kellwolf
Piece of Trash
I did. One person said "CFI," and most people said it's an individual choice.
CFI or Great Lakes?
- Thread starter coa787
- Start date
I did. One person said "CFI," and most people said it's an individual choice.
I'm just wondering where you are planning on going to school. I would suggest a school like Purdue, UND, Ohio State, or Kent State. I would not recommend someplace like Embry-Riddle if you are planning to fly there. It will be nothing more than a huge waste of money for just average flight training.
Also, I would recommend flight instructing to anyone over a place like Great Lakes. I think you will learn more flight instructing than in any other entry level flying position.
youngflyer
Well-Known Member
UND, purdue, Ohio State, and Kent are way more expensive than the FBO route.
av8or91
Well-Known Member
How so? If you plan on getting a college degree, thats about 30-40k. Your training from private through CFII could be around 50k. I go to UND and really dont find it more expensive than going to an FBO. If anything it works out to be less than the FBO route since less time is required for certificates and ratings. Aircraft rental is alot cheaper here but instructors are a few dollars more.
youngflyer
Well-Known Member
I am talking actual flight costs. I found this off of the UND website:
Commercial Aviation $ 57,012 Private/ Commercial/ Instrument/Multi Engine/CFI/CFII/ATC Simulator/Altitude Chamber Lab/ CRJ 200 FTD/FAA WrittenYou could get all of your ratings within $30,000-40,000 at a local FBO.
AngelFuree
Well-Known Member
I paid $47,000 for my PPL-CFII and CRJ training (I just checked the invoicing, including flights, sims, and ground briefings). This was between 2004-2007, though. UND is not SO MUCH more expensive than going the FBO route. The costs add up when you factor in the four year degree, not the flight training. I was able to get in-state tuition my second year which brought my costs down dramatically.
YMMV, of course. However, education is getting a LOT more expensive everywhere, every year.
youngflyer
Well-Known Member
Alright. I understand now.
coa787
Unknown Member
I'm most likely going to attend UND. I've never given ERAU a second thought after I've heard about and seen their flight training expenses and their expenses overall.
Polar742
All the responsibility none of the authority
coa787
Unknown Member
Youngflyer, from what I understand you are partially paying for your flight training right now, with your parents paying the rest. See, I don't really have that option. I've been working at a grocery store since I've started my freshman year in high school, making $5.15 an hour. Now I'm a senior and I still haven't accumulated enough money to even get a PPL at the FBO near me.
So, I figured that I would just get all of my ratings while I'm in college. Then, after I graduate, I could just get a job as a CFI or at an airline like Great Lakes and start paying back my loans.
coa787
Unknown Member
Yes. I thought that was what I said.
USMCmech
Well-Known Member
I like your way of thinking.
youngflyer
Well-Known Member
Ahh. I understand. I pay the bulk of my flight training but instead of paying for my entire license all at once, I pay for my lessons on a weekly basis so I do not have to accumulate a huge sum to even start my flight lessons.
WacoFan
Bigly
I want to have a unique aviation career. My goal would be this -
Fly nothing but taildraggers, OR tri-gear airplanes - but ONLY if equipped with radial engines. Special consideration would be given to jobs with radial engined taildraggers and biplanes.
coa787
Unknown Member
Well, you started flight training at a rather young age (fifteen, I think?) - plenty of time to pay for your flight training lesson-by-lesson and get the ratings that you want. As for me, all I have left is just this last academic year and I'm off to college. Plus, I like the option of getting my ratings while I'm in college.
If I take the FBO route, I'll have to keep working at some tedious job and I would have to pay for ALL of my training, and I would still have to go to college anyway and then pay for that. So that would take a while. I really don't mind having to pay back a huge loan, as long as it gets me to where I want to be in life.
youngflyer
Well-Known Member
Ahhh. I understand. That option sounds like a good option for you.
kellwolf
Piece of Trash
Okay, hate to be the dose of reality, but this track of thinking might put you in a financial crunch. Keep in mind, I didn't take out one of the huge mega-loans people are taking out right now, but I see plenty of FOs here that have. It ain't pretty.
Taking out a $60K-100K loan for a job that starts at $18K (or LESS if you're talking CFI or Great Lakes) is setting yourself up for financial distress right off the bat. I know guys whose loan payments are more than RENT. At some point you have to ask yourself if the stress of wondering where the next meal is coming from b/c you've got a $600-1000 loan payment a MONTH you have to pay is worth having a flying job. For me, personally, it wouldn't be. Flying's fun and the job is great, but it's not worth the personal hell that puts you through. Think long and hard about taking out a huge loan in order to get a job that you won't be able to make payments for a while. With things slowing down, the "I'll upgrade in two years" argument isn't carrying much merit anymore, either. If you do decide that it's worth it, that's your decision. However, keep that in mind down the road. I hear too many people complaining about how they can't make rent, a loan payment and afford food b/c they went to one of those schools that cost an arm and a leg. Too many of them don't wanna look in the mirror to see the person that made that decision. They'd rather blame it on the industry slowing down, management, the union, etc.
