Paying for Flight School/Training
04-25-2020, 07:11 PM
#11
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: May 2010
Position: Baja Vermont
Posts: 5,177
Originally Posted by SonicFlyer
That's not realistic for most people in most places in the US. Plus, it is seniority based, so the idea is that you want to get to your destination as fast as possible.
05-05-2020, 08:00 PM
#13
Line Holder
Joined APC: Sep 2013
Posts: 42
Originally Posted by SonicFlyer
That's not realistic for most people in most places in the US. Plus, it is seniority based, so the idea is that you want to get to your destination as fast as possible.
05-06-2020, 05:36 AM
#14
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Apr 2017
Posts: 3,595
Originally Posted by torpid0
...and then when you get your dream job and a pandemic hits and you get furloughed, you'll have that huge debt hanging over your head. Best advice given here is to pay for your training as you go. It is realistic. I did it and so did thousands of others.
But you're right, that taking the time, money, and effort to undergo flight training is a MASSIVE risk, even more so if you have to use debt to do it. The trick is understanding the risk going into it.
05-15-2020, 03:13 PM
#15
On Reserve
Joined APC: Nov 2006
Position: CA
Posts: 15
Same as everyone else, get a job (preferably at an FBO) work hard fly anything you can. Get a commercial fast as you can. Fly anything you can. Get a CFI teach others to fly anything they can. I paid for everything as I went working my ass off at multiple jobs. A few friends used credit cards to get a few ratings but paid them down ASAP. Don’t carry to much dept. it’s all about how much work you will put into it. Minority statement completely out of context to the question. Lesson one is free.
05-16-2020, 10:07 AM
#16
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2019
Position: baller, shot caller
Posts: 961
Originally Posted by TiredSoul
Why did you feel it was necessary to mention you’re a minority?
You could choose to go this path that many of us followed, piecemeal your training.
Work and save and work and save.
Save enough to get your Private out of the way then turn it down to maybe one flight a week or every 10 days ( lets say $750-$1000/month) to keep your skills up while you save for your instrument rating.
You’ll need to find a way to save $1000/month initially then $2000/month.
This means your parents basement and no car loan and no expensive new smart phone and no expensive anything.
Buy clothes at thrift stores, you’ll pay $5 for a $40 quick dry sports shirt.
Buy shoes at PayLess.
Seriously this is how a large part of us have done it.
You could choose to go this path that many of us followed, piecemeal your training.
Work and save and work and save.
Save enough to get your Private out of the way then turn it down to maybe one flight a week or every 10 days ( lets say $750-$1000/month) to keep your skills up while you save for your instrument rating.
You’ll need to find a way to save $1000/month initially then $2000/month.
This means your parents basement and no car loan and no expensive new smart phone and no expensive anything.
Buy clothes at thrift stores, you’ll pay $5 for a $40 quick dry sports shirt.
Buy shoes at PayLess.
Seriously this is how a large part of us have done it.
I do splurge on food however, and workout supplements for the gym. Your body is the best investment.
05-22-2020, 09:54 PM
#17
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Apr 2013
Posts: 1,622
Originally Posted by trip
Get a good job and pay as you go, it's really that simple. For instance Trex is hiring where I live, starting 19$ an hour, that's 39K a year. Budget 1000K a month, in a couple years you will have a private, commercial, instrument and a couple hundred hours. Many of us did it this way, hard work yes, but it's better then being 100K in debt, especially nowadays.
There's plenty of good paying jobs that many American's either don't want to do or just don't know about.
Construction
Power lineman
UPS Feeder Truck Driver ... starts around $80,000. You'll first have to work at a hub and throw boxes for 6 months to a year first. They top out in five years at $100K+.
Deliver pizzas at night. That's an extra $1000-$1500 a month.
Originally Posted by SonicFlyer
That's not realistic for most people in most places in the US. Plus, it is seniority based, so the idea is that you want to get to your destination as fast as possible.
This industry has a lot of ups and downs, no pun. Being debt free is the best way to be when the house of cards come crashing.
05-23-2020, 08:39 AM
#18
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Apr 2017
Posts: 3,595
Originally Posted by PurpleToolBox
It is realistic. You're just stuck in the mindset that you have to use debt to get somewhere. Many smart people don't. Yes, you want to get to job that uses seniority as soon as possible but at least do it the smart way.
This industry has a lot of ups and downs, no pun. Being debt free is the best way to be when the house of cards come crashing.
This industry has a lot of ups and downs, no pun. Being debt free is the best way to be when the house of cards come crashing.
There is a large swath of people out there that debt is their only option to become a commercial pilot. And yes I agree it does come with a lot of risk. Most people cannot shell out $80k over the course of 2 or 3 years just to get a commercial cert and then make $35 for the next 2 years building hours to get to 1500tt.
05-23-2020, 09:13 AM
#19
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2019
Position: baller, shot caller
Posts: 961
Originally Posted by SonicFlyer
In the short term, next couple of years, it doesn't make sense to do an accelerated program. But still, most people do not make enough money to pay as you go for flight training. Not everyone can do the military for various reasons, although it is a great option.
There is a large swath of people out there that debt is their only option to become a commercial pilot. And yes I agree it does come with a lot of risk. Most people cannot shell out $80k over the course of 2 or 3 years just to get a commercial cert and then make $35 for the next 2 years building hours to get to 1500tt.
There is a large swath of people out there that debt is their only option to become a commercial pilot. And yes I agree it does come with a lot of risk. Most people cannot shell out $80k over the course of 2 or 3 years just to get a commercial cert and then make $35 for the next 2 years building hours to get to 1500tt.
05-29-2020, 05:58 AM
#20
On Reserve
Joined APC: Apr 2019
Posts: 10
Pay as you go is the way.
It it took me a little over 3 years to get all my ratings besides CFI, it could have been done faster, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to pursue my cPL after Private. After about a year with my private, I got serious and starting training at least twice a month.
I have 0 debt related to flying and I’m glad because the market just crashed and I still have my regular job. By the time I get 1500hrs, the market should be better.
it’s going to be Hard work.
It it took me a little over 3 years to get all my ratings besides CFI, it could have been done faster, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to pursue my cPL after Private. After about a year with my private, I got serious and starting training at least twice a month.
I have 0 debt related to flying and I’m glad because the market just crashed and I still have my regular job. By the time I get 1500hrs, the market should be better.
it’s going to be Hard work.
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