CFI advice needed

[Chopperboy]

how many hours of flight experience do you require in order to get your CFI after getting your Com? And can you begin instructing right after youve recieved your CFI rating?

[Retread]

There is no minimum time after commercial to take the CFI. However, to be employable as a CFI you must have over 200hrs total time and in almost all cases 50 or more hours in the type of aircraft to be used for instruction. Some operators require more than 300 total time. SFAR 73 regulates who can instruct in Robinson helicopters but the true regulator of the industry is the insurance company and their requirements are going to supercede the FAA's. At least from the operators point of view.

[joker]

Just to clarify a possible misunderstanding.

 

Retread is correct, there is no minimum requirement in terms of hours for the CFI (other than to have a Commercial, which in turn requires 150 hours.)

 

However, you are employable as a CFI as soon as you hold the CFI certificate.

 

The 200 hours is purely for the SFAR 73-1 restriction to the R22 or R44 aircraft.

 

Similarly, only the SFAR 73-1, requires you to have 50 hours in the R22 or R44.

 

The requirement otherwise is 5 hours in Make and Model (and Type if required) before you can instruct. 61.195(f)...notwithstanding of course the 'hour' requirements for the Commercial certificate!

 

Joker

[flingwing206]

Retread is right in spirit, Joker is right in fact.

 

Schools using the R22 (the majority of schools) will require the 200TT/50R22, these are the requirements of SFAR73, no way around them. For the R44, if they use Pathfinder, it's 500TT/50R44, but the SFAR requirements are pretty much the same as the R22.

 

For schools using other aircraft, beyond the 5-in-type, it is up to the whims of the insurance company and the school. Most are good with 200TT, some who pay more for insurance can hire lower-time pilots. Many with a 200-hr restriction will hire a lower-timer and use them on photo and tour work to get them up to the minimums.

 

Insurance companies can have other restrictions, for instance no autorotation training until a CFI has 300TT and 100 in make/model.

 

Just so you know, from a hiring standpoint, low (or high) hours doesn't make an impression in re: how well you will do as an instructor.

[jehh]

My understanding is that Pathfinder is now up to 300TT to teach in the R22. Has that changed, or was that only for the one school I saw? (they did have a letter in writing from Pathfinder, which they showed me when I asked)

 

Of course that doesn't change the SFAR, just the insurance... Sigh, so confusing.