After reading stories here about how hard it was to get the money together for the training, I thought I'd write about my own experiences with getting the Professional Studies Loan. I couldn't believe how straightforward it all was.
I graduated from university a year ago and I've just jacked in a poorly-paid banking job to get on with the groundschool. I was kind of kidding myself into thinking that flying actually really wasn't what I wanted so I ended up persuading myself to try to make a career in banking instead! Silly really, I know! I've had a PPL for five years and I've known for longer than that that I wanted to fly planes for a living.
What really made my mind up about flying as a career was hearing a guy in a guitar shop describing his life as second-rate because he didn't take the chance to become a pilot when he had it. He's now in his late 40s, owns a guitar shop, looks skywards on hearing a jet and subscribes to Airliner World. I'm sure he has a happy life but it's obvious that this is something he really regrets not doing.
Needless to say, I'm already in substantial debt as a result of university and I was having the usual fears of never getting a job at the end of the training. More to the point, I was almost convinced that the banks wouldn't touch me with a bargepole.
So it was to my pleasant surprise that HSBC sorted out a loan of £35k with repayments starting in March 2006. This gives me almost a year's safety net after finishing flying training. Not long and the chances of me being in a jet job are pretty much nil. But it does help an awful lot. The deal isn't too bad - interest is calculated at 2% above base rate and it's unsecured so nobody can pinch my house if the worst comes to the worst. The only serious conditions for the loan were (a) switching my current account to them and (b) taking out life and critical illness cover (which seemed quite sensible a thing to do anyway).
All it took was two hours of me explaining what things like instrument ratings and MCCs were to the guy in the bank. His loan checklist said all he could finance me for was this "Commercial Pilot's Licence thingy" so I had to gently explain that all the other bits are sort of essential components to the fATPL. Even explaining that groundschool was a requirement to getting the CPL issued.
It wasn't that the guy in the bank was stupid. It was just that aviation wasn't understandibly his area of expertise. But, if you make the effort to really explain your intentions and what all the bits of the training actually mean (i.e. an instrument rating lets me fly in clouds and this is something I need if I want to fly a jumbo jet), they do appreciate it and are therefore more likely to approve your application.
Some tips to help you along include:
*Prepare a budget spreadsheet or breakdown of costs (particularly important for modular students).
Remember to include cost of living as well as CAA fees. There doesn't seem to be any harm in swelling your cost of living so that you've got some leeway if you have to do any retakes if you fail papers or get an IR partial pass.
*Explain why you're better than everybody else and, thus, why you have such an amazing chance of getting a job at the end of the training.
Afterall, the bank is making a risky investment. OK, so I'm not better than anyone really and, as we all know, we're pretty much in the same boat when it comes to getting the job at the end. But the banks like to hear things like the fact you've already spent your own cash on a PPL and Class One, or that the RAF gave you a scholarship when you were 16.
*Book an appointment at a big branch.
My little village branch had no clue that they even offered this loan. If the branch seems a bit clueless on this type of thing, get them to ring the Kidlington branch in Oxfordshire (seems to get every single finance application from the soon-to-be-destitute Oxford guys).
Bear in mind that HSBC aren't the only bank to offer this. You could shop around. But, provided they all want to give you the money, the overriding decision must be 'which interest rate is cheapest'?
I hope this helps guys and girls. Feel free to PM me if you need any further advice.
Good luck!
Ratpup
