Solo flight poll

[KatieB]

I remember that once the airport "geezers" (said with utmost love and respect) started hounding me about how I was just about ready for SOLO, my performance went down considerably. I suddenly felt pressure of eyes watching. It was no longer about me learning naturally, it was about what other people thought! Finally I told them that I did not want to hear that "solo" word EVER AGAIN until it happened... they listened, and it happened a week or so later.

I spent 15 hours over a whole year of sporadic weekend lessons in a 1946 Taylorcraft on grass with no electrical system and an 82-year-old local legend of an instructor... the whole experience was PRICELESS. When you're ready, your CFI will boot you out of the nest. Try not to think about it. If you're not expecting it, then you won't have time to psych yourself out.

[compjtc]

Congrats on getting ready to solo! Exciting stuff! I suspect many pilots remember their first solo. I remember mine.

Just know that the results of your poll are completely meaningless. Many factors go into when a student is ready to solo, including airspace considerations, weather, and instructor bias.

There's no prize for getting a license or doing a solo in the least amount of hours. I think the opposite; there is value in having a few more instruction hours. Those extra hours might very well mean that you're better prepared for whatever.

Good luck with the training!

[RV7Ron]

It depends a lot on the environment too. At a flight school (rather than independent) they are ultra-conservative these days. A mishap can shut down a business. I had to do a checkride with the chief flight instructor before I could solo....not like it was 30 yrs ago. I dont know anyone at my flight school that soloed in under 10 hours...just not going to happen even if you are ready, it was usually more like 15-20 hrs.

Don't worry about the number, the worst thing you can do is compare yourself to everyone else. Just enjoy the experience...whether it is 10, 20 or 30 hrs doesnt matter, you're gonna love it!

[schaplerrh]

I too soloed in a Taylorcraft with no electrical system off an uncontrolled field, and my instructor was circa age 82. Where and when did this happen for you? For me, I was in high school in Portland at long-gone Evergreen airport near Vancouver, Washington.

Robert
RV-7

[RV8iator]

Just found the old and first logbook...

7.2 hours before solo..35.2 for PPL checkride. Course.. that was in 1968.

[Waterobert]

Thank you for all the kind words. I do feel like I am ready, however, been 46 years old, I do see value in spending $160 for another hour of traning over taking extra risk.

[Waterobert]

Thank you for all the kind words. I do feel like I am ready, however, been 46 years old, I do see value in spending $160 for another hour of traning over taking extra risk.

[Auburntsts]

Originally Posted by Waterobert

Thank you for all the kind words. I do feel like I am ready, however, been 46 years old, I do see value in spending $160 for another hour of traning over taking extra risk.

OK story time. I soloed at 11hrs and took my checkride at 55hrs. I could have easily done the checkride at 45hrs but didn't feel ready. So I kept going up solo. My CFI saw me one day and asked what I was doing. She looked at my logbook and basically made me schedule the checkride while she watched. I'm not saying going up with the CFI is bad a thing if you really don't feel ready, I'm just saying you most likely are ready especially if the CFI thinks you are--you just don't have a warm and fuzzy about it which makes most folks uncomfortable--instinctually we're a risk averse lot. It's a big step, but sometimes you got to a take a deep breath, say WTF, and just do it.

[bhester]

I think it matters more how long it took you to get to your solo point. Someone that get 7 hrs in one week will more likely be ready to solo than a person that took 4 weeks to get 14 hrs. Its kind of like learning to ride a bike. If you try alot in one day you could do it, but if you try a little for four days you might still be trying.

[rightrudder]

Hey Robert,

Wow, I'm excited for you! I solo'd back in in 2006, but I can remember it as vividly as yesterday. No warning whatsoever....my instructor told me to kill the engine, hopped out on the taxiway with a handheld radio, and said, "You're ready. Give me three take-offs and landings." It was scary, thrilling, empowering, this whole flying thing with no safety net in the right seat.

The instructor knows. The training kicks in and you'll be fine.

Come by sometime and check out the -9A...glassing the windscreen now. Should be ready for the hangar move around the first of the year.

--Doug