I wanted to share my situation and see if anyone had some sound advice for a student pilot struggling with the financial aspect of training.
I started my training towards my PPL back in 2019 after financing a loan through my bank and was able to complete 45 hours of flight time with my training being stop and go due to the pandemic.
By the end of spring 2020 I completed my first solo flight but ran out of loan money soon after. Was hoping 13k would be enough to finish but with all the “refresher flights” due to inconsistent training and the expensive flight schools here in Seattle that money was gone before I could even start the cross country portion of my training. Instead of taking out another high APR loan I wanted to finish up my training by starting from scratch with ATP to get a more streamlined training environment.
Unfortunately I come from a bit of a broken family and am unable to secure a co-signer on a large loan that’s required for the program. Now I’ve been unable to fly for a few months and am trying to figure out a plan to get the money I need to pursue my goals in the aviation industry.
Anyone have advice they can offer on programs or know of someone who was in a similar situation and found a way to finance their way through? Trying my hardest to apply to any scholarships and I’m even currently in the interview process for the United Aviate Academy. Thanks for your time!
Sadly you’ve learned first hand the reason we so strongly caution people against training at your local flight school (unless it’s purely recreational and you’ve got lots of cash). You’ve spent $13k and have little to show for it.
The best advice I have is to cut your losses, try and save some money to lower the loan amount and don’t resume your training until you can enroll in a program like ATP. While it may take you some time to start, the program will provide you with the tools and resources you need to be successful.
I agree with Adam on this. I would stop all further flight training until you have enough resources to dedicate yourself to training full time. As to the financing aspect of it, the best advice is to save your money and work on your credit. Eventually you will be in a position where you can qualify for the financing. If you are truly dedicated to this, you will get there.
I appreciate the advice and I really do value the mentorship you guys (and girls) provide for aspiring pilots. It’s very unfortunate that there is little to no options for someone in my position to get the training I need to start my career but I shall continue to work hard and keep looking to the skies in the meantime. If only I was dealing with this at 18 years old VS being 28 now!
If you think 28 is old. I am starting the program at 35. There are a lot of people starting later than that. Take a year to pay off that loan and save as much as you can. Just stay focused and get yourself set up for ATP. You learned a lesson with plenty of time to recover from it.
The financial is something I recently overcame. I completely understand. This is just an idea, but commissioned sales jobs are a great way to make a load of money especially if you have $80k worth of motivation to push you. A lot of people use sales jobs as a stepping stone for something bigger. I’ve been in sales for years and am switching to aviation now.
As the others have said, saving and building credit is the best that you can do. I would also recommend calling Kirk in finance to see if he has any tricks up his sleeve to help you get approved.
Daniel,
Right now it sounds like your stuck in a bad cycle: spend money on training, run out of money, take time off to save up more and then spend more money on training to make up for the proficiency you once had… spending lots of money and not making much forward progress. This is why we all here are recommending you stop the cycle, work as much as you can saving up and finding ways to secure a loan… then jump right in to ATP. I’m sorry you’re having to go through this challenge the hard way but don’t give up.