Longbow64

Hi. What do you guys think about Professional Flight program at Arizona State University? It's run by Mesa airlines, and you get a degree also. Do you know of any VA benefits? Any opinions will be appreciated. Thanks!

surreal1221

Call Mesa to find out if it is approved for VA Benefits. Either way, you will have to take out a loan for something. As you can't rape the VA benefits by using you GI Bill for BOTH flight training and college costs (as far as I know. . . I could be wrong, but everyone I have spoken to has told me it can't be done, one or the other only.)

You can use the VA benefits for Part 141 flight training above PPL, or you can use your GI Bill for your tuition and school costs, etc, and take out a loan for the flight training.

Good luck.

rickair7777

I know for a fact that you can use VA for education and then later on use what's left for flight training. I don't know if you could do education and flight training at the same time with VA.

The way it pays is different. If you are enrolled in college you get a flat monthly "paycheck" of something like $1000/month. As long as you enrolled in an approved school and making the grades you get the check...which you can spend in any way you like...ie if you are on a scholarship or attending a state school with very low tuition, the VA check is rent & beer money.

For flight training, at the end of each month you submit a claim detailing all of the flight training performed in the previous month. The VA screens for claim, and if it is correct they send you a check for 60% of the ALLOWED training expenses. You normally have to pay the flight school upfront, and then you get re-imbursed by VA a month or two later so you do need a large chunk of cash handy.

CWU1919

Longbow I looked at the mesa program at ASU as well since Im only a two hour drive south of there. My problem with that was that its on the much smaller East campus in mesa, az. From what I did see, the east campus isnt much of the college enviornment I was looking for Im not sure if thats what you are looking for but you are pretty isolated from the rest of ASU although Im sure you can take classes in other subjects at the main campus, its just a bit of a hike from Mesa, AZ. While I am an aspiring airline pilot myself and would love to fly for one of the better regionals like Skywest or Horizon, i cringe at the thought of Mesa and many on this forum can certainly attest to that notion who actually have experience. While Mesa has quick upgrade time and it's relatively easy to get a job there with fewer hours than most of the other regionals, are you willing to work for nothing, get treated like nothing, have a **** poor QOL especially your first few years, and listen to people complain and ***** day after day. Im embarrassed taking those TUS-PHX flights in those mesa crj-900's the f/a's have such bad attitudes, and the place lacks professionalism in every sense of the word. I hope that if you do go to the program, you get your ratings, get a backup in something else, and once your done get out and find a place in the job field that can pay you first year livable wages and has some professionalism and class to go along with it.

rickair7777

Yes. It has gotten so bad in the last 6 months that I am contemplating a lateral move.

desertdog71

This being the case, why would he bother taking this program if he was going to take a job in some other field? Big waste of time, either train for a flight job and take a flight job, or forget about this flying crap and do something else. What is the point of getting all your ratings and becoming an accountant? I will never understand those people who swear they want to be pilots and then go into another field after spending huge amounts of money on flight training.

CWU1919

Desertdog I was referring to the "job field" it in a general manner and aviation is included in that. But I guess I'll give my two cents now that we're on the subject. I don't mean to make a generalization but I think that many people who do get all their ratings at these type of places often have trouble finding work in the industry right away and these places certainly give you no free ticket to a piloting job with someone. So a lot of these folks are forced to take a job in something else if they can't find work right away in order to pay off the flying debts and all their other bills. I hope someone whose actually had an experience like this can help justify my reasoning.

desertdog71

There is the problem right there.

Here is an idea. Get a job, save money, then pay for your ratings. Its foolish to borrow huge amounts of money that need to be repaid right away after school is finished. This does nothing but put huge pressure on you as soon as school is over, and this is regardless of the field of study. The picture doesn't look so terrible when you pay cash for your ratings and you are not buried in debt.

azvandriver

I had originally planned on using the GI bill and Marine Corps College fund for flight training. But the VA only pays 60% of the minimum times required under part 141. By enrolling in College I recieve $1300 per month. After doing the math, I will recieve more money if it is used toward a bachellor's degree. Also, it is a pain in the a$$ trying to find someone that knows what is going on when it comes to fllight training, but most colleges are pretty experienced. While attending classes at Embry-Riddle's extended campus, I still make about 15-20 dollars per hour after paying for my classes and books. While I was instructing the GI bill was my biggest source of income.

surreal1221

Interesting, and very nice job working the system.

My circumstances are a little bit different, so I will still be using the GI Bill to offset my advanced training while I utilize my HOPE scholarship from the state of GA to finish my undergrad degree in political science.