View Poll Results: After how many hours of training did you go for you first ever solo?
10-12 hours
197
33.91%
13-15 hours
107
18.42%
16-18 hours
62
10.67%
19-21 hours
47
8.09%
22+ hours
53
9.12%
Less than 10
115
19.79%
Voters: 581. This poll is closed
After how many hours did you go for your first solo?
www.harvsair.com
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Canada
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First solo times
Average for our school is 14 hours to first solo. A HUGE variable is how frequently the student flies. "Full time" students usually solo within the first week of starting. Students with less then 10 hours to solo often have an aviation background. The low record is 5 hours, the highest highest we had was 33 hours (over 3 years).
Adam
www.harvsair.com
Adam
www.harvsair.com
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Surrey, UK
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Today - could the weather have been any better? (15 hrs 40). After approaching for a touch and go, landing well, suddenly my instructor took control and told the tower we were going to do a full stop. I thought there was something seriously wrong! He jumped out and off I went.
What a feeling!
Cheers
Steve
What a feeling!
Cheers
Steve
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: UK
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SteveQB
What a lovely day it was! The rest of the week will be like this.
What airport or flying school did you fly from?
Good luck with the rest of your ppl.
My first solo flight was at 11hrs. Completed my ppl after 46hrs in 5 weeks, with 1 week of bad weather in between.
EKE
What a lovely day it was! The rest of the week will be like this.
What airport or flying school did you fly from?
Good luck with the rest of your ppl.
My first solo flight was at 11hrs. Completed my ppl after 46hrs in 5 weeks, with 1 week of bad weather in between.
EKE
Join Date: Nov 2002
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First solo back in the late sixties.
Was in that beautiful little fully aerobatic 2 seat Aussie designed and built Victa Airtourer.
Didn't break any records achieving it in 7.5 hours but I was only 16!
Had to be driven to Moorabbin airport (Melbourne), too young for driver's licence. But who cared about driving, I could fly!!
Now flying and doing aerobatics in the bigger brother, the ex-air force CT-4/A.
Was in that beautiful little fully aerobatic 2 seat Aussie designed and built Victa Airtourer.
Didn't break any records achieving it in 7.5 hours but I was only 16!
Had to be driven to Moorabbin airport (Melbourne), too young for driver's licence. But who cared about driving, I could fly!!
Now flying and doing aerobatics in the bigger brother, the ex-air force CT-4/A.
Join Date: Aug 2002
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Thanks VM EKE. It was from Booker (High Wycombe). I'm getting frustrated now, I would normally have lessons booked for Thu and Fri, but my instructor is on holiday, so i will miss the weather. Grrrr.
Join Date: Jul 2002
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11.2 hrs in PA-38 in sunny Nelson.
That was back in January, waiting more money before I can continue...
The grin lasted for weeks!
Rottenlungs
That was back in January, waiting more money before I can continue...
The grin lasted for weeks!
Rottenlungs
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Hi folks
12hrs when the instructor jumped off the plane and let me go on my own... I have to say that I wonder how people can solo after 5 or 6 hours with nil experience prior to start....!!!??? Unless your objective is to go solo in the minimum time and your training is intensive and covers many things at the same time, how can you possibly do it?
For example:
1 hour for effects controls....
1 hour for straight and level flight.....
1 hour for medium level turns....
1 hour for stalls....
1 hour for the incipient stages of the stall....
1 hour for climbs/descents.... with climbing/descending turns....
1 hour of circuits....
Briefing on emergency procedures (EFATO, flapless approach....) = 1 hour.....
That's already 8 hours and I probably forget things..... So unless all these aspects of training are learned in a rush, I think it is very difficult to go solo after only a few hours, if not impossible....
What's the value of learning all these in a rush anyway?
Cheers
12hrs when the instructor jumped off the plane and let me go on my own... I have to say that I wonder how people can solo after 5 or 6 hours with nil experience prior to start....!!!??? Unless your objective is to go solo in the minimum time and your training is intensive and covers many things at the same time, how can you possibly do it?
For example:
1 hour for effects controls....
1 hour for straight and level flight.....
1 hour for medium level turns....
1 hour for stalls....
1 hour for the incipient stages of the stall....
1 hour for climbs/descents.... with climbing/descending turns....
1 hour of circuits....
Briefing on emergency procedures (EFATO, flapless approach....) = 1 hour.....
That's already 8 hours and I probably forget things..... So unless all these aspects of training are learned in a rush, I think it is very difficult to go solo after only a few hours, if not impossible....
What's the value of learning all these in a rush anyway?
Cheers
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22 Hours - after learning with with a well since 'gone' school who used to hours build, ie. 4 hours instruments, steep turns etc all before 1st solo.
I had a blazing argument all the way down finals with my instructor accusing them of hours building and said I wanted to land of this one and I was going elsewhere ......... to my amazement he got out and sent me solo !
PS : That was 16 years ago, I now have >6000 hours an GA instructor and airline pilot for a major flag carrier.
At the end of the day it doesn't matter how many hours it takes. Having 1000's of hours instructing nowadays I would say everyone is different, plus weather considerations in the UK its sometimes better to keep people flying ....
Some people go solo early but struggle with nav ..... generally the younger and keener people are the quicker they go solo .... but sometimes you get a student who has 'mental block' on landings ..... my philosphy is to send people asap before they go off the boil assuming they are safe ......
Happy Flying !
I had a blazing argument all the way down finals with my instructor accusing them of hours building and said I wanted to land of this one and I was going elsewhere ......... to my amazement he got out and sent me solo !
PS : That was 16 years ago, I now have >6000 hours an GA instructor and airline pilot for a major flag carrier.
At the end of the day it doesn't matter how many hours it takes. Having 1000's of hours instructing nowadays I would say everyone is different, plus weather considerations in the UK its sometimes better to keep people flying ....
Some people go solo early but struggle with nav ..... generally the younger and keener people are the quicker they go solo .... but sometimes you get a student who has 'mental block' on landings ..... my philosphy is to send people asap before they go off the boil assuming they are safe ......
Happy Flying !
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12hrs when the instructor jumped off the plane and let me go on my own... I have to say that I wonder how people can solo after 5 or 6 hours with nil experience prior to start....!!!??? Unless your objective is to go solo in the minimum time and your training is intensive and covers many things at the same time, how can you possibly do it?
8.0 hours BTW
Join Date: Mar 2002
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8 hours 5 minutes in a Cessna 150a on an ATC Flying Scholarship at Carlisle in August 1967. I felt ready to go at 6 hrs 30 mins, but my instructor for the next hour or so wasn't qualified to send me solo. By the time it arived I was fed up waiting and hed gone off peak somewhat.
Anybody else with that problem??
Looking at my logbook, we spent very little time on the early exercises, I suspect we must have logged take off to landing rather than chock to chock.
Anybody else with that problem??
Looking at my logbook, we spent very little time on the early exercises, I suspect we must have logged take off to landing rather than chock to chock.
Join Date: May 2003
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8.10 but the 250 gliding hours and 7 years in the airforce as an engineer probably helped.
Time to go solo means very little I think more consistancy on having lessons.
Good luck to all those waiting to kick out the instructor!
Time to go solo means very little I think more consistancy on having lessons.
Good luck to all those waiting to kick out the instructor!
PINKS WORLD THROUGH ROSE COLOURED SPECS
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Happy and content again back in the house on the beach ,baking on the AGA and flying around my highland home . emmmmmmmm
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first solo saga
Ooopps
Looks like i've gone and written solo saga in the wrong bit.
I've just done it in 24 ,which i was pretty pleased with until i read all the other much shorter times. I feel my self esteme lowering again.
Phnuff
You asked for any interesting stories about solo attemps, if you are interested in mine i'ts on
MAD JOCKS PINK HEADET bit.
I am the pink head set queen.
I's to long to repeat , i found it quite an exsperiance, but others may not be as amused .
I's on page 4 of pink headset.
I hope my instructers do not see this though as i've been told to get off pprune and spend that time reading and start passing some more exams.
He right of course , but this is easier and more fun than hard books.
Ho hum ,back to air law.
PINK-AVIATOR
Looks like i've gone and written solo saga in the wrong bit.
I've just done it in 24 ,which i was pretty pleased with until i read all the other much shorter times. I feel my self esteme lowering again.
Phnuff
You asked for any interesting stories about solo attemps, if you are interested in mine i'ts on
MAD JOCKS PINK HEADET bit.
I am the pink head set queen.
I's to long to repeat , i found it quite an exsperiance, but others may not be as amused .
I's on page 4 of pink headset.
I hope my instructers do not see this though as i've been told to get off pprune and spend that time reading and start passing some more exams.
He right of course , but this is easier and more fun than hard books.
Ho hum ,back to air law.
PINK-AVIATOR
Join Date: May 2003
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13.1 hrs for mine, was on holiday for a week beforehand, flew back with JMC from Portugal, got to look in the 320 cockpit and talk to pilots before desc into EGGD, this was the Sunday, on the Tuesday I went solo for the first time, was in a hold at EGGD for 15 minutes, the wife and instructor were getting somewhat concerned because I had not returned LOL, anyway, on finals Alison the ATC at EGGD just came on duty to report a 737 (no details were known at the time about what plane and what airline) had just gone into the WTC, i was so horrified I nearly had to go-around, so yes, I done my first solo at THE time the first plane hit the WTC on Sept 11th 2001, I guess you can say I will never forget it,
that was the last time I will be able to go to the cockpit of an A320 too
that is of course until I get my CPL and get rated on one 
Dean (Bristol)
that was the last time I will be able to go to the cockpit of an A320 too
that is of course until I get my CPL and get rated on one Dean (Bristol)