How long did it take you to achieve your PPL?

[destinationsky]

6 days to go solo
22 days from start to finish to complete 45hours (3 days off + 1.5 days lost for weather included!)
Passed the skills test last saturday
Was pretty intense!
This was done at EFT in Florida

[Lude-og]

FAA PPL(H) in Cloud 9 West Palm Beach in 22 days. I did two visits, the first visit for 6 days in April and the second visit for 18 days in July/August, passed the checkride on day 16 of second visit, plus I took one of those days off for the written exam! 45/46 hours to checkride.
But PPL's this quickly are usually an exception rather than a rule, it all depends on SO many variables, I had great luck with weather and scheduling.

I can only echo what HARBRO said: Great school, great instructors.

To RITZER82, just relax and enjoy it, having deadlines for such great tasks as an fATPL can't be easy. You're learning in the environment you will be flying in, the weather is ****ty, but you'll be all the better for it in the long run.

[RollNow!]

TC PPL flown in Canada. 60 Hours ... i did have a 6 month gap in between though or it would have been a few hours less. I couldnt get the time off work to do the whole thing in one go but it was fun... i got to meet a load of really nice people and saved rather a lot of money.

Not to say anything bad about training here... its just a bit expensive. I lived on site out there and it was excellent

Solo at 13 hours
X-Countries somewhere in the late 40's
The brush up for the skills test
Written test at around 50 hours. Although i would have loved to have got that out the way a lot faster.

It varies a lot i think on skill, time, situation, weather and pilot attitude. There was a guy i knew who was cracking onto 45 hours and had not even flown his solo yet

[kaptene]

It took me about 5 months, but I was flying 2 to 3 times a week, and there was a month where the weather was too crapy when I didn't log any flight time
So in a full time training, it can be done in 1 month, maybe less. but the average of having the PPL is around 60 to 70 hours.

I also had a bad instructor, who looks only for money, so I wasted some time with him, especially when I reached the average solo time, then I fired him, it wasn't honest from his part and I was desapointed by him

[Rj111]

I've clocked up 13 hours in about 10 months now.

I blame...

Weather
Redundancy
Mr Tax Man



Saving up again and am hoping to take 2 weeks off soon and knock out as many hours as possible.

[fanda78]

11 months and 53 hrs TT at Andrewsfield EGSL
QXC canceled 17 times due to weather and once due to my work (but weather was crap on this day anyway)
also did some evening groundschool lessons there and my worst result was 88% (4 times 100%) with some reading at home (and PPL confuser)

[RITZER82]

I have completed my PPL TT @ 76 hours with total solo time 16 hrs 40 min, I know it is no way near the minimum 45 hours but I had the weather, work, commitment and time to blame aswell as my greedy instructor who wasted my time on doing silly excessive circuit training thus prevented me in keeping constant with my flying, is 76 hours un-attractive when I eventually apply to airlines obviously once I have achieved my fATPL or airlines are not really interested on PPL record?

[Whirlygig]

airlines are not really interested on PPL record?

Can't see why they would be? The most they might want to know about your PPL record is whether you passed the skill test first time but even then, i'm not convinced.

Cheers

Whirls

[Denti]

Five weeks around and exactly 40 hours including the checkride and LFT acceptance flight the day before. Flightschool was ATCA as subcontractor for LFT in Goodyear/AZ.

[kevmusic]

Um... 28 years.

[fuzzy6988]

48 hours and 22 days for me, but that was intensive. I did it in Florida in near-perfect weather conditions.

I didn't get time to do much reading beforehand so ended up cramming study material for the seven written papers for most of the time when I wasn't flying.

Learning how to flare at the right moment was tricky - I didn't get it at first. Then it suddenly clicked.

It is normal to take more hours if you plan to complete your course at a more leisurely pace. In the UK, cancellations due to weather are common, especially in the winter months.

[joelgarabedian]

45 hours and 35 minutes over 5 months (although the last month was spent waiting for good enough weather to take the Skills Test).

[IO540]

In the UK, most people take a year. It doesn't seem to matter whether the school is good or crap, or what the weather is like...

The average TT is 55-65 hours.

Very few do it in 45 hours (probably 1-2%) and IMHO most of those that do have actually done a lot of unlogged "passenger" hours with a mate, or a lot of hours on a sim

[Denti]

Just depends how you do the training. The above mentioned by me was a US PPL during abinitio training for a german ATPL, everyone except one in my course managed to achieve the PPL with absolute minimum hours, soloing after the same number of "missions".

Now, in a training that isn't as strictly organized it usually takes quite a bit longer and more hours as well. For example my glider PPL took me 8 years, simply because i never needed to have the license as i could do everything without it anyway.

[Ryan5252]

In the UK, most people take a year.

Not a bad guesstimate Peter, I done my skills test 1 year to the day since my first flight! TT aprox 47hrs but many, many hours armchair flying!

[fuzzy6988]

Very few do it in 45 hours (probably 1-2%) and IMHO most of those that do have actually done a lot of unlogged "passenger" hours with a mate, or a lot of hours on a sim

My friend did his in 45 hours, and I felt the pressure! Later I found out he spent many years sitting in his dad's plane as he crop dusted his field.

It's important not to feel pressured to do it in minimal hours. Rather spend a bit more under instruction than to get signed off and do something silly in the air...

IO540's figure of 55-65 hours is a good one. I have heard of someone who, after 60 hours of flying, still could not fly straight and level. But he got there in the end.

[MichaelJP59]

45 hours and 35 minutes over 5 months (although the last month was spent waiting for good enough weather to take the Skills Test).

Does that mean you only did 35 minutes flying in the last month while you were waiting?

Did my PPL in 49 hours 30 minutes, over about 18 months i.e. a lesson every week or 2. Would have liked to do it quicker, but couldn't spare any more time from work.

[Pitts Flyer]

17 days over 3 1/2 weeks Wednesday lunch time to Sunday lunch time in the UK

[joelgarabedian]

Does that mean you only did 35 minutes flying in the last month while you were waiting?

It was worse than that - my last flight before the test took me over 45 hours and up to the 45:35 mark - It was another three weeks before I flew again for the Skills Test

[screetch]

I have done it in 65 hrs over a year. mainly flying on weekends. with 3 x 1 month breaks in between. So there were a few repeat lessons. however before anybody starts to brag about them doing it 45 hrs - i just have 20hrs more experience