I'm an active CFI and I work for a "mill." We had a good number of students enrolled in our last two private pilot classes. There is one lender that is still giving out money for flight training....Uncle Sam. It is still pretty easy for part 141 university students to get financing through the government.

Two things make me laugh. I always ask my students on their first lesson, "why aviation?" Roughly 90% say they just want to fly the "heavies" and "see the world." Eventually, after a few more lessons, they will ask me why I haven't left to go work at the airlines.

Students (and the parents of the younger students) are not doing their research. Again, 90% of them have no idea that you have to "build" time and pay your dues. The schools tell them they can get their ratings, graduate and then walk right into an airline job. They buy it.