AirBman21 Posted July 27, 2009 Posted July 27, 2009 Howdy yall, i have been reading through as many posts as i can find on this forum and i sure am happy i found a forum with so much information readily available. I have to admit im still slightly unsure of some of the specifics but thats no biggie. My real question is about the path to becoming a pilot. Obviously there are different routes that best suite different people but im trying to find out which way to go with my background. Ive been a crew chief in the air force for about a year now and i have just been upgraded to a 5 level so i can start taking some courses now. We have an Embry Riddle office on base and im going to get as much information from them as i can this week. I was also thinking about possibly getting my A&P license as well. My question is should i start working on the 4 year degree now to add to my resume and get as much school payed for while im in and then use my leftover GI bill for some of my flight schooling or should i try and go for my A&P so i can be a mechanic after i get out so i can sustain myself while doing my flight training. At this point i think having an A&P license as well as four years as a crew chief in the military seems redundant. I know theres a lot to consider but any help from you experienced fellas sure would help me out. Ill have to work on figuring out the whole GI bill nonsense as well i guess too huh? Please bear with me as i know im not as knowledgeable as yall but let me know what ya think Quote
crashed_05 Posted July 27, 2009 Posted July 27, 2009 I was a crewchief in the Marines on the CH-46. I just got out last year and got my A&P license at the National Aviation Academy in clearwater, FL. They have a two week course and you're pretty much guaranteed to get your certificate. Look them up and give them a call to see if your MOS qualifies for the two week course. The old GI Bill reimburses you for half the cost of tuition, and the full cost of your written and practical exams. I don't know how much you looked into the gi bill, but the old one reimburses you for 60% of the flight training fees after you get your PPL. The new GI Bill does not cover flight training alone, but if you attend a college in persuit of being a pilot, then it will cover both the college tuition and the flight fees associated with earning your degree...up to the maximum allowable rate for whatever state your school is in. The only school that I know of that the VA approved for this is in OR, which has a maximum allowable rate of 42,000 per term. Check out my other post on here titled Leading Edge Aviation. I'm sure there will be/already are other schools approved for this. I heard from another post on here that the VA has a list of approved schools. Quote
RagMan Posted July 27, 2009 Posted July 27, 2009 Not meaning to threadjack in any way here. I'm kind of in the same boat, AirBman. Finishing up my 6 years in the Army as a hawk crewchief. Looking to get out and do the college/flight school route using the GI bill, but have a couple jobs in mind first to help save up money (one of them being a civilian crew chief job in the Bahamas.) I definitely plan on grabbing the A&P license before I get out. We also have a 2 week course here at Ft. Campbell, KY that honors military applicants, granted they meet experience criteria for the course. It's just something to fall back on in case the flight school route ends up taking longer than expected, and it's something I can do as a side job. So I would definitely recommend the A&P license. Quote
AirBman21 Posted July 28, 2009 Author Posted July 28, 2009 dont worry man, im glad to see im not the only one trying to figure this out haha. I just went to embry riddle today and she could not really point me in the exact direction because i dont believe there is one. It seems that it depends on what the company is looking for a great deal. They do have a program where you get your a&p along with your four year degree but im not sure how that would compare with the schools that offer flight training along with their degree (the new gi bill would be used for those types of schools i assume). Embry Riddle has the aeronautical science degree that specializes in aerospace management which along with an A&P seems like it would make me able to work in all facets of aeronautics no? What do yall think would be a better route to being the most well qualified pilot? Quote
macatstarr Posted July 28, 2009 Posted July 28, 2009 I spent 5 years in the corps as a CH-53 crewchief w/ similiar ambitions. I got out in 99 and got my B.S. degree in Business/Aviation in 2003. I also acquired my PPL in that time. Due to life's circumstances ( a family, mortgage, etc..) I am no longer pursuing flight as a career, only a hobby w/ a purchase of an R22. However, if i were in your shoes & wanted to fly. I would ask, did you enjoy your military service? if so, then try the Warrant program in the Army!! if you can get it in, why not let the government pay for it. Also, if you want to go to college, I would look into the public universities 1st. I went to Auburn & I know others like Purdue & UND (north dakota), I would also suggest looking into ROTC, again if you are like me, $$$ was always an issue & I would suggest letting the government or state foot the bill. If you are dead set on getting out of the military all together, then definetly get the A&P, and work your way through flight school through flight school. Basically the best I advice I can give you, is do what you want while your young and w/ limited responsibilites. Also, try your best to mitigate your DEBT!! Don't spend 100K to get a 50K/yr job!. be smart... Quote
AirBman21 Posted July 28, 2009 Author Posted July 28, 2009 Well sir, to answer your question i do enjoy the military, but im pretty sure i dont want to raise a family in the military. It seems like some of these schools that offer flight hours along with a degree would be covered by the new GI bill no? if so i guess i just have to choose to go right after the flight hours or go for my degree and A&P license to fund my flying AFTER i get out. Ive read about these new schools that integrate flight time with the degree being slightly unstable. Help a young pilot in training out please! haha Quote
crashed_05 Posted July 28, 2009 Posted July 28, 2009 Going WOFT would be very awesome, and I was looking into it for a while. But, I figured I wasn't ready to jump right back into the military again. I'll enjoy my time out, get my ratings as a civilian and see where that takes me. If this Post 9/11 GI Bill wasn't completely covering my training, I'd have already applied for WOFT a while ago. Quote
macatstarr Posted July 28, 2009 Posted July 28, 2009 I guess i'm not up on the lastest info. I have heard of flight schools intergrated w/ a degree, but I questions some of these schools, like southern northern valley state river college university (joking)& get your Bachelors in only 12 months... I would do some serious inquires into the accredidation and legitimacy of such a program. But w/ the technology today and online I guess you can do about anything. I was just suggesting schools I'd heard of & public instead of private because, schools like Embry Riddle, while very good, will cost you a small fortune. I will honestly tell you, I called the Army ROTC program @ UND in 1999 (where they own & fly the schweizer 300 & bell jet ranger before you train @ fort rucker) and the Commander basically offered me a full ride over the phone. that was a hell of a deal & this southern boy just didn't have the ballz to go for it. I do agree w/ your concerns about raising a family in the services these days and w/ the deployment rotations I would probably make the same choice as you, however w/ our new leadership in the white house, we will most likely see a decline in deployments and funding for that matter, but thats another subject. I guess I can't help you out, but listening to your 1st post reminded me of me 10 years ago. I was getting $450/mo from the GI Bill. Paying for college & flight training was extremely difficult also working part time i still couldn't get it done. Even so, I would stick w/ getting the A&P which should allow you to gain employment making between $20 to $30/ hr. I would also look for helicopter work specfically; one of the off shore gigs or even better, a robinson service center! one that maybe advertises on here. Maybe you could trade work for flight training. Lastly I challenge you to be unconventional when approaching your future career, What I mean is don't be like the next guy who just takes out the 70K loan for flight training & starts out w/ all that debt. Work a little, piece-mill your training together, with our economy it will be to your benefit to be very frugal. If Obama's Cap & Trade goes through, you will see almost all offshore operations shutdown, & this market will be saturated w/ experienced high time pilots... just like the fixed wing community which is all but dead. What I'm saying is have a back up plan. Sorry to run off on a tangent but helicopter use is a nich market, some of these markets/operations/uses are in the cross hairs of our current administration. (just my opinion) Quote
macatstarr Posted July 28, 2009 Posted July 28, 2009 crashed_05, I had to comment on that piece of chit frog you got posted... semper fi! Quote
copter doctor Posted July 28, 2009 Posted July 28, 2009 I agree with getting the A&P, it opens up more options. As far as schools, Kansas State has a Helo. program and a 4 year degree. They use a 300cbi for the training. They have had a fixed wing program for years and recently started the helo. program. It is a VA approved program as well. might consider checking into the school and program. Quote
AirBman21 Posted July 28, 2009 Author Posted July 28, 2009 (edited) sounds good guys. thanks for the help. i guess ill think about getting my bachelors from ERAU that incorporates my A&P into as well. then when i get out ill have a steady flow of income, a four year degree, 4 years in the military, and the ability to start doing some flight training. At this point im stationed over in England so theres no way for me to attend these other colleges that you folks have mentioned. ERAU i can start NOW. what do yall think? Edited July 28, 2009 by AirBman21 Quote
crashed_05 Posted July 28, 2009 Posted July 28, 2009 crashed_05, I had to comment on that piece of chit frog you got posted... semper fi! Is that right? Good to go! lol Quote
Tom22 Posted July 28, 2009 Posted July 28, 2009 sounds good guys. thanks for the help. i guess ill think about getting my bachelors from ERAU that incorporates my A&P into as well. then when i get out ill have a steady flow of income, a four year degree, 4 years in the military, and the ability to start doing some flight training. At this point im stationed over in England so theres no way for me to attend these other colleges that you folks have mentioned. ERAU i can start NOW. what do yall think? I think that’s a great idea! Quote
copter doctor Posted July 28, 2009 Posted July 28, 2009 A good decision, I got my BS from them while I was in Army ( CH-47D crew chief/ flight engineer ) and took the amt courses to prep for A&P and also got an associates in aircraft maintenance as a result. I was able to use tuition reimbursement and peel grants while in and save my GI bill for after I got out. Quote
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