Classic hires instructors who have the Commercial, Instrument, Flight Instructor and Instrument Instructor ratings; however, a pilot can work in this industry as an instructor without the Instrument and Instrument Instructor ratings.
Remember that you need 200 total hours in helicopters, which includes 50 hours in the Robinson R22 before you can teach in the R22. You also need to be a safe, conservative pilot and you need to enjoy people and teaching. Keeping your ego in check is something that we consider to be really important, and this goes hand-in-hand with understanding the concepts of respect and responsibility, for each other and the aircraft. Our staff and students are encouraged to work together rather than compete with one another.
Instructors will make $18-28 per hour for flight time and usually less for ground instruction; however; the Instrument Instructor's wage will be on the higher end of this scale and they are definitely more marketable, which means that the flight schools want to hire them and they make more money.
Once you work for 1-1.5 years as an instructor and have accrued 1,000-1,500 hours, you are then able to apply for a job as an entry-level turbine pilot. Several of our in-house instructors who meet these qualifications typically leave Classic each year for opportunities as an entry-level turbine pilot.