Big day

[badgermat]

Big for me, at least. probably less so for anyone else.

I completed my first solo today, and I'm feeling a little pleased with myself.

Just one circuit at NZAR, and since it took me 20 hours to get this far I'm probably not a natural flyer. But as a retirement gig it has been a gas, and I'm fully motivated to see this through to the point I can fly a plane to Aus.

bm

ETA - was going to post my FlightRadar track, but it seems I can't upload anything yet. Ho-hum.

[cavuman1]

Well Done You, badgermat! You've now joined a small and unique group who are able to wheel, soar, and swing in three dimensions while appreciating the beauty and grandeur of the Earth below. Beware of cumulogranites and never run out of altitude and ideas at the same time. Enjoy your new-found freedom!

- Ed

[Big Pistons Forever]

Congratulations badgermat

Time to solo is IMO a pretty useless metric in the context of PPL training. Time to complete the course and the total score on the PPL flight test are what matters. As I progressed in my instructional career my students time to solo went up but the average time to PPL went down substantially and flight test scores improved markedly. This was because I got better at teaching the fundamental maneuvers A & M , S & L, turns, climbs and descents. I also understood the extreme importance of ensuring the student had mastered those fundamentals before added more advanced air exercises. The extra pre solo time paid off as my students did not have to spend a lot of time in the circuit before I could kick them loose and the rest of the course usually went pretty fast as they had those solid fundamentals to build on

I was the schools senior instructor when I finished working as a full time instructor. As such I was assigned the "problem" students. The problem was usually they couldn't land, however almost invariably the problem was not that they couldn't land, it was they couldn't fly and I had to go back and reteach the foundation maneuvers,

[Jan Olieslagers]

Congrats! Your life will never be the same!

[India Four Two]

Congratulations. I can still recall my first solo even though it is nearly 60 years ago!

When you are flying, think about the fact that you are a lucky member of a tiny fraction of the Earth's population. Very few people get to fly anaircraft.

I made an estimate sometime ago and I think I calculated the number as less than 0.1% of the total global population.


PS You can't post images or URLs until you have ten posts.

[Pilot DAR]

Congratulations Bagermat! You'll remember that forever. And, you'll have more sort of first solos, as you fly different types - still with that thought to yourself: "It's all up to me now!"

[badgermat]

Thanks everyone, it certainly does feel a bit special if not actually as nerve-wracking as I had expected :)

Learning a new – and quite involved – skill in my late fifties has been a revelation. And while the amount of work involved has been a bit of a shock, it is immensely invigorating.

The prospect of more firsts to come just adds to this.

bm

[NineEighteen]

Congratulations badgermat, it's a wonderful achievement.

On a related subject....most of my flying has been done in the UK and Canada but the single hour (or so) that I flew in New Zealand (Wanaka) is by far the one I cherish the most! Beautiful country and New Zealand loves flying! Good luck with the future aviating! :O

0918

[Procrastinus]

"I completed my first solo today, and I'm feeling a little pleased with myself."

I was once told by a very experienced instructor: 'It's like losing your virginity - life is never the same again'

[Checklist Charlie]

Congratulations badgermat (https://www.pprune.org/members/454562-badgermat) your wallet will never be the same again.:ok:

CC