It took me about 14 hours, flying about once a week or so. We did a lot of "other stuff" before that like ground reference maneuvers, steep turns, stalls etc., not just pattern work.
It probably would have been sooner than that had 9/11 not happened. We were planning on it being that Saturday (just after my 17th birthday). Instead, since our airport was within an "enhanced Class B" area, I was delayed a few weeks and had to brush some rust off first.
Originally Posted by
Genghis the Engineer
So I really dont "get" why so many instructors, often with tens of times my instructing hours, feel it's essential to get inexperienced pilots with still-poor basic flying skills into the circuit so fast. In my opinion, they're at a skill level where this will only stress them and slow their learning process.
I get why so many inexperienced pilots think that they should - it's because they were fed that by their instructors. But why the instructors?
I've read that it was the "generally accepted theory" that first solo was a confidence-builder, and doing it early was crucial in getting pilots to "stick with it" and finish the license. As you say, I think that was a self-induced problem.