If you’re a member of a local flying club you’ve probably interacted with an instructor or two along the way and chances are that over the past couple of years, it’s gotten harder to find one with time available to instruct. Clubs all over Ireland and the UK are looking for instructors as the airlines ramp up their own recruitment plans.
Did you know that becoming a flight instructor is possible on a PPL? Or that you can get paid for flight instruction?
If you have a love of GA flying, have some free time available to instruct and want to fly more frequently, then instructing may be a good option for you. To add an FI certificate as a PPL holder you’ll need to meet the following EASA requirements:
- Have logged at least 200 hours of total flight time, of which at least 150 hours are PIC and at least 30 hours are on single engine piston aircraft.
- Have flown at least five hours on single engine piston aircraft in the six months leading up to the pre-entry assessment flight.
- Have completed a VFR cross-country flight as PIC, including a flight of at least 540 km (300 NM) in the course of which full stop landings at 2 different aerodromes were made
- Pass a pre-entry assessment flight based on the single engine piston proficiency check.
That’s it! You’ll notice that it doesn’t specify that you need a CPL, nor does it specify that you need to have completed the CPL exams. The CPL exams are only required if you wish to instruct on the PPL course. Without the CPL exams you can instruct for LAPL, night rating (if qualified), club checkouts, introductory flights, recurrency training, differences training etc..
So even if you’re reading this thinking that you’re not the kind of person that wants to sign up for 13 EASA CPL exams – there’s still a significant amount of instruction you CAN do. You can also decide to complete the CPL exams at any point after you start instructing and it’s just a paperwork exercise for the IAA to extend your privileges to add PPL instruction.
No doubt the cycle of the aviation industry will continue it’s ups and downs, but at the moment demand for flight instructors is very high. It’s unlikely you’ll have an issue finding somewhere to instruct once you have your FI certificate in hand!
The training course comprises four sections:
- A pre-entry assessment flight
- Completion of the 25 hour “Teaching and Learning” ground school school module.
- Ground school comprising 100 hours mixed between giving / receiving pre and post flight debriefs combined with self study of the PPL theoretical knowledge course.
- 30 hours of flight training comprising at least 25 hours dual instruction plus up to 5 hours of mutual flying with another FI candidate to practice flight demonstrations.
This is then followed by an Assessment of Competence with an IAA Flight Examiner and your flight instructor certificate being issued by the IAA. The overall cost of the course at Waterford Aero Club is €9-10k.
At Waterford Aero Club we offer both the flight instructor course and the shorter Class Rating Instructor courses. We also have a great mix of professional pilots flying with Aer Lingus, Ryanair and corporate operators instructing alongside our PPL instructors making for a great club environment that brings the bet of both worlds.
So, if you’re interested, why not contact us to discuss next steps at info@waterfordaeroclub.com? You’re welcome to drop down and chat about the course or fly with one of our instructors and get some feedback on your flying in advance of enrolling.
It might just be the most rewarding decision you make as a PPL holder!
