VA offers flight training benefits to those who want to advance their pilot qualifications. You must have a private pilots license and valid medical certification before you start training. Payments are issued after the training is completed and the school submits your enrollment information to VA.
Flight training is available for the following and other types of qualifications:
Participation requirements are the same for all GI Bill programs, but the payment amount varies depending on the GI Bill program and flight school.
Payment Amounts Under the Montgomery GI Bill
If you are training under the Montgomery GI Bill, we will reimburse you for 60 percent of the approved charges. View payment information by benefit program.
Payment Amounts Under the Post-9/11 GI Bill
Payments for flight training vary based on which type of flight training course and what kind of school you are enrolled in:
Note: The annual maximum amount of training applies to all vocational flight programs (enrollments) that begin during that academic year, regardless of the academic year in which the classes or enrollments are completed. You will not receive a housing allowance or the books-and-supplies stipend during vocational flight training.
For example, you're enrolled in a dual-engine certification course that costs $19,000 on November 1, 2019. You can receive a maximum of $13,986.72 for that course and any other flight training programs leading to your dual-engine certification or other certificationthat begin before August 1, 2020. Additional flight training courses that begin on or after August 1, 2020, are subject to a new annual limit (see annual maximum amount).
Remember, these amounts could be further limited by your eligibility percentage.
This type of assistance is not available under the Survivors and Dependents Educational Assistance program.