Well, I can't help feeling that as a fulltime helicopter FI(R) with around 240 instructing hours I maybe have some idea what I'm doing now. But getting unrestricted is still a long way off. The school I mainly teach at is newish. We only have one current student who's gone solo, and I've only sent him off a couple of times since then due to weather. We have a few more who should be ready soon, but with autumn winds and short days, it could take a while. And in R22s we don't send them solo with single-digit hours, as some f/w students manage; 20-30 is more usual. So I can see it being 500 hours or so before I get unrestricted. And I'm not sure what I'll know by then about sending someone solo that I don't know now...being the way I am, I ask for advice now about a lot of things if I can, and I probably will then. Doesn't judging when a student is ready for first solo come down to maturity, judgement, and common sense, more than flying experience?
I'm not sure what the answer is, but there must be a better way.
