PPL attainment questionnaire

[Whipping Boy's SATCO]

1. 39hrs
2. 1 (first time)
3. 34 days
4. Full time
5. 7.45 prior to solo
6. Don't know. I think it was taking my driving test 2 months later.

[Mobieus1]

Oh dear....another poll

1/ 55Hrs (Had different instructors towards the end of my training which did not help )

2/ 1

3/ 8 months

4/ Part time (Once- Twice a week)

5/ 5Hrs 40 mins

6/ Flying (had to wait a month for a good day to do skills test and on third booking did it )

[ajsh]

1. 74.3 TT

2. One (First Time)

3. 5 Months

4. Part-time mostly at weekends but towards the end was skiving off work to fly during the week.

5. 29 (Couldn’t get the hang of landing and almost gave up completely)

6. Neither really – apart from landing!!!!

[28thJuly2001]

1. 74 hrs.
2. Twice (b0ll0xed up the glide approach BIG TIME)
3. 11 months.
4. Part Time, usually twice a week.
5. 21 hrs
6. Hardest part was the weather and keeping motivated when grounded. Also had an ear infection which kept me on the floor for a few weeks. grrrrrr.

28th,

[Barney_Gumble]

1. 74.4hrs

2. 1

3. 23 months

4. part-time (e.g. weekends only) 3 lessons per month in summer 1-2 in winter wx dependant

5. 25.6

6. The Flying

[skytops]

Reason for poll

Thanks for your responses PPRuNers.

I probably should have mentioned why I initiated the poll...

As a recently-qualified flight instructor the deal I have is that I get to teach any students that I can attract to the school. So I'm spending a fair bit of time going out into the marketplace to try and interest people in gaining their PPL (going to Market days, Rotary clubs etc, anywhere there might be people with enough spare cash to afford to learn to fly).

So, I want PPL stats from a wide range of pilots, to be able to give prospective PPL students realistic figures of what it may take to learn to fly.

Please keep your stats coming in. (If I remember correctly from high school statistics, statistical validity begins with a sample size of greater than 35!)

... skytops

[AerBabe]

A valid sample size depends on the total population...

[Jolly Tall]

1. Hours logged => 49.3

2. No. of attempts => 1

3. Time to your gain PPL =>11 months.

4. Frequency => whenever aircraft/instructor available & weather co-operated (average 1/wk)

5. Pre-1st solo => 18 (ready after 13, but weather disagreed)

6. Bigger hurdle => by far the flying part. Agree with previous posters - exams were relatively easy

[Keef]

1 43 hours (the old 45 hour course) - I had to do another couple of hours after the GFT to qualify.

2 One attempt.

3 18 months (Oct 80 to April 82).

4 Very weather-dependent. Local club, about once a fortnight, weather permitting.

5 17.

6 The flying, definitely. Writtens were not a problem (apart from having to learn all that boring air law that I've never needed again, such as average passenger weights for W&B in aircraft with more than some number of seats).

[Hen Ddraig]

1. 52 hours 40
2. One
3. 41 years
4. Part time
5. 17 hours 20
6. The weather

[masseygrad]

1) 69 hours
2) 1
3) 3 sorties a week, weather permitting
4) 8 months
5) 13.5 hours
6) The flying and the weather

[tmmorris]

1. 47.0
2. 1
3. three and a half weeks (not counting a trial lesson earlier in the year)
4. Full-time, 2-3 sorties per day except when weather intervened
5. 16, if I remember correctly.
6. Flying - the exams were easy (lowest mark was 85% or so)

Tim

[G SXTY]

1) 49 hours 30 minutes
2) 1
3) 26 months
4) weekends only, every other week, with a 6 month break due unemployment.
5) 10 hours 15 minutes
6) The flying & exams were the easy bit. The real challenges were dealing with 'orrible wx, changes of instructor, paying for it, etc etc.

[Kolibear]

1. 52hrs
2. 1 attempt
3. About 18 months in total, but that includes a 4 month period when I didn't fly at all.
4. 3 out of 4 weekends at the start, but reducing to every other nearer the end of the course.
5. 16 hrs
6. The flying was more challenging, even though the course work took a lot of time to assimilate

[wet wet wet]

more stats
1. 54 hours
2. 1 attempt
3. 12 months
4. mainly every weekend (weather permitting)
5. 13 hours
6. the flying

[sunday driver]

A somewhat chequered learning process.

Gliding solo at 16, first PPL thrash at age 27, second thrash at 42.
First thrash - 11:55 hours to Ex12, Ex13 with afato - there's no doubt that the next session would have been solo, but I had absolutely run out of dosh, then met Mrs Driver, then mortgage, kids, etc.

So at age 42,
1. 49:10
2. 1
3. Just under 12 months
4. About once per week, occasionally twice
5. 7:30
6. Unlike your other feedback, I've always found the flying very straightforward. Technical and Nav exams were easy for me, Met. more difficult but interesting. (Air Law a complete bore - completely irrational and hopelessly put together. All words and no ergonomics. No surprise that it took me 2 goes).

[Northern Highflyer]

1. 60 hours

2. one

3. 15 months

4. saturdays only (3 month gap for weather just before 1st solo)

5. 27 hours

6. consistent landings

[KCDW]

1) 51 hours
2) 1
3) 9 months
4) twice a week
5) 12 hours
6) PFLs - bloody lottery!

[rustle]

sunday driver

"First thrash - 11:55 hours to Ex12, Ex13 with afato..."

Is an afato "afterburner failure after take off"