DALLAS — Everyone remembers a good teacher. However, a commercial aviation flight instructor mentors students who will go on to be responsible for thousands of people’s lives over the course of their careers. Artemis Aerospace looks at the work of the people who teach pilots to fly.

Becoming a qualified pilot is a significant undertaking; it’s realizing a lifelong dream for many people. Getting them to that stage falls on the flight instructor, and it’s a complex but incredibly rewarding job. There’s a shortage of pilots and trainers, so now is a great time for pilots to consider utilizing their flying skills to bring on the next cohort.

To become a flight instructor, you must undertake a course lasting around five or six weeks if done full-time. There are stringent pre-entry requirements for this, and applicants are usually required to have:

• A UK CAA CPL (Commercial Pilot’s Licence) or PPL (Private Pilot’s Licence) plus at least 200 hours of flying time, 150 of which should be as PIC (Pilot in Command).
• A pass in CPL-level theoretical flight knowledge exams.
• Ten hours of instrument flight training and twenty hours of VFR (Visual Flight Rules) cross-country flying as PIC, including landing at different airports.
• A required number of SEP (Safety and Emergency Procedures) training hours.
• A pass in a pre-course flight test no longer than six months before entry.

A flying instructor’s course will usually involve around 30 hours of teaching and learning tuition, 100 hours of theory, and 30 hours of flight training, leading to a final exam and FI certification.

A Typical Day for a Flight Instructor

There isn’t a typical day in the life of a flight instructor. As a multi-crew co-operation instructor, you will be training students to operate as both pilot and co-pilot in a multi-engine commercial airplane, involving VFR (Visual Flight Rules) and IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) and all the complexities associated with optimum decision-making, communication, teamwork, and flying in all weather conditions and emergency situations.

An instructor at British Airways (BA) Global Learning Academy might be tutoring students from airlines worldwide on a Flight Technical Training conversion course designed for pilots to familiarise themselves with a specific type of airplane, such as an Airbus A380 or a Boeing 787.

The airline’s Speedbird Pilot Academy has instructors teaching 60 future BA pilots a year. In addition to flying, this will involve systems checks, cockpit instrumentation lessons, practical skills, customer service, and leadership development.

A crucial part of all pilot training is time spent on an aircraft simulator. A synthetic flight instructor teaches the basic principles of flight, take-off and landing, safety, and instrument familiarisation within a safe environment. Students can practice approaching every airport in the world, flying different types of airplanes, and encountering every possible weather condition and emergency scenario.

In addition, all qualified pilots must undergo regular evaluation by an instructor in a simulator to renew or revalidate their licenses.

The Looming Pilot Shortage

The current skills shortage in the aviation industry has meant a significant backlog of trainee and trained pilots needing to put in their qualifying hours on a simulator. Simulator support provides vital backup twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, helping to keep training schedules on time by providing detailed hardware support and fault prevention solutions.

Without a large pool of qualified and enthusiastic flying instructors, global flight would grind to a halt. It’s a fascinating and varied career for aviators who want to share their accumulated knowledge and experience and pass the baton to the next generation of aspiring pilots.

Featured image: Rafael Cosquiere on Pexels.com