Retraining ReportJob training public funding can pay for

Find training

Flight school in Illinois

1 pilot training program with results and funding that can make it free

One school offers this pilot training program, and Illinois has approved it for workforce funding. It shows how past students did; Illinois files no usable prices.

Commercial pilots fly and navigate airplanes, helicopters and other aircraft. They usually need flight training, at one of the hundreds of FAA-certified flight schools or as part of a two- or four-year aviation degree, and must meet FAA requirements; airline pilots usually also need a bachelor's degree and experience as a commercial or military pilot.1 For the FAA commercial pilot certificate you must be at least 18, read, speak and understand English, hold a private pilot certificate, log the required flight time (generally at least 250 hours in an airplane or 150 in a helicopter) and pass a knowledge test and a practical test. Drone pilots who fly for work need the FAA's remote pilot certificate instead: at least 16 and a passed knowledge test.2

In Illinois, the one program asks for earlier courses first.

See the program

How much does flight school cost in Illinois?

Not reported

Illinois files no usable prices, so none can be shown.

This program

Finished the program
Not reported
The program doesn't report it
Working 6 months later
Not reported
The program doesn't report it
Earned a year, estimated
Not reported
The program doesn't report it
Length
64 weeks

Source: US Department of Labor, program year 2024 (July 2024 to June 2025). Only programs approved for workforce funding are listed; other schools in Illinois may also offer flight school. How these figures are made

Is there free flight school in Illinois?

Who qualifies, and other ways to pay: financial aid, grants and the GI Bill

The one pilot training program in Illinois approved for WIOA funding

Filters
What you need to enroll
Kind of program
School
How it's taught
How to show the list

1 program

  • Pilot (associate degree)In personEducation and courses

    Aviation Flight

    Southern Illinois University

    Carbondale

    Accredited school

    Education and courses

    Southern Illinois University, CarbondalePilot (associate degree) · Accredited schoolIn person · Education and courses

    Earned a year, estimatedNot reported
    Price if you pay yourselfLeft out
    Program website, Aviation Flight at Southern Illinois University
    More details about Aviation Flight at Southern Illinois University
    Finished
    Not reported
    Working at 6 months
    Not reported
    Earned in a quarter
    Not reported
    Length
    64 weeks, 40 hours a week
    Cost of supplies
    Not reported
    Students counted
    Not reported
    Earned a year, estimated
    Not reported
    Price if you pay yourself
    Left out
    Program website, Aviation Flight at Southern Illinois University

How to pay for flight school in Illinois

WIOA funding can pay for flight school in Illinois

Every program on this page is approved for it. Whether you qualify, how much your local area pays and how to apply are on our page Does WIOA pay for job training?

Financial aid and grants for flight school

Most students can get federal student aid for college, career school or trade school. A Federal Pell Grant, unlike a loan, usually doesn't have to be repaid. Ask the school whether its program qualifies.78

GI Bill for flight school

Veterans, service members and qualified dependents can use GI Bill benefits for non-college training programs.9

The program list does not show which programs accept these. Ask the school.

Other training in Illinois

How flight school compares with the rest of transportation and logistics: Transportation and logistics training in Illinois

Where the Illinois pilot training program numbers come from

Which Illinois pilot training programs are on this list?

These are the pilot training programs Illinois approved for WIOA funding (public workforce funding under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act), as reported to the US Department of Labor for program year 2024 (July 2024 to June 2025). Each state keeps its approved programs on an eligible training provider list (ETPL).10 The list here covers programs approved as of June 30, 2025. Schools that never applied for approval are missing, so this is a part of what Illinois offers.

How the prices and results of Illinois pilot training programs are measured

Prices are tuition and required fees for someone paying without workforce funding, as the school reported them; check the current price with the school. Results describe students who left each program in recent years, so they are no guarantee, and the yearly earnings are the reported quarter times four, an estimate. A program without a "Trained with WIOA funding" line may still take WIOA students. Where a field was left empty or withheld, the page says "Not reported", and "Left out" where a figure was filed but failed one of our checks; nothing is estimated to fill a gap. Where the numbers come from explains each figure in full.

How reliable are the Illinois figures?

The US Department of Labor's own results site lists Illinois among the states with "known data quality concerns".11 We leave out the share who finished for Illinois: only a few programs report it, and those at a typical 11%. We leave out prices for Illinois: the state files a code in place of each price, so no price can be shown.

Sources for the facts about flight school in Illinois

Show the 11 sourcesHide the sources
  1. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Airline and Commercial Pilots
  2. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations: 14 CFR part 61, subpart F (commercial pilots) and part 107, subpart C (remote pilots)
  3. US Department of Labor, TrainingProviderResults.gov: About This Site
  4. US Department of Labor: WIOA Adult Program
  5. Code of Federal Regulations, title 20, part 680, sections 680.220, 680.230 and 680.310: career services before training, other grants such as Pell Grants first, and limits on Individual Training Accounts (GovInfo, 2024 edition)
  6. US Department of Labor: American Job Centers
  7. US Department of Education, Federal Student Aid: Eligibility for Federal Student Aid
  8. US Department of Education, Federal Student Aid: Don't Miss Out on Federal Pell Grants
  9. US Department of Veterans Affairs: GI Bill benefits for non-college degree programs
  10. US Department of Labor, Training and Employment Guidance Letter 8-19, Attachment I: Requirements for Training Providers, Program Eligibility, and the State Eligible Training Provider (ETP) List
  11. US Department of Labor, TrainingProviderResults.gov: search page, note on states with known data quality concerns