Originally Posted by
BeatNavy
When I was using the GI Bill for some FW add on ratings there was a dude at the school doing a program under "vocational rehab" which was like the GI Bill on steroids. He had essentially a blank check to fly whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, with no syllabus excedence limits. Flew a school owned king air at almost $1000 an hour, the baron at over $500 an hour, and the bonanza for almost $300 an hour building his 1500 hours. What I didn't get is how he qualified for voc rehab but could still have a medical. He had nothing visibly wrong with him. Never really asked though. But he had spent almost half a million taxpayers dollars on his flying at the time I was there. We had a gravy train program with the GI Bill and yellow ribbon thing and I almost felt guilty, but this seemed insane.
I'm curious about what state this was in? I know that sounds odd because it's a federal program but each state does things differently. I've been getting the run around from voc rehab since 2009! They are known for shady practices and blatantly lying to your face to discourage you from pursuing your goals. They 100% do pay for training but they tell you that you need a private license first. This is a lie, as long as the flight training is part of an accredited degree program that requires flight time (ie, Bachelors in Aviation with flight concentration) then you can get the private included with the other certs.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/38/21.134
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/38/21.4235
Yes the medical can hold you up but I guess there is a common misconception with people with disabilities. Not everyone with a disability looks like Stephen Hawking! Not to pick on him but that's the best example to paint a picture for everyone. The VA hands out disability ratings for all kinds of things that wouldn't affect a person's ability to pilot a plane. The best thing you can do here is contact the right authority at the FAA and find out what they want as far as documentation. Have everything ready before you even schedule your flight physical to prevent delays with them deferring to headquarters, or if they do anyway you already answered the questions that they want answers to. Another good source of info is Benjamin Krause, who is a lawyer that is constantly trying to help veterans and expose VA scandals.
https://www.disabledveterans.org