:(

[GRoss]

Went flying again this weekend - this time on a grumman aa1a here in Australia, Melbourne (my 2nd time) and have been thinking about going for my private pilot licence, only to realize that a private pilot license training course here in Melbourne starts from $22.000 .. which is an absolute no-go zone for me...

 

..Does anyone know of any government supported courses/grants/anything that would help me in getting a flying license? Anything but joining the airforce..

 

Looking around I couldn't find anything and that made me :( lol

 

---

On the bright side though, I've been looking for ways to easy the pain, and since I decided that loads of booze and drugs aren't for me, I've been (for like 100th time) been eyeing the Warthog HOTAS and Saitek Pro pedals

 

/endrant (just needed to let it out) :music_whistling:

[airea]

Try paragliding.

Much cheaper, much easier to learn. A little more risky.

 

Your country is very suitable for paragliding. Especially the place called Manilla...

[thereminqblank]

..Does anyone know of any government supported courses/grants/anything that would help me in getting a flying license? Anything but joining the airforce..

 

Have you had a look into university courses? I did the Bachelor of Aviation at Edith Cowan University in Perth many moons ago. At the time, the flight training component was self-funded, but it seems now it can be covered by FEE-HELP. Not sure, but you might have to do the flight training through Singapore Flying College (part of Singapore Airlines) at Jandakot to be eligible for FEE-HELP funded training

 

Obviously that means you can pay it off when you're an airline pilot, or keep your wage under $47k for the rest of your life and never have to pay it back :D

[EtherealN]

Not even paragliding is necessary. Over here a lot of people start off by learning gliders - they're a lot cheaper to operate and thus it's cheaper to get flying in those. And when you then have your license on the glider you already have all the flying stuff, the radio, the mets, and so on. All you have to do in the expensive training course is the few things that are specific to motored flight. I'd also say that gliders are a good place to start even from a simple airmanship perspective, since you have to constantly work on your understanding of the plane's aerodynamics when you don't have an engine to make you complacent.

 

Not sure what the regulations are down under which might impact if this is possible, but here the price calculation ended up with the total price on the "road to PPL" was roughly half if you go glider and then PPL compared to going PPL directly.