Looking for a independent CFI in New Jersey

Jeremy A Brito said:
Ive recently started looking for a instructor to start my aviation journey. I use the term journey because thought I want to make a career out of this I don't want to be an airline pilot. Ideally id like to teach one day or fly small corporate jet charter flights but first I need to start with my private pilots license.
Unfortunately like many of us first starting out financially I'm limited and a lot of schools are charging upwards of 200 dollars a hour per lesson (plans/fuel/instructor)
But if I can find a instructor willing to work with me on a budget that would make this a lot easier on me and my family. In the long run after my private cert I have the ability to use me veterans benifits for the more advanced stuff but unfortunately the government won't spring for the private pilots cert.
If there our any CFIs in the New Jersey area looking to teach independently and dont mind working with a budget please contact me. Also if you cant help but can offer advice shoot me a message advice is always welcome and thank you for your time.
To everyone else safe flying and I hope to one day run into some of you at a airport soon.
Jeremy
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Also forgot to mention if your not a CFI but can help guide me in the right direction that is also appreciated

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I am not saying you won’t find what you are seeking, but there is a CFI shortage right now and many flight schools have a waiting list of students.
 
Clip4 said:
I am not saying you won’t find what you are seeking, but there is a CFI shortage right now and many flight schools have a waiting list of students.
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Appreciate the feed back but actually I'm not having that problem at the moment ive looked at 5 schools each of which I coulda started asap but alot of people suggested to look into a independent instructor as they tend to be more flexible with schedules and often able to work with budgets better.
As for the CFI shortage I have also heard this an along with CFI, pilots in general our at a shortage. Part of this is why I want to one day teach flight, the on going need for teachers as well as when I become a CFI id like to be able to help teach people who want to become pilots but would normally not be able to do so because of financial reasons maybe even offering to do charity lessons. Its a bit of a ways off but for now I gotta start with getting my private, afterwords with the help of my veterans benefits I can taking some more advanced lessons.

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Why arent the people who are advising you giving you the names of these highly available / willing to work with those on a budget CFIs? They are truly few and far.

I think your best shot is to check around the non-profit flying clubs in your area, including the military clubs.

To use your VA benefits you have to use an FAA Part 141 school and the VA only pays to a maximum for each rating and typically you will have out of pocket costs.
 
Was wondering how much per hour renting plane wet and playing CFI do you think is”reasonable”??
 
Clip4 said:
Why arent the people who are advising you giving you the names of these highly available / willing to work with those on a budget CFIs? They are truly few and far.

I think your best shot is to check around the non-profit flying clubs in your area, including the military clubs.

To use your VA benefits you have to use an FAA Part 141 school and the VA only pays to a maximum for each rating and typically you will have out of pocket costs.
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Im not sure where the confusion on your part is coming from or the slight hint of sarcasm but to clarify in the state and area I live in there are approximately 8 schools close enough for me to concider all of them have immediate availability for me to start. A pilot at a lounge in one of the FBOs I was talking to suggested I look into the possibility of finding a independent instructor he never gave any,names,or suggested he,new any personally, but he did suggest coming to this forum and asking around because he said this was a great group of people willing to help others learn to fly.
As for the clubs its actually a thought only issue is there joining fee but in,the long run it maybe worth it for the other perks. And as for the VA I'm well aware of the limits uncle Sam puts on the money but to me some free money is better then no free cash.
Lastly to the guy asking about rental fees I am far from experienced in the matter but from what I have researched the average rental of a trainer cesna 172 has been about 130
 
Jeremy A Brito said:
Im not sure where the confusion on your part is coming from or the slight hint of sarcasm but to clarify in the state and area I live in there are approximately 8 schools close enough for me to concider all of them have immediate availability for me to start. A pilot at a lounge in one of the FBOs I was talking to suggested I look into the possibility of finding a independent instructor he never gave any,names,or suggested he,new any personally, but he did suggest coming to this forum and asking around because he said this was a great group of people willing to help others learn to fly.
As for the clubs its actually a thought only issue is there joining fee but in,the long run it maybe worth it for the other perks. And as for the VA I'm well aware of the limits uncle Sam puts on the money but to me some free money is better then no free cash.
Lastly to the guy asking about rental fees I am far from experienced in the matter but from what I have researched the average rental of a trainer cesna 172 has been about 130
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There nothing wrong with seeking the best value, but honestly I sense your expectations are unrealistic and you really cannot afford training, which is not uncommon for people today raising a family.


If you start training and have to take long pauses because you are out of money it will cost you more in the long haul. You really need a pile of cash and knock this out as quickly as you can. You might have to tell your family you are going to find a part time gig to pay for pilot training. You really need a 152 or not a 172 to meet your budget.

For a CFI to instruct you they have to have a plane. Where do you plan on renting one? Most flight schools do not rent their planes to students with independent CFIs. So now your search results are getting really narrow because you need a CFI who owns a plane who will let you fly it solo. To do that, the CFI has to pay a substantially higher insurance premium.

To find the instructors you are looking for a non-profit club is a good option. Yes, you are going to have to pay a membership fees, but you also will likely be provided with insurance and rent the planes 10-20% less than the flight school rate and get a CFI at 25% less than the school rate.

Another unrealistic expectation you have is you want a CFI who will work with you on a budget, but then you expect him to be highly available to you. If you find a CFI who will meet your budget, you have to accept his availability and change your schedule to meet his.

None of this is sarcasm. I am a CFI who at times helps young folks on a tight budget, but honestly you seem to expect too much because you don’t know how aviation training operates.
 
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I'm just going to come out and say it you seem to have formed a opinion based on about three vague paragraphs. Prehapes a little fact checking be for criticism.
Yes your right I want the best deal for my money but I don't have unrealistic expectations, I simply stated I heard that an independent instructor maybe better for the fact that they work for themselves and can negotiate or bargain. Since I know no independent CFI I can't say that is true or not but simply if it saved me some cash I could later use for more advanced training why not try.
Second as for not being able to afford training.. Did you just assume my economic status? Got a be careful these days when making public assumptions about people first its my money next its gender. To be fair would flight school be an expense that would tax the family budget?? Sure it would but again so would be a pipe burst or a car breaking down in those instances surely you can see looking for the best possible cost out of pocket is smart and not unreasonable.
As for the 152 over the 172. Sure cost wise but for a CFI your question shoulda been can he fit in a152? Cause at 6ft 1 and 245 lbs I was told the plane would have a hard time fitting me or getting off the ground by 3 different instructors all of which were very nice people and could take me as a client when ever, I simply just told them I was researching a little more be for I made the decision.
Last part the schedule... I never once said I need or expect someone to bend to my every day life and schedule or be on hand at a moment's notice. By flexible schedule I simply ment able to sit down with me and me and the instructor figure out a schedule that works for both of us and can get the most flying in ECT..
Look I'm sure you mean well but as it stands your very opinionated and not factual I hope that's not how you fly. I was just following threw on a lead. And just for the record with in 24 hrs one of those mythical instructors contacted me only he was to far away unfortunately.
I'm sorry if I wasnt clear enough but you got zero stated opinions correct about me. My finances or fine I'm doing this at 32 because I could finally afford it. My schedule isn't crazy, and my expectations are grounded I am simply just doing my research and shopping

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I apologize if that came across snotty or harsh but I feel as though if you really were trying to be helpful you'd offer advice on,how to improve my search and less criticism regarding how you feel my personal expetations are. Maybe I didn't express my interest clearly but when I read your responses my first thought is what is this guys problem why is he trying to make it seem like I'm being an ahole for trying to find alternative ways to becoming a pilot instead of offering advice on how to become one
 
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