of to enhance their flight time, increase their student load, and grow their income. They can noticeably improve the outlook for their flight school, too. The key is for the CFI to more fully understand their true role as teachers—teachers who also happen to be the most powerful and persuasive advocates in town for the benefits of aviation.

A strong argument can be made that there is no more inherently entrepreneurial position in the world than that of the certificated flight instructor. As a CFI, the license to work resides with the individual, not the flight school. In fact, in the eyes of the FAA, an independent CFI who does not work for a flight school is a flight school of one. The upshot of that perspective is that each and every one of us who holds a current flight instructor certificate is a Part 61 flight school. That reality leaves us with a pertinent and nagging question: How well do we manage our business?

A CFI can have a profound impact on his own success, as well as the success of the school where he works. The primary factor that determines the prosperity of an early career is attitude. The ability to act on that attitude effectively is a secondary issue—fortunately, it is a skill that can be learned and improved over time. Just as it took practice to perfect stall recovery technique, the ability to be a truly effective and financially solvent flight instructor will require some thought, a bit of focus, and a continuous effort to achieve long-term goals.

The first step is to recognize our place in the big picture. A CFI is not just a teacher, he is also the leading salesperson on the team—whether it’s a team of one or 100 instructors all working for the same employer. The CFI is the contact point between a flight school and the customer. Accept that role for what it is in order to fill it well.

Now let’s be honest, most CFIs don’t have a burning desire to teach. The majority of CFIs harbor career goals that involve transitioning to larger, turbine-powered aircraft where there are fewer work days, larger paychecks, and benefits packages that seem almost unimaginable to the entry-level CFI. However, few of us ever benefit from a mentor who teaches us how to make the most of our time in the right seat of a training aircraft—or, more important, in the pilot’s lounge or wherever we spend our time between flight lessons. Consequently, we founder around as businesspeople, even if we have learned to be excellent instructors.

Clearly, salesmanship plays a role in the overall success of a CFI. We can let someone else take on that role, but it is us, the CFI, who suffers the consequences if someone else is less than stellar at drumming up new business. Alternatively, we can take the reins of our own careers and find new students on our own. If we take the latter approach, not only will the CFI benefit with new students, more flight hours in the logbook, and a more stable income—but the flight school we work for will come out ahead, too.

Even the student benefits when a CFI gets more personally involved with the operation he or she is a part of. Would you rather fly with a CFI who is motivated, active, cheerful, and enthusiastically embracing an opportunity to fly with you—or book time with the guy lying on the FBO couch who looks like he’s taken up residence there?

The most effective method of finding new students is to start with old students. Every flight school has students who fall out for some reason. They may have had a personal or professional conflict. Maybe they temporarily ran short of money. Maybe they became frustrated and needed more personalized attention than their instructor was giving them. There are myriad reasons a student may quit taking flight lessons. But that rarely means he no longer wants to learn to fly.

A good flight school keeps records of its students, including their progress toward whatever certificate or rating they were working on, as well as their contact information. A motivated CFI can make use of that information to bring back to the flight line students who dropped out of their training, helping them to accomplish their goals.

When I was a young flight instructor, newly hired by a flight school in Meriden, Connecticut, my first assignment was to rummage through the file cabinets and contact former students to see if I could encourage them to return to the cockpit. That certainly wasn’t the most glamorous assignment in the world. But by the end of my first week of calls I had a full schedule, and was logging time with my new students nearly every day.

Although it may seem at first to have nothing to do with flight instruction, public speaking ranks high on the list of things people are most afraid of. However, if you can overcome the butterflies in your belly, you can speak to Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops that not only have aviation merit badge requirements for their members, but also have members actively interested in flying. The same is true for Civil Air Patrol squadrons and Explorer Scouts. Those young people go home and share their excitement with their families—and those family members go to work and school, where they share those stories with friends and coworkers. Speaking with youth organizations, school groups, and civic clubs such as the Lions, Rotary, VFW, and Kiwanis all can lead to introductory flights and potential new students.

CFIs have far more opportunity than they may be aware of to enhance their flight time, increase their student load, and grow their income. They can noticeably improve the outlook for their flight school, too. The key is for the CFI to more fully understand their true role as teachers—teachers who also happen to be the most powerful and persuasive advocates in town for the benefits of aviation.

A strong argument can be made that there is no more inherently entrepreneurial position in the world than that of the certificated flight instructor. As a CFI, the license to work resides with the individual, not the flight school. In fact, in the eyes of the FAA, an independent CFI who does not work for a flight school is a flight school of one. The upshot of that perspective is that each and every one of us who holds a current flight instructor certificate is a Part 61 flight school. That reality leaves us with a pertinent and nagging question: How well do we manage our business?

A CFI can have a profound impact on his own success, as well as the success of the school where he works. The primary factor that determines the prosperity of an early career is attitude. The ability to act on that attitude effectively is a secondary issue—fortunately, it is a skill that can be learned and improved over time. Just as it took practice to perfect stall recovery technique, the ability to be a truly effective and financially solvent flight instructor will require some thought, a bit of focus, and a continuous effort to achieve long-term goals.

The first step is to recognize our place in the big picture. A CFI is not just a teacher, he is also the leading salesperson on the team—whether it’s a team of one or 100 instructors all working for the same employer. The CFI is the contact point between a flight school and the customer. Accept that role for what it is in order to fill it well.

Now let’s be honest, most CFIs don’t have a burning desire to teach. The majority of CFIs harbor career goals that involve transitioning to larger, turbine-powered aircraft where there are fewer work days, larger paychecks, and benefits packages that seem almost unimaginable to the entry-level CFI. However, few of us ever benefit from a mentor who teaches us how to make the most of our time in the right seat of a training aircraft—or, more important, in the pilot’s lounge or wherever we spend our time between flight lessons. Consequently, we founder around as businesspeople, even if we have learned to be excellent instructors.

Clearly, salesmanship plays a role in the overall success of a CFI. We can let someone else take on that role, but it is us, the CFI, who suffers the consequences if someone else is less than stellar at drumming up new business. Alternatively, we can take the reins of our own careers and find new students on our own. If we take the latter approach, not only will the CFI benefit with new students, more flight hours in the logbook, and a more stable income—but the flight school we work for will come out ahead, too.

Even the student benefits when a CFI gets more personally involved with the operation he or she is a part of. Would you rather fly with a CFI who is motivated, active, cheerful, and enthusiastically embracing an opportunity to fly with you—or book time with the guy lying on the FBO couch who looks like he’s taken up residence there?

The most effective method of finding new students is to start with old students. Every flight school has students who fall out for some reason. They may have had a personal or professional conflict. Maybe they temporarily ran short of money. Maybe they became frustrated and needed more personalized attention than their instructor was giving them. There are myriad reasons a student may quit taking flight lessons. But that rarely means he no longer wants to learn to fly.

A good flight school keeps records of its students, including their progress toward whatever certificate or rating they were working on, as well as their contact information. A motivated CFI can make use of that information to bring back to the flight line students who dropped out of their training, helping them to accomplish their goals.

When I was a young flight instructor, newly hired by a flight school in Meriden, Connecticut, my first assignment was to rummage through the file cabinets and contact former students to see if I could encourage them to return to the cockpit. That certainly wasn’t the most glamorous assignment in the world. But by the end of my first week of calls I had a full schedule, and was logging time with my new students nearly every day.

Although it may seem at first to have nothing to do with flight instruction, public speaking ranks high on the list of things people are most afraid of. However, if you can overcome the butterflies in your belly, you can speak to Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops that not only have aviation merit badge requirements for their members, but also have members actively interested in flying. The same is true for Civil Air Patrol squadrons and Explorer Scouts. Those young people go home and share their excitement with their families—and those family members go to work and school, where they share those stories with friends and coworkers. Speaking with youth organizations, school groups, and civic clubs such as the Lions, Rotary, VFW, and Kiwanis all can lead to introductory flights and potential new students.

CFIs have far more opportunity than they may be aware of to enhance their flight time, increase their student load, and grow their income. They can noticeably improve the outlook for their flight school, too. The key is for the CFI to more fully understand their true role as teachers—teachers who also happen to be the most powerful and persuasive advocates in town for the benefits of aviation.