VA Pro Finance Question

[Beechlover]

Hi All. I'm trying to come up with a budget to know how much out of pocket expence (monthly) I will be paying the school. I realize the answer is basically "it depends." but if one of the VA Pro pilots could please give me an idea of how the financial side of this works for them (the more specific the better) Beer's are on me. I mean it, I really need to hammer this out. I'm already attacking this issue with school staff but I'd really like to hear it from a student who's actually had to live it as well. Thanks again all. The house was officially on the market today and we had two lookers, I anticipate a busy weekend, nothing like living in a fishbowl LOL!

Take care,

Rudy

[USMC-SGT]

I am not a student there but I will be attending next year and have gone over the financials as well.....

expect to pay for the full cost mentioned, I think $18599.00 for your share of the course, however you will need the whole cost first because it is out of your pocket until the VA reimburses you.

Housing is $500.00 per month and the average student seems to be taking anywhere from 6-12 months from what I have been hearing so I would factor the median of that range and say 9 months.

From what I understand, you will not want to live in the aviators housing because who wants to have a wife and share a house with other strangers...not me..so I was looking up rent in the area and came up with anywhere between $600-$1200 so I will factor say $900.00 per month for a decent apartment. Or you could buy a house if you want to go that route.

Books and materials...I would say around $200 all said and done, but you can do it for less or more depending on where you look

Test, I think you will need 5 and I am not sure what the Aviator charges, at my FBO they are $70...I am going to complete all of mine prior to attending to make it easier on me

Checkrides run for around $400.00 but again I am not sure how it works at the aviator from what I understand the FSDO checkrides are free.

Food I am sure you can factor in yourself

so all total I would factor on

up front cost $33995.00
Apartment cost $8100.00
Books and materials $200.00
Writtens $490.00 (roughly)
Checkrides $1200.00 (vague on this one because I am not sure how many are FSDO or not)
Food (250/moX9) $2250.00 roughly of course

That leaves you a grand total of $46235.00 of which you will be reimbursed $15396.00 leaving a new total of $30839.00

These are only the numbers that I came up with and will be plus or minus in a few categories, once some of the actual aviator students chime in with the actual test and checkride fees you will be able to adjust accordingly.

I was quoted $12,995.00 out of pocket for the course because I am ASEL instrument rated with 150+ hours and I plan on completing all test prior to arrival and not working during the course so I can finish the remainder of the ratings in under 3 months. I hope some of this helps in some way

[surreal1221]

Shawn,

$15396.00 is what the VA will cover . . . this should be rather generic across the board, no matter what Part 141 VA approved school you attend correct? With the VA only paying the MINIMUM hours required for Part 141 certification, correct?

The 141 school I am looking at will take me from PPL ASEL all the way out to MEI. And I was only expecting the VA to pay about 10-11k worth of the total cost (which is around 36k).

Let me know.

[Beechlover]

Originally Posted by USMC-SGT

I am not a student there but I will be attending next year and have gone over the financials as well.....

expect to pay for the full cost mentioned, I think $18599.00 for your share of the course, however you will need the whole cost first because it is out of your pocket until the VA reimburses you.

Housing is $500.00 per month and the average student seems to be taking anywhere from 6-12 months from what I have been hearing so I would factor the median of that range and say 9 months.

From what I understand, you will not want to live in the aviators housing because who wants to have a wife and share a house with other strangers...not me..so I was looking up rent in the area and came up with anywhere between $600-$1200 so I will factor say $900.00 per month for a decent apartment. Or you could buy a house if you want to go that route.

Books and materials...I would say around $200 all said and done, but you can do it for less or more depending on where you look

Test, I think you will need 5 and I am not sure what the Aviator charges, at my FBO they are $70...I am going to complete all of mine prior to attending to make it easier on me

Checkrides run for around $400.00 but again I am not sure how it works at the aviator from what I understand the FSDO checkrides are free.

Food I am sure you can factor in yourself

so all total I would factor on

up front cost $33995.00
Apartment cost $8100.00
Books and materials $200.00
Writtens $490.00 (roughly)
Checkrides $1200.00 (vague on this one because I am not sure how many are FSDO or not)
Food (250/moX9) $2250.00 roughly of course

That leaves you a grand total of $46235.00 of which you will be reimbursed $15396.00 leaving a new total of $30839.00

These are only the numbers that I came up with and will be plus or minus in a few categories, once some of the actual aviator students chime in with the actual test and checkride fees you will be able to adjust accordingly.

I was quoted $12,995.00 out of pocket for the course because I am ASEL instrument rated with 150+ hours and I plan on completing all test prior to arrival and not working during the course so I can finish the remainder of the ratings in under 3 months. I hope some of this helps in some way

USMC-SGT thanks for the info I really appreciate it! When you get to Florida, first rounds on me buddy! Stay safe.

[USMC-SGT]

Surreal- $15396.00 is correct. Regardless of where you go, under part 141 minimum hours that is the MAX that the VA will pay...which is a good thing because that will leave you $20,604.00 of your VA benefits to pay for that CRJ type rating!

Beechlover-When do you plan on being down there? I will be out of here in +-one month and then back to SoCal to finish up my enlistment. I plan on stopping into Fl to visit the school, also my mother lives in Naples and my sister and her husband are stationed at Opa-Lacka (sp) Fl. I figure that will be around March or so or before X-mas depending on when we (wife and I) decide to travel out there and line up an apartment and get her a job at a hospital.

With any luck you can get there soon, work hard and be my instructor, that would work out pretty good. One VA guy to another. Will do you one better on the beer. We will have you and your family over for some dinner and a few beers on the porch, that is if we have a porch of course, might have to settle for a patio.

[Beechlover]

USMC-SGT sounds great! My house has been on the market 2 days and we just accepted an offer! Never thought it would go this fast but everyone wants to move out so go figure. My wife is still working on getting her nursing liscense transfered to Fl, so we expect to be there by mid September. We'll take a couple of weeks to settle in and get to know the area as well as meet everyone at the Aviator! Hope to be flying by 1 October! Stay safe bud, see ya when you get here.

Rudy

[surreal1221]

Shawn,

Thanks brother. . . who'd you call or speak to to get that figure? Whenever I call the VA I never get any help whatsoever, I just hope it's not a sign for what is to come. If you figured it out on your own, then nevermind .

Now, the question is, how to make sure you get all ~15K of it.

[USMC-SGT]

I have talked to my base education office as well as the people at the aviator to get that figure. It is based on the FAA minimum ammount of hours towards the ratings which Ari-Ben is offering....at their published and approved aircraft and instructor prices.

To get paid....make sure all your paperwork is in order and that you have a second class medical PRIOR to taking your first flight for which you wish to be reimbursed for. After that check again that all your T's are crossed and all your I's are dotted. And then check again.


Beech- Sounds like a plan, congrats on the house offer. I think our wives would hit it off, my wife is an RN with her masters and will also be looking for employment in FL. My mother currently works as an RN in the Naples Fl area.

The timeframe should work out that you just might end up being my instructor..dont worry though, im a fast learner and I have a few hours under my belt already..we are safe

[Chewie von Nubbins]

Fellow Veterans and all the fine people here at Real Sports,

Sorry in advance for the thesis.

I have been lurking for several weeks now on this forum and I am thoroughly impressed with the wealth of knowledge that is being shared here. Thanks to each and every one of you for sharing your thoughts, ideas, and knowledge on how to make sense out of all of the information that is out here on how to use the GI Bill benefits to pay for Commercial Pilot Training. I have learned tons, but I have a few questions that I need help with. Here goes:...

Background:

I am yet another potential career changer making around the 80k/yr salary and am just not satisfied with cubeville and conference calls from dusk till dawn. I am currently working at a major telecom company as a UNIX / Network Engineer, and have been since 2001. I got out of the Navy in 2000 after serving a total 9 adventurous years serving as a Crytpologic Technician (6 of those years in Rota, Spain!!!!). I finished my BSCS back in 2004 and used a total of 12 months of the total 36 month entitlement. I have verified with the VA that I have a total of 24 months entitlement remaining for GI Bill benefits.

Since my company has struggled since buying another phone company that is famous for their "walkie talkie" phone feature, they are now trying to shed around 5,000 "associates." In summary, they offered anyone in the company a buyout to walk away. For me, this means that I would get around 6 months of full pay and benefits for "volunteering" to walk away. I took the offer. Last day of work will be 3/30/07.

I am now 34 years old, and I believe that I understand the age factor (either good or bad) and what I am facing there. I live in the DFW Metroplex and have visited the Arlington meca a few times now. I haven't officially pulled the trigger on making the decision to fork out tons of money, energy, and frustration on becoming a Commercial Pilot yet, but I am getting closer and closer. Hence, that is the reason for this post.

Here is my main question, at this point:

1. After looking at the pickings of schools around the country for Commercial Pilot Training, I know that I live in a good area for this training. I looked at ATP, and I just love the speed and bootcamp program that they have there. ATP seems to closely resemble, to me, some of the military training schools that I attended learning my Crypto craft. But, unfortunately, they are very proud of their program, want sick amounts of money to attend their training, and do not have it setup for Part 141 (which is VA friendly). However, the program that ATP has setup appears to work for them....and seems to work very good.

I have been eyeballing the school down the flight line from them, since they will be VA friendly any day now. Ok, so I went in and talked to the owner and his assistant that is working on getting through the red-tape of the VA in order to achieve their approval. They were very friendly people and the atmosphere at the school looks like it would be a lot of fun.
The majority of the information that she provided me was for the Part 141 Basic Course. This was confusing to me, because I was expecting to get information on the Multi Course - for VA approved benefits. I was expecting to get the equivalent information as to what Ari Ben is offering for their VA benefit program.

The question that I have is:... Did I get the wrong information? If this school that I am considering has almost an identical course that Ari Ben is offering, wouldn't I be able to use my GI Bill benefits to pursue that training course?

Here is the information that was provided:

Basic course 141


Certificates and Ratings:

• Private Pilot Single engine
• Instrument Rating
• Commercial Single engine
• Commercial multi engine

Flight time:

• 210 hours logged time
• 165 hours single engine
• 15 hours multi engine
• 30 hours multi engine ATD

Here is the course that I would like to pursue, using my GI Bill benefits:

"Quick Multi course"

Certificates and Ratings:

• Private Pilot Multi engine
• Instrument Rating
• Commercial Single engine
• Commercial multi engine
• Certified Flight instructor
• Certified Flight instructor instrument
• Multi engine instructor
• High performance transition
• Glass cockpit transition

Flight time:

• 240 hours logged time
• 200 hours multi engine
• 20 hours single engine
• 20 hours multi engine ATD

If I understand correctly, you must have your PPL and 2nd class medical done before the VA will start paying these benefits. Is this correct? Additionally, the VA would pay for 60% of the minimum amount of hours for the program. Correct?

Thanks for your help in advance!

[DE727UPS]

Is it Skymates?

[Chewie von Nubbins]

Yes

[Beechlover]

The short answer is, if the school's flight training program is part 141, then you will be able to use your GI bill benefits to pay for 60% of the Part 141 training portion only.

The question to ask is, "how experienced is the school in dealing with the required VA paper work that must be submitted every month? Are there any VA students currently attending the program you can personally speak with so you can get a first hand account of how it's working for them?

I've been training at the Aviator since last October and Judy has been absolutely fantastic about submitting my monthly verifications of enrollment. Keep in mind though that payment is slow in coming,
and it's best to not count on that money but to have it all up front so there are no delays in your training due to funds and just plan to be payed when it comes.

VA folks at other schools are having different experiences so I would say the best way to go would be to talk to a student at the school you're interested in attending. Best of Luck!

Rudy

[surreal1221]

Just to add onto what Rudy said though, not ALL 141 schools are approved by the VA.

[SmitteyB]

That's right. Just because you're 141 doesn't mean your VA.

There are some strict requirements to become VA as well.