Tunnel Instructor Pay?

[hood 0]

Being a tunnel instructor looks fun and I could see where the skills learned could possibly out weigh a mediocre paycheck, but does it actually pay well? Seeing as more tunnels are popping up I suppose there is more room for advancement these days but how much? Just curious about what instructors make, trainers, examiners, etc before jumping into a $10k investment.

[adamUK 3]

The UK is about £12-14/hr but you get training. You can also pay for the training yourself but this is about $12,000.

[ianyapxw 0]

From what I understand, you cannot (or rather there's no point) in paying for yourself. For insurance reasons, you can only get a job where they sent you for the course.

In Singapore, an instructor told me the pay is at the higher end of fast food, which should be $2k/month.

Systems work differently around the world, but from what I understand they train you from the ground up (freeflying and Flight Instructor Training Program(FITP)) and make you sign a bond of 2-2.5 years. There are different levels Instructor 1-4 and Trainer 2-Examiner.

The other option is to moonlight as a freelance tunnel instructor (say at places like Skyventure Genting) but you risk getting caught and screwing your career over depending on your local tunnel policy.

Quote

seems fun

There's a lot going on behind the scenes. For every slot that you spend pulling people around in the tunnel (which might get boring after a year), you've got to spend an equal amount of time conducting a class and controlling air flow. Not to mention some days you work merchandise counter, public holidays, etc...

All in all think hard and carefully

[adamUK 3]

Sorry.. I meant to say $12-$14.. i.e. dollars not pounds. Ugh.

[adamUK 3]

Just to add.. if you get a job at a skyventure tunnel the training is the same and allows you to work at other skyventure tunnels. I know two guys who started out in the UK and now work in Sydney, Australia. If you get a job at a non-skyventure tunnel that might restrict where you can subsequently work as a skyventure tunnel might not recognise your skills.

Either way the hours are long and it's not all flying as ianyapxw stated.

[dirtbox 0]

If you pay for a job you're a customer...

[DiverMike 5]

So? You pay to go to an IDC to become a SCUBA instructor. You pay for a Tandem Course and AFF-I course to become skydiving instructors. Pilots pay to become CFII

I don't understand your point.

For the same reason I jump off a perfectly good diving board.

[ianyapxw 0]

Are you sure they work long hours?

I'm not too sure but I don't really see people working the whole day. Sure, they do either opening or closing, and weekends and public holidays, but my boss at fast food worked from 9am to 11pm on some days

[adamUK 3]

It might be different from tunnel to tunnel but some of the lads where I fly worked from opening at 8 am to just after midnight last Sunday.

[ianyapxw 0]

Is it a regular thing or was there a special event on?

If we have scrambles instructors obviously work longer.

[adamUK 3]

Dunno. It was an extraordinarily busy week being half term. A couple of instructors have left and some new ones getting trained up (which occurs after hours). I'll ask some of the lads. See what they say. Aaron did 260 hours last month.

Edited to add: which tunnel do you fly at mostly?

[ianyapxw 0]

iFly Singapore.

Last I heard they're hiring new tunnel instructors.

I would have signed up if: 1) I had known about this earlier 2) There wasn't such a long commitment. A year is pushing it for me.

[hood 0]

Thanks for the insight. Was hoping to get a little insight as to the future potential. The entry level isn't too bad if you're not paying for your training I guess. I suppose I'll make a little road trip to talk to a few instructors and see what the day in a life of an instructor is really like.

[ianyapxw 0]

Welcome
There are pros and cons, the decision is simply yours to make.

[NWPoul 1]

IMHO willing to became a WT instructor is for person, who thing not about money but about flying at first.
For example if you have job with good salary but almost all that salary (and free time) spend on flying and jumping than it's qute logical to became WT/AFF/etc instructor even if you'd get less money

Why drink and drive, if you can smoke and fly?

[ianyapxw 0]

I'm sorry but I'll have to disagree. There's much more to being a tunnel instructor like controlling wind and repeating the same lesson many times a day for months.

Liking flying and liking to be a tunnel instructor is completely different. I do know an instructor who is a great teacher to first timers, and extremely cheerful and positive. I'm sure for him things worked out great.

[NWPoul 1]

ianyapxw

I'm sorry but I'll have to disagree. There's much more to being a tunnel instructor like controlling wind and repeating the same lesson many times a day for months.

Liking flying and liking to be a tunnel instructor is completely different. I do know an instructor who is a great teacher to first timers, and extremely cheerful and positive. I'm sure for him things worked out great.

I'am kinda know it from inside:) Yes it's more about control/dressing-undressing/instructing and standing on the net with first timers than flying for yourself... But since your get inside you'd have a far more possibilites to flying and improoving your skills than being outside

Why drink and drive, if you can smoke and fly?

[dirtbox 0]

paying for a course and paying to work for a company are two VERY different things.

making a 2.5 year commitment and paying 10K to be trained (granted it does get paid back) to work for a company... just doesn't jive for me.

If a company wants to train employees that is their expense. If a company wants to run courses people can become customers, learn the skill and then perform those duties as an employee and market themselves/negotiate income in an open market. The cost of such a course would probably run somewhere close to that of a degree in many countries (10k getting you to level 1 and than additional money to get to level 4) and would merit a pay rate higher than minimum wage +~20%

Yes I understand that the training of an instructor does cost the tunnel money and the 10K/2.5yr contract is there to prevent that investment being worthless. It is a novel way of protecting their investment (shifting their risk onto their employee) which is allowed by what amounts to an essential monopoly on training and wages.

So if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it is probably a duck.

just my 2c

[RoryJ 0]

From what I have heard from folks working at iFly tunnels they have ditched the 2 year contracts because they would rather you walk away than be miserable and guide guests a poor experience.

Not again!

[ianyapxw 0]

Are you sure, being under a contract means they can ask you to do other things like merchandise counter or just random jobs if they don't think you're good enough to fly. Furthermore, this implies that as long as the staff throws a temper tantrum they can get basically get free FITP and freefly training.

I'm not saying your information is wrong, but maybe there's a lot more that's not elaborated upon.

[skycat 0]

No idea about contracts anymore, but I do know at the end of 4 weeks, all you will be is a Level 1 instructor. They don't teach you how to free fly in the FITP they teach you how to take first time flyer classes. Go ahead throw a temper tantrum and leave, it's a small industry odds are the next tunnel you wanted to work at would call your previous employer and they would tell them about your performance.

So it's actually in your best interest to stick it out a few years, get your ratings up, odds are they train you up based on seniority and performance.

Check out the IBA site, the information you need on what it takes to get what rating is there.
http://tunnelflight.com/pages/instructors/instRatings.php

Fly it like you stole it!