When we decide to commit to flight training the big sticking point is how should we fund it. The integrated training is easy to answer, you need to have all the money up front, it’s that simple. Modular flight training poses a different question of how to pay for modular flight training
Well the answer to that question really depends on what you want to do. For instance right now I am working full time, I have enough money to do my PPL, hour building and ATPL theory. However at this point I would run out of cash, this wouldn’t be so much of an issue if I was going to stay at work and learn on weekends etc, but I want to do my training continuously. I don’t think stop start training is the best way to learn and while it is possible to do so (many people do) I don’t want to go backwards at any point and need things like refresher lessons. I also want to go to ground school full time which means that I wont be working during this period. In other words when I commence training I want no distractions. This works for me because when I finish training and commence job searching I have a fall back career to go into, a career that offers permanent and contracting opportunities so I should be able to find work of some sort.
You however may look at it differently, you may want to stay at work and keep an income coming in. You may be happy to do a distance learning ground school stage and are happy to do your training in segments. That’s the beauty of modular training, everybody is different and it is flexible for their needs. If you are happy to spread your training out over a couple of years then this works perfectly for you.
I would say if you want to get your training done in the shortest possible amount of time then you should have the finances in place before commencing, otherwise you will find that your training is quite stop start and may take you years to complete. I understand having such a lump sum available is hard, believe you mean there are many days I think I might as well just do my PPL for now but then my logical side takes over and tells me to continue saving.
There is no right or wrong answer to how to pay for modular flight training as it all depends on your personal circumstances. Sit down and work it out, do a cash flow. If you are paying as you go also factor in things such as what you will do if you lost your job.
