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New pilot funding


av619

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I am 23 years old and I'm looking to become a helicopter pilot. I have done allot of research and know the routes that are possible to take to get in the air. I have gone and done an intro flight and I am ready to move forward with flight school.

 

I have been looking around and the last piece to the puzzle would be the funding. I have noticed some flight schools for fixed wing programs use Sallie Mae for funding. Would that be possible for me to use? Or are there any other ways I can get a loan with a decent interest rate?

 

Flight training specific loans on the Internet seem to have an extreme amount of interest as well as a very rapid timeframe on when you can pay it back. They will not work for me.

 

I am not currently interested in joining the military and have explored saving the money as a second option to a loan. I know most people will not recommend taking a loan as it will take many years to pay back but I feel that it will work well for me.

 

Lastly I have not talked with any local banks but have heard about potentially getting a loan from them although I think the maximum they will loan out is 50,000? I am looking for around 75 to 80,000.

 

My credit is considered excellent for my age.

 

Please if you have any information on how I can get a decent loan let me know also as I am sure this is a common problem there may be other previous forms on this topic and a simple link would be great too!

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Don't confuse "Good credit" with a lack of credit history. You can still have good credit but have nothin on your report worthwhile to convince someone to loan you $80K.

 

Well there's really only 3 ways to learn to fly. The military whether it be the GI Bill or flight school. A student loan or save the money. As you've stated the military isn't a path you

are interested in. So you'll need a loan or a savings plan. Key Bank is another loan institution to look at.

 

It really is just that simple. There's no secrets

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Are you willing to move anywhere? Helicopters Northwest in Seattle, WA offers in-house financing. You can check the website or call the office for more info. That's what me and most of the students there have done. It's no easy way out, that's for sure (still pretty high interest rate), but it's another option out there in a world of not many for flight training.

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-Talk to flight schools who have a 4 year degree program, they may have your answer.

- Use your good credit to get a few credit cards to pay for training.

- Go down to Florida and try to hook up with a sugar mama.

- Venture into Little Italy and ask for Scippio.

- Whore yourself out to 1000 fat chicks at 75 bucks a pop.

 

That's all I've got.

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Are you willing to move anywhere? Helicopters Northwest in Seattle, WA offers in-house financing. You can check the website or call the office for more info. That's what me and most of the students there have done. It's no easy way out, that's for sure (still pretty high interest rate), but it's another option out there in a world of not many for flight training.

thank you Lindsay ill look into that school and also it looks like they are willing to work through sallie mae too... Maybe i can see what my local flight school can do with Sallie Mae... The main disadvantage to moving would be that i just got a new job and moving jobs again would not be good for me. (I know once I get mt pilot license i will have to move wherever i can get work but until then i would like to hold down this job)

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Pay for your training as you go. You don't want to be saddled with a ton of debt and be barely employable at starvation wages.

Plan on having a job that allows you to pay for at least 2 to 3 lessons a week.

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Pay for your training as you go. You don't want to be saddled with a ton of debt and be barely employable at starvation wages.

Plan on having a job that allows you to pay for at least 2 to 3 lessons a week.

 

This option would not have worked for me. I cant think of many jobs I could have held when I was 18 that would have paid for 2-3 lessons per week plus living expenses. Plus if I was working said job or jobs I doubt I would have had time to really put the time and effort into my training that it needed.

 

Just curious, what job did you have if this is the way you went through training. That would probably be the best option because debt sucks! Just wouldn't have worked for me.

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I had to get a loan for a large chunk of my training.... and I was working full time as a cop. But having a family didnt allow for that type of money to be left laying around. 2-3 lessons a week..... thats $1000 a week. I had the old GI Bill with the 60/40 arraignment. They paid for 60% and I paid for the remaining 40%. Although that was FW. I paid for all of my helicopter add-ons out of pocket. So again.... every says don't get a loan. Ultimately its your individual circumstances that dictate. I got a loan through Key Bank to make up the difference.

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This option would not have worked for me. I cant think of many jobs I could have held when I was 18 that would have paid for 2-3 lessons per week plus living expenses. Plus if I was working said job or jobs I doubt I would have had time to really put the time and effort into my training that it needed.

 

Just curious, what job did you have if this is the way you went through training. That would probably be the best option because debt sucks! Just wouldn't have worked for me.

I'm with these guys. Get a job and pay as you go. I'd start with your Gyro rating, then do a Class add-on. It will save you money as you work your way through the process. Consider partnering in buying your own machine...(but not for the faint of heart). There is a thead on how to save money on this forum. I'll see if I can find it.

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Consider skipping Private Gyro and go straight to Commercial Gyro, then Helicopter Class Add-on. Dr Salmon explains various scenarios.

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Getting a loan is easy. Paying it back is the difficult part…….

 

Best case scenario is; you finance your training and get hired at the school where you trained. The school provides you with enough students to allow you to work full-time. However, a full time CFI can’t make enough to live, and pay back a loan. Therefore, a part-time job WILL BE required. Moreover, an additional part-time job will be necessary until you pay-off the loan. This means, even when you move on from flight instruction, you’ll need some kind of additional income…..

 

Worst case scenario; you finance your training through CFII certification and don’t get hired. This unfortunate situation would require you to find a job, outside of flying, just to pay back the loan. This usually leads to reliance on full-time employment until the debt is paid. Sadly, when the debt is paid, you’ve been out of the saddle for so long, you’ll need more cash to get up to speed and find a job. That is, even if you are in a place where you can attempt to re-seek your goal. Many, and I mean MANY, folks never touch the controls again simply because life takes over and the dream fades into reality…….

 

Consider this, your 23 years old. Find enough work to occupy your every waking moment. Live like a minimalist-miser and save the cash…...

 

Basically it’s not wise to start a career as a helicopter pilot while strapped to debt. Why? Because you’ll need to accumulate more debt just to survive as a poverty-level pilot……..

Edited by Spike
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To av619 and to others. It is said that if you want to help others you tell them the truth. To help yourself you tell others what they want to hear. This topic has been beat to death over and over again. You are young and not wise to the ways of the world. It is insanely absurd to think that borrowing is the gateway to success in this pursuit of happiness known as "Heli-Crack". I know MANY people who never got there first job as an instructor, therefore unable to become a professional pilot and are saddled with an un-payable debt for essentially forever. It sucks, really sucks badly. Remember the quote from above? Here is my 10 cents. Walk away from the "borrowing the money" idea; no don't walk, RUN. Now did I tell you a truth or did I tell you what you wanted to hear? Good luck in your decision! Pursue your dreams, but pay as you go. Down the road you will REALLY appreciate the advice.

Edited by Carpenter
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Fleman and OP,

 

Training "rapidly" might not be the best alternative for a financial future. You asked what job a person could pay their way through flight training with? I was a hunting and fishing guide summer and fall, ski instructor through the winter and would add another flight rating or two each spring. Went back in the hills broke each summer but managed all my ratings without a single loan. Sure, it took a few years but looking back I was miles ahead of the guys who had huge student loans, had gained valuable work experience to fall back on and used that as a spring board to open aviation doors that never would have opened otherwise.

 

Bottom line is there's lots of ways to skin the cat, the point is just to get the skin off the cat with the least amount of damage to yourself.

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You could always try to land a job at a helicopter operation if there is one near you; fueling, sweeping the hangar, loading for an AG operation, etc.

 

That way you will at least be in the helicopter environment and able to learn a lot about the business while you are saving for training. If you get lucky, you might even score a few flight hours from time to time.

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To av619 and to others. It is said that if you want to help others you tell them the truth. To help yourself you tell others what they want to hear. This topic has been beat to death over and over again. You are young and not wise to the ways of the world. It is insanely absurd to think that borrowing is the gateway to success in this pursuit of happiness known as "Heli-Crack". I know MANY people who never got there first job as an instructor, therefore unable to become a professional pilot and are saddled with an un-payable debt for essentially forever. It sucks, really sucks badly. Remember the quote from above? Here is my 10 cents. Walk away from the "borrowing the money" idea; no don't walk, RUN. Now did I tell you a truth or did I tell you what you wanted to hear? Good luck in your decision! Pursue your dreams, but pay as you go. Down the road you will REALLY appreciate the advice.

 

You could probably extend this advice to most 17 year-olds planning on taking on $120,000 of debt to go to college to later get a job that pays $40,000/year.

Edited by Bootcamp
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Sadly the cost of education has become a mili-million or multi-billion dollar business like anything else. When I see a 3 unit online criminal justice class going for $1300 I just want to puke. A buddy of mine wanted into the secret service so bad he could hardly stand it. Did an entire degree online so he could power through his degree as fast as possible. Never once did he set foot in an actual building. Everything was done online.... to the tune of about $57K. And... No, he never did get hired by the USSS.

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You could always try to land a job at a helicopter operation if there is one near you; fueling, sweeping the hangar, loading for an AG operation, etc.

 

That way you will at least be in the helicopter environment and able to learn a lot about the business while you are saving for training. If you get lucky, you might even score a few flight hours from time to time.

If you’re going to do that you may as well get you’re A&P license. Many professional pilots I know started with their A&P and it looks really good on a resume later when you are competing with someone without one, for a flying job.

 

http://www.airframeandpowerplant.com/Eligibility.html

 

https://www.faa.gov/mechanics/become/basic/

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What burg says about A&Ps is very true. However the tradeoff is that once you have a flying job that requires an A&P by your employer, you get to fly all day and wrench all night only to find yourself flying early the next day then repeating the process.

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Consider skipping Private Gyro and go straight to Commercial Gyro, then Helicopter Class Add-on. Dr Salmon explains various scenarios.

(Cross-posted)

 

Magniflight:

 

Paul Salmon is still instructing at KCGI in R-22's and R-44's. He has done everything he said he could do and even bought that Brantley he was talking about. He has made at least 8 trips to the west coast from Missouri and has provided some of the best instruction in the country. He has transitioned several gyroplane commercial and CFI's to helo commercial and CFI's. And has saved his students vast amounts of money.

A friend of mine added a gyroplane CFI on to his fixed wing CFI ratings, then added his helo CFI, and now flies bell 206's commercially. Spent less than 10 grand to get there. (We're still perplexed he talked his way into a turbine job so fast!)

Check out CapeCopters for additional info

 

Mark Sprigg, CFI, DPE

MagniFlight LLC

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