Stirrin

Hey APC,

I am in a bit of a predicament. I am a 20 year old with my PPL and I'm looking to get the rest of my ratings. Problem is I have no money. There are 3 different flight schools near me. Phoenix East, ATP and a smaller school called Epic Flight Academy. Of the 3, Epic Flight Academy is the cheapest. They quoted me just under 30k for my instrument through to a MEI. They guarantee a CFI job after 3 months of non paid instructing. From what I've seen this is a pretty decent deal. Only thing is they have absolutely no financing. Now I don't know about you guys, but I don't have 30k sitting in my back pocket!
I guess what I am trying to ask is if anyone has ever had any luck finding a lender for flight training under similar circumstances.

JamesNoBrakes

For the love of god, DO NOT do this, you are ONLY 20 find a job and scrounge your way through it with a CFI. Take it from all of us, this is a bad idea. You'll be so far ahead of everyone else if you get your ratings over a few years. There is no hurry and anyone telling you that you need to get "done as soon as possible" and "build hours as fast as possible" is certifiable crazy or just trying to get your money. If may of us had to go back and do it again, this is one of the biggest things we'd do differently.

Flyboyxc91

I have to disagree slightly here. Seniority can most definitely be a huge factor in ones professional flying career. However, being as young as you are at 20 you have more time before the seniority building is even possible since 121 airlines can't hire till 23 now. So, you can get a job and get all your ratings probably within three years maybe even 1.5 years if you financed some of it or whatever. YES you can get loans through Sallie May to answer your question although I would try to stay away from fully financing it etc. I myself am 22 and I will have all my ratings come February, I just graduated from college as well with my four year degree. If nothing else try to get a job at an airport etc and flight train more and as a PPL be a safety pilot for instrument rated guys to practice etc for some time. Bottom line is there are ways to make it work and I know it feels like your a million miles from where you wanna be but you'll get there.

Greg Bockelman

Before you do that consider this. What happens if you accumulate all that debt and DON'T get the job you want or are hoping for? What will you do then?

JamesNoBrakes

Oh please. It's all about luck and timing. The shining regional star of today may have 10 year upgrades or furloughs tomorrow, not to mention what might happen at the major level. You might be desensitized to everyone who has tried to convince you to DO IT NOW and DO IT FAST, but seeing that you don't really understand the industry yet, I'd say wait 5-10 years before commenting on this and then get back to us...

You are right though, there are ways to make it work. Many people try to take what they figure is the "easy" route and get a loan and get it done, but it ends up harming them far more in the long run, trying for 10, 15 or more years to pay off loans struggling on regional pay, all the while throwing away the ability to start saving money or buy a house in a reasonable amount of time. If you work on the ratings while staying out of debt, you'll end up 10 years ahead in life, rather than 2 or 3 years faster at the airline. Seniority doesn't matter for **** when you have to change airlines or something happens that stalls out the movement. QOL means a lot more than seniority, and if huge massive retirements happen due to age 65, they'll continue to happen and people will flow anyways, whether it's a year from now, 5 or 10 or more...

Timbo

W. T. F. ??

Seriously?

3 months unpaid instructing??

No wonder it's so cheap!

Good luck getting a loan for that.

"So, how are you going to pay us back if you are working for free?"

FlyingBulldog

Go military.

FlyingBulldog

Yeah there's a name for that...
I think it's called: SLAVERY.

Flyboyxc91

Yea exactly.. Maybe if it's the cheapest place and a decent flight school as far as receiving instruction fine, but totally different when looking at being employed.

Flyboyxc91

I never said I was in favor of getting loans, I just answered his question. The whole airline industry looks better for the next decade as far as hiring than it has in the last decade, I never said anyone was a shining star or a guarantee. Anyone in this industry that has those type of notions won't be here very long anyway.

I myself am debt free as a 22 year old college grad and I have most of my flight training finances through MEI in my bank account so no loans. I made this work for me but some people aren't as lucky and what I was saying is there are other risk mitigated ways as well including getting loans (WHAT RATE ARE YOU GETTING AND HOW MUCH) because I had an approved fixed rate of 3.8% on 25,000 when I thought I might need it. That's easily payable on a $25,000 instructor salary etc.