Flight Training Conundrum
 

So here is my situation: I am going to retire from the Army next June and I am going to be a professional pilot. I am not married and my one and only daughter is in college. I can go to just about any school or aviation academy that I want so long as they are part 141 and VA approved. I'm looking to get the most bang for my (or the Governments) buck. The question is how to go about getting the ratings. I've narrowed it down to three choices:

Option 1: Stay in the PacNW and go to PCC/Hillsboro and get IFR, MEL, CPL, CFI, CFII, MEI, all on the G.I. Bill using 15-18 months of my entitlement. The upside is I won't have to come out of pocket for anything except for check rides, exams, and probably any time over 141 requirements that the G.I. Bill might not cover. I'll finish in December 2016 with about 300TT and will likely start as a CFI somewhere. The downside is I already have an Associates Degree and I don't need another, especially in aviation. Then there's the time, 15 months to finish the program.

Option 2: Go to sunny Florida at Aviator College. I get the same ratings but with waaay more ME time and finish in 6 months rather than 15. I'll end up using 15 to 18 months of the GI bill. The upside is I'll be working a whole year sooner. The downside is I have to come out of pocket for about $26000.

Option 3: Again at Aviator except in their degree program. I'll get the same ratings as above but finish with nearly 600TT and about 250 ME. I'll be out of pocket about $15000 and it'll take about 18 to 24 months to complete.


I know how important seniority is in aviation. I also know how important ME time can be. Aviation can be a fickle master so spending $15000 to $30000 that I don't have to spend doesn't make good financial sense unless there is a huge upside.

If you were in my shoes which option would you choose and why?

Are there some other schools you think might give me better/more options?

If option 3 gets you a 4 year degree I would go for that. In my new hire class at United, only one guy had an associates degree, everyone else had bachelors or better. Apparently it is pretty rare for someone with only an associates degree to get on with a major.

Military aero clubs may be an option, while going to college nearby at the same time?

I'd pick the "work sooner" option, especially if you are older (which I am guessing is the case if you have a daughter in college).

It's a bigger expense now, but you'd make it up down the line in hopefully an extra year of full wages as a Captain somewhere.

Door #3 sounds best to me

Flight Training Conundrum
 

Don't go broke for ME time! Get the MEI with your bennies! With the CFI shortage, you'll be drowning in ME time. A retired veteran MEI with some college will get as much or more cred as an aviation "science" degree at any place worth flying for. No offense to aviation science degree holders! I have one too! An aviation science degree and a buck will get you a cup of coffee.

I agree with LearjetFO. I was in your shoes not to long ago hawk99. I would suggest that you try to go with option 1 with the exception of staying in the PacNW. The reason I say this is because while the school may be telling you 15-18 months it may end up being a bit longer due to weather. From my experience with being stationed at Ft Lewis the ceilings tend to stay on the lower side for what seemed most of the time. That might not effect you IR but when winter comes the freezing level will. Go somewhere the weather is more cooperative. FL, TX, AZ, are a few good places I would think.

I would try to maximize the use of those benefits concerning the GIbill. I understand wanting to get to work quickly, believe me! The reality though is no matter how much total time you finish training with, your probably going to have to instruct to build more time anyway. Furthermore with this new ATP rule your may have to spend 15k to 20k just to get qualified to go on to an airline. You may be able to use VocRehab for that though, I'm not sure.

If you already have a degree most of your credits should transfer and all you'll need is the aviation courses such as the flightlabs and a few dum classes like aviation history. That being the case getting the other degree should be cake. Save your money dude.

Do whatever gets you your ratings+bachelor's degree.

If you want to be at a major, you will need a bachelors 98% of the time. But you are military, but unless you are a military trained pilot, those hiring favors may not be so great compared to someone who is a mil-FW pilot. So that degree you will likely need. Id say pay for the flight training out of pocket, and use the Gi bill to get something useful outside of aviation. For example a bachelors in investment banking, or IT, whatever. Thats what i plan on doing. Just in case i lose my medical sometime in the next 35 years. Ill have something to fall back on.

I agree with don't go completely broke getting ME time, but on the other hand it's really hard to get...

I've been a CFI for 3 years and about 1000 dual given, and I'd say at no point in 3 years of instructing have I been drowning in ME time... and I didn't have my first multi student for almost two years.

I know it depends on where you teach, but if someone has a way to get to 50 ME time while working on their ratings I'd highly suggest it. A lot of FBO flight schools don't have a twin, or if they do, private and instrument instruction is their bread and butter and the twin will likely not get rented out a whole lot. The university program that I teach at has a multi course with only 10 hours... and not every student even ends up getting their multi, so I estimate probably only 5% of the total hours flown in our fleet is in one of our twins. But having your 50 multi opens more doors, and if you can't find a good time-building job that gives you multi time, at the very least you meet the 50 hour min for the new ATP cert. A lot (I would say the vast majority) of aerial survey, traffic, jumpers, etc, are being flown in single engine planes.