I don't believe govt funded loans are the issue. I scrimped and saved for 6 years working full time and studying and flying when ever I could through an aeroclub to get my PPL. My goal was always to go professional and thanks to the loan scheme I was able to quit my job and study fulltime. The benefits of being able to study fulltime should be obvious.
Money is a barrier, but only to the poor. There are plenty of muppets with CPLs who happen to have rich parents who paid for their training. So the argument about self funding producing better pilots doesn't necesarily hold true.
However I wholeheartedly agree that there needs to be more control over the number of student loans being issued. Or at the very least there needs to be some sort of aptitude testing to determine a students suitability for training. Ironically this is where the cadetship schemes are (I think) superior to the NMIT courses. Yes I know cadetships are the work of the devil
but having worked as an instructor for a school that trains cadets I can say that they (the students) were the best I've ever had the pleasure of teaching (and I've worked for several flight schools). Getting into a cadetship is a lot harder than many people (including about 80% of people on this site it would seem
) realise. The students have to pass aptitude tests similar to those conducted by the air force, and if you don't make the grade or you fall behind in training then you're out.
Beside, $80k is a hell of a lot of money to save and it would take most people a long time to do that. I say better to train now while you're still young enough to enjoy it and pay later when you're old enough to afford it
