Solo Hours and GFPT
 

Are you nominating yourself for an award? It's not a competition, it's whether or not you are competent and safe. There is no minimum hours requirement for first solo, and for GFPT it is 20 hrs total including 5hrs solo. It all comes out in the wash at the end of the day

Go solo in 5 hours or less and expect the call from Top Gun!

Good Luck Maverick:ok:

Before this gets out of hand, there is no min. There is no max but if its taking more than 25-30 hours you need to ask yourself as a student if the instructor is doing right by you or if you're putting in the effort.

Solo in around 12 hours is a good effort...........more important is to be safe and confident and comfortable!


Says he who just had his first C185 experience...........and first TW machine. :uhoh:

And lived :}.

Its not about hours........its about being safe.

Quote:

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I'd like to know what would be considered exceptional for a student pilot in terms of flying hours before they are released to fly their first solo

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Solo on your first ever flight would be considered exceptional - right up there with Wilbur and Orville!

Dr :8

I think a lot of people have always wanted to know the answer to your question t_vasis !
Try asking one of the bright young men down at your local saussage factory school if you can check their log book to verify that they did indeed get their GFPT at the minimum hours that there promising everyone !!
:D

I seem to remember back in the jurassic period when I did my fist solo (in powered aeroplanes) there was a minimum. I had some idea it used to be 10 hours, I think.

I recall a guy who aparently flew with the precision of a Swiss watch from day one went solo in about 7 or 8 hrs. He was certainly an exception though, almost "robotic" as his instructor referred to him. He also went onto Aviation Corps flying Blackhawks.
Remember the GFPT is not mandatory under the syllabus, unless it is specified within the schools training ops manual.

Agree with what others are saying. It's not a race you will go solo, get your GFPT, pass your PPL, CPL, MECIR etc etc when you are ready and hopefully not before.

Oh come on guys!

Don't fall for the bull!!!! that is dished up by some training organisations these days.

Just happen to have log book #1 beside me:

28 Nov 1973, Gill Layt sent me solo at YBAF in C150 VH-DTE

7.5 hrs TT

That was regarded as "good going" but nothing exceptional. Plenty have soloed in less time.

Maybe too many hours are spent taxying these days!

However, it not about hours - its about when you are ready!

Dr :8

As many have said, it's about being ready more than anything else. Not to mention that for a first solo to happen, on the day you need a combination of factors in your favour too - calm winds, good vis, happy instructor, uncluttered circuit pattern, etc etc. You could end up doing an extra hour or two of dual circuits even after you are technically competent, just because you needed to wait for the "right conditions". I did my first solo after 18 hours, and I flew part-time at one of the real schools, not the sausage factories.

I think you the more frequently you train, the faster you become competent... especially during the pre-GFPT phase, where it is all about learning the skill of aircraft handling.

Very true bur 'ready' is somewhat variable in different establishments. Some schools/instructors seem to have a more cautious definition of 'ready'.

What do some of you instructors look for when determining 'ready'?

E.g.

Good weather - crosswinds, cloud etc
Traffic - wait till there's at least 8 in the circuit all on different runways, going in different directions - Candem when the tower is closed (not that it ever is now :)) is a great place to for a first solo.
3 or more consistent dual circuits?
??

It would be pretty hard to go solo in those hours these days (7.5) when at least 20 mins of an hour lesson is spent transiting to and from a GAAP zone. Following airline style circuits (i.e way too bloody wide) you'd be lucky to get 6 touch and goes in an hour too. That was the most frustrating part of instructing, following clowns who insist on 3 mile circuits in a 172.

When I was instructing the usual seemed to be 15-20 hours with people more often than not in the high teens.

If I had my time again I would have gone to a small school in the country and believe I would have saved at least 30 hours on my CPL training. (exercises like doing 7 hour Mooney endorsements and all the other BS that is thrown at you tends to soak up a few resources)

When I turned up for my first lesson in my ray ban aviators and leather jacket, they just threw me the keys and said "go for it Mav"

Went solo in an RA Gazelle in 3.5 hours. Wasn't ready but instructor thought I was. Didn't crash and haven't crashed since so maybe he was right.

One would ask is it possible to cover the entire pre solo syllabus in 3.5 hours? Or even 7.5 hours? :eek:

Or am I just an underachiever with my 10.5 hours?;)

I flew with a bloke once who was based at Bankstown. He told me that he "had over 200hrs command". We departed straight out off 29R and he couldn't even find Hoxton Park.....I considered that to be exceptional!

Suggest his hand was in control of a different "stick."

HH - therein lies the problem with some RA operations and their adherence to anything resembling uniformity and safety.

Well, while we're pulling our dicks out...

8 inches