Average hours to first solo
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I went solo in about 52 minutes......
(in a glider at summer CCF camp at HMS Condor many moons ago)
Interesting thing was, I only ever flew right hand circuits over the ski slope.
So, as I tell powered students today: I went solo in less than one hour, but I never knew how to do left hand turns! (of course, it was a tandem glider, so unlike in a side-by-side the view would be the same whatever direction the turn). And we try to be a little more thorough.
Of course the RAF - often hailed as "flying instruction par excellence" here - also had the commercial benefit of Crown Indemnity!
(in a glider at summer CCF camp at HMS Condor many moons ago)
Interesting thing was, I only ever flew right hand circuits over the ski slope.
So, as I tell powered students today: I went solo in less than one hour, but I never knew how to do left hand turns! (of course, it was a tandem glider, so unlike in a side-by-side the view would be the same whatever direction the turn). And we try to be a little more thorough.
Of course the RAF - often hailed as "flying instruction par excellence" here - also had the commercial benefit of Crown Indemnity!
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Mine was at about 16 hours seven days into a residential course and I'd also had a couple of hours on a completely different aircraft at another club. Maybe at 40 I was a slower learner than some but one thing I remember the instructor saying afterwards was that he wouldn't send anyone solo until they'd made enough bad landings to learn from their mistakes.
I don't remember the hours to first solo seeming that important at the time and they were completely irrelevant once I'd got my licence. Fortunately unlike my earlier brief experience of gliding, the group I was training with were non-competitive, we wanted to encourage each other to fly.
It was much the same with the hours to PPL. Once I'd got it the hours it had taken to get it were just part of my flying experience.
Apparently quite a lot of people give up flying once they've done their first solo.
I don't remember the hours to first solo seeming that important at the time and they were completely irrelevant once I'd got my licence. Fortunately unlike my earlier brief experience of gliding, the group I was training with were non-competitive, we wanted to encourage each other to fly.
It was much the same with the hours to PPL. Once I'd got it the hours it had taken to get it were just part of my flying experience.
Apparently quite a lot of people give up flying once they've done their first solo.
Last edited by 150commuter; 12th Aug 2012 at 11:16.
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Here is my willy wave...(not)
Obsessive pilot on flight simulators of all kinds from a teenager.... Then radio controlled model planes and helis for 3 years right up to a big 4bhp 7 kilo one... Aero competitions.... Then im 19 years old and ready for the real thing...
12 hours 50 minutes at Shoreham in a C152. Ready to solo, Failed medical, gave up. Then 2 hours in a shadow Microlight... Gave up properly.
Ten years later, 22 hours in a Microlight....NPPL GP countersignature, and I'm solo. Then a frustrating 7 hours before going solo again... At which point i did 3 go-arounds in a row trying to land on a 450m strip (too high, too fast) needed some reassuring words over the radio. Then passed with 50 hours logged.
The more hours I fly the more aware of new dangers I become. If I had gone solo after 12 odd hours, I would have had no readiness for the slightest thing going wrong.
Obsessive pilot on flight simulators of all kinds from a teenager.... Then radio controlled model planes and helis for 3 years right up to a big 4bhp 7 kilo one... Aero competitions.... Then im 19 years old and ready for the real thing...
12 hours 50 minutes at Shoreham in a C152. Ready to solo, Failed medical, gave up. Then 2 hours in a shadow Microlight... Gave up properly.
Ten years later, 22 hours in a Microlight....NPPL GP countersignature, and I'm solo. Then a frustrating 7 hours before going solo again... At which point i did 3 go-arounds in a row trying to land on a 450m strip (too high, too fast) needed some reassuring words over the radio. Then passed with 50 hours logged.
The more hours I fly the more aware of new dangers I become. If I had gone solo after 12 odd hours, I would have had no readiness for the slightest thing going wrong.
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Like Steve6443 I too learned to fly to overcome my fear of flying and I'm sure my reluctance to relax played a part in the time to solo. Took me nearly 34 hours aged 39 to solo and I can tell you I was glad of every single moment of those hours when I landed.
It still makes me grin from ear to ear when I think of it.
It still makes me grin from ear to ear when I think of it.
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I currently do an hour a month in a micro because of my low wage. Looking at solo flight very early next year. Please don't worry about how long it takes to get solo, because we all learn at different rates, times, income etc. It will take me longer to get my national pilots license because I learn to fly so infrequently, but I see my self as 'airborne' and not one of the dreamers looking back wishing I had learnt to fly. Just fly at your own pace and at the finances available, and make every minute of it. Go for it my friend and just do it 'your way'....
Good luck!
Good luck!
Last edited by WishesToFly; 19th Aug 2012 at 10:03.
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Taking a look at this thread as an ex-instructor in the 90s at Eastleigh in the UK and was reminded of the student - mitch - who took me to the brink with her flying and I battled every inch of the way to get her to fly solo. She must rate as one of the longest to solo here and, yet, that is not the point.
Mitch was a lovely lady in her 60s whos husband had passed away and she was determined to do something with the rest of her life and that 'something' was to learn to fly. The only problem, as I was later to find out, was that her deceased husband had spent decades of married life essentially 'cowing' mitch such that she had absolutely no confidence in herself whatsoever. She couldnt drive, hell, she couldnt even balance a cheque-book as she was given absolutely no responsibility in life other than to cook and to run the house. He had essentially 'bullied' her into submission and was led to believe that she would amount to nothing. (you have to understand this before the rest of the story makes sense). Now I was running an adult evening class at the local college, teaching PPL groundschool to earn some extra cash when in walks mitch and a friend, another pensioner, both professing to want to fly and both wanting to finish the exams first so as to be well-prepared for the flying.
Eventually Mitch came out to the airfield for her first trip. It quickly became evident that her husband had really smashed her confidence and from what I could see she had NO natural affinity with the machine or her environment. In short she was totally ham-fisted and seemed unable to grasp the simplest of notions in the air. However, she was determined to try - and good on her for for trying! I was, however, rather concerned that an elderly lady might be throwing her pension away on a whim when I felt that success in her new venture was going to be extremely remote, to say the least....I quietly took her to one side and pointed out, after a few hours of flying, that maybe aviation was not really her thing and that I didnt want to see her money pouring down the drain at something like £100 per flying hour! She bristled and told me, in the sweetest possible way, that the money was HER concern and that she DIDNT CARE!! her husband had ruined her life and, by god,she was going to follow her dream!! somewhat taken aback at her determination, I agreed that I would continue with her but that we were in it for the long-haul! It was going to take a long time, longer than anybody else in the club, but I would work with her 'until we got it right'. Throughout the coming months I was to repeat to her, over and over, that this was going to be an expensive and time-consuming business and that she really ought to consider perhaps another hobby......she smiled her smile and got on with the battle. And what a battle it was. At times I went through periods of dreading her walking in the door and I often felt ashamed that she was paying to fly when she really had so little talent at it. Then, all of a sudden, I started to see signs - very small signs - that what I was saying was slowly, so slowly, getting through to her. Suddenly it started to become a challenge. We started to progress through the syllabus, very slowly, but, nevertheless progressing. Mitch began to 'emerge from the fog' and was actually beginning to think in the air! We worked at it, my god did we work, together! She put so much effort in that I began to be rather impressed and, dare I say it, proud of her attempts to conform to my teachings.
Over a period of 16 months we worked and worked at it. Circuit after circuit, interspersed with refresher sessions outside of the circuit to keep her interest and her skills up. Confidence rose and she FOUGHT back! I began to think that she might actually get solo! You see, in that 'chat' that we had, she told me just how much this meant to her to learn to fly and that she knew that she was useless at just about everything but that she wanted to prove something to herself by learning something that her husband never had the nerve to do - to fly - and she fully expected never to be let solo. Trouble was, I began to think that Mitch was capable!
Eventually came the day, 16 months later, where the circuits were acceptable, the landings were reasonable and her confidence was good - and steady. Mitch was READY! 48 hours and 10 minutes and she was there! I told her that there was nothing more that I could do for her and that I was getting out and that she had something to prove to herself....I walked up to the tower and sat there whilst she made that first solo. Interestingly, the tower controller was chatting to me whilst this was going on and conversationally asked "what ever happened to that mad so unding french lady that you used to take up? God, we used to nearly hit the crash button on some of her approaches...!!" It was a lovely moment to finally say "mate, you're looking at her right now!"
The first solo, as did many more, passed uneventfully - apart, that is, from the party afterwards. I was SOOOO proud of her....
12000 hours later I have had a few highs in my aviation career, including flying the A380 but NOTHING has beaten the proud moment when Mitch went solo. NOTHING. So I guess what I am really saying here is that it is NOT how many hours you went solo in, it is the fact that you DID it and what sort of a fight you had, personally, to achieve it that counts.
Mitch was a lovely lady in her 60s whos husband had passed away and she was determined to do something with the rest of her life and that 'something' was to learn to fly. The only problem, as I was later to find out, was that her deceased husband had spent decades of married life essentially 'cowing' mitch such that she had absolutely no confidence in herself whatsoever. She couldnt drive, hell, she couldnt even balance a cheque-book as she was given absolutely no responsibility in life other than to cook and to run the house. He had essentially 'bullied' her into submission and was led to believe that she would amount to nothing. (you have to understand this before the rest of the story makes sense). Now I was running an adult evening class at the local college, teaching PPL groundschool to earn some extra cash when in walks mitch and a friend, another pensioner, both professing to want to fly and both wanting to finish the exams first so as to be well-prepared for the flying.
Eventually Mitch came out to the airfield for her first trip. It quickly became evident that her husband had really smashed her confidence and from what I could see she had NO natural affinity with the machine or her environment. In short she was totally ham-fisted and seemed unable to grasp the simplest of notions in the air. However, she was determined to try - and good on her for for trying! I was, however, rather concerned that an elderly lady might be throwing her pension away on a whim when I felt that success in her new venture was going to be extremely remote, to say the least....I quietly took her to one side and pointed out, after a few hours of flying, that maybe aviation was not really her thing and that I didnt want to see her money pouring down the drain at something like £100 per flying hour! She bristled and told me, in the sweetest possible way, that the money was HER concern and that she DIDNT CARE!! her husband had ruined her life and, by god,she was going to follow her dream!! somewhat taken aback at her determination, I agreed that I would continue with her but that we were in it for the long-haul! It was going to take a long time, longer than anybody else in the club, but I would work with her 'until we got it right'. Throughout the coming months I was to repeat to her, over and over, that this was going to be an expensive and time-consuming business and that she really ought to consider perhaps another hobby......she smiled her smile and got on with the battle. And what a battle it was. At times I went through periods of dreading her walking in the door and I often felt ashamed that she was paying to fly when she really had so little talent at it. Then, all of a sudden, I started to see signs - very small signs - that what I was saying was slowly, so slowly, getting through to her. Suddenly it started to become a challenge. We started to progress through the syllabus, very slowly, but, nevertheless progressing. Mitch began to 'emerge from the fog' and was actually beginning to think in the air! We worked at it, my god did we work, together! She put so much effort in that I began to be rather impressed and, dare I say it, proud of her attempts to conform to my teachings.
Over a period of 16 months we worked and worked at it. Circuit after circuit, interspersed with refresher sessions outside of the circuit to keep her interest and her skills up. Confidence rose and she FOUGHT back! I began to think that she might actually get solo! You see, in that 'chat' that we had, she told me just how much this meant to her to learn to fly and that she knew that she was useless at just about everything but that she wanted to prove something to herself by learning something that her husband never had the nerve to do - to fly - and she fully expected never to be let solo. Trouble was, I began to think that Mitch was capable!
Eventually came the day, 16 months later, where the circuits were acceptable, the landings were reasonable and her confidence was good - and steady. Mitch was READY! 48 hours and 10 minutes and she was there! I told her that there was nothing more that I could do for her and that I was getting out and that she had something to prove to herself....I walked up to the tower and sat there whilst she made that first solo. Interestingly, the tower controller was chatting to me whilst this was going on and conversationally asked "what ever happened to that mad so unding french lady that you used to take up? God, we used to nearly hit the crash button on some of her approaches...!!" It was a lovely moment to finally say "mate, you're looking at her right now!"
The first solo, as did many more, passed uneventfully - apart, that is, from the party afterwards. I was SOOOO proud of her....
12000 hours later I have had a few highs in my aviation career, including flying the A380 but NOTHING has beaten the proud moment when Mitch went solo. NOTHING. So I guess what I am really saying here is that it is NOT how many hours you went solo in, it is the fact that you DID it and what sort of a fight you had, personally, to achieve it that counts.
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Great post there Smiffy! Very inspirational and just shows how you can achieve something if you really put your mind to it. Mitch has one up on me, she's done her solo....and what a remarkable women she is!
I will remember this story throughout my learning journey, whenever I feel the 'going getting tough'.
Thank you for your post.
I will remember this story throughout my learning journey, whenever I feel the 'going getting tough'.
Thank you for your post.
My initial progress was slow. Hampered by airsickness (esp during stalling) & inability to judge flare height on the Chippie.
Change of instructor: the new chap got me to line up but instead of opening the throttle the following exchange took place:
'Look ahead, note where the horizon intersects the cowling.'
'Okay.'
'Memorise that image. Now, look down a bit, note how high you are above the ground.'
'Okay.'
'Memorise that image.'
'Okay.'
'Right, now fly a standard circuit and don't let the aircraft touch down till the horizon's in the right place and the height is the same as now.'
It worked. I soloed a few circuits later.
Change of instructor: the new chap got me to line up but instead of opening the throttle the following exchange took place:
'Look ahead, note where the horizon intersects the cowling.'
'Okay.'
'Memorise that image. Now, look down a bit, note how high you are above the ground.'
'Okay.'
'Memorise that image.'
'Okay.'
'Right, now fly a standard circuit and don't let the aircraft touch down till the horizon's in the right place and the height is the same as now.'
It worked. I soloed a few circuits later.
Last edited by Discorde; 19th Aug 2012 at 14:54.
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Wishestofly....my pleasure and I wish you all the best with your quest to fly. Looking back, I can honestly say that those hours were amongst the most pleasurable of my career and, if I could make a decent living from it then I would be back there in a flash! And that is from a long haul 380 pilot. I loved instruction and, today, when I counted up all of the hours in my logbook that Mitch had done to first solo it was a real trip down memory lane and got me thinking....alas the bigger bucks lie in the desert with international flying. Maybe I could instruct again when I retire....I would really love that.
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I am 52 and have 22 hours and am waiting to solo. This thread gives me a little peace of mind. I have been extremely frustrated that I'm not "getting it" quite as quick as most (10-15 hrs). Way too much pressure! I have considered giving up due to my hours. I'm flying twice tomorrow, weather/wind permitting. Who knows? Could be tomorrow.
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Daverehm: My first piece of advise: don't listen to all of the willy-waving superheroes here - you know the ones I mean, those who are born sky-gods, those who go solo after just 20 minutes airtime? They will just depress you and, as you've already noted, make you put yourself under pressure.
First things first, it's not a race, you are learning to fly for your own satisfaction (I hope) so just understand you are learning at your pace, not someone else's.
Secondly, you won't even be able to take the skills test to get your PPL licence until you've done a minimum 45 hours, of which 10 MUST be solo so it really doesn't matter whether you solo at 10 hours or 35 hours; also, don't be despondent and think that "you aren't getting it" because you (or at least your instructor) will note that once you start going solo, your learning curve steepens quite sharply.
Thirdly, I seem to recall the average was 50 - 70 hours if people aren't doing full time courses because of a cycle of "learn - forget - relearn".
I soloed with 27 hours in the book so if you went solo tomorrow, your progress is better than mine was..... :-)
First things first, it's not a race, you are learning to fly for your own satisfaction (I hope) so just understand you are learning at your pace, not someone else's.
Secondly, you won't even be able to take the skills test to get your PPL licence until you've done a minimum 45 hours, of which 10 MUST be solo so it really doesn't matter whether you solo at 10 hours or 35 hours; also, don't be despondent and think that "you aren't getting it" because you (or at least your instructor) will note that once you start going solo, your learning curve steepens quite sharply.
Thirdly, I seem to recall the average was 50 - 70 hours if people aren't doing full time courses because of a cycle of "learn - forget - relearn".
I soloed with 27 hours in the book so if you went solo tomorrow, your progress is better than mine was..... :-)
I most certainly wasn't a sky-god, but I was young and managed to work in aviation full time from the age of 18 so for me it's all just been part of one very big and complex journey.
So, I possibly have the most unusual route to first solo you're likely to come across.
16 hours and 23 flights in a Bulldog with the UAS, not a talented student, chopped from UAS flying training.
Through the university, 3 x 30 minute observer trips in Cranfield's Jetstream learning about flight test.
Then I discovered a microlight club during a summer job, 2 1 hour trips in a Spectrum. Loved it, plus had a vastly more sympathetic instructor than my RAF QFI.
Few more observer trips - helicopters this time, and a couple of hours crouched in the back of a VC10 cockpit.
Then back at university, managed to grab one flight in a Thruster, still enjoying it, not enough money to keep going for now.
Finally graduated, had a little bit of money. Got to solo in a total 9 flights, 8:25, with a really good microlight instructor in the Spectrum again. I think that about half that time was learning, and about half was building up the confidence destroyed by my RAF instructor a few years before.
Then changed job. Moved somewhere else, had a longish break, but went solo again in a Shadow: 9 flights and 8 hours, but in between scrounged some motorglider and glider trips through work opportunities.
Then 10 hours mixed solo and dual later in the Shadow (the famous "George" which I'm sure a few other people have flown), got my restricted microlight PPL.
Then I decided to have a go at flexwings, and did my flexwing conversion and nav to remove the restrictions on my PPL together in about another 15 hours in a Quantum then an F2a. To actually go solo on a flexwing took about 12 hours - although at the same time I also did a stack of back and right hand seat work flying in everything from a BAC1-11 to a Hawker Hunter, and whether that helped or hindered my piloting journey, I honestly don't know. Most likely it slowed me a lot in the short run, and made me a far better pilot in the long run.
G
So, I possibly have the most unusual route to first solo you're likely to come across.
16 hours and 23 flights in a Bulldog with the UAS, not a talented student, chopped from UAS flying training.
Through the university, 3 x 30 minute observer trips in Cranfield's Jetstream learning about flight test.
Then I discovered a microlight club during a summer job, 2 1 hour trips in a Spectrum. Loved it, plus had a vastly more sympathetic instructor than my RAF QFI.
Few more observer trips - helicopters this time, and a couple of hours crouched in the back of a VC10 cockpit.
Then back at university, managed to grab one flight in a Thruster, still enjoying it, not enough money to keep going for now.
Finally graduated, had a little bit of money. Got to solo in a total 9 flights, 8:25, with a really good microlight instructor in the Spectrum again. I think that about half that time was learning, and about half was building up the confidence destroyed by my RAF instructor a few years before.
Then changed job. Moved somewhere else, had a longish break, but went solo again in a Shadow: 9 flights and 8 hours, but in between scrounged some motorglider and glider trips through work opportunities.
Then 10 hours mixed solo and dual later in the Shadow (the famous "George" which I'm sure a few other people have flown), got my restricted microlight PPL.
Then I decided to have a go at flexwings, and did my flexwing conversion and nav to remove the restrictions on my PPL together in about another 15 hours in a Quantum then an F2a. To actually go solo on a flexwing took about 12 hours - although at the same time I also did a stack of back and right hand seat work flying in everything from a BAC1-11 to a Hawker Hunter, and whether that helped or hindered my piloting journey, I honestly don't know. Most likely it slowed me a lot in the short run, and made me a far better pilot in the long run.
G
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I did about 30 hours before my solo. Apparently that is about the average for people my age and I am just short of 40. If you are 20, you might solo sooner. If you enjoy flying, hang in there, it will come.
Rolling 20, while asking for an instructor change may be a good idea in some cases, I would hesitate to suggest this without a good deal more information. For a start, we don't know how many instructors the Daverehm has already had, what he or she is learning on, in what sort of environment, how often he flies, what the weather has been like, and all the other variables. 22 hours is not excessive for a middle aged person coming to a light aircraft with no aeronautical background. I would like to know what the specific difficulty is before making any further comment.
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It took me 48 hours to go solo - I was in my late 40s. I finally got my PPL(A) at just under 90 hours...rather a lot. Then I went for a helicopter trial lesson, loved it, and decided to get a PPL(H). 30 hours to solo, and under 60 (I think), to PPL....a little under "average". Then I got a CPL(H) and FI(H) and became an instructor, and I like to think I was a good one, partly because I knew about every problem possible and sympathised; I'd been there!
So don't worry about hours. However, I realise now, many years later, that I'd have done better if I'd switched instructor sooner when doing my PPL(A). The chap who first taught me was a rather unsatisfactory instructor, indeed, a rather unsatisfactory human being, sad to say. If you're not "getting it" ask yourself why. It may just be that you need more time, and there's no harm in that; we slow learners get there in the end. But a change of instructor may help; it may not, but going up with someone else to see how you get on can't do any harm.
So don't worry about hours. However, I realise now, many years later, that I'd have done better if I'd switched instructor sooner when doing my PPL(A). The chap who first taught me was a rather unsatisfactory instructor, indeed, a rather unsatisfactory human being, sad to say. If you're not "getting it" ask yourself why. It may just be that you need more time, and there's no harm in that; we slow learners get there in the end. But a change of instructor may help; it may not, but going up with someone else to see how you get on can't do any harm.