Flight training - Should I join the military or take private lessons?

Question

I am thinking about starting my flight training through a local flight school (FAA accredited) and spending over $50,000 to get all my certifications(Private thru ATP). My question is whether I should join the military to get the Post-911 GI Bill to cover the cost, or spend all that money on lessons. Any input would be much appreciated, Thanks.

Answer 1

You have about as much of a chance getting a pilot training slot in the military as you have picking up chopsticks with your butt cheeks.



Hopefully, this input was helpful.

Answer 2

Brief reply: it could not damage, but isn't prone to support much. There's a position to note whether or not or now not you could have had civilian flight coaching on the appliance. Nevertheless--i am no longer on the determination committee, so do not take this as gospel--i wouldn't anticipate civilian hours to topic a lot until you've obtained hundreds and hundreds or thousands of rotary wing hours already. If you happen to've best acquired constant wing time logged, these hours will likely be discounted much more. Irrespective of how many flight hours and qualifications you may have, you can still must go through the military's preliminary Entry Rotary Wing qualification direction, so it can be not just like the navy saves any money via hiring skilled aviators. If you happen to do have the cash to get flight training whilst helping yourself via the lengthy utility process, try to discover a flight school that will teach you on a Bell 206B-three. That is essentially the equal helicopter because the TH-sixty seven, which is what you can be flying in the course of IERW. There are every other matters you could most commonly do to reinforce your probabilities of being authorized with better value in your money and time. The high-quality of those is to move to college: the majority of persons the navy accepts as civilian applicants for WOFT have their bachelor's degree. Retaining exceptional physical fitness may also give a boost to your chances. When you have lower than excellent vision or any scientific or psychiatric stipulations, correct them in whatever method is indispensable: LASIK, authentic scientific evaluation to certify that the condition not exists, or anything else is appropriate.

Answer 3

The Post 9-11 GI Bill will only cover you if you serve in a Combat Zone. Afghanistan is the only one left, so your chances of serving a three full years (to get 100% tuition) in that theater are very slim. Plus there is lots of fine print they don't tell you about the 9-11 GI Bill.



Flight training is capped at $10,000 per year (for 100%) and most flight schools charge way more than that. I just did a Cessna Citation type rating for $17,400 and my Post 9-11 GI Bill benefits, for 21 months in Iraq were just $7000. I had to come up with the rest myself. (Type ratings are very expensive!) So, GI Bill benies for flight training aren't so great. OH, and I just remembered, you CANNOT use them to obtain your Private Pilot's License! It must be for Commercial training and beyond. So'd you have to pay for the first rating yourself. That's a lot of money, but if your'e rich, go for it. If you're not, then try to join the military.



You can become a Warrant Officer helicopter pilot in the Army without a college degree. The Army has more flight slots and more aircraft than any other branch in the military. Of course with the drawdown of forces and the Obama budget cuts that are about to come, there will be less and less slots available. That's not politics, that's the facts!



Finally, I offer this: if you go the civilian flight school route, you'll spend thousands of dollars to obtain those ratings. You'll also spend thousands renting planes that get more expensive as your ratings require more complex machines (retractable gear, turbo prop, multi-engine, instrument, turbo jet, etc.). The ATP rating will require 1500 hours before you can even apply for it. How are you going to build that flight time? It is extremely difficult to get a good job without an ATP rating and also hard to get a job without 2000 hours+. Most companies won't touch you because their insurance premiums will be too high. You might be able to get a low-paying co-pilot job in some faraway country with just your commercial and instrument ratings, but you'll be miserable for years. This is the tough nut to crack if you go civilian.



The great thing about military flight training, is that it's followed by military flight service! You can spend 5 to 10 years flying your butt off all over the world and every hour you log is one step closer to that civilian flying career you're dreaming about now. How do I know? It's what I did.

Answer 4

Hey buddy,



Personally i would go private if the US military is as stringent as the UK i would go privatly if you have the money do it think of it this way ;- take orders stick to strict deadlines or go privately and do it in your own time. I did mine privately and im still in training however i am working it around my college and business and it is working out brilliantly.



However i will say this to any future pilots MEDICAL FIRST! if you go through and complete 30hrs training during PPL then want to go solo and fail the medical (you would have wasted time and money)



Hope this helps somewhat



Andy



If you want some more information you can contact me via my website www.intrepidaviator.com

Answer 5

@Pilsner Man, this is based on all your experience with military aviation? Its actually not all that difficult to get an aviation contract with the military--I'm living proof.

Answer 6

IF I WERE U I'LD GO PRIVATE. Y WASTE 4+ YEARS OF UR LIFE DOING SOMETHING U DNT LIKE.