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How much do flight instructors actually earn?

I sometimes consider the idea of flight instructing as a post retirement career. How much does a flight instructor actually earn at an established school, assuming full time availability ? Are there big differences between UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, etc… is there a shortage of instructors? Are schools hiring?

My wife and I are quite mobile—I can imagine moving from country to country every 2-3 years—it might be a nice supplement to savings… or maybe not.

Last Edited by WhiskeyPapa at 15 Aug 14:31
Tököl LHTL

Freelance instructors who work in our club are mostly between $60 and $80 per hour. The club doesn’t take a cut, so that goes straight to them. That said, of course they don’t get any benefits either.

From what I’ve heard (and note that people don’t talk about money openly here, so it might be deceiving) instructors get around 50-60 francs per hour in Zurich. I heard that there is currently shortage of instructors so schools were even willing to pay partly the training for those who are not FIs yet but that might be quite a temporary situation. As a contrast, I wanted to do the training two or three years ago and then nobody wanted to even say they might give me any hours after I was done.

LSZH, LSZF, Switzerland

172driver wrote:

The club doesn’t take a cut, so that goes straight to them.

Here the club charges 90, keeps 30-40 and the rest goes to the instructor. Then come social insurances, etc.

LSZH, LSZF, Switzerland

I’m not sure, but I remember a flight instructor discussing that if he got his multi instructor rating, he would be able to make 30-someking K (GBP). He said that as if it was a good salary. Good way to put one off instructing!

I only do freelance instructing (CRI) and generally charge 30/h + transportation costs (which is normally zero (cycle) or train). Student usually pays lunch and I might pay for a drink. It’s more for the symbolysm, and so that other instructors don’t complain I “undermine” the market.

For friends it’s free.

Noe wrote:

I remember a flight instructor discussing that if he got his multi instructor rating, he would be able to make 30-someking K (GBP). He said that as if it was a good salary

It’s more than the median household income in the UK!

It’s all relative….

EGLM & EGTN

In terms of “market”, France is dotted with many clubs where (in the few clubs I know) the instructors are unpaid volunteers, or paid so “symbolically” that it is not considered income. So actual paid work will happen in real commercial schools, or at least with “higher up” stuff like turboprops, maybe IR, etc.

ELLX

Noe wrote:

I’m not sure, but I remember a flight instructor discussing that if he got his multi instructor rating, he would be able to make 30-someking K (GBP). He said that as if it was a good salary. Good way to put one off instructing!

I’d say £30k-something is pretty good, considering the position in the career progression (although not very good when you consider how much money you had to spend to get to that point!). Certainly higher than most jobs that don’t require any academic qualifications post-GCSE. It’s also almost twice the amount required to sponsor a spouse on a spouse visa.

Last Edited by alioth at 15 Aug 15:42
Andreas IOM

is there a shortage of instructors? Are schools hiring?

Yes and yes. Like in all professions you need to pay your dues progressing from PPL through CPL to MEP/IR.

Most integrated ATPL shops are considering sponsoring their SEP instructors through the MEP qualification.

While you are paying your dues assume closer to £25k pa at least in the UK.

The higher packages, not in Europe, is to be a DPE contractor or EASA CPL examiner attached to a US ATPL school where the exam fee is $500. Typically doing 2 or 3 check rides a day working around 240 days a year.

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

RobertL18C wrote:

The higher packages, not in Europe, is to be a DPE contractor or EASA CPL examiner attached to a US ATPL school where the exam fee is $500. Typically doing 2 or 3 check rides a day working around 240 days a year.

Looking at the price lists, the FAA DPEs in europe musn’t be making a bad living either

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