U.S. military veterans have a desire to learn to fly, and the money they would spend doing so could be directly responsible for injecting $462 million into the U.S. general aviation training market. This much needed revenue boost depends on changing the policy that prevents veterans from using VA education benefits to earn their private pilot certificate at any flight training school rather than just at aviation colleges or universities. This obstacle must be removed to increase the flow of revenue to every state, FAA-approved flight school and airport and be the catalyst that will reinvigorate U.S. general aviation and support the Trump administration’s plan to invest in aviation infrastructure.
My fight to remove this obstacle is personal and professional. As a 20-year USAF veteran, I have always been drawn to aviation. I spent my first eight years in the military as an F-15 Eagle avionics technician and the last 12 years calling in airstrikes in support of U.S. Army operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. After years of juggling work, deployments, family and college, I finally earned my bachelor’s degree and decided it was time to follow my dream and learn to fly, but what I found standing in my way was shocking and disheartening.
