First Solo?????????

[Hakeem]

Hello folks.......
I just want to know about all your first circuit solo.........
I mean in which hour you went for your first solo.......
I'm lagging behind thats why......:ok:
Thanks.....

[chrisbl]

what do you mean by "lagging behind" - please explain.

[L337]

7:30

7th September 1975

However, remember that going solo is dependant on lots of things outside of your control. You need a nice gentle day with little or no cross wind to send a student solo. Various administrative ticks need to be made by the right people, who may or may not be around when you are "ready".

Your ability as a pilot is not dependant on when you went solo.

Have a look at this thread that is running elsewhere on PPRuNe.

SOLO (http://www.pprune.org/flying-instructors-examiners/387053-how-much-slow-flight-before-circuits.html)

[PPRuNeUser0165]

Hello buddy!
Dont panic about how long it takes you to go solo. Everyone is different and everyong goes at their own time. If you are only flying once every week or so it becomes difficult to remember all the finer points in getting round the circuit and landing safely.
I did a about 20 hours before attending oxford, and I was only flying once every two weeks, great for learning the material and passing the exams but not so great when you get back into the aircraft as much of the feel and confidence has gone.
When I went to america I was flying everyday just about and so soon went solo within the recomended 12 hours.
My best advice would be to try and get a couple of lessons a week in for the repitition, if possible, then it will soon start clicking. If payment is a problem, ask to backseat a few trial flights or lessons, thats always a big help too.
Good Luck!
:ok:

[acepilotmurdock]

4.8 hours...... but dont pit yourself against other peoples times, everyone is different. So chin up and good luck when that first solo ride comes along.... It is the best feeling in the world. :ok:

[skyhighbird]

How can you complete up to Exercise 13 in the space of 4.8 hours? Or did you have previous flight experience?

Providing weather has been perfect and you fly often (i.e you don't need a flight to get you back into flying due to a large lay-off due to weather) then the norm of around 15 hours seems to be correct.

I always raise an eyebrow when people say they have been solo circa 10 hours.

[CAT3C AUTOLAND]

I was just about to say the same thing? As sky says there are 13 exercises, where some comprise of 2 to 3 parts. The way the syllabus is written, it would not be possible to teach those exercises properly.

When I was teaching I saw people solo from the 12 hour mark to the 30 hour mark, everyone is different with strengths and weaknesses in different areas.

[PilotPieces]

The 13 exercises doesnt necessarily mean 13 hours of flying though. My first entry in my logbook says: P/UT 1.2 Ex.1-6

The second entry covering the next few after that so it really depends on the person the club and mainly the weather/timescale.

[GibbyNI]

Looking back in my log book, from when i first tried for my PPL it was 18 Hours for me

[bfisk]

And of course, this 13 exercise-thing isn't really applicable everywhere in the world. Learn to fly in the US under part 61 and it's really up to the instructor.

[Lister Noble]

from memory around 19 hrs,but it doesn't matter at all.
The pilot you end up being is not at all dependent on hrs to solo.
Good luck.
Lister:)

[trident3A]

23 hrs for me. Everyone's circumstances differ :ok:

[Starbbuck]

Hakeem

Hours at first solo is not in any way a good indicator of a pilots ability, basically because there are far too many other factors involved.

Just to give you a few thoughts from an instructor's perspective.

Ability of course is one factor, but really quite a minor one when compared to all the others combined.

Factors such as currency (probably the single biggest benefit to any student pilot) have been mentioned already

Weather on the day - you're unlikely to be sent solo on a day with strong crosswinds, or even a gusty headwind, therefore may end up doing more dual circuits on these days to maintain currency. In the UK climate at certain times of the year, I have seen this add up to 5 hours for an otherwise 'ready' student

Airport environment - Most of my instructing was at a busy commercial airport, with students averaging maybe 4 landings per hour in the circuit, due to a wide circuit pattern and frequent holding as commercial traffic took priority. I know that at some small airfields (due to tighter circuit pattern, lack of commercial traffic and sometimes a lower circuit height), it's normal to do 10 or even more landings in an hour. In this sense 'Number of landings to first solo' would maybe be a better comparison than 'hours', but even then there are still too many other factors!

ATC Vs A/G Radio - On a similar theme to above, getting comfortable with full ATC at a commercial airport, ie switching betwen ATIS, Ground and Tower frequencies, and being safe to understand and comply with a large number of potential ATC instructions, will generally add a considerable workload compared with A/G Radio at a small airfield, therefore students will generally take longer to go solo. I remember a number of students who's actual flying ability was easily good enough, but who's first solos were delayed because their RT wasn't good enough to be 'let loose' at an international airport.

Previous passenger experience - While a student won't have logged any actual flight time from this, any experience of being in a light a/c, watching someone else fly (and quite often having had a go at the controls), being in the environment, listening to RT etc, is a huge head start when it comes to learning yourself, and therefore will get to solo stage much quicker than otherwise.

Simulator experience - There's a great debate about whether having used a PC flight sim before embarking on a PPL is a good or bad thing (it's generally accepted to be a bit of both - students pick up the basics of general handling quicker, but struggle to stop looking at the instruments and often forget that the a/c has rudders!). On the topic of first solo though, I've found that students with lots of PC Sim 'hours' will generally get to first solo quite a bit quicker, although for the remainder of the PPL course there seems to be little difference

Instuctor factors - numbers / confidence / experience / style - This is one that people might not think of so quickly, but again throws several more factors into the mix. Flying with too many different instructors will increase the time to learn, while sticking with the same one, two or maybe three is probably ideal but not always an option for students. A more experienced instructor will often send a student solo an hour or two earlier than a newly qualified FI, who (quite rightly) is likely to be more cautious, and some instructors by nature will tend towards the side of caution than others.

I'm glad the issue of 'whether 13 lessons can be covered properly in 4.5 hours' has been mentioned. For the JAA syllabus at a school where the lessons are taught in a proper structured manner, it seems almost impossible. I would hazard a guess though that acepilotmurdock or anyone else who went solo in a similar time, most likely had considerable passenger experience or at least sim experience before starting with the same 'zero hours' on paper as others with no experience whatsoever. I would also guess that the 4.5 hours were done very close together at a small airfield, with good weather and with no more than 2 different instructors?? Would be interesting to know!!

And I'm sure there are several more factors that I haven't covered!!

Hakeem, as long as you are enjoying your training and are learning something new every lesson then there is nothing to worry about :ok:

SB

[jxc]

17hrs for me thought it was less

[INNflight]

Close to 9hrs, had glider experience tho.

[Juno78]

I'm at around 13 hours and my instructor is badgering me to get my air law done as he thinks I'm going to be fine to solo in another couple of hours. Although knowing the UK weather it'll end up being more than that! I wouldn't have felt at all comfortable soloing before this point, and I'm baffled as to how anyone with no prior flying experience would be able to solo at less than five hours.

[Juno78]

Also, don't worry about perceived "lagging behind" - it's not a competition, and as someone else says, as long as you're enjoying the flying, then get there when you're ready to get there and no earlier.

[Rodent1982]

Roughly 20 hrs for me. But I stopped flying for 6 months inbetween...

[airborne_artist]

As with procreation, there are no prizes for being first :ok:

[wangus]

Don't worry. I made mistake of going to Florida for 20 hours of appalling training. Walked away, came back here, (U.K.) did another 15 hours before going solo. Yes 35 hours!!! Then 1st time pass on MEP, CPL, and Multi IR in Bournemouth with Exam 001. DO NOT WORRY ABOUT IT! (Within reason.) It's not a race.
Also, weather and continuity are a huge factor.

[zeroviz]

13 Hours for me but I was fortunate with the weather and a good instructor. I know as pilots the first solo is a major achievement but the key is not to get hung up over the number of hours or the time it is taking and to concentrate on the learning and most of all enjoying the training.

The only advice I can offer is to ensure you get the air law exam out of the way so this does not act as barrier when your instructor feels you are ready to go.

Enjoy it when it comes.......:ok:

[Mike Parsons]

I went solo after 19 hours 40 mins on Mon 17th August 09. If you want you can read about it here. http://ppllog.*************/2009/08/first-solo.html.

It may not be the usual story of after 10 hours i was solo. But I was safe and confident despite the 10knot crosswind. I loved it, the feeling when you get on the ground is even better.

Looking forward to my next solo :)

[Mike Parsons]

OK, well PM me if you want the link

[Midland Transport]

4.8 hours is a reflection on the instructor not the student and in my opinion is irresponsible if that was the only flying experience. We all learn differently so concentrate on what your instructor is telling you and do not compare with others. My instructor took the approach that when I flew my first solo the weather would be perfect as I trained at a large airport and he did not want to be responsible for a 152 shutting the airport!

[Shunter]

About 20hrs. Considered late by some, but still passed my skills test before the 45hr mark so must have been doing something right.

[keen_aviator]

12 hours and 45 minutes for me.

[Whiskey Bravo]

10 hours for me. On the Flight Sim topic I only use the sim for repeating something I have already done in the air, sort of replaying lessons.

[The Fenland Flyer]

23 hours and 20 minutes for me. Weather played a big part, so did my complete lack of any natural ability when it came to judging the flare and hold off. Don't worry if it's taking a long while, it's all extra experience which will come in very handy when you are solo.

[Reluctant737]

Whether you train in the UK, the US, or Al Shamar's Strip in Azerbaijan, you must be proficient in over 40 tasks before you are safe to fly solo, regardless of local laws. To achieve this in 4.8 hours is (and I agree with a previous poster) a reflection on the instructor - I've never branched into that area of flying, but all other things aside (including the ability of the student), I know I wouldn't feel comfortable letting somebody lose after this minimal time, however natural their flying ability may be... But who am I to judge :}

No, don't worry about a thing, we all take varying degrees of time to achieve this first milestone, for me, a total of 37 hours TT due to meteorological constraints (!), lack of continuity and an interrupted training regime. I then went on to pass first time everything to (f)ATPL level and 737 type rating without a hitch. I've also yet to pass a computerised aptitude test. I suppose on that note it's relevant to mention I've managed to avoid killing anybody or damaging any heavy metal yet as well :ok:

Try to calm your nerves, it helps :)

[Pilot DAR]

First first solo in about 13 hours in 1977. I had a spell of unsuitable weather, and was putting in dual waiting for the right conditions. It was a horrible day, gusty crosswind, and raining. I asked for the new plane in the fleet, thinking I would never go solo that day anyway. My instructor allowed me to take the new plane, then sent me solo in it. The plane was the very first Cessna 152 in Canada, C-GYVT, and had 33 hours total time since new when I first flew it, 18 of which would have been ferry time up from Wichita. Everyone wanted to try this new powerhouse with 108 hp, and getting it at all, out of a fleet of 20 150s was not likely. I was later told how much of a blast my instructor got from the CFI, for sending me first solo in the brand new plane in the fleet.

Second first solo was 30 years and 3 months later in my life in a Schweizer 300 CBi. I was a lot more nervous during my second first solo than my first!

[Markiepickle]

I completed my solo on Saturday after 25 hours and 40 minutes! I felt in the back of my mind that perhaps I should have done it before then. However, it has not overly concerned me and I felt confident on the day probably because I had the extra hours behind me! My lessons have been every 3 - 4 weeks which probably has lengthened the time taken.

Stick in there Hakeem!

[impulse9]

I went solo on the 13th August after 19.5 hours! I blame it on being a taildragger :bored:

Keep on at it - the feeling is amazing!

[Hakeem]

Hey all thanks for your all you positive replies........
I was actually bit worried about that but now i'm all right.....
Thanks one and all........
I would have gone three days before but,
1st day Heavy Crosswind of upto 20 knots
2nd day Strong headwind
3rd day Gusting upto 45 knots......

In all those three days my instructor said i would have sent you if there is such things.....
All three days huh.....
May be on Monday hopefully......
By the way I'm in my 19th hour......
Thanks all......:ok:

[The Fenland Flyer]

Good luck, with you first solo...and the weather! you will need more luck with the weather, I think. I haven't been able to do any more solo flying since my first because of the windy weather. still, good things come to those who wait :)

[Hakeem]

Thanks a lot buddy!!!!!!!!!!
Thats true weather plays very important role in our flight.
Anyway we will see!!!!!!!!!!!

[M14_P]

10hrs, always brings back good memories, the day after my 16th in late 1999. Had it all filmed, quite a few family members there to see it, exciting times! Pretty uneventful of course. :)
As all have said, it doesn't really matter too much, take your time and enjoy the journey.

[Intercepted]

No such thing as lagging behind!

I soloed at 22 hours after a serious amount of Ex 13 & 14 :) I just couldn't land the damn thing until suddenly one day I did a number of well oiled landings! (my landings are worse now as a post-ppl ;))

Late soloing doesn't neccesary mean that your PPL will take longer to get either. Mine took 49 hours.

[Captain Planet]

13 hours. Oh and Conley, you are full of sh*t!!

CP

[yawningdog]

6h:20m, Cessna 152, 1985.

[Put1992]

15th Feb 08, 16th Birthday, 13 Hours.

Doesn't matter after how many hours, or when, as long as you enjoy it.

[The Fenland Flyer]

23 hours and 20 minutes for me, took a lot of Ex. 12 to 13 to get there! :)

[Ryan5252]

26/10/2009
C152
9.2 hrs

What a day!! The thought I think I will carry to grave will be those few seconds after you leave the ground when you blood runs cold and you think to yourself:

"Are you f*****g mental?? What the **** did you just do??? Nice one! Now you're going to die!!"

Then Fight or Flight kicks in and you concentrate 110% on getting yourself back down in one piece! What a lucky bunch of people we really are! :cool:

[Torquatus]

First solo circuit was around eight hours (don't have the logbook in front of me), the instructor indicated he was happy with my skills, but not with the wind so I spent an hour hanging around the club waiting for it to calm down. Then went and did another couple, taxied back to the club to let the instructor out, and went out and did it on my own.

When you're not used to it, it is suprising how well the 152 climbs without the instructor on board :ok:

[AndoniP]

i done mine last friday, after about 15-20 hours, 4 or 5 of those being circuits as there are 4 different circuits where i fly and the weather has been erratic.

to be honest i worried about it so much that i was completely underwhelmed by the experience. it just felt like another circuit. pity the weather turned out to be so bad on the solo.

most of the time i was doing circuits in 15kt crosswinds, i guess the instructor had confidence in me to fly the aircraft.

for me the biggest part in all this is the instructor. it is they that make you relaxed, confident, believe in your own ability when you are a natural worrier, all that stuff.

[tomtom_91]

28 hours - because of the a**s at Gatwick medical dept - Had moved onto Nav now doing all my solo stuff at once!

T

[rich_g85]

I actually thought I would NEVER master the flare and landing (I can still hear my instructor's voice.. "more right rudder! hold it off, more back pressure, MORE back.....". But one day it all came together and after 18.5 hours, on my 25th birthday (31st January 2010) in G-BPCK - off I went for my first P1 flight!

It'll happen when it happens - just remember that all the hours you fly before first solo aren't being wasted - they still count towards the 45. :)

[Mike823]

20hrs or so for me.

Your first solo is much like a good whiskey, the longer you leave it the better the experience!

I done mine on a cold (very cold -25C) morning in Canada... Everyone knows you are doing it even ATC seem excited for you. As far as my instructors they drowned me with freezing cold water on an already cold day!

However long it takes you will remeber it vividly for the rest of your life I'm sure!

Mike

[Keith_P]

Checked mine and it was at 14.25 hours. Was a total surprise when it happened. Not sure how different schools deal with it. I was booked for a lesson with the instructor that I had flown most of my exercises with. Got to the flying school to be told he was ill but it was ok because the CFI would take my lesson. This worried me a little as I had flown once previously with the CFI and I wasn't exactly thrilled with his style but whatever. Goes up and does 4 or 5 dual circuits. On last downwind leg, CFI says make this a full stop landing. Puts in downwind call and continues with no problems. Vacates runway at normal taxiway at which point CFI says to stop at a hold on the taxiway after normal post-landing checks. As we stop, CFI calls ATC and says student going back up with 1 POB for first solo. He tells me to call them when ready for departure, go do one circuit just like those you've just done, then says drop throttle back to idle while I get out.

Worked really well as it meant no time for nerves. I think it was climb rate after takeoff that made me realise I was on my own but in the circuit you don't have time to get nervous, too many things to remember and there was quite a bit of traffic. I had taxied back to the clubhouse before it kicked in, where I was met by various members including my normal instructor who had apparently been watching from the car park.

In the whole of my training flights I think it is number 2 in my memory behind the QXC.

[HighFlyer75]

Did my training in Australia in 2002 and did first solo circuit after 11.3 hours - averaging about one flight a week. I still remember wondering if I was really ready because I was the first person that my instructor had ever sent solo.

It has been said before but I wouldn't worry about how long it takes you. Your instructor will send you when it is safe to do so and there are plenty of other considerations other than your ability that can affect this. Remember also that the training you do for your first solo will stay with you for the rest of your piloting life so it shouldn't be rushed. I have had many long gaps in my training since my first solo due to my job but I still find that what I learned back in 2002 comes flooding back fairly quickly as soon as I hop in the cockpit.

When it does happen the rush you get from that single circuit is more than worth the wait.

[paulF99]

8:50 hours on 25/7/1989 in a C150

I'd spent many years flying radio-controlled models which seemed to help a lot. Unforgettable experience, that first solo flight.

[Basil]

Ryan5252,
Very amusing - you had me grinning from ear to ear as I recollected 13th June 1966

Oh, yes - RAF, 19hrs, Chippy. The penny dropped as I looked around to check the 'full & free' - no Mr Fixit in the rear cockpit :ooh: