VA Benefits for Flight Training
My first post, Reddit thought I was a bot so they removed it, but here is is again because it is really important!
I just got out of a VA 101 GI Bill education training session and they put out so much incorrect information about VA benefits and Flight Training. They were telling people that they would have to pay out of pocket for their Private Pilot!!! This is crazy and not actually true if you know more to the story. There are 2 ways to use VA benefits for flight training.
The first is the improper way and that is Vocational Flight. This is where, YES, you pay out of pocket for Private Pilot and then each 17K you use takes away 12 months of benefits (you only get 36 months). This is NOT the way for you to use your benefits as they will be gone before you even complete your Commercial rating. This route is really only good if you are a professional pilot and you just want to do an Add-On Rating.
Below is the second (BEST) way for a Veteran to get the VA to pay for their dreams of flight training!
If you are starting from the beginning, simply go through an approved Institute of Higher Learning (College route) that is both accredited as well as VA approved. This route, if done through a Community College, will take you about the same amount of time as it would have if you had cash to pay for it all. The VA will cover the program costs and ALL ratings (including Private Pilot)! VA will provide you with a housing allowance and a book stipend! You literally get paid to learn to fly this way. I am just so frustrated with the VA not telling people about this option and really explaining it. Don't let the VA burn through your benefits for no good reason. Getting your Associates degree and all of your ratings in 2 years or less also only uses up about 18 months of your total 36 months of eligibility!
I know that Klamath Community College has a partnership with Pureflight Aviation Training in Oregon and they have both Airplane and Helicopter VA approved programs. Many of their Veterans complete all Helicopter ratings AND Airplane ratings and the VA pays for it all.