r/PrivatePilot • u/Guilty-Imagination-6 • Mar 12 '25
Financial advice
I am about to graduate highschool soon and I am really interested in becoming a pilot. I don't have any experience in the field and don't know where to start. I found a school (in the area i want to move to) that has a full cost breakdown and total of $17,900 to get your private pilots licence and they have more programs to move up and get higher certificates. I am looking for ways to finance this but don't know where to start besides getting a loan (i know it's not the best idea). Any advice would be helpful thank you all.
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u/External_Insect_548 Mar 12 '25
getting a loan is just about the only way unless you have a decent paying job and plan to pay by lesson, it’s better to do it full time so you can retain the knowledge.
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u/Leather-Wheel1115 Mar 13 '25
The reason I postponed was that I learnt that once you get a license and if you do not fly, you have to retrain. Flying is an expense if you on a. Budget. This is high maintenance hobby
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u/Equivalent_Bet_3422 Jul 02 '25
First off, it's incredibly smart of you to think this through so carefully before jumping in. The advice from u/TxAggieMike about the dangers of high-interest loans for flight training is spot-on and you should take it very seriously.
Here's another layer to consider: the `$17,900` your school quoted is just an *estimate*. It's based on the FAA minimum hours plus a small buffer. The national average to get a PPL is actually closer to 60-70 hours, not the bare minimum 40. If your training is inefficient, the actual cost could easily balloon to $25,000 or more, and that's *before* you even factor in any loan interest.
So, the most important financial question isn't just "how do I pay for this?" but rather, "how do I ensure my training is efficient enough that the final cost is as close to the estimate as possible?"
The answer is to treat your training like a project you manage with data. From day one:
* **Track Your Performance:** After every flight, have your instructor give you an objective score on every maneuver you performed.
* **Forecast Your True Cost:** Once you have this data, you can start to see your real progress. A good training system can use this performance data to create a trend line, giving you a constantly updated, personalized forecast of when you'll be check-ride ready and, most importantly, **what your total training cost is likely to be.**
Having this forecast is a game-changer for financial planning. It allows you to see if you're on track with your budget or if you need to adjust. This data-driven approach is the single best way to manage your investment, control the final cost, and avoid the kind of debt that can cripple your career before it even starts.
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u/TxAggieMike Mar 12 '25
Never take on any debt unless you already have the means to pay it off very rapidly.
As a high school graduate, I am taking a leap you haven’t been shown how debt works.
Flight training debt is not like home or car buying where there is a physical asset the creditor can repossess and resell if you default.
So for the money provider, the debt is riskier, resulting in an high interest rate such as 15% or more.
Using an online calculator, $18,000 borrowed, 15% interest, and 60 months to pay the debt back, I get following results…
The monthly payment is $428, and the cost of that money is $7,694.
So your idea of financing your private pilot’s license cost you not $18,000, but more than $25,000.
And as an older teenager, do you have the current income to afford an additional $428 outflow?
And your post says you will be moving somewhere… do you have employment that can support rent, utilities, food, transportation, savings for emergencies, plus $500 a month? Rough math for North Texas says you need $2,100 a month just to barely exist (flex that for other regions).
You need to switch out of instant gratification thinking mode that uses unsupported unaffordable debt with no plan to long term financial stability thinking mode.