Buying a plane and instructing....? What do you think?

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ArnoldPalmer

Pre-takeoff checklist
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ArnoldPalmer
Yeah, I am still a ways away from my tickets. But I am working towards them and hope to have them by mid 2017.

Been kicking around the idea of buying a C150 (or equivalent) and doing some instructing locally. Nothing in our touristy town, either go to Fargo and pay 160 + instructor (80?) for a G1000 172. Or go east for a bit and join the local "club" and pay 60 bucks a month + rental on a 172.

I am not looking to quit my cushy government job and pursue this full time. Will be mornings/evenings/weekends type deal.

For those that own and train others, what has your experience been? Viable to do this on a part-time basis? Pros and cons? Opinions.... thoughts.

Bring 'em.
 
I find great joy in teaching someone to fly.
I feel trying to be the low price leader is a mistake in any business.
Give them a reason besides price to come to you.
It is a nice way to pick up some extra money.
 
Vance Breese said:
I find great joy in teaching someone to fly.
I feel trying to be the low price leader is a mistake in any business.
Give them a reason besides price to come to you.
It is a nice way to pick up some extra money.
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Not trying to be a low price leader. Trying to be economical :) make it affordable without jumping through hoops or charging an arm a leg in the name of post/pre flight.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
 
Insurance will be a factor as you'd be using it to train in and very low time pilots renting it when they solo. Maintenance costs as well. More frequent inspections. A lot of costs to think about.
 
I think the real question is, how much demand is there for instruction in your local area? It takes quite a bit of interest and activity to make providing flight instruction and aircraft rental worth the effort. Also, sometimes the local airport sponsor or manager will put up roadblocks that makes it hard to run a business out of one of the local airports. There often is a reason nobody else is trying to do much instructing in a given area.

What you might consider doing is more specialized training. Maybe buy a float plane or tailwheel plane and start offering some advanced instruction?
 
FYI,

The useful load on the 150 will limit your pool of people you can instruct depending on your weight.
 
ArnoldPalmer said:
Not trying to be a low price leader. Trying to be economical :) make it affordable without jumping through hoops or charging an arm a leg in the name of post/pre flight.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Not only is your 1st post very confusing, but
if you just want to make extra money?,,, instructing is Not the Way to go!
you sound like the kind of guy that could get a job at the grocery store as a bag boy.
No muss, no fuss, small responsibilities, safe, easy and steady!
 
I'm also a weekend warrior, with a day job. I'm having big trouble keeping up with the demand -so much so that I've teamed up with another CFI to split the load. Hardest part for me is having to let students go because I'm not home enough.

Run the numbers, then buy the plane. If a 150 fits your personal mission, aside from teaching, then great. Otherwise, go for a plane that will.

Then write it all off on your schedule C. :)
 
The cost of insurance is going to be the economic killer here. You'll need to do so much volume to cover the increased insurance it may end up economically upside down if you're only doing it part time.
 
It can definitely be done. I did essentially that for several years, and still do in a limited capacity. Keep in mind you won't have much of any life outside of flying and work. That was great when I was single and lived by myself but has always been a problem in any relationship (rightfully so, to a degree).
 
I know more than a few folks who have done it, some make a decent little chunk of change, depending on the type of training (i.e. Tailwheel). If you're a good instructor, sales person, and understand how to make a basic website and work Craigslist etc, live in a place with a decent population, you should end up with more student then you know what to do with.


Go for it.
 
Basically the way I run my tailwheel plane I need to get 200 hours a year for the plane to pay for it's insurance. Not doing great with that this year, but I've had it work before. You just have to run the numbers on the aircraft, fuel, parts, stuff breaking, a place to put the plane, and insurance and see if you can avoid bleeding out.
 
You will need 100 hour inspections. Avemco advertises insurance for CFI owner/instructor aircraft. You may want to consider a 172 instead as it has useful load you need. If you are going to sign off students for checkrides, you are going to have to get to know a DE, and what all he wants to see. Close coordination with a DE is a good idea. It helps a lot. Question? how are you going to handle soloing?
 
Definitely look at a different plane lime the 172 or warrior. At 6'2 190, I am very limited on who I can instruct in a 152 without being overweight.
 
Here's another idea, too. I had the thought to do one-day trips with two pilots (licensed or students) where one flies out, the other back doing things like the Hudson Bravo exclusion, international flights to Canada, several Class Cs in one day with taxi and clearance calls, and class Bravo city tours to get new pilots comfortable with the airspace. If you scheduled one a week or so, you'd have a chunk of ground and air time paid rather than hustling for one-hour at a time students on weekends. Plus, new or rusty private pilots and advanced students would get valuable instruction time watching and flying in situations where they might otherwise need more support than trying it on their own.
 
robert lomax said:
Not only is your 1st post very confusing, but
if you just want to make extra money?,,, instructing is Not the Way to go!
you sound like the kind of guy that could get a job at the grocery store as a bag boy.
No muss, no fuss, small responsibilities, safe, easy and steady!
Click to expand...

Heh. Not sure what is confusing about the first post. I'd like to get my CFI/I Tickets and share my love for all things aviation. Thanks for the lead on the bag boy job...

jesse said:
It can definitely be done. I did essentially that for several years, and still do in a limited capacity. Keep in mind you won't have much of any life outside of flying and work. That was great when I was single and lived by myself but has always been a problem in any relationship (rightfully so, to a degree).
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No problem here. 30's something.. no kids. Wife works every other weekend....... it could work.
 
whereisrandall said:
Here's another idea, too. I had the thought to do one-day trips with two pilots (licensed or students) where one flies out, the other back doing things like the Hudson Bravo exclusion, international flights to Canada, several Class Cs in one day with taxi and clearance calls, and class Bravo city tours to get new pilots comfortable with the airspace. If you scheduled one a week or so, you'd have a chunk of ground and air time paid rather than hustling for one-hour at a time students on weekends. Plus, new or rusty private pilots and advanced students would get valuable instruction time watching and flying in situations where they might otherwise need more support than trying it on their own.
Click to expand...

Great idea!! :)
 
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