AirTalk.org Aviation discussions newsgroups   Archives   FAQ   Search   Memberlist   Usergroups   Register   Profile   Log in to check your private messages   Log in  "Frustrated newbie" update - solo soon?          AirTalk.org Forum Index -> Aviation (Students) View previous topic :: View next topic   Author Message kj5kb@hotmail.com Guest Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2004 1:06 am    Post subject: "Frustrated newbie" update - solo soon? Hi again, and thanks to those who posted helpful responses to my 'rant' in early Sept. Seems I have had much better luck with training since then....20 lessons, 23 hrs, as of yesterday, 20 Oct. Some good, some great, some lousy...all useful. But I taxi much better now :) Averaging ~ 3 lessons/week, not bad considering 40hr work schedule, married, instructors ALSO married and working other jobs, and of course, Ohio WX! Been in turbulence, mist, rain, crosswinds, gusts, calm, temps from 85-50 F; even got a taste of "in the clouds" when the ceiling was nowhere near what the ASOS said...but all good experience. Landings still need some polish... Went up yesterday and quit after 5 landings due to low vis and low ceilings...but all 5 landings were 'safe', and all on my own ( I had help on one approach, I found out). A couple were not 'pretty' but I was happy, considering my experience and a 10 kt x-wind component. Now it is my instructor (not me!) saying I should solo before the end of Oct...as in...we need to go over all the basics once more next week and do more consistent safe landings, hopefully solo by 30th, before the time change and we lose all daylight...then I guess it'll be weekend flying until I'm ready for my night training... He's even going to try to rearrange some 5 PM simulator sessions (with an instrument student) to 7 PM (after dark) for next week so we can fly more in the daylight. I KNOW he aint doin this for the bux, and maybe not even just cuz he likes flyin'...he's just a great guy! Maybe PPL sometime next spring...going to keep plugging away at it over the winter...Should be some lovely cold calm days once the autumn bluster is gone... Commenats welcome --Don Cessa/Piper/??? N-OTYET (maybe someday) Back to top NW_PILOT Guest Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2004 4:15 am    Post subject: Re: "Frustrated newbie" update - solo soon? I read in magazines that the average solo time is about 26 to 28 hours? After your Solo things happen really fast and the money seems to disappears out of your bank account even faster. If you really got the "aviation disease" after solo don't delay after Solo keep going like the energizer bunny you will be very surprised how fast the rest of the training goes. <kj5kb (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote Quote: Hi again, and thanks to those who posted helpful responses to my 'rant' in early Sept. Seems I have had much better luck with training since then....20 lessons, 23 hrs, as of yesterday, 20 Oct. Some good, some great, some lousy...all useful. But I taxi much better now :) Averaging ~ 3 lessons/week, not bad considering 40hr work schedule, married, instructors ALSO married and working other jobs, and of course, Ohio WX! Been in turbulence, mist, rain, crosswinds, gusts, calm, temps from 85-50 F; even got a taste of "in the clouds" when the ceiling was nowhere near what the ASOS said...but all good experience. Landings still need some polish... Went up yesterday and quit after 5 landings due to low vis and low ceilings...but all 5 landings were 'safe', and all on my own ( I had help on one approach, I found out). A couple were not 'pretty' but I was happy, considering my experience and a 10 kt x-wind component. Now it is my instructor (not me!) saying I should solo before the end of Oct...as in...we need to go over all the basics once more next week and do more consistent safe landings, hopefully solo by 30th, before the time change and we lose all daylight...then I guess it'll be weekend flying until I'm ready for my night training... He's even going to try to rearrange some 5 PM simulator sessions (with an instrument student) to 7 PM (after dark) for next week so we can fly more in the daylight. I KNOW he aint doin this for the bux, and maybe not even just cuz he likes flyin'...he's just a great guy! Maybe PPL sometime next spring...going to keep plugging away at it over the winter...Should be some lovely cold calm days once the autumn bluster is gone... Commenats welcome --Don Cessa/Piper/??? N-OTYET (maybe someday) Back to top tony roberts Guest Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2004 5:47 am    Post subject: Re: "Frustrated newbie" update - solo soon? Hi Don Sounds like you are having fun, and making great progress. That's all that matters. I have a feeling that we'll be reading your solo post and further adventures very soon. Tony In article <9gjgn01pu957t7ae844ekvlvdvv2mrifel (AT) 4ax (DOT) com>, [email]kj5kb (AT) hotmail (DOT) com[/email] wrote: Quote: Hi again, and thanks to those who posted helpful responses to my 'rant' in early Sept. Seems I have had much better luck with training since then....20 lessons, 23 hrs, as of yesterday, 20 Oct. Some good, some great, some lousy...all useful. But I taxi much better now :) Averaging ~ 3 lessons/week, not bad considering 40hr work schedule, married, instructors ALSO married and working other jobs, and of course, Ohio WX! Been in turbulence, mist, rain, crosswinds, gusts, calm, temps from 85-50 F; even got a taste of "in the clouds" when the ceiling was nowhere near what the ASOS said...but all good experience. Landings still need some polish... Went up yesterday and quit after 5 landings due to low vis and low ceilings...but all 5 landings were 'safe', and all on my own ( I had help on one approach, I found out). A couple were not 'pretty' but I was happy, considering my experience and a 10 kt x-wind component. Now it is my instructor (not me!) saying I should solo before the end of Oct...as in...we need to go over all the basics once more next week and do more consistent safe landings, hopefully solo by 30th, before the time change and we lose all daylight...then I guess it'll be weekend flying until I'm ready for my night training... He's even going to try to rearrange some 5 PM simulator sessions (with an instrument student) to 7 PM (after dark) for next week so we can fly more in the daylight. I KNOW he aint doin this for the bux, and maybe not even just cuz he likes flyin'...he's just a great guy! Maybe PPL sometime next spring...going to keep plugging away at it over the winter...Should be some lovely cold calm days once the autumn bluster is gone... Commenats welcome --Don Cessa/Piper/??? N-OTYET (maybe someday) -- [email]Indiacharlieecho (AT) hotmail (DOT) com[/email] Tony Roberts PP-ASEL VFR OTT Night Cessna 172H C-GICE Back to top Chris Ehlbeck Guest Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2004 2:41 pm    Post subject: Re: "Frustrated newbie" update - solo soon? Don, This might put things in perspective for you. I soloed 09/20/03 and had 27 hours when I did. I did have some problems with smooth landings. Then one day, mysteriously the problem went away. I landed better with a good strong crosswind than with winds right down the runway or calm for some reason. I took my check ride on 02/28/04 and had 66.8 hours (.9 complex for free!) when I left for my check ride. While here in the southeast we don't normally get the brutal cold, we do get weather that isn't very friendly to student pilots. I also had to go through an instructor change after my solo flight. It seems you're just about where you should be. Don't listen to those who say you should solo at 15 hours. You'll solo when YOU are ready. Good luck and have fun! Chris -- Chris Ehlbeck, PPASEL "It's a license to learn, have fun and buy really expensive hamburgers." <kj5kb (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote Quote: Hi again, and thanks to those who posted helpful responses to my 'rant' in early Sept. Seems I have had much better luck with training since then....20 lessons, 23 hrs, as of yesterday, 20 Oct. Some good, some great, some lousy...all useful. But I taxi much better now :) Averaging ~ 3 lessons/week, not bad considering 40hr work schedule, married, instructors ALSO married and working other jobs, and of course, Ohio WX! Been in turbulence, mist, rain, crosswinds, gusts, calm, temps from 85-50 F; even got a taste of "in the clouds" when the ceiling was nowhere near what the ASOS said...but all good experience. Landings still need some polish... Went up yesterday and quit after 5 landings due to low vis and low ceilings...but all 5 landings were 'safe', and all on my own ( I had help on one approach, I found out). A couple were not 'pretty' but I was happy, considering my experience and a 10 kt x-wind component. Now it is my instructor (not me!) saying I should solo before the end of Oct...as in...we need to go over all the basics once more next week and do more consistent safe landings, hopefully solo by 30th, before the time change and we lose all daylight...then I guess it'll be weekend flying until I'm ready for my night training... He's even going to try to rearrange some 5 PM simulator sessions (with an instrument student) to 7 PM (after dark) for next week so we can fly more in the daylight. I KNOW he aint doin this for the bux, and maybe not even just cuz he likes flyin'...he's just a great guy! Maybe PPL sometime next spring...going to keep plugging away at it over the winter...Should be some lovely cold calm days once the autumn bluster is gone... Commenats welcome --Don Cessa/Piper/??? N-OTYET (maybe someday) Back to top demonick@eek.earth.leek.i Guest Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2004 4:20 pm    Post subject: Re: "Frustrated newbie" update - solo soon? On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 21:15:19 -0700, "NW_PILOT" <N7676U (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote: Quote: I read in magazines that the average solo time is about 26 to 28 hours? After your Solo things happen really fast and the money seems to disappears out of your bank account even faster. If you really got the "aviation disease" after solo don't delay after Solo keep going like the energizer bunny you will be very surprised how fast the rest of the training goes. Once you solo and are signed off for out-of-the-pattern travel, you will progress as fast as your schedule and budget allows. No longer will you be dependent on both yours and your instructor's schedules, but only on your own. It took me half the elapsed time to go from 30 to 75 hours, than it did to go from 0-30 with first solo at 25. Good luck! Demonick Back to top Robert M. Gary Guest Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2004 6:37 pm    Post subject: Re: "Frustrated newbie" update - solo soon? "NW_PILOT" <N7676U (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote Quote: I read in magazines that the average solo time is about 26 to 28 hours? That seems really high to me. At that time you should be starting your solo cross country training. I would say around 12 hours or so for solo is the average I see. Some can certainly do it in 8-10 hours though. Of course when talking averages I would say the "average" student starts flight training 3 times before getting their certificate. -Robert, CFI Back to top Marco Grubert Guest Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2004 9:46 pm    Post subject: Re: "Frustrated newbie" update - solo soon? [email]rmg1 (AT) my-deja (DOT) com[/email] (Robert M. Gary) wrote in message news:<4252c371.0410221037.15b3b21c (AT) posting (DOT) google.com>... Quote: "NW_PILOT" <N7676U (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote Quote: I read in magazines that the average solo time is about 26 to 28 hours? That seems really high to me. Did mine at ca. 21 hours here in San Diego. To put it in perspective: good weather most of the time, moderately busy class D airports, changing instructors a few times, training once or twice a week (usually I spend 1/3 of the training time remembering what we did last week). - Marco Back to top Jay Beckman Guest Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2004 6:23 am    Post subject: Re: "Frustrated newbie" update - solo soon? "Marco Grubert" <grubertm (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote Quote: rmg1 (AT) my-deja (DOT) com (Robert M. Gary) wrote in message news:<4252c371.0410221037.15b3b21c (AT) posting (DOT) google.com>... "NW_PILOT" <N7676U (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote in message news:<Qv-dnfGUnbOsFOXcRVn-pQ (AT) comcast (DOT) com>... I read in magazines that the average solo time is about 26 to 28 hours? That seems really high to me. Did mine at ca. 21 hours here in San Diego. To put it in perspective: good weather most of the time, moderately busy class D airports, changing instructors a few times, training once or twice a week (usually I spend 1/3 of the training time remembering what we did last week). - Marco I also trained at a moderately busy Class D airport in Arizona where weather is rarely an issue, but all my flying was/is done mid-week and not on weekends so I was able to avoid peak traffic flow. Solo at 20 hours Checkride passed at 54 hours Averaged 1.3 lessons per week (rentention was an issue on a couple of occasions) Six different CFIs (if you count 2 stage checks and the checkride itself...) Jay Beckman Chandler, AZ PP-ASEL Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First         AirTalk.org Forum Index -> Aviation (Students) All times are GMT Page 1 of 1   Jump to: Select a forum Aviation----------------alt.aviationAviation safety EnhancementPlanes, gliders and flying in AustraliaAviation et pilotage (Français)rec.aviationAviation (Aerobatics)Hot air, gas balloons and airshipsHang-gliding, paragliding, foot-launched flightAircraft Design & BuildingInstrument Flight RulesAviation (Classifieds)Military AircraftNaval AviationAviation (Miscellaneous Topics)Owning AirplanesAviators (General Discussions)Aviation related productsAircraft RestorationHelicopters and rotary wing aircraftsFlight SimulationSailplanesAviation (Students)Light aircraftFlying related activities in the UK Airports----------------alt.airportsEdinburgh Airport Glasgow Airport Humberside Airport Luton Airport Aberdeen Airport Glasgow Prestwick Airport  You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2006 phpBB Group SEO toolkit © 2004-2006 webmedic.