I want to use my GI to get at least my commercial license but the GI bill will not cover my private pilot license because that is considered recreational. The GI bill is what pays for school after military service. Do you know if ATP has a program that would work for me?
Tyrel,
Thank you for your service!
You can use your GI Bill benefits with ATP to be reimbursed for the FAA examiner fees (around $8,000-$9,000), but unfortunately not the cost of the program. Really the only way to utilize more of the Bill is to be dual enrolled in a college degree program that has flight training attached to it, which will take you 4-5 years to complete and runs from $175,000 - $225,000. The VA will cover about $80,000, leaving you with about $100,000 to cover out of pocket.
At ATP, we can arrange loans to get your entire course price covered upfront, allowing you to train full time – you will complete our Airline Career Pilot Program in just 7 months.
The loan option we offer is private but functions similarly to other student loans where you are not required to make payments while in school and have the option to defer payments for up to 6 months after training. Flight Training Loans / ATP Flight School
Hope this helps,
Addison
Tyrel,
Thank you for your service! As Addison mentioned the specifics, unfortunately there isn’t an efficient way to utilize the GI benefits to its full potential. You’re either going to give up your time, doing the university program (4 years and still a hefty bill leftover using the full benefit) or the full financial benefit doing a fast track training program. With hiring the way that it is right now, delaying hiring potential for four years will amount to thousands of lost income. That’s on top of the leftover bill from the costly university programs. The best you can do is utilize what you can of the benefit at ATP and still get through training as fast as possible. Just something to think about…
-Hannah