Going solo

[homeguard]

The 1st Solo is exercise 14.

There are 19 altogether and each is subdivided into parts. Commonly a student will solo after 10 to 14 hours, some much less. That is with less than a quarter of the course completed!

The pressure, maybe, too much and too many therefore give up to avoid the event, others become frustrated and demoralised from a feeling of failure, should they then fall behind the norm of their peers.

I have trained a number of student PPL's who couldn't go solo as normal owing to medical delays and for other reasons and, I have to say, without any loss in the eventual outcome.

What is your response to; solo requirements to be only undertaken on the completion of all of the dual requirements within the syllabus having been completed, including exams?

[B2N2]

I've completed about 70 PPL's now both FAA and JAR but I've never been in a hurry to solo any of them.
Actually 2 at 12 hrs of which one was a prodigy and the other one had previous flight experience years before and logbook lost.
I basically only solo when I and them are comfortable doing so.
To me it has to be a personal milestone and not some death defying experience....:ooh:

[chopperpilot47]

I'm really not in a hurry to send students solo and I tell them so right up front. When they are comfortable flying the helicopter and not just slightly competant I send them solo. Even then I want well executed full touchdown autos without the student shutting his/her eyes in the flare waiting for the bang! Yes, I've had some of those. Like most instructors I've had students who do a great job with me sitting next to them but go to pieces on their own. I was sent solo in a helicopter at 11 hours. Crazy when I think about it now. I just didn't know enough.

There's no hurry, they have the rest of their life to fly solo.

Regards,

Chopperpilot47

[homeguard]

I'm increasingly forming an opinion that going solo so early on is detrimental to good training. Too much pressure onto the student who will be lacking in knowledge and who will only know that which it is required within the parameters of the first solo flight. Yet, once solo, the student will be required to make decisions of the fully trained PPL holder, we just hope that nothing untoward occurs. The only arguement that supports the early solo - put to me as yet, is that going solo is a great confidence booster and so it is.

However, to go solo at the end of the full syllabus surely will provide a much better platform and act to consolidate all the skills learned. Without the unavoidable need in many to match peers a lot more will be achieved to a higher standard throughout the course of training. Nothing more depressing for the student to go round and round the circuit and failing. We more and more take students out of the circuit where we see insufficient progress and move on through the syllabus to great effect. Coming back to consider solo with a student much more mentally prepared and with greater experience to handle situations that arise, particularly in our case, operating at a fully controlled aerodrome, where we do not have control on the circuit environment during student solo's.

[mad_jock]

I always found that the more effort put into the first lessons the easier it was in the circuit. I generally didn't take them near the live circuit until they could fly the thing properly visually. Then a couple of lessons in the local bombing range on a dis-used field doing missed approaches fan stops etc. Then it was very rare we needed more than a couple of sessions before solo at the field.

I can see your point though for leaving it later.

But I have noticed that the students flying improves due to the confidence of knowing they can do it. Which is gained in the consolidation solo circuits.

I have had a couple of students who for various reasons had to bypass solo and had gone onto navigation. It caused quite a few unique problems. Mainly the stress levels started to increase on the final leg and the nav went to pot. It sorted itself after they went solo so I presume the stress of thinking about landing was causing the problems.

The NPPL medical has sorted so many of these problems thankfully havn't heard of a student yet who isn't allowed the very basic one.

I agree though going solo shouldn't be seen as a race.

MJ

[jayteeto]

All depends on the student in my opinion. After teaching basic rotary for a while, I was empowered with the authority to solo my students. The advice I was given was sound... As long as they have the ability to fly and walk away from a forced landing, their emergency handling is good enough. For autos, we figured if they flare at the correct height, they will live !!