Originally Posted by
Say again s l o w l y
There are a few of us on here who are fairly experienced FI's many of whom have posted on this thread.
I will guarantee you that after that many instructor changes and that short a time, you are NOT ready for the circuit yet.
One of the cardinal and very common sins commited by FI's, is to rush people into the circuit. 8 hours is simply not enough time, especially given the mucking about you've had.
You are not I'm afraid the best person to judge whether you are ready to move on or not. If you were, you wouldn't need an FI next to you!
Circuit details should not be used to polish your basic flying skills and another hour or two in the training area, will save you a lot of time (and money) in the circuit later.
This sort of treatment of students has me banging my head against the wall in frustration. It is simply not good enough.
I would not say it is impossible that AOB9 could be ready for the circuit. There are some naturally gifted students out there that could easily be ready for the circuit in 8 hours, however I agree for most students in the situation described, moving on to the circuit now is probably not a good idea.
A test to see if you are ready is to take your hands off the controls at mid downwind. Are you steady at + - 50 feet of the correct altitude and does the nose stay steady, not pitching up and down at all with your hands off the wheel ? When you are on the final approach at about 500 feet above ground is the airspeed + - 5 kts of the proper approach speed and again does the nose stay in a the correct descending attitude with your hands off the wheel, not appreciably rising or falling on it's own ? If the answer is not yes to both questions then your general handling skills are not sufficiently developed and you should not be in the circuit yet