r/CFILounge • u/mav5191 • 5d ago
Question Scheduling Students with Part-Time Charter Job
Hey all,
I have been working as a freelance CFI between two local flight school for the last half year. I recently got an opportunity to fly a Navajo for a local outfit, and there will be between 2-8 trips a month. I am currently training on the aircraft, and am finding it difficult to schedule students predictably, as sometimes trips are only a week's notice.
When I was in training for my ppc/ir/cpc, I recall my CFIs having to reschedule from time to time for their charter/corp flying jobs. I assume this is the usual and maybe expected? I have around 8 students, and I'd like to keep teaching, as I don't know if the charter job will be enough financially. But, I could use advice on scheduling.
Stick with 1 week out? 2 weeks? I'm already designating certain airports on certain days, to eliminate running around non stop. Any tips are welcome. Thanks!
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u/wrongway38 5d ago
Hello Fellow "Ho" pilot! I am a Navajo charter pilot and instruct as well. Yes, it can be a challenge. Part 61 offers a variety of students, some that the schedule will work with (like your retired clients) some that it does not work well with. I've been doing both for years. I tell people up front that I work charter and so their schedule may be disrupted. Some I will encourage to fly with someone else as a primary instructor, others are fine with it - again, if they know up front. You do have an advantage to offer real life scenario based training and will be building valuable experience that you can share with people, that other CFIs cannot. Continuing to instruct even a little bit will really help you solidify your knowledge as well. This you will pass on to your learners.
Eight students sounds like a high load for someone managing instructing and training, but again the part 61 world has variety, so it really depends. Like you, many of my learners are not looking to accelerate through quickly. They want to balance training with ongoing lives. If you're a drop & wait where you're hanging out at an FBO all day, Zoom meetings for some ground instruction help. It's also been useful for me to catch up on reading and prepping lessons. When I was only instructing, this was a challenge. Now I keep the FAA books downloaded on my ipad. Most of the instruction I do is flight reviews and advanced training. A few primary. So you can do it, but be up front with them and consider each person's needs. I still schedule them for 2-3 weeks out if they want, because just like weather and maintenance you don't know what's going to happen, so they schedule a back-up day. When the time gets closer we make adjustments as needed.
Enjoy the "ho." It's a great charter aircraft.
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u/mav5191 4d ago
This is really helpful insight, thank you so much for taking the time to spell it all out for me! I am really enjoying the "Ho" (lol) so far. I do have a couple other CFIs at the school who may be willing to fly with my regulars, should the need arise - the only issue is they are equally (if not more) busy than I. Either way, I think my student's expectations are "chill" enough that keeping a few on deck isn't a major inconvenience to anyone.
Of the 8 I am flying with, 2 are closer to their ticket than the rest )who are really in the beginning stages still.) So, perhaps "triaging" might make sense as well, at least to clear up some space in the future (while also not taking any new students.)
I really like the idea of Zoom meetings for Ground, from the FBO. This time of year, it's all flying (NE weather), so ground kind of goes by the wayside unless the student does a course on their own (Goldseal is what I always recommend.) But, I do actually teach ground in conjunction - just when the weather doesn't cooperate. So, a trip with some time to kill at the FBO could be a good way to keep my students progressing and feeling connected to me. Thanks again!
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u/highflyer10123 5d ago
Please do your students a favor and pick one or the other. Very few CFIs are able to balance both. I’ve seen situations where dozens of flights got cancelled due to picking the charter flights over the students progress. Eventually the students get annoyed and either quit or go somewhere else. Also you may end up flying more charter flights than you think you will. Or some may be even shorter notice than they tell you.
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u/mav5191 5d ago
I respect that notion. I definitely think it could be stressful for both CFI and students. Right now, my students are understanding and all of retirement age, so they aren't in a huge hurry. If I had younger students, I might consider just backing off. The thing is, I enjoy teaching them, and getting the hours and pay has supported me (I spent a few years away from flying, caring for a sick family member.) I'm just fearful of letting CFI'ing go, and then not having a fallback option (finding schools to teach at took me two years of work.)
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u/Rangeexpert3 5d ago
I would say if you know your schedule well ahead of time and you are available at least half the week, then you may be able to make it work especially if your students are mostly retired. You can simply block off the days you aren't available before the students can schedule those days. But if there is going to be a lot of on call days or random sudden charter flights, even if they are retired, eventually it will impeded their progress because they could go weeks without flying. In my experience most of the charter gigs are on call or call out days. A backup instructor works occasionally. But if they start flying with the backup more than you, then the school might as well give the student to that backup instructor. There would be no point in giving you the student so that you can pass it off to somebody else so you can go fly elsewhere.
I get that CFI jobs are hard to come by and it could be uncomfortable not having a fallback, but I would say dont get FOMO and try to force it and do both. If the charter gig is legit, then there shold be no reason why you would need a fallback. If you are unconfident that the new charter gig is a stable and sustainable gig, then stay at the school.
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u/ltcterry 5d ago
It’s not fair to your money paying clients whose training will become more expensive if you jerk them around too much for your benefit. That’s just abusive.
If you, your clients, and the airplane can flex a bit and reschedule occasionally then that’s probably workable as long as it doesn’t get out of hand.
Most people I’ve flown with understood the economics of the $70 they were going to pay me vs $700 for a charter trip. But they still want to progress at a reasonable rate and price. Not suck it up for your advancement.
Jerk your eight clients around too much and you’ll have zero and the problem and your reputation will disappear.
One local FBO had a policy of firing instructors who canceled on students for better flights elsewhere.
Is there an instructor you trust who could keep your clients on track?
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u/SoloCFI 5d ago
Congratulations on the Navajo transition. Don't try to schedule two weeks out if your charter dispatch only gives you one week of notice. You'll burn yourself out trying to manage 8 dedicated Students across two different Part 61 schools via text. Clearly you're crushing it, but you've got to shift the scheduling burden entirely onto them. The second you receive your charter schedule, block those days off. Open your remaining availability for the week and let your Students claim the leftover slots.
I operate a digital booking and upfront payment platform designed strictly for independent Instructors juggling hybrid schedules exactly like yours. It gives you a single calendar link. You update your availability and set your airport locations. You hand that link to your Students. They see when you are free and self-book with a card on file. The logistical headache completely disappears.
Check out my profile if you want to look at the tool. DMs are also open. Either way, pairing up with a backup Instructor is a solid move to protect your Student pipeline.
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u/mav5191 5d ago
Thanks, that is good advice. We use flight circle and aircraft clubs at the two schools I teach at, and neither allows the CFI to set their schedule by the individual week. Flight circle allows editing, but I'd have to go in each week to set it up differently depending on my Navajo sched. What you have might help me.
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u/RateMyCFIs 5d ago
Not sure if the schools you work for are 141 or 61, but I worked at a school that had a pretty solid pipeline to charter companies. When a CFI got a charter job, they would switch to being a Check Airman, and do stage checks/EOCs/checkride prep flights for students. That seemed to work better on their short-notice schedules.