I hope it isn't
I qualified as a power kite instructor this summer. Total cost so far?

First aid course: £285
Instructor Course: £255
Travelling fees: £100 (Cornwall and back from East Anglia plus various others)
Accommodation: £100
Insurance: £288 per year
Extra equipment: Not all bought yet, but will be roughly £500 - £600


This is on a student loan. Also, I'll give you one guess concerning how many people want to learn an exclusively outdoor and wind-dependant sport in Edinburgh, in winter.


I'm hoping it'll pick up next summer, when I intend to live and work in Cornwall for a few months, but I think I'll be spending a cold and austere winter here.
( MatJ LOOK, Mon 4 Oct 2010, 1:40, 4 replies)

There are been a few gap year students at work who go off to be "instructors".
I convinced it's a scam to get money out of the motivated; but still dumb young.

Hope it goes well, I think you'll need to move and find a money skill for the off season to make it work. Cab driver or something.
(waxdart hello., Mon 4 Oct 2010, 9:41, closed)

It's not a scam
It was entirely my own choice, and I had to set everything up from scratch. Frankly, a scam would probably have been cheaper. I can also work for myself and charge what I like - there's nothing to tie me into any company or association.

You're right about eh off season though. My thoughts at the moment are that when I complete my degree, I'll do the kiting in summer and some ski season stuff in the winter - probably not teaching skiing though. There's a possibility of becoming a kite ski instructor, but because of various mountain guiding laws I don't think I can take people above 500m, so doing in this country may not be practical.
( MatJ LOOK, Mon 4 Oct 2010, 12:41, closed)

Might regret this....
....but if you're setting up on your own don't set up in cornwall. Loads of powerkite classes and stuff there already, (mobius, penhale..) but here in north devon there are bugger all.

Westward Ho has no-one, amazingly, despite being one of the main spots for it.

If you see a out-of-control muppet on a mountain board with a 3m Ozone, it's probably either me or my sister.

Say hi.
(inflateable, Mon 4 Oct 2010, 20:24, closed)

I'll bear it in mind
I had someone from the school on Watergate bay tell me I should send him my CV after he saw me flying on the beach, so I'll be doing that first. But if that doesn't materialise, North Devon sounds good - thanks for the tip. St. Andrews is also a vague possibility as is the Kent coast, but that latter one is a bit overcrowded in summer and there are a lot of restrictions.
( MatJ LOOK, Tue 5 Oct 2010, 1:32, closed)