Originally Posted by
alfaman
I'm not sure stats from then are particularly relevant: war puts pressures on training systems to push the envelope to get numbers through, rather than focus on the appropriate training for the individual, particularity when there's a queue behind to take the training seat.
As you pointed out, military pilot training is intense and almost totally immersive, resulting in relatively low dual time flown prior to solo. Of course, as you also pointed out, there was no time to tailor training to the individual; it was both quantity and quality that counted, and those who were either unable or unwilling to conform got the boot. As to the relevance of the statistics I quoted, they were merely to show what had been done in the past and serve as a basis for my wondering why a student pilot would need 20+ hours of dual prior to the first solo flight. I was unaware that under present day training programs, it is not unusual for a student to amass more than 20 hours dual prior to going solo. I'm not sure why that is, perhaps there is just more to learn these days than in the "good old" days of the E-6B mechanical computer, VORs, paper charts etc.
Regards,
Grog