Financing Helicopter Flight Training

Helicopter Flight Training

The risk of pre-paid Professional/Career Packages

If you are thinking of trusting a large sum of money with a flight school, consider Specialized Helicopters

Now be aware that I am not one who discourages block-time purchases for your helicopter flight training or airplane flight training; quite the opposite, I encourage it. I even encourage the payment in advance of a particular level of flight training. It is best for the student, and it is best for the flight school. But career packages where you give up complete control of a very large sum of money that you and only you are responsible for repayment; to a flight school who is going to take their sweet time getting your rating for you, often in excess of a year? That my friend is a whole different story; I strongly discourage it, and here is why!

Once all paperwork is complete with Sallie Mae or any equivalent financing arrangement such as in-house financing which is currently used by some flight schools, your loan is paid to the flight school in its entirety in two or three installments in quick succession; two to three months at the most, while your training will take 12-14 months. During this time, if either you or the school defaults, you are the one who gets shafted and owes the balance of the loan. You have absolutely no control of your money, NONE, that is right, I said none!

Is there really an alternative method? Well of course there is, it is just not used, but it could be if either the finance company or the flight school really wanted to do the right thing. The solution would be something known as Escrow. Escrow is where money is held by a third party, and only released when certain conditions are met. People think of Escrow as related only to housing purchases, but that is incorrect; it can be applied to anything. It is just not done that way because there is no one looking out for what is right. Flight schools will tell you that the money is held in your account; this is not truthful, your account is simply an accounting method. The money is in their bank account, which is most likely their general fund. This would be fine if it were a relatively reasonable amount like that for a particular level of training, say $15,000 but not $65,000 or more.

In most cases, a contract if one exists at all, is written entirely for the benefit and protection of the flight school. You need to read and understand the fine print of anything you will be required to sign. If there is not some statement in the contract that guarantees you a minimum of at least 30 flight hours per calendar month (which is still much to low really), you are getting shafted, and that is an understatement. Certainly by this time in your life you know common math and you can easily calculate your average hours. If it will take you 12-14 months to complete your career package of 200 hours, that comes to an average of 14 to 16 flight hours per month; absolutely unacceptable. An average flight needs to be about 2 hours; some will be less, and some will be more. A reasonable flight lesson will be 1.5 hours of actual flight time, while your cross country flights will be longer. If you take your 14 to 16 hours and break it down by flight hours, you will only be flying once per day, just seven (7) times a month. It is obvious that you will be spending a lot of time sitting around watching other people fly!

Now I know that everything seems like I am against the big schools, but that is not entirely true. I just believe that the lying and scamming is wrong, and should not exist. I have worked with a number of students who were not committed, and weren't worth my time by any stretch of the imagination. Any student who doesn't spend every waking/available moment at the airport/flight school living and breathing aviation is not serious and therefore doesn't deserve any different from the school/instructor.

Now if a finance company distributed funds more reasonably, like to coincide with each level of your training, then that would be acceptable. The problem is, that is not the way it is done. If you are going to be attending a school where any of the above mentioned arrangements exist, you would be really wise to seek out another flight school. The problem with that is of course the financing; many smaller schools just don't have it.

Direct questions to info@helicopterflight.net

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