Will the GI Bill pay for flight training?

[Daniel]

Maybe this is a stupid question, because I posted here before and nobody mentioned it, but I thought I'd better make it explicit.

 

I took my intro flight on Sunday and the person at the school I took it at said that the Montgomery GI bill won't pay for flight training, only for "academic" studies. After that she went off about someone not getting the MOS they wanted (is what it sounded like; that's not exactly what she said), so I thought maybe she didn't know what she was talking about.

 

In summary, can I in fact use my Montgomery GI dollars toward flight training? My recruiter said that I can, but he's my recruiter so I have a hard time believing anything he says.

 

(Also, I took the ASVAB and my AFQT score was 98. Booya!)

[klmmarine]

I took my intro flight on Sunday and the person at the school I took it at said that the Montgomery GI bill won't pay for flight training, only for "academic" studies. After that she went off about someone not getting the MOS they wanted (is what it sounded like; that's not exactly what she said), so I thought maybe she didn't know what she was talking about.

 

In summary, can I in fact use my Montgomery GI dollars toward flight training? My recruiter said that I can, but he's my recruiter so I have a hard time believing anything he says.

 

The answer to your question is yes and no. The GI Bill will not cover any portion of your private pilots license. However the GI Bill can be used to reimburse 60% of further flight training (commercial, Inst, CFI, CFII). the training has to be for career training, at an approved part 141 school. You have to have a 2nd class medical and meet certain academic standards in your training.

 

If you had done a search for GI Bill you would have found numerous threads here about this topic. I would recommend talking to someone in management at the school where you had your intro flight. That CFI needs to be re-educated about GI Bill benefits so she doesn't continue to misinform prospective student pilots.

[wild_blue]

I have asked that question before and the answer I got from the army recruiter was:''as long as the flight school is accredited you should be able to use the GI Bill''. He said you'd have to check with the flight school to find out and then check with your recruiter(or whoever you trust in your case). Good luck!

[mechanic]

I have asked that question before and the answer I got from the army recruiter was:''as long as the flight school is accredited you should be able to use the GI Bill''. He said you'd have to check with the flight school to find out and then check with your recruiter(or whoever you trust in your case). Good luck!

 

Rule #1 NEVER NEVER trust the recruiter first!

 

What he was trying to say was that the school needs to be a FAA Part 141 school, like what klmmarine described above.

 

Yes you can use your GI Bill for the private, BUT BUT you must be in a degree'd course, ie.. College Program and the VA only pays like you are in a normal college course. Does not reimburse at 60% either, you just get your monthly max payment if you take 12 or more credit hrs semester.

I second klmmarine, in that the school has a or some VA Approved training Course's, if they want to offer VA approved courses. Just because a school may be Part 141 does not guarantee they offer VA programs. Each course offered is evaluated separately.

 

Lastly, if you have more questions do a search using the search feature top right using VA or GI Bill. Go to the source if you are a veteran, your local VA Office or Regional VA Office will answer your questions.

 

www.gibill.va.gov/

(Also, I took the ASVAB and my AFQT score was 98. Booya!)

 

Are you going Army, looking to get a Warrant slot? I don't know if you know about UND, the nations only Army endorsed heli/college program. You can take ROTC courses, college academics, and flight all at the same school and the Army pays upward of $93,500 if you qualify.

 

Helicopter Flight Training ScholarshipThis scholarship program is designed for aviation majors who have contracted with Army ROTC and want to fly helicopters. This program is unique to UND and pays approximately $93,500 in flight fees. Upon completion, cadets earn Private, Commercial, and Instrument helicopter ratings (approx. 175 hours).

 

Additional Qualifications and Requirements

• At least a private pilot fixed wing rating (at your own expense)
  
• Pass Class 1A Flight Physical
  
• Pass Army Aviation Flight Aptitude Skills Test (AFAST)
  
• 20/20 uncorrected near vision
  
• 20/50 distant vision corrected to 20/20

 
UND Helicopter Program
 
Later

[klmmarine]

Rule #1 NEVER NEVER trust the recruiter first!

 

Yes you can use your GI Bill for the private, BUT BUT you must be in a degree'd course, ie.. College Program and the VA only pays like you are in a normal college course. Does not reimburse at 60% either, you just get your monthly max payment if you take 12 or more credit hrs semester.

www.gibill.va.gov/

 

I second what Mechanic says about not trusting the recruiter, you should always get a non-biased confirmation of anything that the recruiter tells you.

 

What Mechanic says about the normal VA payment is also right. It adds up to around $1000 per month. If you are attending an R22 school and you can get an hourly rate of $200 then that is about 5 hours per month. At that rate you can expect your private training to take at least 8 months but probably much much longer because you will spend significant amounts of time re-learning.

 

This is probably all semantics at this point. You haven't joined the military yet so you have at least four years before you have to worry about getting your GI Bill benefits. Just do your time and save some money, that way when you get out if you still want to fly you won't have to take out loans to cover what the GI Bill won't. You could also start your training while you are in the military. Either through a commisioning program in the Army or on your own at a civilian school in your free time. Good Luck.

[Pogue]

What Mechanic says about the normal VA payment is also right. It adds up to around $1000 per month. If you are attending an R22 school and you can get an hourly rate of $200 then that is about 5 hours per month. At that rate you can expect your private training to take at least 8 months but probably much much longer because you will spend significant amounts of time re-learning.

A couple clarifications - There are very few (nearing zero) degree programs where the VA is willing to pay educational benefits for helicopter flight. The programs may require flight time as part of the program, but offer it in fixed wing with helicopter time being an option. I'm aware of at least one case where the VA is being picky about that. A regular flight training program with a 141 school is not a problem. I'm not discouraging getting a degree, but it's not going to be cheaper and you're not going to get more of a benefit doing it that way.

 

As far as the monthly payment goes, you are not limited to $1000, I got over $1600 last month and I'm only getting 36% reimbursement on CH 1607. The normal VA reimbursement is 60 percent of the approved hours, which I believe is the FAA minimum plus 20 percent. So you are limited by the number of hours they are willing to pay and your total eligibility. Unlike the regular tuition you are not limited to a fixed monthly payment.

[mechanic]

I think the UVSC heli option doing a split program is the most cost effective. VA pays academic courses during normal semesters taking 12 or more credits. Then summer semester take vocational flight training at a part 141 school. Then go back to normal course work in spring and fall. Not the quickest but, I believe most cost effective using the VA funds. And, you can get grants etc..for the normal courses as well.

 

Later

[Pogue]

I think the UVSC heli option doing a split program is the most cost effective. VA pays academic courses during normal semesters taking 12 or more credits. Then summer semester take vocational flight training at a part 141 school. Then go back to normal course work in spring and fall. Not the quickest but, I believe most cost effective using the VA funds. And, you can get grants etc..for the normal courses as well.

Good point, Mechanic. I would caution that there is a maximum benefit (36 months?) that both programs count against. If enrolled in both programs the benefits will probably run out before they're completed. This is not a bad thing, since you've used everything you've got coming to you, but you do need to plan for it.

[Voluptuary5]

...Also, I took the ASVAB and my AFQT score was 98. Booya!

 

 

Daniel,

 

Congrats on that AFQT score; very impressive. Just curious, what your GT score was after almost acing the ASVAB.

 

 

-V5

[Rob Lyman]

I used my VA benefits to get my CFI and CFII after leaving the military. The GI bill will NOT pay for private pilot license training, but will pay for follow-on training (commercial,instrument, CFI, CFII, MEI, ATP, etc...). It does NOT have to be a university/college course, just a VA approved part 141 school. Not all 141 schools are VA approved.

 

I did mine at the Jax Navy Flying Club. Unfortunately they have no helos, so my CFI & CFII were fixed wing.