Hours to solo. Is there an age trend?
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: London, UK
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Last year, 16 July 2000. Was 27 years old, went solo on 28.05 hours. For what it's worth I only fly once, sometimes twice a month, and my tuppence' worth is that it's nowt to do with age, it's to do with how often you fly and with whom.
I've now got 4 hours solo and am about to start nav training, with a view to finishing the whole shebang sometime next Spring. Hopefully ATPL theory after that.
I've now got 4 hours solo and am about to start nav training, with a view to finishing the whole shebang sometime next Spring. Hopefully ATPL theory after that.
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: New Zealand
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It's almost always a continuity thing. Too young can be an issue and so can too old (but I personally have never established those limits).
When you are ready - you know it as well as the instructor - although hopefully you are more surprised than he/she is when it happens.
Enjoy it - it only happens the once....
It's all uphill after that....
MG
When you are ready - you know it as well as the instructor - although hopefully you are more surprised than he/she is when it happens.
Enjoy it - it only happens the once....
It's all uphill after that....
MG
24 August 1981 4 days after my 18th birthday total time 7 hours on a Flying Scholarship.
Completed PPL at 39 hours.
20 years later as B 737 Captain and GA instructor I am still learning something on every flight.
Completed PPL at 39 hours.
20 years later as B 737 Captain and GA instructor I am still learning something on every flight.
Join Date: Nov 1999
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19 Years old and 8 hours, the instructor was keen on me beating a very arrogant group of RAF cadets, managed to do it by an hour or so. In the end secured my ppl in 42 hours.
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Flaps to 60,
Thankyou for your kind concern but all my instructors are very good and each briefing is extensive. I said I had 3 hours but that wasnt including my trial lesson ( because I had it a year ago ) which would bring it up to 3.5 hours altogether. We have covered everything up to ex 9 and done it properly and past exercises are always incorporated into the next lesson to bring it all together. Obviously im not perfect but Im getting better and wont be on circuits too soon. Ive still got to do slow flight, stalls and spins before circuits so that puts it a good 2 lessons away and maybe some brushing up on flying skills so I wouldnt imagine Id be doing circuits before 2 more hours, absolute earliest.
Circuits incorporate lots of things: straight and level, turning, climbing , descending etc and it takes longer to learn to land Tiger Moths so I will be on circuits for ages. I dont know if you got the impression that i was going solo in under 10 hours or something but im not: itll probably be about 20 earliest, but that is a vague guess.
And by the way, there is a lot of talk of its better to take ages to solo than to crash but how many people on their solos actually do crash?
Thankyou for your kind concern but all my instructors are very good and each briefing is extensive. I said I had 3 hours but that wasnt including my trial lesson ( because I had it a year ago ) which would bring it up to 3.5 hours altogether. We have covered everything up to ex 9 and done it properly and past exercises are always incorporated into the next lesson to bring it all together. Obviously im not perfect but Im getting better and wont be on circuits too soon. Ive still got to do slow flight, stalls and spins before circuits so that puts it a good 2 lessons away and maybe some brushing up on flying skills so I wouldnt imagine Id be doing circuits before 2 more hours, absolute earliest.
Circuits incorporate lots of things: straight and level, turning, climbing , descending etc and it takes longer to learn to land Tiger Moths so I will be on circuits for ages. I dont know if you got the impression that i was going solo in under 10 hours or something but im not: itll probably be about 20 earliest, but that is a vague guess.
And by the way, there is a lot of talk of its better to take ages to solo than to crash but how many people on their solos actually do crash?
Join Date: Jan 2000
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Tiger
3.5 hours still sounds a little on the low side but i didn't know that you were doing it in a Tiger Moth. If it has no flaps then then 3.5 might be ok but I can't comment as I have no experince flying them.
Sorry if I ranted a bit ealier but as an instructor it is very disheartning when you see other so called professionals extracting the urine with other peoples money and more importantly lives with poor training.
You will never forget your first solo and as I tell all my students dont rush it will happen when it happens.
3.5 hours still sounds a little on the low side but i didn't know that you were doing it in a Tiger Moth. If it has no flaps then then 3.5 might be ok but I can't comment as I have no experince flying them.
Sorry if I ranted a bit ealier but as an instructor it is very disheartning when you see other so called professionals extracting the urine with other peoples money and more importantly lives with poor training.
You will never forget your first solo and as I tell all my students dont rush it will happen when it happens.
Join Date: Aug 2001
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Tiger_ Moth
I didnt say it happens on a daily basis, but when students gets sent on solos with inadequate training there are a bigger chance for mistakes, which can have dire results in the WORST case scenario. Ofcourse that doesnt mean that a student should be held back if he/she is ready. Everyone is different, and when I quoted my estimate of around 17 hours I felt that thats a safe and not excessive amount of hours. There is still 23 hours left until you reach the 40 hour FAR/US limit, and most students end up with 45-50 hours for their private lisence.
Knowing this, I rather give a couple of hours extra dual given to make sure the student doesnt end up having a terrible expirience when he/she goes solo for the first time. It happens very seldom, but one time is one time too many.
I didnt say it happens on a daily basis, but when students gets sent on solos with inadequate training there are a bigger chance for mistakes, which can have dire results in the WORST case scenario. Ofcourse that doesnt mean that a student should be held back if he/she is ready. Everyone is different, and when I quoted my estimate of around 17 hours I felt that thats a safe and not excessive amount of hours. There is still 23 hours left until you reach the 40 hour FAR/US limit, and most students end up with 45-50 hours for their private lisence.
Knowing this, I rather give a couple of hours extra dual given to make sure the student doesnt end up having a terrible expirience when he/she goes solo for the first time. It happens very seldom, but one time is one time too many.
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Flaps, you werent ranting i can see you were just concerned but all the instructors at the club are very good professionals and they dont actually get paid, they are just doing it because they like to and I dont feel at all rushed. Also I probably wont be soloing soon because just because you've covered say turns and have gone onto climbing youll still be coming back to turns all the time until everything fits together and can be integrated accurately. Everything is treated individually at the start but its starting to be more merged together, eg: turn back to the airfield and descend to 1000 rather than just turn to the airfield.
Join Date: Mar 2001
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10:15 to solo, 46:15 to licence.
incidently i did a touch and go on 1st solo,
my fi suggested it, as he said, if you're ready to do it, you may as well enjoy the moment with another one!
great feeling flying downwind second time, knowing you've already done it.
is this unique?(definetly recommend it)
incidently i did a touch and go on 1st solo,
my fi suggested it, as he said, if you're ready to do it, you may as well enjoy the moment with another one!
great feeling flying downwind second time, knowing you've already done it.
is this unique?(definetly recommend it)
