When to give up
Hi folks
I hope this is the right forum for this sort of question. Apologies if not.
I've recently started learning to fly, probably a bit later in life than most people (40-something). I've read some people's postings about their learning experiences, and I have to say that it's disheartened me a bit -- I'm not making anything like the same kind of progress that most people seem to. I appreciate that I've only flown four hours, but at that stage some people seem to be ready, perhaps with considerable assistance, to attempt takeoffs and landings. I can just about manage to keep the plane in roughly a straight line; anything more seems like a distant dream.
I guess this is partly the result of my age, but the fact that I don't have a lot of skill in the coordination or balance department doesn't help any.
I'm not expecting to be Biggles after a few hours in the air, but at the same time I can't spend an unlimited time learning to fly -- I just don't have the money. I will count it a failure if I spend a great deal of money, and yet never learn to fly well enough even to achieve a PPL. On the other hand, if I pack it in now, well, I've had a good time and I haven't spent a vast sum of money. Naturally my instructors are reassuring, and point out that just about anybody can do it in the end, with sufficient effort. That would be fine if I had a limitless supply of time and money, but I don't.
So my question is this, really: at what point will I be able to determine if my lack of progress is such that becoming competent before backruptcy is unlikely? How long did it take other people to start to feel that they were in control of the plane, and not the other way around? Is there anything one can do on the ground that contributes in any way to better success in the air?
I have no difficulty with the theoretical aspects, or with navigation, or procedures. It just doesn't feel like I will ever be able to master the important stuff -- flying the plane properly.
Any advice gratefully received. Thanks.