Airline Pilot Central Forums - Financing for a part 61 school

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Flight training credit has a huuuuge interest rate. I think Sally Mae is like 16%.
You have a degree, now do this the smart way.
You’ll thank us later.
Your first 4-5 year pay in the industry is really not a joke with $70-$100k of combined debt.
See it this way, your choices are the following :

A- Flight instruct debt free at $30k/year
B- Regionals with $100k debt and make $45-50k/year

There is NO good solution for financing flight training. This kind of activity doesn't qualify for student loans, so you're forced to rely on personal financing.

Lowest interest rates for personal financing are home equity lines, but you need a home and a lot of equity in the home to open these avenues up.

Unsecured loans, like credit cards, have much higher interest rates. You may be able to get things done at 0% promotional rates, but those offers only last a year. Even if you can balance transfer to another 0% card to extend out the low rate for another year, these options usually don't offer balances in excess of 10k-20k at best... which is not enough to complete your flight training.

If you have the 4 year degree, get a decent paying job you hate... and use the money to fly. There's no shortcut or easy way to do this. You're going to stay poor while getting as much flying time as possible until you can do it for a living. You'll still be poor until you get a regional job. Even then, you won't be rolling in decent income for another few years.

Thank you all for the suggestions! I think it is time to browse indeed to save up money for flight school.

Quote:

Originally Posted by atlphx (Post 2789973)

Thank you all for the suggestions! I think it is time to browse indeed to save up money for flight school.

The struggle is real. There is no good option to pay for training, which is another contributing factor for the "pilot shortage". I'm starting full time training in June/July. I have explored every option to make the transition from a good income to no income, while shelling out $50k+, palatable. I'm in a similar boat, I live within a 40 minute drive of three schools. Two schools offer financing but are very expensive, $75-85k for everything. And another part 61 school that goes solely on a credit card on file but could finish up between $40-50k if a solid student. I'm lucky enough to recently learn of a way to cash out some 401k $$ to cover a significant part of the costs. The rest I'll be paying out of pocket from savings. I have been very very fortunate to be in a good real estate market at a great time. I'd recommend getting your real estate license because it could be a way to supplement your current income for flying. Before I discovered the 401k deal, I was going to jump all into a financed option at a part 141 school. The way I see it, time is money, and seniority. The pilot shortage window might close sooner than later. Right now for guys like you and me, the sooner we get our number the better off we are. Paying more up front, might be worth making more money sooner than later in the long run. Short term sacrifice for the quicker long term reward. If that makes sense. Keep in mind that you can split up your training as well, do your private and instrument at local part 61 deal then switch to part 141 and finance the rest. Everyone I have talked too in the industry advised going against "work and pay as you go" because it could take 5-10 years to get where you need to be.

Good luck with your decision, hope the 2 cents helps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MBFLYIN (Post 2805936)

Wow wow...What 401k deal? I thought about pulling money out of mine but I don’t wanna get hit with the high penalty.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by TKOwnedU5 (Post 2805939)

Wow wow...What 401k deal? I thought about pulling money out of mine but I don’t wanna get hit with the high penalty.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Many or most 401k's allow you take a loan, which you pay back to yourself with some interest (no penalties). Depends on your specific plan. Also be sure that if you quit your job to do flight training, that the outstanding loan does not come due in full immediately. Mine did not, I stayed in the plan and paid off the loan as scheduled, even after I left that employer. Eventually rolled it to an IRA for more flexibility.

You might lose some opportunity cost if that money's not in the market, but at least you're paying yourself some interest. Or the market could tank and you might be money ahead.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TKOwnedU5 (Post 2805939)

Wow wow...What 401k deal? I thought about pulling money out of mine but I don’t wanna get hit with the high penalty.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What Rickair777 said. Mine is through Prudential, they allow you to take half of your 401k up to $50k as a loan that you pay yourself back with a 7% interest rate. If you stay at the job, they auto deduct the payback from your paycheck. If you leave the job, there is no way to pay yourself back, no paycheck, so then it goes into default and the money you took out gets counted as income. You get 1099'd, it gets taxed as income then you pay an additional 10% fee. Still 100x better than getting loan from SallyMae where they crush you with interest for the next 20 plus years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by atlphx (Post 2788508)

Hello Everyone,

I am a wannabee that has always wanted to be a commercial pilot and has just graduated from a 4 year college with an unrelated degree. I have a couple of part 141 options available to me (community college and ATP) but was wondering how to finance a mom and pop flight school. I have a flight school near my house that I could do all of my ratings much cheaper than the part 141 school but I have no real ideas on how to get an unsecured personal loan for that amount.

Thanks for any suggestions

Hi, I'm in a similar situation now in the Phoenix area. What loan option did you end up pursuing? I'd need about 30k to go 0 to hero at some local part 61 places and as I'm already in my mid 20s don't want to work another year and a half to save up if I can help it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by UNFOspreysFan (Post 3533227)

I don't have an answer for your question, but I would be interested to know what you mean by "0 to hero" for $30k. If that means anything beyond Private & Instrument Rating... you are likely being lied to. (unless you already have a significant savings and the $30k is just to add a healthy buffer)