Interested in Flying But Need Some Advice!

[rovers14]

Hello all!

So last week I finally paid for a discovery flight after years of dreaming about flying helicopters for a living, and as expected I had an absolute blast! The thing that was holding me back all these years is the same as many others out there...the cost of training. The school that I chose told me that for a private license it's going to cost me about 25k, and 100k for a commercial license. The CFI that I flew with suggested that I don't even start training until I have 30k saved up, the reason being is that he had to take multiple long breaks during his training and had to re-learn everything each time he came back. As an Air Force vet I do have the GI bill to assist in the commercial license costs, but the VA will not cover the private license. Right now I don't make enough money to raise 30k any time soon, and most of the scholarships and grants that I have seen online are geared towards high school or college students, women and minorities, I'm a white male so many of them are off the table for me. I also do not want to obtain any loans, I can't afford going into debt at the moment. Does anyone out there have any advice or ideas to overcome this initial hurdle? 

[adam32]

30K for a private? No way in hell I'd pay over $15k for a private! 

 

[Hand_Grenade_Pilot]

23 hours ago, rovers14 said:

Hello all!

So last week I finally paid for a discovery flight after years of dreaming about flying helicopters for a living, and as expected I had an absolute blast! The thing that was holding me back all these years is the same as many others out there...the cost of training. The school that I chose told me that for a private license it's going to cost me about 25k, and 100k for a commercial license. The CFI that I flew with suggested that I don't even start training until I have 30k saved up, the reason being is that he had to take multiple long breaks during his training and had to re-learn everything each time he came back. As an Air Force vet I do have the GI bill to assist in the commercial license costs, but the VA will not cover the private license. Right now I don't make enough money to raise 30k any time soon, and most of the scholarships and grants that I have seen online are geared towards high school or college students, women and minorities, I'm a white male so many of them are off the table for me. I also do not want to obtain any loans, I can't afford going into debt at the moment. Does anyone out there have any advice or ideas to overcome this initial hurdle? 

Find a different school.

I’m assuming they’re using an R44 for flight training if they quoted you $30k. Do your training in a small, 2 seat helicopter like the R22. 

[RisePilot]

HandGrenadePilot is correct.  No matter whether priced in USD, EUR or GBP in North America or Europe.  PPL(H) should not cost more than 15-20k all-in.

[rovers14]

On 3/9/2021 at 1:06 PM, Hand_Grenade_Pilot said:

Find a different school.

I’m assuming they’re using an R44 for flight training if they quoted you $30k. Do your training in a small, 2 seat helicopter like the R22. 

Thanks for the reply! It's definitely for the R22, they only train in the R44 if you're over 190lbs. I weighed in at 185 for the disco flight so no problems there. The school I went to is in Colorado, and it's basically the only school left in the state after 4-6 others closed within the last 3 years, so I've been looking for a way to make it work because I have family here which means free room and board.

Does anyone think it's worth it to get a commercial fixed wing license first, then transition into rotary? I talked to a fixed wing pilot last night that said it would be much cheaper, granted I would obviously have less rotary hours upon completion. I'm torn between doing that or moving to another state that has a school partnered with a university, if I start a training program that involves an associates or bachelor degree then the VA will pay for private and commercial.

[adam32]

I'm pretty sure I know the school you're talking about. I know the owner and he's also a member here. I believe they are approved to accept VA benefits?

[rovers14]

1 hour ago, adam32 said:

I'm pretty sure I know the school you're talking about. I know the owner and he's also a member here. I believe they are approved to accept VA benefits?

Yes they are approved, but you have to pay out of pocket for a private license. The VA will not pay for that.

[adam32]

2 hours ago, rovers14 said:

Yes they are approved, but you have to pay out of pocket for a private license. The VA will not pay for that.

 

Correct, and that's how it should be. Too many abused the system in the past...got trained and then did nothing afterwards...they just wanted to be "pilots". 

At a 141 school you should be able to get your private in under 40 hours assuming you are a good stick, so in reality if you study a lot on your own, pay for minimum ground school, you should be able to do your private for around $15k. 

Edited March 11, 2021 by adam32

[rovers14]

1 hour ago, adam32 said:

 

Correct, and that's how it should be. Too many abused the system in the past...got trained and then did nothing afterwards...they just wanted to be "pilots". 

At a 141 school you should be able to get your private in under 40 hours assuming you are a good stick, so in reality if you study a lot on your own, pay for minimum ground school, you should be able to do your private for around $15k. 

Yeah I agree, the rules are there for good reason. But I also think it's unfortunate they decided to drop PPL's altogether, I think there's definitely a better way to handle the situation.

Anyway thanks for info Adam! 

[Berkay]

Hello, I live in Turkey. Can a high school graduate immigrant obtain a commercial pilot license? If so, what is the total amount of the fee? and how many weeks does it take on average to get a cpl?

[Berkay]

@Hand_Grenade_Pilot @Adam32 Could you give information if you are knowledgeable about the subject I mentioned in the previous post?

[adam32]

13 hours ago, rovers14 said:

Yeah I agree, the rules are there for good reason. But I also think it's unfortunate they decided to drop PPL's altogether, I think there's definitely a better way to handle the situation.

Anyway thanks for info Adam! 

 

It's much better now than before...during the SSH heyday Uncle Sam was shilling out 100K left and right to people that never even finished their commercial, let alone ever became a marketable pilot. Making them pay a little out of pocket brings some type of assurance that they will actually follow thru with their commitment. My ex-wife is a Veteran...the amount of money the VA spent on "training" her is insane...and to this day, she's not employed in any of the fields. 

[Mountain Marauder]

Looks like cost is a big factor rovers14.  I'd recommend getting a PPL fixed wing and CPL as well then do a helicopter add-on CPL.  I did it that way with the GI Bill and stretched the benefits a lot further.  We also had to have a PPL to qualify back in the 70's.  Another option is to buy a Cessna 150 (in the $20-25K range) and find an instructor to do your PPL then log as much time as you can towards your CPL with it and sell the C-150 when you start your VA CPL.  You might decide to keep it too.

[rovers14]

1 hour ago, Mountain Marauder said:

Looks like cost is a big factor rovers14.  I'd recommend getting a PPL fixed wing and CPL as well then do a helicopter add-on CPL.  I did it that way with the GI Bill and stretched the benefits a lot further.  We also had to have a PPL to qualify back in the 70's.  Another option is to buy a Cessna 150 (in the $20-25K range) and find an instructor to do your PPL then log as much time as you can towards your CPL with it and sell the C-150 when you start your VA CPL.  You might decide to keep it too.

Hmm I started to say buying a cessna might wind up to be too much of a hassle, but then I did a little research and found multiple cessna's being raffled off. Maybe I can get lucky and win a raffle with a 50-100 dollar ticket and sell it for the cost of a PPL 🤣.

Anyway back to reality...yeah I was thinking about going the fixed route and getting a rotary add-on CPL, I couldn't decide between that or moving to a different state that has a school that offers a 2 year aviation degree program in combination with a rotary CPL, that way the VA won't require getting a PPL first. I have some time before I really need to decide so I'm still collecting info wherever I can get it. Thanks for the reply!

[adam32]

The biggest hurdle with getting your fixed wing first is that in order to become a marketable pilot you will need ROTARY time, not fixed wing. TT doesn't matter when you're trying to get a CFI job with 100+ other applicants.