Progress after 40 hours

[CharlieDeltaUK]

I know it's not a race; everyone's different; weather has an effect etc. That said, I'm just curious to assess my progress after 40 hours against a typical PPL student. I'm in my 40s, haven't had too much disruption due to weather, although going solo took longer than the norm (20 hours). Flying once a week.

What sort of stage is the typical PPL at by this time? Instructor never says much untoward, but I'm never sure they really level with you.

[Dan the weegie]

Guys in their mid 30s - 40s will normally take about 10-15 hours longer than the minimum, sometimes a little more. Can't tell you much without sitting next to you but normally there's a something that holds you back, with guys who are business types that have reached reasonable levels it tends to be them being too hard on themselves and being impatient. You can often hear them saying

"Eff it I can't do this, you have control"

If you're frustrated you may well be in this category, just be patient and keep talking to your instructor about what's next. Also keep practising your skills, slow flying, stalls, steep turns and most importantly forced landings :). Do one or two of these on your way back from the Nav.

[avonflyer]

Everybody is different and the conditions they fly in impact their progress. A few weeks of cross winds can lead to people being stuck in the circuit. So don't get hung up on comparisons. But, if its any help, around 45 hours in I was doing solo cross countries in preparation for my qualifier.

[Kolossi]

In my early 40s, flying generally once a week but with a number of weather aborts Nov-Feb.

Just clocked up 38 hours as I did my first solo nav. First solo circuit was at around 15 hours. Air Law, Met and Nav exams done.

Hope that helps. Since you asked the question, How about you CDUK? :)

[PompeyPaul]

I passed after 45 hours so relatively I was 5 hours away from passing. I was busy crunching through my remaining exams to get them done.

That said, I am an EXTREMELY competitive person and the whole thing was some massive competition to me. I really, really went for it and spent every night studying for several hours.

Did I win some sort of competition ? Yeah, I completed in 45 hours which is faster than most people and so I won some sort of thing that I perceived to be important.

Did it make me a better pilot ? Nope, it meant I didn't savour what my instructor was telling me, I didn't take my time, I didn't ask any questions that I considered to be time wasting. I was watching a plane is born, I knew that an airway was 10NM across and so could answer the question. I didn't UNDERSTAND it though, and it was only when the pogram showed the airways on a map (routing from VOR to VOR) I got what I was saying. I couldn't even point at an airway on a map. There again I knew a flashing red light on a control tower meant return to stand. I simply knew the info to regurgitate. It was only later I started to understand what I was saying.

Those precious hours when you have an instructor next to you are extremely short. Soon you are making your own decisions and don't have that back up anymore. It was wrong of me to see it as < 45 hours = good, > 50 = bad.

Totally wrong way to go about flying, it's only now I look back and see it, actually, as a failure.At the time, there would've been absolutely no telling me that. Although I'm still very thankful that I had an excellent instructor who was absolutely awesome.

[IO540]

The average new PPL holder is about 40-50 years old and the average time taken to do a PPL is 50-60hrs.

Very few people do it in 45, and most of those that do have probably got some previous experience/exposure to flying.

[Crash one]

I was told something like "over the age of 45/50 you will take your age."
Aged 66 I took 65hrs.

Edit: Not including sporadic gliding for many years prior to.

[flyinkiwi]

I made a decision early on to fly as much as possible even though my employment meant I could only fly on weekends and holidays. So I did not just do the lessons in the book, I went on club trips, flew in competitions (got as far as the nationals), and got circuit time in between lessons. At around 40 hours I still had a large chunk of the required flight syllabus to complete before I qualified to sit the PPL checkride. But when I finally sat it at 78 hours it was a walk in the park.

My point is, having more hours "than the average" doesn't always mean people are struggling or are not as good as others. Yes it cost me more money, but getting my license in the shortest possible time was never a priority for me. Acquiring a wide range of experience was, and I'm still working on it.

[CharlieDeltaUK]

Thanks everyone. Looks likes I'm about average.

Kolossi, I reckon I'm just a little behind you. I too have done three exams. Havn't done any solo nav yet but I'm actually very comfortable with the nav so I my instructor is probably taking the view that he wants me to focus on stuff where I'm weak - like PFLs. That's the thing that I perceive as the next hurdle.

Otherwise, the emphasis seems to be on refining stuff that I can do.

I was thinking that I should have done some cross-country nav by now, but I guess it's only a few hours off. I'm guessing 60-65 hours to finish.

[Kolossi]

I've not started what would be called "Cross Country" nav yet - the solo was just an hour bimble from point to point around the local area and back to the field.

I think the instructor was originally planning to do a couple more flights but we got exceptionally good weather on the day I went and had covered most basics (PFL, EFATO, 121.5 Pan, contacting other fields, diversion planning, basic radio nav, experience of an ATC field as we are A/G) so that's why I was sent off solo.

Cross-country stuff is the next item, obviously with the target being the qualifying XC.

Personally I'm not interested in the hours targets ("I did solo by 4 hours ..." etc), but I do think it is useful to have comparisons like you've asked for just to be sure how it's going.

I enjoy learning to fly and the flying lessons. The instructor is very good at keeping it challenging and throwing new stuff in before I get too comfortable (or as he puts it "when you feel you are getting your head above water, I gently put my foot on and push you back down" ;)). I'm never overloaded though and it means I never feel I'm bored or wasting my time and money.

I'll qualify when I qualify, and although it will certainly get a bit cheaper, in some ways I think I'll miss the lessons. It's all just such good fun being in the air :ok:

Good luck with the nav when it comes CDUK :)