7 Hrs into my PPL.

[BladeM3]

Hi Guys

Well Im just over 7 hrs into my PPL[usually 1 lesson a week weather permitting] now and Im not sure how well Im getting on or how well im progressing, I come away from some flights thinking yeh that went well im happy with that happy with how i done etc, but on the most part I come away slightly disapointed in how I done and end up thinking im never going to get all this , there just seems far to much to remember.. heres where im at, please tell me what you think and does anyone else think like this or thought like this whilst training?

1-I can fly around ok,staight and level,different nose attitudes with flaps etc, turns, climbs,descents etc [all tho i have to think about what im doing all the time, and sometimes make mistakes loose height , forget about the rudder. lookouts, carb heat etc], also get confused sometimes and the occasinal mind sap, all tho never dangerously, I very rarely feel comfortable in what im doing.

2-done my 1st take off at the weekend went ok [ish] all tho my 2nd one on sunday was rubbish and ended Up getting airborne slightly towards the left, which involved my instructor taking over to recover it, this was quite a blow to my confidence to be honest.

3-done my 1st landing on sunday too, didnt realise i was going to do it untill the last minute, i do final approaches then my instructor takes over fo the final bit, but this time he didnt, it went ok, but im by no means confident i could do another 1

4-also done stalls which went ok i managed to recover everytime but again i kept forgetting to correct the tail from power on to off and vice versa, or would forget certain points of the HASELL checks.

5-im starting to do the radio calls but get quite confused and totaly forget what im spose to be saying.

Like I say im 7 hrs into at the moment with no previous flying experience my instructor says im doing well, but im just lacking confidence is this normal? am i being to hard on myself, does anyone else think theres an overwhelming amount to learn to start with and that you will never get it:ugh:

[batninth]

Hi BladeM3,

First & foremost don't worry, what you are going through is no different to what a lot of us experience (and some don't but they're the lucky ones, the rest of us are just normal).

There is a lot to take on board and there will be times when you walk away thinking how badly you've done & other times when it's absolutely great. The big thing is not to compare yourself with other people but do what you feel comfortable with in yourself.

BTW - I still get confused on the radio, so I would suggest you don't worry about that one for now. I was several hours in when the instructor told me to simply enjoy it, for flying is fun. Don't worry about things, enjoy yourself and it will come together.

[BackPacker]

Sound very normal and very familiar to me. Don't worry. There's a reason for a PPL course being 45 hours - most people take even more than that.

Re item 5: The PTT button is sometimes called the brain disconnect button... What helped me a lot is getting a (second-hand) scanner that did airband, and spending a few hours (actually more than a few to be honest) just listening to get a feel for the speed, phraseology and such.

[Evilbob]

It doesn't sound like you are doing to badly at all. The trick is to make every lesson an learning experience. Okay, that might sound a little stupid but heres what I mean: If you have a what you percieve as a poor lesson and some aspects don't go as you would have liked, you will still have learned something (even if it is how not to do it).

The second thing to consider is your perception. At present I have a couple of extremely gifted students. However, I am still able to criticise their performance at the end of each flight, because there are always things that could have been done better (and that doesn't change even when you have a licence and experience). But I'm sure to point all the positive aspects as well, as it seems your instructor is doing.

So, if overall your instructor is happy take his word for it and don't beat yourself up, just learn from your mistakes and try again. As backpacker says, there's a 45 hour course minimum for a reason.

[Bravo73]

Ah, I recognise that username!

Don't sweat it, fella. You're only 7 hours into 'a very long journey'! Everything that you outline seems to be par for the course. Don't sweat it (and certainly don't listen to those knockers who claim that "I solo'ed in 35 minutes blah, blah, blah"- everybody learns at a different rate.)

Out of interest, what are your pre-flight ground briefs like? Are you covering everything in detail (and, most importantly, so that you understand it all before you go flying) or is it a quick 5 minute chat before you go? If you're struggling for capacity when you're flying, then it will really help if you are absolutely sure in your mind what it is that you're trying to achieve before you leave terra ferma. The same applies to the R/T - I always found (and suggested to all of my students) that it really helps to run through over the intercom with your instructor what you're going to say before you say it 'live'. "Do the thinking before you push the button."

[DarkSoldier]

I'll take a stab in the dark and assume you drive - so remember what it was like the first time you started learning to drive - how many times did you stall, got the wrong gear etc. Of course there are too many things to remember but practice makes perfect - things will become second nature before you know it (then you have to start worrying about complacency but that's another subject...;))

as to your points:

1. That's all pretty good for just 7 hours. When I trained, my instructor drew me a circuit diagram with full details of what to do at each stage - e.g. when to turn crosswind, what rpm to have when levelling, when to call tower, when to commence descent, what rpm and flap settings to have at descent, the speeds, etc, etc. Whenever I was bumming around doing nothing I'd look at it and go through the details, then mentally refer to it in practice.

2. Wind can be a bit of a b*tch at the worst of times. Only a couple of weeks ago I took off and got sent completely the wrong way by a sudden gust. Listen out for the wind before T/O which may give you an idea of what to expect. Then all you have to do is keep it nice and level and correct with the rudder if necessary.

3. After 1,000 landings you still won't be 100% happy with yourself - I don't think many people have perfect landings every time

4. Again - practice. It was instinct after a while that every time I applied full throttle in flight I would adjust with a bit of right rudder.

5. I think we can all stand up and admit to some verbal diarrhoea over the R/T. Other times the mind freezes and refuses to speak....lack of confidence I guess. One thing that really helped me was before my PPL I'd just finished uni so wasn't up to much. So I got a flight simulator and did a number of online flights with live ATC, which is as good as the real deal. It certainly allowed me to practice my RT and I was a lot more confident once I'd started my PPL...

Good luck and enjoy it, that's what it's about! :ok:

[Andy_20]

Seriously i wouldnt worry, sounds like you getting along just fine... for my first 5 sessions, i felt motion sick most of the time and thought i should give up, i hung in there and now im studying for my ATPL! my advice is, relax enjoy yourself, that first solo is well worth the hard work!

:ok: Good luck

[AMEandPPL]

My first ten hours were at a different school to where I eventually got my PPL, and they actually managed to convince me that my chosen aim was beyond me ! After all that time felt almost no further forward. Those instructors were hours-building CPL's with an airline career in mind, and my presence in the left seat was, if anything, a mild irritation !

Two years later was persuaded to try again at a different airfield, and still fly from there now 26 years later ! During the student days went through all the doubts expressed above, but this time my instructor's quality and constant support and encouragement made all the difference.

Keep at it ! It WILL all fall into place when the time is right ! !

[liam548]

Im 14 or so hours in and feel exactly the same as you by sounds of things.
Some lessons are spot on others not so!


Ill hopefully be going solo in next couple of lessons or so but then I worry that I cant even remember the early lessons... i am also trying to study for met exam at same time.

Its very easy to give up but dont.

[JEM60]

Agree with everything posted. Learning new skills is always difficult until EXPERIENCE kicks in, and leaves you free to concentrate on finer points. Flying days over, Senior Management and I are heavily into learning Ballroom Dancing. After 18 months of instruction, it's all coming together, though believe me, it was VERY hard and demoralising to start with. New learning takes time. Stick with it.

[13thDuke]

My 2ps worth:

1) Tell your instructor you want him to do the R/T until you're more confident with your basic flying skills. R/T empties your brain at the start.

2) I had the same problem at the same stage learning eg, power on/off stalls. It helped me to think about what you're actually trying to achieve with those exercises. I originally saw it as do a, then b, then c, d etc and couldn't remember which bits related to power on and which to power off. When I realised what we were doing was simulating an entry into stall just after takeoff or a low airspeed* stall on finals it made it much easier to do the Hasell checks, then put the aircraft in the correct config & airspeed for what we were practicing - then try and get the stall warner buzzing.

3) I'd also suggest more than one hour a week.

My personal experience was that hours 5-20 were easily the hardest and least enjoyable (apart from the Air Law exam of course :yuk:). It does get easier and better.

* Yes I know - I'm trying to keep things simple.

[flyingman-of-kent]

It sounds like everything is going well for you, and that you will get on top of this.

My impression of those early hours was of each lesson being about revision of the last lessons, then just as you master some of the early lessons here is some more to learn!! So you do always come away feeling that you will never cope and it is not going well but it is the best way to learn in an economic manner - if you were just flying around perfectly straight and level for hours you would feel that you were wasting your time, rather than head exploding from too much!

I would say that you should start doing the RT, the insdtructor is of course there to take over if there is a problem. But, there is an easy way - get some plastic A4 "pockets", like plastic sleeves. Type up on the PC a sheet of A4 with the text of the ATIS but leave gaps for the tings that change like runway in use and QNH etc. Do the same fruther down the page for lists of the regular calls that you need to make, leaving gaps for things like "Reg", QNH, and the message for the tower/approach. Slip this sheet into the sleeve/pocket, and put this on your kneeboard.

Buy a set of fine pointed permanent markers like you would use on your map, you can always clean the writing off after with meths on a tissue.

Then, first thing you do once seated in the plane is listen to the ATIS, do this for as many times as YOU need to get EVERY detail written down. If the instructor listens to it once then turns it off, say you need to hear it again, and again so that you have then written down all the salient points. You will then know the QNH, wind, runway in use etc and also what frequency to call for your first call to the tower or approach (Hint - dont write T O W E R, have Tower/Approach typed out, and just circle the appropriate one)

So you now have all the information to make the first call to the tower - just read it out. Dont feel silly if your version 1 of this crib sheet has every smallest call detailed - it will help you to remember it much more quickly. The same is true for the rejoin, and landing instructions, except you have to be a bit smarter about writing the details down, propbably quite abbreviated. To be fair on rejoin, all you need is the QFE, runway in use and the number you are in the circuit.

I did this, and was surprised to see copies of this being used by quite a few other student pilots !!! (PM me if you want a copy of what I used)

One last thing before this post is as long as a Thom book, do not be afraid to take a lesson or two with different instructors. If you need to be cunning and call up to make a booking when your regular guy is off, do it. Its not sneaky, just say that is the only day you can make that week. You will so be surprised what a difference this will make to you - some things that you thought you were doing well will be slammed by the new guy but (s)he will really help you out here, and others you thought you were rubbish at will be a breeze. Treat it as a learning experience. Boy will you learn, especially in the early hours, as this is where all the basic stuff is being drummed into you so you can get onto the interesting stuff!

[Wibblemonster]

im about 20 hours in and i still suffer with RT brain failure and all the other mistakes described here. The most important thing is, dont be too hard on yourself and dont give up. Somedays i have bad lessons, but things like going solo for the first time is an amazing feeling and make it all worthwhile:ok:

[pbrookes]

I wish for my instructor to take over when I get into difficulty. Unfortunately, he left the cockpit 10 years ago!:ooh:

Enjoy! And learn from these "corrections" from your instructor! On the whole they are good guys/gals who want you to learn safely.

[Lister Noble]

Learning to fly involves learning and reacting to a whole raft of new experiences.
There is a lot to learn in a comparatively short time,and each time you think you have got it and you are in the comfort zone,the instructor realises you are on a plateau and raises the game.
It has happened to all of us.
It was hard for most of us ,but you will get there,same as we did.
Honest!
Lister:)

[BladeM3]

Thanks for taking the time to reply guys, some very interesting posts there thanks very much ive taken alot of whay you all said on board:O

Bravo73- hello mate, small world..... my instructor is very thorough and totaly professinal I have a vast amount of respect for him, hes a well known and respected senior pilot, his breifings before flight are about an hour long sometimes more, I always have an understanding of what we will be doing and why pre-flight, but the trouble is when im actually up there and flying i cant remember it all, almost as if I loose 30% of my brain!

[glush]

As an instructor myself, it's always a worry that student pilots become disillusioned or anxious about their performance, when actually they are handling things as well as would be expected (or even better than would be expected!). To be fair, how would a student know what 'normal' is? It's such an alien environment, and there seems to be so much new stuff to be absorbed on every flight! I remember my first hours in the air and thinking exactly the same thing.....

If you've asked your instructor "how am I doing" and he/she has said "OK", then you're doing "OK" :ok:

If you haven't asked, don't be shy, just ask the question - they'll only be too pleased to give you the feedback. To be fair, with 7 hours on the clock you seem to be doing well to have covered as much of the syllabus as you have. But don't feel shy about asking for some feedback.

[WALSue]

To be honest, sounds to me like you're doing ok!!

As G-emma says, the circuits can get you demoralised. I felt like I was never going to get the hang of circuit, now I'm about to go solo.
I'm getting there albeit very slowly and it is frustrating at times but its not a race (well, there is the problem of my impatience!)

Some days nothing goes right, other days everything clicks and there aren't many other things to top it.
If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.
Stick at it, there are several milestones along the way which make it all worth while.

[Mark1234]

(what everyone else said...)

Plus, it's not the norm for people to make it in 45hrs either.. 60+ is more average from what I understand, so you're hardly started :) Fear not, things will come together, and when they do it'll tend to come together quickly.

[CAT3C AUTOLAND]

I have 2100 hours and I am still not happy with my landings :E.

I remember when I started flying, and had my first lesson, my first thought was how the bloody hell am I going to be able to fly this thing on my own!? I am sure you are doing just fine, stick with it :).

I have had a fair amount of teaching experience, and its great to see people progress. Everyone has there ups and downs, but they get through. You will find towards the end of the course everything will slot into place, and of course, that is the time you will be ready for your test. You will never stop learning.

All the best with it, and enjoy it! :ok: