Dimme wrote:
Since it’s not a secret, they get 42 EUR per airborne hour before taxes. Something like (depends on the total income) 33 EUR per airborne hour in the pocket.
Our instructors get ≈EUR 60 / block hour (also not a secret).
When I did my PPL in France in 2007, the instructors were paid €30 per day travelling expenses. How profitable this is would depend how far away you live 
The club charged €15 per hour extra for instruction, so sometimes would lose money if the instructor only did a few circuits, or was there to send a student away solo. €30 isn’t a fortune, but four afternoons a week is a nice little earner on the side (half the SMIC [minimum wage] at the time). It was paid into the flying account, so essentially free flying, with the option to be paid in ‘real’ money. Assuming the club makes a small profit on the flying hours, it actually cost a bit less than €30. They were instructing because they wanted to, not to get rich
I’ve been caught a couple of times in the US, where e.g. the instructor says “lets wash the plane quickly” or “take your time with the paperwork, I’ll be back in 15 minutes” and I get charged $40 per hour for the privilege. They’re young with low income and maybe ATP debts, so they’re making sure they get paid for the gaps between students. I’d do the same in their shoes
Peter wrote:
instructing for almost nothing
The same happens at gliding clubs (here in the UK too).
my IR “freelance” instructor / examiner (well, he didn’t examine me, but you get the gist) charged 300 / day.
In the US, I’ve paid 90 / 140 per hour (with the instructor, not airbourne). But that was in the NYC (princeston / white plains) area, so probably as expensive as it gets. On the other hand, the nice DPE charged me 50 USD for my 61.75, vs having to do a ton of paperwork to go to the FSDO for free (they are afraid of foreigners going into their precious “federal building”). He was flabbergasted when I talked to him about the prices (of a 61.75) in europe
Since it’s not a secret, they get 42 EUR per airborne hour before taxes. Something like (depends on the total income) 33 EUR per airborne hour in the pocket.
I don’t have data for current FIs but in 2000/2001 down here they were on £10/day plus ~£20/hr when flying. Nearly all were building hours, while checking the airline adverts and any female students (2 students got pregnant and one FI had to vanish after going too far down the “Epstein” route).
Freelance IR examiners (IRE/CRR etc) can earn more e.g. mine is about £250. That is for the IR, IMCR, PPL, NPPL. But I reckon that takes him most of the day; he might possibly squeeze in something small elsewhere. A lot of form filling. Also he pays the CAA ~£6000/year for his various licenses, so that is something to bear in mind before embarking on this.
In the FAA system, nobody in the instruction/examiner pipeline pays the FAA anything, annually.
In some countries e.g. France there is a culture of instructing for almost nothing; maybe expenses. Sometimes the club paid for your FI ground school, so you have to “pay that back”.
I paid € 90,00 per flighthour to my IR instructor in Germany. Guess I overpaid then… Had fun anyway!
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
The DPE I know best is a corporate pilot flying a G550 10 days on, 10 days off… but he doesn’t object to doing a few $500!check rides in his downtime, and even some occasional instruction when it seems right. For a while until recently he was tired of travel and was a local simulator instructor to keep the bills paid. After a while he got hungry
Noe wrote:
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.
Our thinking is almost identical. I do £25ph flight time, £15ph briefing and £20ph on the sim, for exactly the same thinking as yours.
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 
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.
