Serious question, any other ways to fund?
 

I am looking for a $50,000 loan so I can go from PPL - CFI. It has always been my dream to fly, and I am switching careers at the age of 27.
The thought of paying corporations like Sallie Mae to get a loan kind of make me sick.

So what are my other options? I won't just join the military to fly (so there's one less).

Serious question.

Thank You!

At age 27 you're reaching the end of the road for military pilot opportunities anyway, at least starting out.

The best finance option is pay as you go, and there are various ways to reduced those costs, including owning your own aircraft. I've known a number of individuals who bought experiemental (homebuilt) aircraft, flew them quite a lot, and sold them for what they'd paid. If not careful, that route can also eat your financial lunch, but it can make for some low-cost flying.

Starting out, the hardest part of learning to fly is paying for it.

What he said. I've also known folks who bought an airplane to build time, and hoped like hell it didn't suddenly need a new motor.

Since you're a career changer you also have the option of keeping your current job and pay-as-you-go. If you can afford to fly 3-4 times per week, and have the time to study and prepare, that should get you there. Tough if you have a spouse/kids, although an understanding spouse would be OK since this would pretty much kill your weekends.

You can buy a 152 or 172, or Cherokee 140 if low wing is your preference, pretty cheap; finance it thru AOPA and do your training and time building somewhat cheaper. Sell it for not much less than you bought it for, if you take care of its maintenance. Learn a lot, too. I did it with a Champ in simpler times.

GF

I am just going to wait for a relative to die.

Sounds terrible. But I don't see how I can do this now and protect my family financially. Ugh

Join the guard or reserve, not the fly but serve and use the GI bill.
Had a guy in the Jumpseat who said he drove semi for FedEx and made over 100K, paid his way in a couple years.
Your very wise to not go in debt if possibly, will be much less painful for you on new hire pay.

If you end up delaying your training and you’re serious about flying, there’s no reason why you can’t do some book studying now (don’t underestimate it, it’s a lot of stuff to learn that isn’t necessarily muscle-related or habit forming material that requires paying for an aircraft). Study airspace, regs, etc. Plenty of free information on YouTube and from the FAA website. It’ll save you time and money once you are ready to start flying.

Otherwise, pay as you go for your PPL and network like crazy along the way. Once you have your PPL, hopefully you’ve found someone you can split time with for cheap.

I too have been delayed to start training because of work.
If you dont mind, what kind of book studying would you suggest to start with? You mentioned airspace, regs, etc, but it was hard for me to exactly find what I needed to study.

For starting with Private Pilot I would recommend going through Cyndy's videos on Youtube. The first lesson is linked below and they go in sequential order (the sequential order will help guide you with what you can be studying). I don't have any affiliation with her or her flight school, but the lessons seem to be organized really well. "MzeroA Flight Training" is a username of another person posting helpful videos, which I've used to augment some lessons that I didn't fully understand like flying circle DME instrument approaches.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38G9...8F-gX7&index=1

Then this link below is to the Aeronautical Information Manual (free on FAA.gov). It's overkill on information if you're just starting out, so don't try to start reading it page 1, 2, 3, etc. As you watch Youtube videos and aren't fully comfortable with things like airport markings, airspace, etc you can refer to the AIM for better detail.

https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publ.../media/aim.pdf

I'm not a CFI and don't claim that this is the preferred way to learn by any means, but if you're delayed in training I have found that studying this stuff is better than wasting time watching TV while trying to save enough money for flight training.

Feeling entitled? I would not count on this either. Recommend using the grey matter between your ears and come up with a better plan. When there is a will, there is a way.