9 Hours. One of the most memorable moments of my life.
Got hooked and moved up the PPL foodchain and started IR training at 120 hours. Really began to hit walls on an “approved course”. What was truly startling was an interface with military pilots who were converting to civvy licenses and would transit the flight school in a few days taking 4 or 5 hours to complete training and obtain a first time pass on IRFT. Most were talented and some could drive a C310 as though it was on rails. They had so much spare mental capacity that they could peel an orange and do the Times crossword while flying an ILS to Cat 1 minima. Truly depressing watching that from the middle row!
A wise instructor at the establishment said “ slow learners rarely leave smoking holes in the ground – we’ve time to sort them out: it’s the quick ones we worry about”
Slow or fast – much depends on who you learn with and that word “learn” is the key