Hi,

I have done 3 lessons (3hours in total) with three differant schools but I feel like I haven't learnt much.

All I have done is taxiing, turns and straight/level flight.

Should I have learnt more?

You may have learnt more if you'd stayed with one school as continuity is very important in your training. Each time you change school, a new instructor has to pretty much start from scratch.

Are you enrolled on a formal training programme for a PPL or were these three seperate trial lessons?

If the former, have your training records been successfully transferred to each school as appropriate?

Cheers

Whirls

Three seperate trial lessons.

Well, that's all a trial lesson is so no, I wouldn't have expected you to learn much more. It's a stand-alone lesson designed to give someone a taster of flying.

If you were using these trial lessons to decide which school to pick, then that's well and good but it would be better if you stick to the same school (and possibly the same instructor) throughout your PPL.

Cheers

Whirls

Notwithstanding Whirlygig's comments, which i agree with, i don't think you need to be worried about not having learned enough. I guess you also covered the effects of controls somewhere in those three hours, and i think it was at least a few hours before i did medium level turns (and, if important, i soloed in an average number of hours judging by the other thread).

Those early lessons underpin much of what you will learn later in the syllabus; i often have to refer back to what i learned then even in the nav stage of the course. So, i don't think it's worth rushing them.

You've got to start from the basics... to have taken 3 trial flights at different schools i'd have expected you to have only been given the chance to get the feel of flying, not formal lessons.
If you read the Trevor Tom Air Pilots Manual Vol.1 you'll see what each lesson will incorporate. It's all about learning to walk before you can run.

Should I have learnt more?

You are actually asking two separate questions here....

1) "Should I have been taught more?"
As everyone has said, not on three trial lessons at three different schools. Instructors aren't psychic, and wouldn't have known how much you knew withot you showing them, which would take up much of the trial lesson. If you had been on a course, then...possibly, see question 2.

2) Should I have learned more?". There is no "should". People learn the basics at completely different rates. It took me longer than three hours to master straight and level and turning, but some people appear to be taking off and landing by that stage (not many!). It makes no difference to how good a pilot you'll be in the long term. You learn at YOUR rate.

Hope that helps.

Another question here is, how much did you tell the next instructor about what you had already done? Did you have the first lessons logged and show the next instructor your log book?
If the answer to these questions was that you did not pass on the info then how would they be expected to know where you were in the syllabus.
Actually though it does sound like you are not far behind where you should be anyway.
Normally in the first 3 hours I would expect to teach (to a switched on student)
Hour 1:- taxiing, effects of controls (i & ii if a full hour, though this can be a lot to take in).
Hour 2:- S&L (i), intro to climbing a descending, possibly intro to S&L(ii).
Hour 3:-S&L (ii), Climbing and descending, intro to turns.

This would be varied depending on student abilities and wx, also might be a little different if you had to fly a long way out of CAS say to start the lesson proper.:ok:

Don't forget the first lesson also covers pre flight checks and "the aircraft" etc....i.e. instruments....

Why did you go to three different schools?

Well Did one in a Cessna and it was falling apart.

So changed to a differant school for brand new Robins.

And did one in florida because I am thinking of going over there to do my PPL.

Your first few lessons (even if you stick to the same school) will be a huge mass of information and you will be lucky if you retain even 50% of it.

As per the advice from others, pick a good school, even more importantly pick a good instructor and stick with them.

So far as instructors are concerned, I would suggest picking (if you can) an experienced, career instructor rather than a low hours newly qualified one.

This will undoubtedly provoke a reaction, but I remember that I got at least twice as much from every lesson that I had with the 60 year old instructor with 10,000 instructional hours than I did from the 22 year old with 300 hours and very little instructional experience. Bear in mind that a lesson with either will cost you about the same!

The most important thing though is to enjoy yourself. Being able to fly is the most amazing thing :ok: