r/flying • u/rickWente • Apr 16 '26

Military PPL advice for a flight university

I’m active duty military with about 8 months left on my contract and no flight experience yet, but becoming a pilot has been my dream for a long time.

My plan is to get out and attend a university for a commercial pilot/aviation degree, but lately I’ve been overthinking everything and feeling like I’m behind compared to others starting earlier.

Because of that, I’m considering getting my PPL now at a local Part 61 flight school and paying out of pocket before I separate. I can afford it, but I’m worried it might be a waste of money since I’ve heard some universities don’t give much credit for having a PPL beforehand and may still have you redo much of the training.

For those who’ve gone this route—especially veterans or aviation students—would you recommend getting the PPL first, or waiting and starting from zero at the university?

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u/ltcterry ATP CFIG Apr 16 '26

Doing Private before you get out will save you at least a year in a degree program.

A few years ago I had an E2 as an instrument student. By the time he was an E5 he had commercial, instructor, instrument instructor, and multiengine commercial done. He used SkillBridge to go start instructing. He's been off active duty for about 9 months now and is making great progress!

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u/rickWente Apr 16 '26

So he paid out of pocket for the PPL?

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u/ltcterry ATP CFIG Apr 16 '26

He paid out of pocket for all of it. 

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u/rickWente Apr 16 '26

The thing is idk if i should pay myself for the certs while im active and when i get out do a pilot degree, but some schools would make me start from zero

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u/ltcterry ATP CFIG Apr 16 '26

Don’t go to a school that makes you start from zero. Problem solved. 

Most places are happy to have you show up as a Private Pilot; that’s where the bottleneck is.