Hello, my name is William Davies. I have been in the military for 8 years now but have always dreamed of a career in flight. If I stay in the military until retirement I will be 39 when I retire.
I have read over the whole " Is 40 to old to start?" questions and responses. I would like to know if it is possible to use my GI Bill to start my training as a pilot and begin gaining hours of flight time over the next 12 years? Or would it be better to do it all in one go?
Also I hate to be “that guy” but are there flight schools that offer a military discount?
There are universities where you can use your GI Bill benefits. These are schools like UVU, UND, etc not part 61 schools like ATP. Spend some time on google or discuss with your education office about flight training bmefits. Some universities may offer Yellow Ribbon matching programs…so yes, discounts are possible. If Im not mistaken, however, you cant tap into your GI Bill benefits while AD. If you are AD and are planning to use the GI Bill, you will obviously need to research that.
First, thank you for your response. I think you maybe right about the use of the GI Bill while active duty.
However, maybe my question was a bit unclear tho.
The questions are:
A. Would it be better for me to just start by getting my PPL while remaining in the military?
Or
B. Go ahead and get out and use the GI Bill to push myself through an accelerated program?
Thats a decision only you can make. Leaving a career is a very personal choice especially when balancing pensions, retirement benefits, etc. I dont know anybody here can tell you which decision is best for you…take a look at what you are leaving and where you want to be. Come up with a plan that works best for your circumstances, goals, and finances.
I spent 8 years AD and my decision to leave was only after a spent a lot of time thinking what I wanted out of life. Good luck.
As Trey said, you can only use the GI Bill for Part 141 schools AND there’s a limit to how much you can use per year. That basically takes “accelerated programs” (like ATP) out of the mix. I completely understand the desire to let the govt pay for your training. BUT, airline pilots have a finite amount of years to work and if you wait till retirement at 39 you’re arriving to the party a little late. The money you’ll never see by delaying your training will far outweigh the cost of training. Now if you can use the Bill to get your Private which will save you some money and give you a jump on things then by all means but after you leave the service you need to start moving quickly.
I am not aware of any flight schools that offer a military discount.
Twelve years is a really long time. I suppose that you could build your flight time and ratings slowly as you go, but that is certainly the long route to go. The only way that I am aware of to use GI benefits for training is to go to an aviation college, which will be pretty hard to do while being full time in the military.
While the mandatory retirement age only applies to airline pilots, at some point nobody wants to see an older person flying their airplane. Jobs past age 65 are very limited, I would not count on getting one.
I would like to thank everyone for your answers.
I’ve always wanted to have a career in flight. When I was younger it just seemed like a dream. But now I’m faced with do I pursue my dream or continue on what has gotten me this far.
I understand that is a personal choice and I thank everyone for talking the time to respond.
I’m in a similar situation as you, will be at 8 years this time next year, and posted the following question, you may find some value out of the responses provided by Chris and Adam. From all the research I’ve done, pilots and industry personnel I’ve talked to, time and seniority is everything. Being frank, unless you are in the O rankings the retirement at 20 years will likely not be worth the 12 years you’ll miss in the airlines. This does not take away the job satisfaction you may receive or the service aspect, but is something to consider. I’m looking strongly at the reserves to continue to serve while pursuing my dream, best of luck to you.