PPL Completion time and impact on future

[freedomfighterpete]

Dear Guys and Gals,

Some advice really.....

I took 22 hours to solo when doing my fixed wing PPL and I when I eventually passed the test, I had 57 hours dual and 13 hours P1. 70 seems a lot compared to other people that I talk to.

My instuctor was very new so that added on a bit and I also had a lot of pre-solo checkouts due to breaks caused by bad weather. I did quite a bit over a 4 week period then slowed down due to having to go back to work.

I am only 20 and thinking of moving into flying for a career. Will the fact that I took way over 45 hours cause me problems in the future???

Thanks

P

[shaun ryder]

Thats the least of your worries mate. You taking 70hours to complete your PPL is nothing short of normal. I am concerned however of your excuse for not being the gifted pilot that you obviously think you are. Heaping the blame for your shortcomings onto your no doubt dedicated instructor is not the way you want to be going.
:hmm:

[RogerIrrelevant69]

Don't sweat it freedomfighterpete, I ran into a similar situation some years ago. It was my fault though, I kept doing an hour here and an hour there at the weekends. If I had taken a couple of weeks off and just concentrated on going solo I would have nailed the PPL in less than 50 hours but ended up with close to 70.

A few years later, I did the CPL and nailed it with no extra hours as I was working on it full time.

If you go the whole hog and do the CPL and IR, I very much doubt any future employer will be too busy scrutinising your first few hours.

Although I agree with Shaun Ryder's sentiment about not being too quick to blame others, I also recognise that the standard of instructor varies enormously. If you have problems in the future with any instructor, don't waste time worrying about their feelings, do something about it. Now you have some experience under your belt you will be in a better position to assess if an instructor is right for you.

[Steve888]

I did my PPL training through the last two years of high school, so I was flying about once every week or two, so it took me about30 months and close to 80 hours to get my PPL.

Don't worry about it, it will even out in the end, for mine as I have a few more hours, I don't need to do a couple of the Commercial License flights, so that evens it up.

[scroggs]

For a private pilot, the time to solo or to gaining the PPL is simply a matter of cost and available spare time. For a professional pilot, or those seeking to employ them, such things are, as you have guessed, significant.

I would expect, subject to adequate continuity and instruction, a reasonably capable student to solo and complete the PPL within 10% of the normally allocated hours. If your continuity was extremely poor, or you have objective evidence that your instructor was not up to scratch, you may be able to justify taking around 50% longer than the norm. However, you are right to be concerned.

An employer is unlikely to take too much notice of your PPL record, but if this record was continued in your CPL training, you would be highly unlikely to gain employment. In fact, I would expect any decent CPL instructor to advise you to stop wasting your money long before it got to that point! The fact is that ambition and desire do not substitute for aptitude, which is one of the reasons that airlines are carrying out (or having it done on their behalf by FTOs) far more pre-selection than they used to. To put it in perspective, the RAF demands that its pilots solo in about 11 hours (in a complex, fast TP), and by 45 hours (the norm for a PPL) have completed initial IF training, and other fairly advanced techniques. The RAF's requirements do not read across to the airlines, but the abilities required to succeed are not dissimilar. Despite what you may be told by some, determination will not carry you through if the ability simply isn't there.

So, what do you do now? I suggest you visit another school - preferably one which has a good reputation here on Pprune - and get yourself assessed by one of their more experienced instructors. Explain what has happened so far, and get them to give you an honest, no-punches-pulled assessment of your chances of completing training within a reasonable time and budget.

Good luck!

Scroggs

[freedomfighterpete]

Thankyou all of you for your quick replies

shaun,i want trying to blame my shortcomings on my instructor.He was very good to me and worked hard to help me through something that I knew knothing about he was excellent.I was just wondering if the fact that he was new had any bering...not 50% extra though.

I will definitely do as you say scroggs and go to a different school to fly with someone else.My instructor was very happy on my test and I had no problems.is cabair a good place to do this as there are schools near me?

Thanks very much

P

[Capt. Crocodile]

Don't worry about taking 22 hours to solo. One of my mates didn't solo until 60 hours - yes 60! His instructor also told his parents to stop wasting their money on flying. He got himself another instructor and then did solo and got his PPL in no time. This pilot is now in the airlines. Employers aren't likely to emphasise on when you did solo, they will assess your flying skills on a check flight or in the simulator and not on a solo flight a couple of years earlier. I also advise you that although you may like your instructor, you need to swap him for a more experienced one but make sure you have a strong reccommendation as even the experienced ones can get lazy. Don't be afraid to ask an instructor how many PPL or commercial students they have succesfully trained. Good luck! :ok:

[RogerIrrelevant69]

pprune at it's finest I'd say.

Within 2 hours you probably got some of the best advice you could ask for - scroggs that is. My comments were just anecdotal but of some use I hope.

My feeling is that the majority of people who can drive well could probably get a PPL but I know not everyone could get a CPL and/or IR, so if you can get accurately assessed before you launch into this as a career then get that assessment. For many the absolute best and most impartial assessment out there now is the GAPAN test (www.gapan.org/careers/aptitude.htm). That should leave little doubt in your mind. Plus don't forget the Class 1 medical of course before you start spending oodles of cash on training.

And as scroggs says, a good CPL instructor will always tell you if they have any doubt. If you have too many dark days during the CPL phase and you have doubts then ask the instructor.

Good luck!

[scroggs]

Cabair would probably be an excellent place to get that assessment if they offer that facility.

Scroggs