I got my Private Pilot License ! But I’m broke now.

Hello everyone, My name is Dionys Dume and I am a Professional Fighter and Private Pilot hailing from Arlington Ma. In September 2021 started flight training at Beverly regional airport. I took out a private student loan of $60,000 and a personal loan of $25,000 along with help from the schools financial aid to afford this license. Now I’m looking for aid in affording flight lessons in order to get the rest of my ratings and graduate from college to become a commercial airline pilot.

I am a private pilot !

I have made my mark on what is the 0.01% of this world. The next 3 certificates in order to get me working as an airline pilot would be the Instrument rating, Commercial rating & Certified Flight instructor rating (CFI.) Working a few years as a CFI would give me enough flight hours to become an airline pilot. In order to achieve my goal, I am reaching out to all of you for financial help in order to help me afford my flight lessons.

“It never hurts to try” but unfortunately after a glimpse of success that’s all it’s been since march, nothing but hurt especially financially.

The average cost for a private pilot license is about $20,000 (so they say on the Internet) but unfortunately for me, it’s cost me 4 to 5 times that amount. If you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering how am i ever going to get my other three ratings with a tab less than the one I just spent for my private. The fact of the matter is I learned from my mistakes, both in the cockpit and personal representation of myself. I should’ve known what I was getting myself into, but the experience and the teachings have showed me. I promise you all if I get this help, it’ll go hand-in-hand with what’s left of my proficiency and I can get this done soon. As of today however, I passed my check ride back in march and it’s been over six months since I had last flown a plane. Being a pilot isn’t just about how great you are at maneuvering an airplane through the sky, it’s also a test to your character.

I was born in the city of Boston and I grew up in a very poor section 8 household. I never had a great role model and my parents never had jobs. No one in my family had received their high school or college diploma and I was never pushed to do more. On my own, I decided to train MMA and Muaythai kickboxing. I wanted to open doors to new opportunities for myself and my friends and family. However, after a streak of national championships and 7 title belt wins, my gym had come to a close due to the pandemic and my intentions had came to a stop. That’s when I met a girl who was in college that opened my eyes to a whole different course of life. She was a nursing student with a completely different background then me and different roots than the ones I grew up with. She showed me new and different opportunities and gave me support and encouragement towards education that I’ve never had. With that support and the inspiration of wanting to break out of poverty and build a future and family the way I intend to, I decided to go enroll into college as well. The thought of making less than 50K a year while my girlfriend at the time brought home a nursing salary also helped create a spark that made me want to earn more today.

Although the program I picked is an associates degree, the aviation program at NSCC isn’t a typical two year associates degree that one can be expected to finish in two years. Weather, aircraft issues and personal reasons are few of many factors that contribute to the delay of pilots getting their certificates.

80% of student pilots dropout ! Fortunately (but also unfortunately) Ive joined the 20% club that did not give up. Despite having to spend about three times the amount of money and hours than the average student pilot who’s achieved their private pilot certification.

I was expected to graduate from north shore community college back in May of 2023. There are about 10+ prerequisites and 4-6 aviation related classes in order to graduate from my college with an aviation/professional piloting major. Four of those key classes are the pilot certifications and I’ve gotten one of them. The bright side about how long it’s taking me to get the private pilot license is that I checked off a couple of commercial check ride requirements along the way. In order for me to wrap up this degree all I need is to get is those last three certifications,

Flying gave me the ability to feel free in a world where I’ve constantly felt grounded and restricted since the day I was born.

I miss flying & the last time I had flown a plane was the day I flew back from Syracuse (KSYR) to Beverly (KBVY) with a fresh private pilot certificate. Help me get back in the air and make history as the first of my kind to make it in this industry. To everyone who’s already donated, your efforts have been acknowledged, applied and appreciated more than you already know.

About me as a pilot:

188 hours fixed wing

All hours in a Piper Archer & Piper Warrior

About me as a fighter

19-9 amateur (7 titles, 1 national championship)

0-2 Pro