Expert: David A. NewMyer - 8/22/2007

Question
I have been thinking about becoming a helicopter pilot since i was a little kid. I'm 23 year old male and I have just come to the conclusion that I am going to quit my career as a deckhand and pursue this dream of mine no matter what. Is there any advice you can give me regarding which schools are better than others, or mainly if I have absolutely horrible credit, is there any other options i can take to financially support myself when I am attending school full time? I currently live in Portland Oregon. I've been looking at the local community college here.

Answer
Hi, Wesley:

Remember that most helicopter training is provided by the military....it is "free" there but you have to put up with the military way of life, and the deployments, and the multiple years of commitment to get the training.  As far as the civil training, you will have to pay for training yourself but you will also have the military helo pilots getting out of the military to compete with...so, it is your call on the military option.  It is great training via the military....

As far as ideas for paying for the civil training route:

www.uaa.aero  This website has a listing of college aviation scholarships that includes over $1.2 million in scholarships

www.avscholars.com   This website has some good aviation related financial aid and loan advice as well as some scholarship listings.

As far as a best school, I am not a helicopter training expert, but, you can check with www.uaa.aero to obtain their publication THE COLLEGIATE AVIATION GUIDE to see which colleges and universities provide helicopter flight training.

I wish you the best in your career plans,

David A. NewMyer, Ph.D., Professor and Chair
Aviation Management and Flight
Southern Illinois University Carbondale