First solo: what if things go wrong...?
Why do it if it's not fun?
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Whirlybird asked:
Yes. Two, in fact.
On my second flight after passing my skills test, I had an alternator failure. I handled it ok, but I still needed a drink to calm the nerves afterwards. Since then, I've been involved in 3 more alternator failures - one as pax, one as PUT and one as observer on a test flight. In all three cases, my extra experience meant I was far more relaxed about the whole thing than I was the first time I experienced it.
I've also had to divert due to weather, with less than 100 hours. Again, I handled it fine, but it wasn't a pleasant experience. I've flown in marginal, deteriorating weather since then, and I've been far more aware of what's going on around me, both in terms of the weather and viable alternates. I haven't had to divert since that time, and I'd like to think that that is, at least partly, because of the lessons I learnt from the first time about staying on the ground if there's any question about the weather. But I also believe that, if I did get caught out by the weather again, I'd be in a better position to be able to make a diversion, and the whole thing would be less stressful.
So I think I'm probably in a position to say that low-hour pilots are capable of handling minor emergencies, but that this capability improves with experience. And I don't know whether "low-hours" extends as far as first solo.
FFF
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I do find myself wondering if some of the people posting here have ever been in even a minor "emergency", like an unexpected diversion due to weather, while still having relatively few hours
On my second flight after passing my skills test, I had an alternator failure. I handled it ok, but I still needed a drink to calm the nerves afterwards. Since then, I've been involved in 3 more alternator failures - one as pax, one as PUT and one as observer on a test flight. In all three cases, my extra experience meant I was far more relaxed about the whole thing than I was the first time I experienced it.
I've also had to divert due to weather, with less than 100 hours. Again, I handled it fine, but it wasn't a pleasant experience. I've flown in marginal, deteriorating weather since then, and I've been far more aware of what's going on around me, both in terms of the weather and viable alternates. I haven't had to divert since that time, and I'd like to think that that is, at least partly, because of the lessons I learnt from the first time about staying on the ground if there's any question about the weather. But I also believe that, if I did get caught out by the weather again, I'd be in a better position to be able to make a diversion, and the whole thing would be less stressful.
So I think I'm probably in a position to say that low-hour pilots are capable of handling minor emergencies, but that this capability improves with experience. And I don't know whether "low-hours" extends as far as first solo.
FFF
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Safety First!
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Emergencies with low time
In '94 I had an incident when I was in solo consolidation, and another soon afterwards (about 20 hours or so under my belt at the time).
The first was a burst oil line that seeped oil all over my windscreen. Noticing the rising temp and lowering pressure, I remembered my instructor's words and landed. Those words and encouragement to monitor the t's and p's constantly certainly averted a distaster no doubt.
The second was a bee that decided to take a shot in a million and fly straight up my pitot tube on takeoff. Again, thanks to my instructor's persistence in my early training that I fly by attitude, I was able to calmly circuit and land with no real stress, with 30 knots on the clock.
Never forgotten my instructor's words of wisdom,and I always make a point of sharing these incidents with my students. My pre-solo brief is also quite comprehensive and thorough as a result of these and other incidents since then.
Kermie
The first was a burst oil line that seeped oil all over my windscreen. Noticing the rising temp and lowering pressure, I remembered my instructor's words and landed. Those words and encouragement to monitor the t's and p's constantly certainly averted a distaster no doubt.
The second was a bee that decided to take a shot in a million and fly straight up my pitot tube on takeoff. Again, thanks to my instructor's persistence in my early training that I fly by attitude, I was able to calmly circuit and land with no real stress, with 30 knots on the clock.
Never forgotten my instructor's words of wisdom,and I always make a point of sharing these incidents with my students. My pre-solo brief is also quite comprehensive and thorough as a result of these and other incidents since then.
Kermie
A good instructor should not send you on a first solo without taking into account all factors, traffic density in the circuit being one of them.
Yes, all sorts of things might happen but at the end of the day you have to ask yourself whether or not you feel the student is capable of the task.
Finally, perhaps we should also remember that we seem to live in a world where litigation and liability have become more and more significant. If you are sending a student solo and you have not taken reasonable steps to ensure that he can deal with an inflight emergency then you may be opening yourself up to legal action thereafter should there be an incident/accident.
My father who was a veteran light aircraft instructor also mentioned the "self- survival" factor, ie if you are on your own in an aircraft you will do whatever it takes to look after your own neck!
Yes, all sorts of things might happen but at the end of the day you have to ask yourself whether or not you feel the student is capable of the task.
Finally, perhaps we should also remember that we seem to live in a world where litigation and liability have become more and more significant. If you are sending a student solo and you have not taken reasonable steps to ensure that he can deal with an inflight emergency then you may be opening yourself up to legal action thereafter should there be an incident/accident.
My father who was a veteran light aircraft instructor also mentioned the "self- survival" factor, ie if you are on your own in an aircraft you will do whatever it takes to look after your own neck!
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This all comes down to risk tolerance and our society seems obssessed with eliminating all risk. There are some occasions in life when you have to take a reasonable set (not an excessive set) of precautions and then cross your fingers and hope like hell nothing unexpected happens. I can't think of a better example of such an occasion than a first solo.
You can't eliminate all risk and if you're the type who wants to do so and lies awake at night worrying to excess about the myriad things which might just happen, you shouldn't be flying an aircraft.
QDM
You can't eliminate all risk and if you're the type who wants to do so and lies awake at night worrying to excess about the myriad things which might just happen, you shouldn't be flying an aircraft.
QDM
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After reading the "How long to solo" posts, I had exactly the same thoughts as you, Evo.
I soloed last week after 15 hours training. Only the last 3 hours of this 15 hours were circuits. Prior to this my instructor made me practice forced landings, recovery from full stall (both clean and full flaps, and from 15 degrees bank angle to simulate stalling whilst turning from base onto final) until my reactions and imputs became almost automatic. Similarily, a few go around with full flap and engine fire / aborted take-offs, etc. were thrown in for good measure.
Upon reading the number of people on PPRUNE who posted that they had soloed in 5 or 6 hours I did not think, "wow, what natural pilots", but instead, "how can an instructor have imparted sufficient knowledge in that time for a student pilot to handle anything other than a completely (hopefully) event-free single circuit". An ab-initio student would surely still be only getting to grips with basic handling and primary and secondary effects of controls after 5 or 6 hours.
I discussed the "how long to solo" thread on PPRUNE with a couple of instructors at my flying school and they suggested to me that to have demonstrated, practiced and completed all the relevant excercises in the JAR syllabus required to safely solo would take a minimum of 10 hours prior to starting circuits and a minimum of an hour or two of consistent circuits.
Its going to take a minimum of 45 hours flying to get your ticket so whats the rush about getting that first solo in prior to getting a little more experience.
My instructors view of when I was ready to solo at 15 hours was entirely consistent with my own judgement that I was ready, proficient and confident. I cannot imagine the posibility of first solo at single figure hours.
Mr. Wolfie.
I soloed last week after 15 hours training. Only the last 3 hours of this 15 hours were circuits. Prior to this my instructor made me practice forced landings, recovery from full stall (both clean and full flaps, and from 15 degrees bank angle to simulate stalling whilst turning from base onto final) until my reactions and imputs became almost automatic. Similarily, a few go around with full flap and engine fire / aborted take-offs, etc. were thrown in for good measure.
Upon reading the number of people on PPRUNE who posted that they had soloed in 5 or 6 hours I did not think, "wow, what natural pilots", but instead, "how can an instructor have imparted sufficient knowledge in that time for a student pilot to handle anything other than a completely (hopefully) event-free single circuit". An ab-initio student would surely still be only getting to grips with basic handling and primary and secondary effects of controls after 5 or 6 hours.
I discussed the "how long to solo" thread on PPRUNE with a couple of instructors at my flying school and they suggested to me that to have demonstrated, practiced and completed all the relevant excercises in the JAR syllabus required to safely solo would take a minimum of 10 hours prior to starting circuits and a minimum of an hour or two of consistent circuits.
Its going to take a minimum of 45 hours flying to get your ticket so whats the rush about getting that first solo in prior to getting a little more experience.
My instructors view of when I was ready to solo at 15 hours was entirely consistent with my own judgement that I was ready, proficient and confident. I cannot imagine the posibility of first solo at single figure hours.
Mr. Wolfie.
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went solo and could not believe the amount of power i had in hand without the instuctor. the heli just climbed like mad! first thought was " how do i get this baby to calm down??" and then all just fell into place. flying-instinct took over and i enjoyed it being alone up there. i still enjoy flying alone more than having someone next to me. a lot less pressure.
when i had to go do solo auto's... hehe... that's a whole different story!
when i had to go do solo auto's... hehe... that's a whole different story!
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Well, about 4 months ago (some of you may have seen this on the D&G forum at the time), there was an incident at my local airfield involving one of our club C152s.
A person on their first solo copped a freak crosswind on landing and was flipped completely upside down. The aircraft is a write-off and they walked away with some bruising. I have'nt heard if they have flown again since then.
Don't know if anything could have prepared them for this!
A person on their first solo copped a freak crosswind on landing and was flipped completely upside down. The aircraft is a write-off and they walked away with some bruising. I have'nt heard if they have flown again since then.
Don't know if anything could have prepared them for this!
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During my first solo I was completely on automatic, running the circuit routine, making the calls, adopting the configuration. My instructor said "you only go solo for the first time once, so enjoy it". Well I enjoyed the taxi after landing and the congratulations when I got back to the club house, but the rest was shear concentration
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I see the point Mr Wolfie makes - and certainly agree that a low hours solo isn't right for everybody, probably not even the majority.
As someone who went solo after seven hours I would argue that it doesn't necessary take 10 hours to get used to primary and secondary effects of controls before circuits can begin.
Looking back at my log book, it goes roughly like this:
hours lesson
1.0 ... Familiarisation, taxiing, primary and further effects
- ... 1hr walk-round brief
1.2 ... Straight+level,climbing,decending,turning
- ... 1hr circuit brief
1.0 ... Circuits, go arounds
1.0 ... Slow flight and stalling, ATC - talking to local MATZ
0.8 ... Circuits, flapless approach, EFATO
0.7 ... Circuits, EFATO, glide appreach
- ... 1hr PFL brief
1.1 ... PFL's with and without power, real PFL onto home airfield
0.8 ... Circuits, poor weather circuits, EFATO
0.2 ... First solo
Now I know thats not an exhaustive list, perhaps double the time would have prepared me even better, but I do think I'd covered most of the major things that could go wrong on the first solo.
Don't forget also to take into account that at a small airfield, it is quite possible to do eight or 10 circuits per hour, and with no holding and a practice area really close by, this can nearly double the actual amount of 'learning' packed into those first hours.
My instructor did say afterwards that I was a 'natural', but I prefer to think that the real trick was doing LOADS of preparation for each lesson and spending time afterwards 'replaying' in my head what happened and where I could have improved. On the odd occasion I've been in a rush or turned up late for a lesson I have learnt a lot less than when I was fully prepared.
Yes, there's a certain risk involved in an early solo, but remember, I jump in my car and drive 110 miles round trip to the airfield - which is more dangerous? I'm sure no experienced instructor would send someone solo (and risk their license and livelyhood) just to score points in an 'early solo' sweep.
Although I wasn't particularly aiming to solo early, on the whole, I'm glad I did it how I did. It was a huge confidence builder for very little cost in terms of risk.
As someone who went solo after seven hours I would argue that it doesn't necessary take 10 hours to get used to primary and secondary effects of controls before circuits can begin.
Looking back at my log book, it goes roughly like this:
hours lesson
1.0 ... Familiarisation, taxiing, primary and further effects
- ... 1hr walk-round brief
1.2 ... Straight+level,climbing,decending,turning
- ... 1hr circuit brief
1.0 ... Circuits, go arounds
1.0 ... Slow flight and stalling, ATC - talking to local MATZ
0.8 ... Circuits, flapless approach, EFATO
0.7 ... Circuits, EFATO, glide appreach
- ... 1hr PFL brief
1.1 ... PFL's with and without power, real PFL onto home airfield
0.8 ... Circuits, poor weather circuits, EFATO
0.2 ... First solo
Now I know thats not an exhaustive list, perhaps double the time would have prepared me even better, but I do think I'd covered most of the major things that could go wrong on the first solo.
Don't forget also to take into account that at a small airfield, it is quite possible to do eight or 10 circuits per hour, and with no holding and a practice area really close by, this can nearly double the actual amount of 'learning' packed into those first hours.
My instructor did say afterwards that I was a 'natural', but I prefer to think that the real trick was doing LOADS of preparation for each lesson and spending time afterwards 'replaying' in my head what happened and where I could have improved. On the odd occasion I've been in a rush or turned up late for a lesson I have learnt a lot less than when I was fully prepared.
Yes, there's a certain risk involved in an early solo, but remember, I jump in my car and drive 110 miles round trip to the airfield - which is more dangerous? I'm sure no experienced instructor would send someone solo (and risk their license and livelyhood) just to score points in an 'early solo' sweep.
Although I wasn't particularly aiming to solo early, on the whole, I'm glad I did it how I did. It was a huge confidence builder for very little cost in terms of risk.
Last edited by knobbygb; 16th Oct 2002 at 08:33.
High Flying Bird
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I went solo in under 10 hours too, but covered stalling, spinning, EFATOs, PFLs, and glide approaches first! I knew I was going to be sent solo because I felt ready, my landings were good, and consistent, and we did a circuit with simulated radio failure (with the tower flashing the green light at us).
I think pretty much everything that was likely to go wrong was covered, my instructor waited on the taxiway with a handheld transceiver, no-one else was in the circuit, and there was hardly any wind.
Nothing went wrong, but I felt confident all the way round that I could handle it, or at least make a good attempt at doing so, if it did. This meant I enjoyed it more too.
I think pretty much everything that was likely to go wrong was covered, my instructor waited on the taxiway with a handheld transceiver, no-one else was in the circuit, and there was hardly any wind.
Nothing went wrong, but I felt confident all the way round that I could handle it, or at least make a good attempt at doing so, if it did. This meant I enjoyed it more too.
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I solo-ed this morning at 14 hrs 25 mins total hours, which included 8h 55 in a Grob G115 then the remainder in a C172.
Prior to this I too had been put through numerous EFATO scenarios, practice forced landings, glide and flapless approaches and a "what if the field closes while you're in the circuit?"
The spur for my instructor to send me for my checkride prior to the final was the first time I beat him to declaring a go-around!
I can't with the best will in the world see how all this and general handling too can be covered in less than 10 hours, although I do have age against me (>50)
(edited for factual accuracy
Prior to this I too had been put through numerous EFATO scenarios, practice forced landings, glide and flapless approaches and a "what if the field closes while you're in the circuit?"
The spur for my instructor to send me for my checkride prior to the final was the first time I beat him to declaring a go-around!
I can't with the best will in the world see how all this and general handling too can be covered in less than 10 hours, although I do have age against me (>50)
(edited for factual accuracy
Last edited by PPPPP; 18th Oct 2002 at 17:23.
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Probably had no less than 5 pre-solo check rides with Dave Duckworth at Barton before I was declared fit to solo after 25 hours..quite a long time I suppose but I was ready quite a bit before then but sadly every time the CFI tried to clear me to solo,I flew absolutely appalingly (he had never seen a warrior fly at 45 knots before!! ).
The actual solo was a total non-event apart from being great in itself but I found the 3 hours solo-consolidation afterwards quite nerve-wracking for some reason.
).The actual solo was a total non-event apart from being great in itself but I found the 3 hours solo-consolidation afterwards quite nerve-wracking for some reason.
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but I found the 3 hours solo-consolidation afterwards quite nerve-wracking for some reason.
After that it was my chance to do the whole thing on my own, from walking out to the aircraft to walking in again, without any intervention from an instructor. I checked everything three times and will probably never be as safe again.
Well done, by the way, PPPPP. I live near Manchester and the weather this morning was absolutley perfect (when the fog cleared), and I was grounded - child-minding
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Is there increased risk at first solo? Of course. How could it be anything than other than that?
So, are we hitting on anything in particular here? (e.g. what does the industry, and customers with hindsight, agree are the minimum excercises?).
[me personally, #1 was fine, #2-5 all had some issues ranging from gusting x-wind, to spiral dive, to... well, I learnt alot early, scarily...]
So, are we hitting on anything in particular here? (e.g. what does the industry, and customers with hindsight, agree are the minimum excercises?).
[me personally, #1 was fine, #2-5 all had some issues ranging from gusting x-wind, to spiral dive, to... well, I learnt alot early, scarily...]
