Looking over 24 + years of instructing the trend is clear. The time to solo increased but the total time to the PPL license decreased. This was because I put more and more effort on the ex 5 to 9 foundation skills right at the beginning. This paid of many times over in much faster progress on the more advanced topics.
I also now pay a lot more attention to the "What Ifs"
Just because it is you first solo doesn't mean that
- Your engine can't fail at any point in the circuit
- You can't have to smoke in the cockpit
- Your radio can't fail
- A cabin door can't spring open in flight
- You won't have divert to another airport if the one you are at becomes unusalable
- You can't be cut off by another aircraft not conforming to the correct circuit procedures or not following ATC instructions
- You can't be subjected to the potential of harmful wake vortices from an aircraft ahead of you.
So when you went solo and look at this list you would have been able to immediately know what to do if any of these situations came up.....Right ?
Last edited by Big Pistons Forever; 10th Jun 2012 at 17:10.