I just got home last night from Atlanta, Georgia where I spent the weekend in a class with about thirty other Flight Instructors. Like the rest of them, I was there to renew my own Certified Flight Instructor certificate (CFI). Renewing my certificate is a ritual that I have done every other April since I first received my CFI back in 1985. So, let’s see, starting with my first renewal in 1987, that’s (counting on my fingers now), fourteen times that I have driven to Atlanta to spend a weekend in a Flight Instructor 
Refresher Course (FIRC). The FAA gives a flight instructor a few options to renew their certificates. One of the ways requires that you receive 16 hours of Continuing Education (CE) each two years. The FIRC does this in just two days. Although these weekends can be grueling, this is the way I have always chosen. I enjoy meeting with the other instructors and sharing ideas and stories (mostly stories).
But let me tell you, I have to admit that these weekends can be a downer too. You see, almost every time I go, I notice that the FIRC attendance is declining. There used to be more than a hundred attendees at these courses. The last few times I attended, the head count has been down to around thirty instructors. And something else I noticed is that that the room is full of gray hair, including my own. Out of the thirty in attendance, only ten or so were actively teaching students. Most were no longer flying and were hanging on to their instructor certificates just because it took so much work to get it, and it would be a shame to let it go. I think I agree with that. I think they also enjoyed coming to these courses and expressing their opinions. And let me tell you, a room full of older flight instructors is a room full of opinions.
But why were there no younger instructors in the room? I like to think that maybe the younger flight instructors, being more computer savvy than my older group of colleagues; decide to renew their CFI certificates by taking the course online. I sure hope that is the case. I would like to see this time-honored tradition of teaching others to fly airplanes continue.
As I think back on my own experiences as a flight instructor, it has been very rewarding for me and my family. I listened to so many of my colleagues talk this weekend about how there was no way to make a living as a flight instructor anymore. They spoke of doubled fuel prices. And how student starts were down because of the bad economy. 
Granted all of that is true, but I have always made my living as a flight instructor. Though maybe not in the way you might expect. When I first became an instructor back in ‘85 I instructed up to eight flight hours a day (the limit). At the same time, I was also the FBO General Manager. Granted, it was a small FBO which allowed me to apply so much of my time to flight training. What I was doing was investing in my future customers for the FBO where I received my pay check. After I taught these fine folks to fly, I then sold them an airplane, rented them hangar space, and sold them avgas. When their new airplanes needed an inspection or maintenance I provided it for them. Whenever they outgrew their airplane I sold them a newer, bigger, and faster airplane. Now, here is where my flight instructor certificate came into play again: they would need someone to teach them how to fly their new, faster and more complex airplane. And the cycle continues. This is just one example of how maintaining my CFI has been a key ingredient to my success in other areas of aviation.
So the moral of the story is: Invest your time in your students-you will both benefit in the long run!
Tim McConnell
Director of Aviation Accounts
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