The different types of Flight Instructors and how they make the difference Is FI(H) a Good Way to Build Helicopter Hours? There are 2 types of instructors out there. Those who want to teach and pass on their knowledge and those that want hours in their logbook – which would you prefer? The helicopter industry is a strange business… You work all the way to your up to Commercial Helicopter Pilot, spent all the money you have, and congratulations you can now fly for “money and reward”. But…. You have 200 hours, usually in a small single engine helicopter, with no real-world experience. Lots of commercial helicopter companies have insurance requirements that demand a minimum total hours of 500, 700, 1000 hours or more. Most of the flying in the helicopter world is single pilot, so without the experience and hours you cannot get employed, but you cannot get the hours because you don’t have the experience. Welcome to the helicopter industry's version of Catch-22. You could go for a Twin IR(H), only another €100,000 and go for a co-pilot in the twin market. But what you really want is to build hours quickly and cheaply so you can move onto a “proper job”. “I’ll become a Flight Instructor” In EASA, you need 250 hours total time, the course minimums are 30 hours flying, 125-hour theory so with your CPL you’re almost there, and it is much cheaper than the IR(H) Option! This means that the industry has 2 types of instructors out there FI Collector – WIIIFM’s What’s in it for me? They skip ground school, rush briefings – they do not get paid for that, so of no interest to them. They over fly the student – when the lesson should end early around 40 minutes, they keep pushing them another 30 minutes on top. Is the student learning? NO! But my logbook is getting bigger! They have one goal – regardless of students – HOURS!! Once they reach the magic number, they’re off! Do you think they care about the student, the training course, the company or the helicopter? In my view, these are some of the worst instructors you can have – and would you want someone like that to teach you? I’ve even had flight instructors contact me offering to “fly for free” – just to build hours. Quite frankly, I find that an appalling way to approach the profession, when Flight Instructing is a difficult “proper job” and should be treated as such. They left with a flea in their ear. FI Mentor – WIIIFT’s What’s in it for them? The few and far in between instructors. They want to pass on their knowledge, they want to teach and they enjoy the whole process of taking a student and passing on their knowledge. The objective is the student. What makes a good instructor is for a later article. They make sure the entire process of learning is correct, they can explain and educate well, and their flying skills are well above average – it needs to be. When something goes wrong (and eventually something will) the instructor may be the only person on board capable of recognising the problem, taking control and preventing it becoming an accident. FI Low Pay, Free Hours The problem with the FI Collector is that it affects FI Mentor. The pay for a Flight Instructor is ridiculously cheap. Many companies only pay the Flight Instructor “Flight Pay”, so travel time, ground briefings, anything to do with the operation is “unpaid”. The fuel costs more that the instructor! This means that the FI Mentor simply cannot afford to stay in the instructing industry, no matter how much they would like to. A simple example – if you paid an instructor €60 per hour, flight time, a simple lesson would look like this: · 1 hour ground briefing / paperwork · 30 minutes preflight check, aircraft out on apron, fuelling · 1 hour flight training · 30 minute debrief / paperwork at the end 3 hours, for €60… €20 per hour, just slight above minimum wage This is one of the reasons our full-time instructors are employed on a fixed salary with a flight-pay bonus. We want instructors who stay because they enjoy teaching, not instructors who are counting every minute in the air because their income depends entirely on flight hours. Am I a FI Collector or FI Mentor? Ironically, I never thought about becoming an instructor. I wanted to be a commercial pilot from the beginning, and the FI Course was just a way to build hours quickly to move onto the “proper job”. The FI Course is (or should be!) one of the hardest courses you will take in the helicopter industry, it is designed to break you – you need to be above average pilot, above average flight skills and above average knowledge, combing with the ability to teach all of the above simultaneously! I thought I was going to be FI Collector, it was only when I did the course and started instructing, I realised I found my natural position in the helicopter world and realised I was actually an FI Mentor. Hence the fact I'm still teaching and passing on my knowledge after all those years. About Jonny Jonny Greenall is the Head of Training and founder of Balearic Helicopters. With more than 25 years of helicopter flying and training experience and over 9000 hours, he has extensive experience across private, commercial and instructor training. The views and advice in this article are based on Jonny's experience of helicopter flying and flight training. If you want to complete the Balearic Helicopters Flight Instructors Course, contact us today to arrange and discuss your requirements. FI Collector’s need not apply…. The Flight Instructors Course with Balearic Helicopters