Well I am PCSing to Florida(hurlburt) in January and want to start pursuing my private pilots license. I found out today that I cannot tap into my VA benifits to help pay for it though. The VA will only pay for the commercial pilot training.

So what are some ideas? I guess TA will pay for the ground school, but what can i do to help pay for the flight time?

save some money or pull out a loan.... curious though I found the following link, perhaps the next step would be to go to education office?

http://www.edwards.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123066394

yea, TA pays for Ground school which is around $300. The rest of it is out of pocket.. just wondering if anyone has any ideas/knows any scholarships or grants or anything..

Hurlburt Aero Club Aero Club 882-5148

Thanks Old_Troll. I will have to give them a call and see how their students have/are paying.

Is it possible for you to talk to the ground school and have them add the cost fo fuel and plane rental into the cost of the school and give you a new quote?

From my experience they never ask for an itemized deduction and since you cannot get your certification without the flight time, one would consider that since the air force pays for the certification they would have to pony up for the fligth time to finish that certification. Ground school itself is not a certification for anything.

Id be interested in what they say though. Please post when you get an answer~

DO NOT start training until you can pay for it in full. If you don;t, it will cost you more in the end. Fly AT LEAST twice a week and once on the weekends. The quicker you knock it out, the cheaper it is.

Strongly second JungleJett's advice above. Save up a fund for the license, then stick to your plan and fly religiously until you have achieved your goal. WAAAAAY, WAAAAAY too many people have started, stopped, and never completed...thereby pizzing away a lot of $$$, and never achieving the rating.

It is quite do-able if you plan your work, then work your plan. You will NEVER regret taking that PPL checkride and earning the rating. Even 20 years later, you will still be a rated (though non-current) pilot. It doesn't expire like a driver license...you just have to have some refresher lessons, and you can get back in the saddle after an extended break from flying.

Plus, once you knock out the PPL, the rest of the ratings can be paid in part with GI Bill funds.

Now, since you live in FL, you may want to talk to the local pilots about the new Post 9/11 GI Bill gig for formal college training programs. As it sits now, FL has one of the highest payouts in the entire USA for 4 year colleges under the new GI Bill, and it may be semi-possible to work that angle while still on active duty (not likely, but I'd look into it). I know Embry Riddle's Prescott, AZ campus was recently advertising that vets could, technically, attend their aviation program for free. (I'll believe it when I see it), as they roll the aircraft costs into the college's "Fees".

I was just down at Hurbie less than a month ago...looks like a hoppin' place in the summer season, but it was pretty dead when I got there. Destin looked like a fun town.

Good luck. Let us know how your training works out, or if you find any alternate funding.

It has been 21 years since I soloed at the Killeen Municipal Airport in Texas. I can remember it like it was yesterday. Since then, I have added 4500+ hours to my log book, 4 type ratings, and was a Captain at the airlines. I have flown everything from a J-3 Cub to a P-51 to a MiG-15...and now get paid for flying jets. But I still find my fondest flying memory was the day I soloed a C-152 on a November afternoon.

Get the ticket...and join the club.

I've sent my PTB request (Pilot Training Bailout) to the White House. I received a reply in late September notifying me that a czar had been appointed to examine and analyze pilot trainee financial shortfalls, and that I might receive a check. Or, I might not.

LOL.

As others have mentioned, get it done in one shot if at all possible. Plan on six grand, and hope that it's much less. You can always funnel the surplus into instrument training.

quote:

Originally posted by XxLoadClearXx:
I've sent my PTB request (Pilot Training Bailout) to the White House. I received a reply in late September notifying me that a czar had been appointed to examine and analyze pilot trainee financial shortfalls, and that I might receive a check. Or, I might not.

LOL.

As others have mentioned, get it done in one shot if at all possible. Plan on six grand, and hope that it's much less. You can always funnel the surplus into instrument training.

Not bad there, Smokey. By the way, I saw the inital solo pics you sent. I won't ask the obvious questions...

Instead, maybe you can explain to me why it is those pictures were taken well over a year ago and I have yet to hear of you actually obtaining your CERTIFICATE???

Finish it.

JIF

By the way...I've been getting some of your mail again. Random, but I thought I'd let you know since your email is apparently squashed and I don't have a current number for you.

Debbie noted that your subscription to "Women Over 40" is about to expire, and you received a "$10 Off" coupon from some online viagra distributer. Don't worry -- she was more disturbed about that magazine than the pills.

Find me on the global and hook me up with your contact info to avoid this sort of thing.

JIF

It took me 56 hours in a 4 month time frame. You can diff do it quicker and with less hours if you are consistant. I was balancing college and work.

quote:

Originally posted by Q1Checkride:
By the way...I've been getting some of your mail again. Random, but I thought I'd let you know since your email is apparently squashed and I don't have a current number for you.

Debbie noted that your subscription to "Women Over 40" is about to expire, and you received a "$10 Off" coupon from some online viagra distributer. Don't worry -- she was more disturbed about that magazine than the pills.

Find me on the global and hook me up with your contact info to avoid this sort of thing.

JIF

WTF? Message sent. Wondered where you were at.