Don't know about flight schools, but most trade schools in the U.S. qualify for student loans. No one shows up with cash. Just visit the schools you are interested in. When you pick one tell them you need a student loan (like almost all other students), they'll walk you to their financial aid office and they'll help you with the forms.

You don't have to start paying on the loan until six months after graduation.

Not sure about pilots, but many doctors, nurses, and other fields can sign up with AmeriCorps (?) work in rural areas for a couple years and have their student loans forgiven. I know we have lots of medical chopper pilots here in Page forever ferrying the injured in from the rez and remote highway collisions and air evacing out to the big hospitals down in Flagstaff and Phoenix.

As far as helicopters, once back in about 1964 when I was an eager Marine Option NROTC dude the Marines flew a bunch of us down to Camp Pendleton and San Diego to show us around. A friend and I visited my late uncle on Coronado. He was a long time Naval Aviator going back to War II. My friend was gung-ho choppers. Uncle Larry quietly told him about how back when U.S. Forces were in the Congo...well, they really weren't officially, but they were...but they weren't...but one chopper that was got shot down by a dart from a blowgun. The dart apparently hit an exposed oil line, the oil drained, the rotor froze and the chopper became a rock.

Figure they probably protect vulnerable areas of choppers better these days, but its something you might want to think about....and of course the Military trains chopper pilots. Think there are a few on this board. You might wanna ask Steve Ashton too. Think he's one of them.

Ron