Student Loans

[412driver]

"The way i understand it, TC can ask and you would need to demonstrate the ability to do a FULL ON autorotation on your flight test."

well yes and no, TC can ask but......

yes, we DO full on auto's but NO we wouldn't like a TC examiner, who flies a couple hours a month to do them. the last few flight tests the TC examiner asked the student what he wanted, full ons or power recovery. if TC wanted to pay for an hour or two to get current? well that would be different.

that being said here's my take. i tell the students, all full ons at the airport and away from the airport will be power recovery. that way there is no mistake when i give a forced approach away from the airport.

by the time our students go solo they have alot of full ons under their belt........

 

[sharky]

Being still a green instructor, as well as pilot, I do exercise 7, get them prepped on entry/overshoot procedures. Then the bossman takes the students to the bottom. Full ons with the 22 and 206 depending on the winds. Around 10 kts for the 206, and well, nearer to 20kts for the robbie. Any less wind is power recovery.

 

[Heli Belly]

Action Jackson, don't know where you are with a student loan but you should consider a few other variables before going down this path. When you talk to the different schools and the instructors tell you there is work out there, and there is but it is very difficult to find. There are so many heli-flight schools across Canada putting out 100 hour pilots and the insurance companies aren't allowing many of them to fly. You will spend around $50,000 to be ground crew for about 3 years (if you can even find that) and then MAYBE you will fly. The schools don't give you the answers you need to hear, call some CFI's and they will tell you the truth. Just a thought.

 

[sweetlilsky]

At a certain point in time, if you still don't earn a above a certain amount (can't remember the exact numbers) you can have the amount owing on a government student loan reduced by half or I believe 10 000$. You should look into that.

 

[duf]

Scratch Laurentian Bank off the Aviation Loans List... They dropped the programme... I applied onlne and a rep called me to say so...

 

[duf]

Heli Belly
Very discouraging comments... Whats the point then?

 

[Ryan]

I wouldn't say it's discouraging, it's just the truth. And the point is that nothing worth doing ever comes easily. For me, I'll be surprised if I have a flying job inside of 3 years of getting my license. You just have to accept it if you want to start out as a rookie pilot. Just remember the old saying, "All Good Things to Those Who Wait."

 

[Ryan]

To boost the spirits of anyone wanting to get their CPL(H), there are those who do get very lucky breaks. There is a former student of the school I'm attending who got a job flying a Jet Ranger 10 hours a week. I guess he went there looking for whatever they could give, expecting a ground crew spot at best, and is now flying right from the get-go. Not too shabby for a 100 hour pilot straight out of school! Though it is very rare, it shows it does still happen.

 

[YYB Pilot]

No one has any loan programmes in Ontario anymore. A few students walked thru our doors and asked for loan information. TD and all the rest are gone! Best thing to do is put your car down for equity and among other things and get a personal loan to pay it all back! Or a line of credit! The job thing can be another down fall at the end of your training when it is time to pay it all back!

If you have been out of school for sometime, talk to HRDC sometimes they can swing a few options to you for help!

 

[412driver]

you have a good atitude there ryan. go with your dream.....

of my last semester students (4) three got jobs in their first summer, the semester before that 2 out of 4 got work and the 2 that didn't were from switzerland that moved back home where one is already flying.......


there are NO guarantees. law schools pump out lawyers with no guarantees of work. same with the universities in all different professions.

as for student loans. if you can, live in alberta because their student loans program pays for almost half the course!!!!!

duf, any school you check out should be able to show you ALL the students they have trained and tell you who got jobs or not. schools say they have the "best placement record in Canada" or something like that. that came from a government survey taken MANY years ago that may not be accurate today.

to anyone thinking of taking the plunge into this industry, it is in your best interests to investigate EVERY school, ask a TON of questions. we recommend taking a one hour "intro" flight that WE count as your first hour of training REGARDLESS of which school you did it. paying around $400.00 for a one hour flight to confirm your desire to fly is a good investment in my mind.

my two bits........

 

[Ryan]

Thanks 412driver!
Just found out another former student got a flying spot after scrubbing and stripping helicopters for the last year. Good for her!! So that makes 4 out of 6 students flying now...I like those odds.