Qualified pilots should not be expected to fly for free

There has been a long standing expectation that newly qualified pilots should work for no pay in their first roles - often as Flight Instructors. The theory being that the young pilots are desperately trying to gain flight hours so they can get into an airline position as soon as possible. This is understandable as they finish their training with one of the largest student loan debts imaginable for young people. They know they have to start earning good money in order to clear the debt.

I believe they are being taken advantage of and it’s good to know that other senior members of the aviation community feel the same. We got feedback from our website from a CFI stating that he certainly does not permit it at the Auckland Aero Club and mentioned that both the RNZAC and CAA have made indications about wanting to improve this statistic. Members of the aviation community ought to avoid any start of a thought in the new pilot’s mind that it’s ok to expect an instructor to work for free, or to have to do so on gaining such a qualification

I’d like to introduce guest commentator Gavin Weir, CFI for the Auckland Aero Club.

Gavin Weir, CFI Auckland Aero Club

It is a truly lamentable part of our industry that some instructors are still expected, and out of desperation accept, to work for free. This leads to a massive devaluing of a critical part of the industry as a whole and individually can negatively affect those instructor’s perception of self-worth. The days of “doing your time” to move on to a “real job” are long gone; and instructing needs to be recognised not as a first step on the ladder but as a viable career in itself for either the short or long term, depending on the individual’s goals. This is not to say that instructing cannot be part of the pathway to the airlines, far from it – but the instructor must dedicate their work ethic to the betterment of their students first, and themselves second, throughout their time as an instructor and in doing so they deserve to be remunerated fairly for that work.

All this being said there are always exceptions, and the act of donating instructional time to events such as Flying New Zealand competitions, the Walsh Memorial Flying School etc. is a great example of those experienced pilots giving back to the industry and is to be commended. It is the bread and butter work instructing that is so neglected by the industry as to feel like the “poor cousin” to the airline pilot.

I humbly believe that we as a whole should strenuously avoid sowing any seeds of thought in the prospective student pilot’s mind that it’s ok to expect an instructor to work for free, and likewise to avoid devaluing the qualified instructor to such an extent that they feel they need to accept working for free to “get their foot in the door”. The instructor rating is a professional qualification above the initial CPL issue and should be respected and treated as such.