Flight Training - August 2020 - 45

ADVANCED PILOT INSTRUCTOR REPORT

FINALLY!

LIKE STUDENTS,
CFIS ALSO FEEL
FRUSTRATION

A CARD
FOR PILOTS.

FOCUSING ON STUDENT NEEDS IS THE BEST ANTIDOTE TO INSTRUCTOR BURNOUT
BY JOHN W. OLCOTT

Cash Back1 FBO's
& Flight Schools;
Aviation & Auto Fuel
CASH BACK1 APPLIED AS STATEMENT CREDIT.

Switch today to the
new AOPA credit card,
and stop paying too
much on your
aviation purchases.

MONKS IN THE MIDDLE AGES BELIEVED

that living a hard life filled with self-inflected pain would gain them entrance to
heaven. To facilitate passage to salvation,
they wore shirts made of rough animal
hair next to their skin as part of a practice
known as mortification of the flesh.
Hence the term "wearing the hair shirt"
denotes undertaking an uncomfortable
or undesired task simply because it is a
requirement for earning a better status.
Some cynics regard flight instruction
as the "hair shirt" worn by those seeking a
career as a professional aviator.
Mere mortals desiring airline employment need 1,500 flight hours, the minimum
for an airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate, to be considered by U.S. passenger
and cargo airlines. Military pilots with 750
hours total time, holders of a bachelor's
degree with an aviation major and 1,000
total piloting time, and aviation associate

degree holders with 1,250 hours are eligible
for a restricted-privileges airline transport
pilot certificate, which is sufficient for
serving as a first officer. Obtaining such
flight time without holding a piloting job,
however, is beyond the budget of all but
the megawealthy; flight instructing enables
a pilot to gain time quickly-possibly as
many as 800 to 1,000 hours per year-while
someone else is footing the bill.
Even aviation jobs not associated with
the scheduled airlines require more flight
time than the average person can afford, by
either renting or owning their own aircraft.
Gone are the days when several hundred
hours and a commercial certificate with an
instrument rating were sufficient to sit for
an interview with a scheduled carrier. (Yes,
such an age existed, before the tragic crash
of Colgan Flight 3407.) Hence, many aspiring aviators today are engaged in flight
instruction as the means for logging time.
AOPA.ORG/FT 45

Visit

AOPA.org/creditcard
to learn more

*Certain points and purchases restrictions apply, see full Rewards
Terms and Conditions for full details at AOPA.org/creditcard.
1 Rewards points can be redeemed for Cash Back or other items provided through AOPA Pilot Rewards. A Cash Back redemption is applied
as a statement credit. The statement credit will reduce your balance
but you are still required to make at least your minimum payment. A
minimum of 2,500 points is needed to redeem for Cash Back. Values
for non-cash back redemption items such as merchandise, gift cards,
and travel may vary.

http://www.AOPA.org/creditcard http://www.AOPA.org/creditcard http://www.AOPA.ORG/FT

Flight Training - August 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - August 2020