Penny wise and pound foolish
The other night I met a guy who is learning to fly near me. Really nice guy, almost ready for his private pilot checkride.
I forget how it got brought up, but he started talking to me about my pay rate for freelance flight instructing. When I told him I charge $45/hour, he bluntly told me even the most experienced guys in this area only charge $35/hour. He said I would never make it as an instructor around here unless I lower my rates.
I responded that although I love teaching, that’s fine with me if students go elsewhere over the $10/hour price difference. I’ve set what I consider to be a fair rate, and I’d rather not instruct for less. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to explain myself further.
This got me to thinking, from an outsider’s perspective (an outsider being a student, or anybody who is not a flight instructor), it might be hard to understand why we instructors set rates the way we do.
Please let me explain.
First, it’s important to understand the role a flight instructor plays in the process of learning to fly. The CFI must be thorough, dedicated, and technically proficient. They are ultimately responsible for the safety of every flight. There is a huge amount of liability associated with every flight. Not only that, but they are responsible for the safety of the student *after* the process of flight training is completed–the lessons learned with that instructor directly affect how safe of a pilot that student becomes in the long run.
Basically, this is a *huge* responsibility! It’s vitally important to have a flight instructor who is not just “building time” but actually cares about teaching, and teaching well. Although cost and efficiency play roles here, safety is the absolutely critical element. I take my teaching very personally–at the risk of sounding melodramatic, lives depend on how good of a job I do.
In addition to the safety aspect of teaching, the flight instructor must be a person who “clicks” with the student both in and out of the cockpit. From a student’s perspective, there is nothing worse than trying to learn from an instructor they can’t get along with. Maybe the CFI is irritable, demeaning, or just plain hard to understand. Everybody learns in different ways and sometimes a CFI has a hard time figuring out what teaching methods make the most sense to a student. Whatever the case, learning is greatly hindered when the student and teacher don’t see eye to eye.
Finally, no matter how great of a teacher a CFI might be, the logistics of learning to fly must not be forgotten. The CFI must have time on their schedule to spend with the student. The greatest CFI in the world is of little use if they can only schedule one lesson per month.
Now, getting back to this issue of flight instructor fees, and how I set mine…
I’ll start by saying I fit all of the criteria I just outlined. I’ve been doing this for three years and am very proficient/safe. I also work hard to get along with everyone I meet and find ways for my students to learn as quickly and easily as possible. I don’t want to brag, but frankly, I’m a good teacher.
And available? Yep, I’ve got that, too. I have a very flexible schedule and can fly with somebody as much as they want.
So knowing that I’m a high quality instructor, I asked myself, can any old Joe Schmoe do my job? Not really. That means I must be at least somewhat in demand.
Then I thought, do I need the flight hours? Not really. Therefore, I can set my rates with little regard for the fact that the higher the rate, the less I will fly (incidentally, that’s not to be confused with the inverse…lower rates do not necessarily mean I’ll be overwhelmed with business).
Next, I thought, do I need the money? Not really. I’m fortunate enough to be at a point in my life with low expenditures and money in the bank. I don’t *have* to have a high income in order to survive. If a few people are turned away by supposedly high rates, I’ll still be fine.
Finally, I came to the be-all end-all question: What am I worth? What is my expertise worth? What is my responsibility (and the liability that comes along with it) worth? At what point will I say to myself, “Nah, this amount of money isn’t worth the hassle?”
Considering my skills, amount of effort required, and liability involved, I decided on $45/hr. Considering auto mechanics, plumbers, and personal trainers oftentimes make $50/hr, I don’t see anything unreasonable about that number.
If a prospective student opts to fly with another instructor for no reason other than the price difference, that’s ok with me. In fact, I wish them well. If the other instructor is just as sharp, personable, professional, and available as me, there’d be no reason not to use them!
However, if the student runs in to problems, but doesn’t want to switch because of the price difference, that seems to be a bit penny wise and pound foolish. When adding only a few hours on to their total training time costs them hundreds of dollars (plane rental + instructor), it’s important to have everything run smoothly during training. Even a small delay can make the $10/hr difference in instructors quickly evaporate.
Basically, students should be careful not to look at specific dollar figures when choosing an instructor. It’s better to interview them, fly with them, and go with whichever instructor they feel best about, regardless of money. When a person opts to train with me, I make sure they get their money’s worth. Need I say more?