Paying for Flight Training
Paying for flight school can be a challenge. All of our pilot courses are pay-as-you-train. Our instructors work with our clients to make sure the schedules not only meet work and other commitments, but also our client's financial commitments. As a matter of practice, we do not advocate a client taking on massive amounts of debt to reach an aviation goal. We do, however, understand that financing a portion of flight training is sometimes necessary. All clients are encouraged to consider the offers, interest rates, fees, etc. carefully before accepting financing.
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AOPA Aircraft Financing
Aircraft Owner's and Pilot's Association has a Flight Training Loan program.
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AOPA Scholarship
The current scholarship process from AOPA is available here.
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Scholarship List
Flight Circle has a blog post with a fairly extensive list of scholarships.
Federal Aviation Administration Scholarship List
Women in Aviation, International Scholarship list
Experimental Aircraft Association's Young Eagles Scholarship
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Veteran's Benefit Information
In order for flight training to be paid for by Veteran's Benefits including the Post 9/11 GI Bill and Montgomery GI Bill, the school must be certified under the Federal Aviation administration's Part 141 rules and approved by the VA. A further restriction is the requirement that the Veteran have his/her private pilot certificate to enroll in the advanced courses such as Instrument Pilot and Commercial Pilot.
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At this time, all of Sumter Aviation's pilot courses are conducted under 14 CFR Part 61 and therefore VA Benefits are not available to pay for training costs.
We are working to obtain the necessary certifications but have yet to complete that process.