Where can I find helicopter school financing?

Question

I noticed these schools range from 10k to 100k what is up with that? So the mid range 50-60k is probably possible.

Answer 1

The schools themselves can hook you up.

Answer 2

As you have already discovered, paying for the training is the hardest part. There is no easy way to do it, and while there are some options available for financing, it will still be quite a challenge. I have never heard of any organization that will sponsor your training, except for the military and sometimes law enforcement agencies.

You should expect to spend in excess of $60,000. $10K is way too low. You probably won't even finish your private for that. The total cost might reach $100K if you include living expenses and interest on a loan over several years. The training itself will not cost that much.

Please avoid the schools that make grand promises about how easy it is to be a pilot and how wonderful it is and then want full payment for their entire program up front. Most schools allow you to pay as you go. The financing possibilities are few and far between, and incurring such a large debt has risks. You should plan carefully and do your homework before sacrificing your financial security. It is sometimes better to work hard and save up to pay for training rather than getting a loan.

Here are some financing ideas to investigate:

These two offer loans for training, but they may not be adequate to cover the entire cost, especially in a helicopter. I also understand that their interest rates are rather high:

Pilot Finance

http://www.pilotfinance.com/pages/539359...

AOPA

http://www.aopa.org/info/certified/funds...

Sallie Mae offers student and career loans. Check if your flight school is set up with them:

http://www.salliemae.com/

Also look for aviation college programs like Utah Valley State College. You train at a flight school of your choice while doing UVSC's online classes. You don't need an aviation degree to be a pilot, but you may have better financing options through them:

http://www.uvscaviation.com/

If you are female, you might investigate Whirly Girls. I think they have a scholarship program.

http://www.whirlygirls.org/

Finally, some time ago "Av8trxx" posted this answer to a question about financing. I don't know if any of those would be useful for helicopter training, but she gave a lot of links and you might find something.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Spend some time on the following helicopter websites. They have a lot of information, as well as discussion forums and flight school listings:

http://www.verticalreference.com/

http://www.justhelicopters.com/home/defa...

Aviation is an awesome and rewarding career, but you can get burned if just dive in head first. Talk to pilots, research schools, get information from several different sources, figure the costs, and go into it fully prepared and knowledgeable about every possible path towards your goals. Don't start until you can prove to yourself that the path you have selected is the right one.

Good luck!