Flight training is expensive, and the costs have gone up since I started in 2014. I required a $20,000 line of credit during my training. This debt took me 2 years to pay off, while my gross annual income grew from $25,000-$40,000 during this period. It wasn't an easy task, so here are some tips I've learned along the way:
Do Your Research
Before you start your flight training, research which options you have for flight schools. Some items to consider:
- Location (and cost of boarding if away from home)
- Number of training aircraft and instructor availability
- Directly through a flight school
- University aviation degree
- Airline sponsored program
- Air Cadet League
If you are considering doing your flight training directly through a flight school, I recommend booking a discovery flight - to meet with an instructor and get more information. Do research and compare all your options to figure out which one is best for you.
Apply for Scholarships
Apply for as many scholarships as you can! Any amount you receive towards your training will help minimize your total cost. Checkout my blog post "Training Scholarships" for a list of scholarships available in Canada.
Have an Income
Flight training is demanding - but if you're able, having a job will keep an inflow of income on your depleting bank account. I did my flight training only in the winter seasons, and would fly around my work schedule (early mornings, evenings, and weekends). I completed my PPL the winter of '14/15, and then worked full-time the following summer. Then completed my CPL the winter of '15/16.
Fly Frequently
Once you start flight training, aim to do multiple training flights every week. Flying an airplane is a mental and physical exercise that requires practice. You will not progress if you only fly 1x week. A good learning attitude makes good pilots. Learn from criticism, and be able to identify what you did well and what needs more practice.
Do Your Homework
Make sure you show up prepared to your training flight. If you put in the effort to study, you'll be more efficient in each lesson and it will be quicker for you to move on to the next one.
Take Care of Yourself
This one's important in any learning environment. You need to take care of your mind and body in order to perform well. That means making healthy food choices, getting enough rest and exercise, and doing some fun activities to break up your study time. If you aren't performing well, it will take more time and money to progress.
Income Taxes
Depending where you live, you may be eligible to claim your flight training costs on your income taxes.
Managing Debt
Sometimes debt is unavoidable. But incurring debt temporarily can be worth it in order to invest in your future. If you go into debt, you want to minimize the time that you have that burden, so you can live your life in financial freedom.
How to pay off debt fast:
- Get a job: if you're not employed already start applying. Some entry level aviation jobs include: ramp hand, fueler, booking agent, tow pilot, skydive pilot, survey pilot, and flight instructor. Sometimes you won't get your dream job right a ways, and will have to work another job in the meantime to build up your resume. Check out Pilot Career Center website for current job postings.
- Start an emergency fund: before you start paying off your debt, you'll want to save up enough money to cover expenses for a couple of months. Life happens, and you don't want something unexpected sending you further into debt.
- Pay off your smallest debt first: if you have multiple debts, order them smallest to largest, and pay off your smallest debt first. This will give you momentum and encouragement to keep going. Once you've paid off your smallest debt, start a "debt snowball", which means using the money you were applying towards the previous debt to the next one - and keep accumulating the amount of your payments until your debt is paid off. Don't spend the extra money once you've freed up a payment. This method will shorten the amount of time you are in debt.
- Make more money: if you're not making enough money to make debt re-payments, then you may have to get a second job. If you have a car: Instacart and Skip the Dishes are easy ways to make extra money. I've done both of these and being able to make your own schedule to do deliveries is very convenient. You can also try selling items on Kijji or FB Marketplace to make extra money. During my PPL training I sold my Honda CBR. It was sad to part ways with it, but I knew investing that money in myself would pay off in the end, and I could always buy another motorcycle in the future.
- Don't live beyond your means: this means don't spend more money than you have. You don't need to "keep up with the joneses" (or maybe it's more modern to say KUWTK now). A helpful tool is using a budget to figure out what you have available to spend in each category, and don't exceed those limits. This task will make you aware of what resources you have and how much you can allocate towards paying off debt. There are many free budget templates available on Microsoft Excel, and the App Store.
Keep Saving
Once you have paid off all your debt, keep building your personal savings and start investing (RRSP, TFSA etc.) To avoid going back into debt, only buy things once you've saved up the funds for it. It's also smart to think about getting insurance if you don't have it already: such as health insurance, life insurance, critical illness insurance.