Civilians- how did you pay for flight school?

eRiCdWoNg

New Member
Alright I'm gonna have some trouble paying for flight school. First, I'm most likely doing the civilian route. How I'm gonna pay for it is another matter. Looks like the parents are not supportive financially of the actual flying. I'm hoping maybe I can convince them later on to help. And the flying is going to be the most expensive part. Probably $40,000 for up to multi engine commercial rating.

Well my parents are the more traditional type. They still think I want to fly for fun. I asked them if I were to go to medical school if they'd help then and they said yes.
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So this makes me want to do flying even more. Now, where can I try to get scholarships etc?
 
Your estimate seems about right, maybe little low, but anyways I paid for mine as I went along. The local FBO would extend me a little credit at times. I was working as plumber / HVAC mechanic so I had a fairly decent income, I was single and living in a trailer though. When I made the decision to leave corporate america for a promising career as a flight instructor I was fortuante enough to be living in a house my father in law owned and he gave me a pass on rent while I was instructing.

My advice to you is don't get caught in revolving credit debt. That's a hole you don't want to be in. You are young enough that you don't have to get this done overnight, so work hard and steady but be smart about it. You will find an overwhelming conviction here to get your 4 yr. degree and I couldn't agree more. It will open up doors and opportunities for you, more than the actuall rateings will. Corporations, and yes the airlines are corporatins, need to justify the salary they pay thier pilots and it is easier for them to do so when the can justify to the HR people that this person has a 4yr. degree. I would say if the money is limited spend it on college first, and not an aiviation degree !!! If you demonstrate this maturity and self disipline you may sillently win over yur parents and gain thier approval and finaciall support. Good luck on your decisions.
 
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Civilians- how did you pay for flight school?

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Three jobs and a loan. Between flight school and Riddle, I'll probably be 50 before I pay all this crap off. I wish I had found a website like this to get advice from before I bought into the aviation degree...but I didn't, so in a few months I will have a nice useless piece of paper on my wall that cost about $100k. So I second the advice to get a degree in something else.
 
I paid for my own private by working minimum wage jobs and pumping gas at the airport. Parents were not overly supportive until I paid for my own private at 17. They then saw I was serious and family helped me get the rest of my ratings. I did it slow and as cheap as possible. I went to the local community college and lived at home...cheap. Later, I made the mistake of going to ERAU but money wasn't a problem at that point due to an inheritance. I even did ERAU on the cheap as back in the day you could graduate with a BS in Air Studies with only taking one ERAU flight course...that's what I did.

1) Get a job
2) Be sure that after you prove you're serious, you widen your support structure to include grandparents and uncles.
3) Tell your folks I make over three times what my dad would have topped out at in todays school teacher market. He says supporting me was the best investment he ever made...
 
Man, student loans (I had a nightmare about them last night...
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), and pimping myself out to anybody that had a dime to spare!! Since I'm in school, I get student loans, and since I'm a veteran I get Montgomery G.I. Bill benefits. Let me say this clearly... *I DO NOT RECCOMENT GOING INTO THE MILITARY SOLELY FOR THE G.I. BILL BENEFITS***. That being said, if you're considering serving in the military to serve your country, then the G.I. bill is a nice add-on.
 
Well, to be real honest, I was involved in a horrific car accident when I was about 4 years old that darned near killed me.

We're talking thick early spring "Tule Fog", speeding driver in the wrong lane, baby Dougie projectile, demolished windshield, reconstructive surgery, having to wear a 'turban' for six months, etc.

I can still hear my mom calmly say, "boys make sure your seatbelts are on", a tremendous impact, and then the next memory is an emergency room doctor with long nails and that weird glass with the metal webbing inside and a LOT of feverish commotion.

Those were the days when a car seat was out of the question and probably not even available.

The residual from the insurance settlement that was left over after covering my astronomical medical expenses was put into a trust fund which got me through about three years of Embry-Riddle.

My parents helped me with the rest of it, under the direction that I absolutely must do the same for my child if I ever cranked one out.

Hey, you asked!
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This is a very good topic Eric because me myself am struggling in paying for flight training. Right now I'm just about done with my PPL after 3 years of training. I must be the only student to earn a PPL in over 3 years because of money (probably flying once or twice a month)
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. Next week I'm planning on taking my FAA Written and the Check ride within this month. But unfortunately I dont have the money as I speak
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. Im just hoping to get something done this month. So if anyone has any advise for Eric and I, it will be appreciated.
By the way, does anyone know about any student loan program that can help for my flight training and doesnt require me to repay until I'm totally done with all my ratings?
 
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I must be the only student to earn a PPL in over 3 years

[/ QUOTE ] Nah, Corbin's first flight was at 17 and he didn't get his PPL until he was almost 24.
 
I work a lot in the summers and I make enough for about one new rating per year. I go to a community college on the cheap. The great thing about this is that I have virtually no debt.
 
I will be attending Ohio State University's aviation program. SInce they are such a large school they have programs that will adjust my federal need so that i have no out of pocket costs to worry about. I am in no way saying this is the best way (cause i gotta pay all that back @ $36K in flight labs alone) but this is what will work for me. Also, i will be able to finish my spanish degree and get an aviation degree to boot. If you want more info PM me. Don't feel too bad about your age. If all goes well, i will have my PPL before my 27th birthday.
 
I came out of my four year degree with no debt thanks to lots of scholarships. Now I'm at a school where, if I can continue as I have been, my tickets from zero time up to CFI-I and CFI-multi will cost just under $40,000. I figured that because coming out with that much debt was actually less than getting my masters degree, I was cool with financing it. I went through Key Bank and got a non-traditional education loan. No payments until I am done with the program, but interest does build during the deferred payment period. Add in living expenses and I'm in for about $46,000.

Not cheap at all, but alot better than it could have been. Thank goodness that degree took four years, a bit of work, and none of my own money . . . Don't know what I'd have done if I had been in debt to begin with!
 
I got a loan through Key Bank as well. Pretty good rates, and I could borrow the total amount in one loan. Good luck!

Grayson
 
I am paying for mine with lots and lots of loans through US Bank. If you arent going military and want to get your ratings/certificates in a reasonable time, I dont see how else to do it other than loans. I look at it this way....I would much rather spend the rest of my life paying off loans that allow me to fly than to work some jacked up factory job or some other entry level position (AKA claw my way up to middle management
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).
 
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Education Loan

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Does anyone know about a low-interest education loan that does not require me to immediately begin paying until after Im done with all my flight ratings??
 
My Keybank loan is deferred for 6 months after I finish my ratings. (I still have 4 more months left, no big hurry to make any money!)

G
 
Yeah, my Key loan was defferred for six months too. Unfortunately, the first bill should be coming any day now. I'm going to be in deeeeeeeeep trouble. Time to start looking for a few decent size boxes that I can string together, and stick in the corner of a hanger to sleep in.
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P.S.- That six month deferrment goes by FAST!!!!
 
OK Ive been doing some numbers crunching. Let me tell you a little more about me as well- first off besides about $1000 in credit card bills and a few thousand left on a sport bike I dont have any real huge debts. So far my car's been taken care of. I also went to the University of Miami my first year (read private school) and it was not cheap. I didnt do that well and it cost my parents probbly $40,000 that year alone. I can see why they are reluctant to spend huge amounts of money on me, so maybe it is time that I went ahead and got the loans out for myself. Yes it is alot of money but I'm also an only child, so its not like my parents are not able to help they are just unwilling (for now). They will pay for books, academics etc but the only thing they will not pay for is the actual flight costs. Other people go into medical school and wind up with huge student loan debt as well and their first few years itll be rough on them too.

I was looking at keybank's loan and I may consider that.
http://www.keybank.com/templates/t-ps2.jhtml?nodeID=H-1.32.c#top

In the meantime since I'm getting my PPL with the local flight school Im taking out a loan thru my local credit union (education loan) to help finance that.
Wish I could just win the lotto and not have to worry about that (** slaps myself cross head, brings back to reality**)....
 
Wow, Doug had Turbine time at 4 years old!


We paid as we went along (wife as well)

Pvt in 10 weeks or so, 3500 in the mid 1990s.

Inst about 6 mos later after we bought our first airplane. Found it was less expensive in the long run to buy vs rent to fly. wish we had bought the plane 1st.

Funniest part is we paid the FBO bill evey month with an American Airlines Visa card (which we pay off in full every month without exception) So as we were both learning to fly, we were earning frequent flyer miles.

It helps that we have no real debt so we had/have the cash on hand, and both work good jobs full time. A major league advantage of learning to fly in your 30s vs your teens.

If I was in your position I would look to work at the airport part time,(reduced rental ratres) Look into the C.A.P (Aloft, John Tenney/Giants Fan can help you with specifics on those groups) and even the Air wing of the USCG Aux all involve flying and exposure to General aviation and ever little corner you cut (in funding) the better. Plus it is a good start to networking.
 
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