It used to be that a very high percentage of civilian pilots were military veterans. Although most had not piloted during their military careers, tens of thousands of veterans were given the opportunity to discover flying through the G.I. Bill of Rights, which paid for most or all of their training costs.
In recent decades, those benefits have been eroded, and the number of new pilots who are also veterans has declined accordingly. Where returning war veterans could once receive 100-percent reimbursement for flight training, today they must pay for the private pilot certificate themselves unless they learn to fly as part of a college or university program. Not even career-track pilots who train outside of a “public institute of higher learning” can get financial help for that first certificate.
At the same time, many military flying clubs have closed their doors as operating and insurance costs have risen, making it harder and harder for veterans and active duty military personnel to fly.
But now Congress has moved to restore flight training benefits for veterans—and if history is an indicator, that could mean a big boost for the pilot population. To give you an idea, the total pilot population jumped from 181,378 in 1944 to 433,241 in 1948 as veterans took advantage of government funding to pay for flight training.
Under the new measure, passed overwhelmingly by the House and Senate in December, qualified veterans could receive up to $10,000 a year for flight training at FAA-approved schools. And that money could be used to pay for private pilot training and sport pilot training—opening the door not only to a new generation of veterans to become pilots, but expanding the horizons of wounded vets who can fly under the sport pilot rules even though they might not otherwise qualify for a medical.
This is great news for our veterans and for all of us who want to see the pilot population rebound, but it’s not a reality yet. Although the benefits are slated to take effect in August of this year, Congress has yet to fund the program, which is expected to cost $13 million annually. And, the funding will have to be renewed every year.
In this era of tight budgets, finding even that relatively small amount of money may prove difficult, but AOPA is working to support flight training benefits for our veterans. I can’t think of a better group of people to bring into the aviation community than veterans. In just the past year I have met some inspiring military personnel who have put their passion for aviation to work for themselves and others.
Look at Marine Captain Gabriel Glinsky. He won AOPA’s Let’s Go Flying Award in 2010 for volunteering to teach private pilot ground school for fellow Marines while deployed in Afghanistan. Watch an interview with Capt. Glinsky on AOPA Live. Then there’s Marine Sgt. Michael Blair. He was wounded in combat in Iraq, but he earned his sport pilot certificate last year flying in AOPA’s Fun to Fly Sweepstakes Remos GX. There’s an interview with him on AOPA Live, too.
Of course there are thousands of others who would love the opportunity to experience the freedom of flying. We want them to have that opportunity, and we’ll be here to help them every step of the way.
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