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SoCal RV Transition Training

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EvelynHarris

I'm New Here
Greetings,

I wanted to put out feelers to gauge interest/need for an RV series transition training instructor in the greater Southern California area. I’m a cfi/cfii based out of KCCB with 250 hours across the RV-7 and the RV-12. I also hold a tailwheel endorsement. If there is interest what is the consensus on fair market rate for transition instructors .

Evelyn
 
Welcome to VAF!
When I was looking for transition training in SoCal a few years ago the only true transition trainers were out of state and required a considerable amount coordination, luck and travel expense.
Good luck
 
I was tough for me to get transition training after I finished building my RV8. It was the last year that Bob Bohanon was offering training. Due to work and family commitment, it was tough for me to fly out to Texas for a week and get trained. The main problem with finding a transition CFI is not knowing the local CFI who is offering this service. Everything was by words of mouth. I think if you post your flyers to the local airports that the FAA allows for Phase 1 testing, this includes Corona, Chino, Riverside, French Valley, and Flabob, you should get a lot of inquiries. I am based at Corona and there are RV builders and people who purchase used RVs. Their owners would love to get transition training if CFIs are easier to find.
 
EvelynHarris said:
Greetings,

I wanted to put out feelers to gauge interest/need for an RV series transition training instructor in the greater Southern California area. I’m a cfi/cfii based out of KCCB with 250 hours across the RV-7 and the RV-12. I also hold a tailwheel endorsement. If there is interest what is the consensus on fair market rate for transition instructors .

Evelyn
Click to expand...
If you're asking about the rate for a transition instructor who provides an airplane with a LODA, the cost of setting all that up is quite high so the fair market rate corresponds to the instructor's investment.

If you're talking about instructing a pilot in their airplane, that would be similar to other local freelance instruction rates. I'm sure you know this type of transition training would only be possible on the secondary market, so that limits the pool of potential customers, but there certainly are pilots who need this service.

I've been a CFI for 24 years and the last 14 have been as a freelance instructor. My rate is influenced by the local market, but it's mostly based on my ability and experience as an instructor. I typically specialize in a few different M&Ms, but I have instructed in many different types. However, my rate doesn't change when I instruct in those M&Ms vs. any other airplane.

Hope this helps.
 
Talk to the others that are giving transition training. Daniel Wotring at Cable has given transition training in the past. Ron Rapp in Orange County has helped a lot of RVers plus he flys an RV when not doing his corporate flying job. Reuven down at I think Ramona has or had a LODA and did transition training. I moved out of my hangar at CCB in 2013 so may not have the latest info. There is more info on the SoCAL-RVlist Groups.io.
 
Nihon_Ni said:
If you're asking about the rate for a transition instructor who provides an airplane with a LODA, the cost of setting all that up is quite high so the fair market rate corresponds to the instructor's investment.
Click to expand...
+1. In particular the cost of insuring the cfi’s plane (if that’s what is used) has driven most of the free-lance cfi’s away, leaving just a couple of people who hope to do enough volume to cover that cost.
 
Derek.plough said:
Is a LODA still needed though?
Click to expand...
To PAY for the use of an EXPERIMENTAL airplane, YES it is. Have not seen any changes in that. EXPERIMENTAL Operating Limitations do NOT allow an EXPERIMENTAL airplane to be used for compensation or hire without a LODA.
 
RV6_flyer said:
To PAY for the use of an EXPERIMENTAL airplane, YES it is. Have not seen any changes in that. EXPERIMENTAL Operating Limitations do NOT allow an EXPERIMENTAL airplane to be used for compensation or hire without a LODA.
Click to expand...

Sounds like this person isn’t going to be providing her own plane for instruction, rather making herself available for those finishing or acquiring new to them planes in their own planes. Hence no LODA.

EvelynHarris said:
Greetings,

I wanted to put out feelers to gauge interest/need for an RV series transition training instructor in the greater Southern California area. I’m a cfi/cfii based out of KCCB with 250 hours across the RV-7 and the RV-12. I also hold a tailwheel endorsement. If there is interest what is the consensus on fair market rate for transition instructors .

Evelyn
Click to expand...

Please be sure to focus on AOA in your training. And include constant AOA turns as well as the utility of AOA beyond mere stall awareness. You can use Vac’s stuff as convenient reference. Or mine for more convoluted reference.

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Sorry, I have no idea for fair rates.
 
A fair rate depends on the level of service you are willing to provide. Discuss the goals of training with prospective clients. Additional pilot duties during first flights and phase 1 need to be balanced with engine break in and system integration.
Are you willing to assist the new owner with checklist development? Writing a POH? Hours of ground training before the first flights? Flying with the transition pilot in a familiar airplane before jumping in the RV? Maintenance during transition training like an oil change?

Safety of flight is #1, risk is inherent. Set a daily rate is my recommendation. The hours can be long since you’re not just renting a trainer plane to fly for a couple hours. Be up front with your rate. If you want to fly more lower it, if you don’t mind flying less, raise it. Best of luck! We need more transition CFIs.
 
FlyinTiger said:
A fair rate depends on the level of service you are willing to provide. Discuss the goals of training with prospective clients. Additional pilot duties during first flights and phase 1 need to be balanced with engine break in and system integration.
Are you willing to assist the new owner with checklist development? Writing a POH? Hours of ground training before the first flights? Flying with the transition pilot in a familiar airplane before jumping in the RV? Maintenance during transition training like an oil change?
Click to expand...

To clarify, a transition CFI is not a test pilot. If you’re doing phase one, that is not transition. Can some parts of phase one be done in parallel? Sure, but not all. If you’re doing phase one, this is a different skill set than instructing. Checklists and POH development again are different. Pay commensurate with work, good, pay should reflect different works.
 
Fffflats said:
To clarify, a transition CFI is not a test pilot. If you’re doing phase one, that is not transition. Can some parts of phase one be done in parallel? Sure, but not all. If you’re doing phase one, this is a different skill set than instructing. Checklists and POH development again are different. Pay commensurate with work, good, pay should reflect different works.
Click to expand...
Precisely why an open discussion with a pilot requesting transition training is necessary. My caution to would be transition training CFIs is that if neither person in the plane has flown that specific experimental amature built airframe before there is an element of risk. Every panel is different, every combination of switches and control stick is different.

What a transition pilot is paying a CFI for is being resilient, flexible and to bring skills that are safety focused and able to sort out the noise. Someone mentioned charging a “normal market rate” for RV instruction. I’m suggesting that a safe RV transition CFI is worth a lot more than the newby training private pilots in a Piper or Cessna.

In the end most of us do it for fun since the money doesn’t cover insurance most of the time. It is only worth what someone is willing to pay.
 
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