Anxious: I even cancelled my flight lesson yesterday

For what it's worth, if you're commanding everything on the written and brainy side of flying but not commanding the airplane I would recommend some glider time.

You'll have a lot of fun if you truly love to fly doing some dual in a sailplane. The instructors in sailplanes teach you energy management which is key to good aircraft command.

It will give you confidence and help you feel the airplane and get your head out of the cockpit and fly it more fun-like instead of trying to think it down or anxiously trying to force the landing or the airplane around. :)
 
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Remember- even once you get your ticket, You decide the flying you love.

There are plenty of good pilots who love jumping into a j-3, 140, or other dirt simple plane with nothing but a quick check of the tanks, a glint in their eye, and the wet compass (aka rivers and lakes) to guide them.

You can usually tell them by the smile on their face :)
 
"Draining of agression before flight" is common, common enough that I'm quoting an aviation author, Richard Bach, here.

Maybe stick with it through solo, then take its temperture again? If you continue, there will be milestones that scare you. Real fear, from close calls. It will happen. You'll get a better feel for your tolerance for it after a little more time.

Your confidence will build, as you sort out the academic fluff from the practical lessons. Give it some more time, maybe? 25 hours is perhaps too soon to quit. But be honest with yourself, too; if you are miserable after a few solo flights, or scared, or very apprhensive, then re-evaluate flying.
 
XcaliburGirl said:
There have been similar threads to this already. Believe me, I've read them all several times. I still feel like I need to get my thoughts out.

I cancelled my flight lesson yesterday. I've got 25 hours (all dual), now flying weekly but I started with twice a week. I've been feeling distractedly anxious the day before every single flight and worse the morning of the flight. I've considered quitting, but then I read some encouraging examples of others online and push through it.

My anxiety seems to be from two main things.
1. Perfectionism and frustration at making the same mistakes repeatedly, plus not soloing yet.
2. Trepidation at being PIC, making mistakes, putting others in danger. I'm doing this for fun and because I love being in the air, and the responsibility seems to suck all the joy out of flying. I'm afraid if/when I get my private, I will avoid taking others up and eventually stop flying due to this pressure.

Yesterday, I got up early to do my flight plan for my second dual cross country. We are doing them to take a break from the pattern until I can get crosswind landings figured out.

I made a stupid mistake, like using my first true course as my wind correction angle, and had to redo several things. At this point I started my mind started wandering to the what-ifs, as in "what if this happened and my CFI wasn't there to catch it". I felt a little panicky and it broke my concentration. It was almost time to leave and my flight plan was only half done, I didn't have my weather briefing yet. All that, coupled with the doubts I've had for weeks just started overwhelming me.

Anyway, I ended up in tears and feeling so stressed that I called my CFI and cancelled. He seemed surprised, said I was a good student and not a slow learner. He pointed out that I already passed my FAA written and all my part 141 stage quizzes, so I've got the knowledge part down. He thought I was being too hard on myself, especially about the landings. We kept my next flight in two weeks on the schedule and left it at that.

I knew this was going to be hard work, but I didn't realize how stressed out I would feel. When I'm in the air, I do enjoy it until I have to land, or I'm drifting away from my heading, or I can't understand ATC, etc. This was supposed to be for fun, but I'm anxious about it to the point of avoiding thinking about flying during the week.
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I agree with your CFI that you are being too hard on yourself. You're not going to be perfect at this stage or ever. There are certain things that are more important than others. Mikeinbama mentioned a few of the big ones; don't get too slow, don't fly into IMC, don't run into terrain, and don't run out of fuel. Also, don't get so upset over one mistake that you let it snowball, especially in flight. This is fairly common. If you do something wrong and you catch it, let it go, at least until you are on the ground. Even then, don't obsess over it.

Hope things work out for you. Good luck.
 
Everskyward said:
I agree with your CFI that you are being too hard on yourself. You're not going to be perfect at this stage or ever. There are certain things that are more important than others. Mikeinbama mentioned a few of the big ones; don't get too slow, don't fly into IMC, don't run into terrain, and don't run out of fuel. Also, don't get so upset over one mistake that you let it snowball, especially in flight. This is fairly common. If you do something wrong and you catch it, let it go, at least until you are on the ground. Even then, don't obsess over it.

Hope things work out for you. Good luck.
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The thing I would add is to not let someone who has not met you to say that you're more of a passenger than a pilot. In my book posting that type of opinion is out of line without some firsthand evaluation.
 
First step, let it go. There is no perfection in learning to fly. All you can do is the best you can do. Relax and enjoy it and don't stress yourself out too much. As others have said, make one lesson a mess around lesson and just enjoy flying.
 
You will make mistakes. Just remember, very few simple mistakes in aviation are dangerous. Your wind correction angle example is a good illustration. So what? Sure, your course will be off. As you fly you will figure that out, when your expected checkpoints don't match up. Get too turned around, your worst case is to land at the nearest airport and figure it out.

In the real world, it's even simpler: you will almost certainly use GPS, and you will see instantly if you get off your course line.

Most errors are like that. The really dangerous errors are usually errors of judgment. Don't launch or continue into bad weather, don't launch or continue with inadequate fuel, don't do low level "stunts" or impromptu air shows. Most other errors are not a big problem.

You are human.
 
XcaliburGirl said:
Wow, I didn't expect to get so many responses in such a short time. Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond.......
Regarding my CFI, I do get along well with him and feel comfortable. I tend to be quiet though so I think he doesn't always know what's going on in my head..........
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Well heck... You sound like a perfectly normal woman to me...;).....:D
 
N801BH said:
Well heck... You sound like a perfectly normal woman to me...;).....:D
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:rofl::rofl::rofl:

On a serious note though, vocalize what's going on in your head during a lesson so your CFI knows what your thinking. My instructor and I talk just about the entire time we're in the air.
 
This thread seems full of great advice. The only thing I'd add is I think you owe it to yourself to at least solo and fly with another CFI before you seriously consider balling it up. Honestly, at 25 hours you're way inside the ballpark. Your not abnormal in any way.
 
I did not take time to read all of the responses but here is what I am thinking. You state that you are planning your second dual cross country but still have not soloed. In my non CFI opinion, you need to concentrate on learning to aviate, not navigate. How is your airwork such as your slow flight, steep turns, stall recovery, etc? Are you having trouble with consistent landings? You do not need to be able to plan a cross country in order to solo. I would strongly suggest that you consider another CFI before you even let the idea of quitting enter your head.
 
This may come across wrong, and I'll preface this by saying that in my real life, I am a teacher, but the OP needs to think about whether going through with her training is actually worth it. It is one thing to be nervous, in fact a good thing, but to straight away cancel a flight because of, what appears to me, not being able to correctly get a flight log done, is a bit concerning. If she is just a little nervous that's great because it will lead to prudent decision making, but we, more experienced pilots owe her a dose of reality here. Being a pilot in command is a serious responsibility and one that requires effective decision making, and to some extent, a great deal of regulation of one's own emotions. I'm simply saying that if the op is struggling with some of these tasks, she really should reflect on whether being a pilot is really right for her. In her original post she has a line that reads effectively, like she wondered what would happen if her CFI was not there to catch her mistake. We all worried about that as students but, to me, a key aspect of flight training is developing a confidence to overcome that fear. If that's not getting developed by 25 hours, something is going very wrong.

That being said, I would stress the importance of working towards a solo. If you can get up enough trust in yourself to take solo command of the airplane than that should prove you can handle practically anything that could come next. Stick with it if you think you have the ability in you, but be truthful with yourself. Flying a plane is not a 50/50 commitment, I view it as a responsibility to myself and anyone else who I may fly with, to be 100% committed to the flight.
 
With all due respect to jspilot: BS.

There are many things going on in modern aviation that are easy to get lost in the weeds and overwhelmed by. OP's instructor needs to get back to the fundamental rule: FLY THE **** PLANE.

everything else- XC, Nav Logs, comms, V-speeds, whatever- is ultimately noise.

Once OP realizes that, she'll probably be a much better , happier pilot.
 
XcaliburGirl said:
There have been similar threads to this already. Believe me, I've read them all several times. I still feel like I need to get my thoughts out.

I cancelled my flight lesson yesterday. I've got 25 hours (all dual), now flying weekly but I started with twice a week. I've been feeling distractedly anxious the day before every single flight and worse the morning of the flight. I've considered quitting, but then I read some encouraging examples of others online and push through it.

My anxiety seems to be from two main things.
1. Perfectionism and frustration at making the same mistakes repeatedly, plus not soloing yet.
2. Trepidation at being PIC, making mistakes, putting others in danger. I'm doing this for fun and because I love being in the air, and the responsibility seems to suck all the joy out of flying. I'm afraid if/when I get my private, I will avoid taking others up and eventually stop flying due to this pressure.

Yesterday, I got up early to do my flight plan for my second dual cross country. We are doing them to take a break from the pattern until I can get crosswind landings figured out.

I made a stupid mistake, like using my first true course as my wind correction angle, and had to redo several things. At this point I started my mind started wandering to the what-ifs, as in "what if this happened and my CFI wasn't there to catch it". I felt a little panicky and it broke my concentration. It was almost time to leave and my flight plan was only half done, I didn't have my weather briefing yet. All that, coupled with the doubts I've had for weeks just started overwhelming me.

Anyway, I ended up in tears and feeling so stressed that I called my CFI and cancelled. He seemed surprised, said I was a good student and not a slow learner. He pointed out that I already passed my FAA written and all my part 141 stage quizzes, so I've got the knowledge part down. He thought I was being too hard on myself, especially about the landings. We kept my next flight in two weeks on the schedule and left it at that.

I knew this was going to be hard work, but I didn't realize how stressed out I would feel. When I'm in the air, I do enjoy it until I have to land, or I'm drifting away from my heading, or I can't understand ATC, etc. This was supposed to be for fun, but I'm anxious about it to the point of avoiding thinking about flying during the week.
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Lots of good words on here, but something else caught my eye. Is your school a 141 only, or do they offer a part 61 curriculum? Some 141 schools really are just puppy mills and run you straight through the syllabus, nothing more. Maybe find a good CFI in a Part 61 school. Lots more flexibility there for the instructor to try to address some of the things the others have recommended.
 
warthog1984 said:
With all due respect to jspilot: BS.
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:yeahthat:

How many of us sit down and manually work out a flight log outside the training environment?

I'll use DUATS or Foreflight for any required calculations. Fuel stops are usually planned for cheap gas or a crew car for food.

For us spam can drivers flight planning isn't rocket surgery most of the time. It seems a bit weird to blast someone you haven't met for struggling with a school assignment.
 
The flight log part and the time crunch was just what set me off on a bad state of mind. So, I do understand that it's the self-doubt that I need to get over, not letting nervous feelings grow into a distraction.
 
XcaliburGirl said:
The flight log part and the time crunch was just what set me off on a bad state of mind. So, I do understand that it's the self-doubt that I need to get over, not letting nervous feelings grow into a distraction.
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Everybody is different. If you don't feel like flying, don't fly. It really is that simple. You're spending money for training and have the right to expect to maximize the value received during the training. If that means you want to take a day off, then take a day off. No CFI or internet poster is in a position to reasonably tell you otherwise. This carries over to flying as PIC later, all take-offs are optional...

I hope your CFI helps you come up with a plan to push your training forward to the checkride or the point where you (and you alone) say that it isn't worth it to go on.
 
warthog1984 said:
With all due respect to jspilot: BS.

There are many things going on in modern aviation that are easy to get lost in the weeds and overwhelmed by. OP's instructor needs to get back to the fundamental rule: FLY THE **** PLANE.

everything else- XC, Nav Logs, comms, V-speeds, whatever- is ultimately noise.

Once OP realizes that, she'll probably be a much better , happier pilot.
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I'm not sure what I wrote that may possibly make you write that I'm full of BS. I'm pointing out the very real fact that, pilots who are not confident in their own abilities are a danger to themselves and others around them. In fact, I'm the one pointing out something that may be the only true advice. Those encouraging her to continue without a pre-caution that she may be going down a path that is filled with obstacles are, in fact doing the disservice.

I agree that flight training is filled with things that are completely unnecessary, flight logs being one of them. What I'm talking about is, the OP needs to be experiencing things that build up her confidence. However, some people are not the type to have confidence built by increasing responsibilities. If the OP gets overwhelmed by increasing responsibility than that is something she should personally explore before continuing her training.
 
jspilot said:
I'm not sure what I wrote that may possibly make you write that I'm full of BS. I'm pointing out the very real fact that, pilots who are not confident in their own abilities are a danger to themselves and others around them. In fact, I'm the one pointing out something that may be the only true advice. Those encouraging her to continue without a pre-caution that she may be going down a path that is filled with obstacles are, in fact doing the disservice.

I agree that flight training is filled with things that are completely unnecessary, flight logs being one of them. What I'm talking about is, the OP needs to be experiencing things that build up her confidence. However, some people are not the type to have confidence built by increasing responsibilities. If the OP gets overwhelmed by increasing responsibility than that is something she should personally explore before continuing her training.
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I respectfully disagree..

The OP was venting and looking for advice from fellow pilots.. That is why she joined POA.... My opinion is for her to master the tricks of airmanship to safely solo, that will build her confidence ALOT....

She has admitted the the flight log tripped her up. She understands that episode.... I personally think she will be a good pilot as she is analyzing all aspects of flying..... IMHO...
 
N801BH said:
I respectfully disagree..

The OP was venting and looking for advice from fellow pilots.. That is why she joined POA.... My opinion is for her to master the tricks of airmanship to safely solo, that will build her confidence ALOT....

She has admitted the the flight log tripped her up. She understands that episode.... I personally think she will be a good pilot as she is analyzing all aspects of flying..... IMHO...
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We actually don't disagree at all. I said the exact same thing about working towards soloing in my first post. If she get's to that point I completely agree that she will make a cautious, good pilot because she clearly has a great respect for the potential danger of flying.
 
Clark1961 said:
How many of us sit down and manually work out a flight log outside the training environment?
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But the OP is in a training environment.

That said, and as I posted earlier...working on cross country navigation before getting solo out of the way is IMHO counter-productive to the training process.
 
jspilot said:
This may come across wrong, and I'll preface this by saying that in my real life, I am a teacher, but the OP needs to think about whether going through with her training is actually worth it. It is one thing to be nervous, in fact a good thing, but to straight away cancel a flight because of, what appears to me, not being able to correctly get a flight log done, is a bit concerning. If she is just a little nervous that's great because it will lead to prudent decision making, but we, more experienced pilots owe her a dose of reality here. Being a pilot in command is a serious responsibility and one that requires effective decision making, and to some extent, a great deal of regulation of one's own emotions. I'm simply saying that if the op is struggling with some of these tasks, she really should reflect on whether being a pilot is really right for her. .
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This is certainly one possibility. But not necessarily true in her case. I actually took off once to do a solo cross country during my training, and felt nervous enough to turn back and just put the plane away. I just wasn't feeling it that day. Same thing here, except she did it before she got in the plane. (Which is better timing, I think.)

To the OP:
I don't know if the piloting this is for you or not. I will say this: I killed the engine on short final, and I killed the engine doing stall recoveries-- both much worse than you have done here. (Maybe I shouldn't be a pilot :dunno:, but I am.) If you can learn and move on, you have a chance. If you let it paralyze you with fear, you won't.
 
I reached a 'hump' in my training as well as many others here. When you are on the upside of the tough part, it seems overwhelming. Then, at some undefined point in the training, things will begin to click. it won't all come together at once, but all those little mistakes will have a correction and you realize that you are, in fact, in full control of the plane, and can decisively apply the skills to the situation.

Most CFIs will see this transition, where you maybe input some rudder, and coordinate aileron effectively, and it becomes muscle memory, combined with that 'hey! look how well that worked!' feeling. The cause-effect of the plane becomes natural, or more natural, and you aren't 'fighting' things to accomplish your mission. When you feel that, a lot of frustration and emotional energy will be released and then training actually gets a lot easier.

Some others recommended it, and I will go along that you need to have command of the airplane on and near the ground before heading off for navigation. If you are making the same mistakes, with the same results over, and over, and over again, I think you need to step back and re-evaluate what you are trying to accomplish with aircraft handling. You must have complete control of the plane, including modest x-wind landings before you can solo.

Finally, I hesitate to bring this up, but there have been cases in the past where CFIs hold a student too long before solo. I have no idea about your skills, and no idea if this could even be the case, but going up with another CFI for an honest eval will find out real quick. For all we know, you were ready to solo 10 hours ago, and are just beating yourself up for that last, tiny detail in touchdown, or appr, or roll out. We just don't know, but another CFI can tell you pretty quick.

I think you're right before that 'hump' part where things begin to click. It's a frustrating time, but once over it, the process goes a lot faster, because you have good mastery of the plane. Hang in there.
 
I took about three years to get mine. I was in no hurry and my instructors didn't seem to mind either. We operated out of a small airport with no control tower so that may have helped. I felt a little like you did then too, (2002 ish)


Then I felt that same feeling again in 2011ish when I was returning to flying after I lost some body parts and a heck of a lot of my hearing and a few years of being on the ground. The hearing was by far the biggest frustration since I grew up flying around Podunk airports and now live and base at a Class C airport.

I'm glad I never gave up completely.

 
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Clark1961 said:
That doesn't change the fact that it's an out-of-date and pointless school task.
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And you know this, how? You're a certified flight instructor? You never did the task yourself while learning, yet you manage to fly well yourself without such training? You're qualified to render advice because you, unlike the others here, know the OP?

dtuuri
 
MikeELP said:
But the OP is
That said, and as I posted earlier...working on cross country navigation before getting solo out of the way is IMHO counter-productive to the training process.
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Respectfully disagree. Here is why - I was working a full time job, with commute I was doing 12 - 14 hour days. I dutifully studied my butt off every night, in fact studying exactly what I was supposed to be reading per the Jepp syllabus. I was part 61 following a 141 syllabus. I spent the whole week reading about cross country and showed up for my lesson to bang around the pattern for the hundredth time. Tried to ask some questions about VOR that I had after studying all week, got brushed off because "that's not part of the syllabus". Hello, law of readiness anyone ? Long story short it was a total buzz kill.

I discontinued flying with that instructor after that because of well... lots of things. I very luckily met a guy that had been instructing for 30 years. We talked about what experience I had while he looked through my logbook. He asked me what I wanted to do today. I promptly and enthusiastically said "cross country !". We went cross country, I had a LOT of fun. Next lesson we practiced some maneuvers, next lesson we practiced some landings and then he jumped out and sent me around three times. My enthusiasm was high and so was my confidence.

Not every learner is the same. Saying to do - A,B,C then D,E and F is not always the answer.
 
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SkyDog58 said:
I did not take time to read all of the responses but here is what I am thinking. You state that you are planning your second dual cross country but still have not soloed. In my non CFI opinion, you need to concentrate on learning to aviate, not navigate. How is your airwork such as your slow flight, steep turns, stall recovery, etc? Are you having trouble with consistent landings? You do not need to be able to plan a cross country in order to solo. I would strongly suggest that you consider another CFI before you even let the idea of quitting enter your head.
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I'll 2nd this post. I'm probably in about the same boat as you flying skills wise, no solo yet. In some ways you're ahead, I still have the written to do. No XC yet. I have maybe 5 more hours than you(probably, I don't keep track of the hours). I'm still trying to get the landings to click. I think that probably was a bad idea adding the cross country planning before solo. My CFI didn't want to discuss that till I get solo'd.

I would recommend taking an hour and just do some fun flying, maybe take a passenger up and do some sight seeing(for them, it is still practice for you) with the CFI. Some might call this wasting time, but when flying i'm not sure what a wasted hour is. Take some pressure off.
 
James331 said:
25hrs and no solo...

The biggest thing right off is solo, written and administrative stuff is nice, but right off the bat it's the solo.
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Worst advice ever. Every learner is different. A juvenile e-peen measuring contest about soling in XX hours is disingenuous.

You will solo when the time is appropriate. If going cross country makes you more comfortable in the airplane before you solo then go cross country. I refused to solo the helicopter until I could do a full down autorotation without any input from my instructor. This gave me the comfort I was looking for and proceeded to solo in 18G25 of all things, even though I was still had trepidation about doing a run-on landings without hydraulics. I didn't solo an airplane or a helicopter at the e-peen measurement of XX hours however I did finish both of my ratings in the FAA minimums, with confidence.
 
jaybee said:
Respectfully disagree. Here is why - I was working a full time job, with commute I was doing 12 - 14 hour days. I dutifully studied my butt off every night, in fact studying exactly what I was supposed to be reading per the Jepp syllabus. I was part 61 following a 141 syllabus. I spent the whole week reading about cross country and showed up for my lesson to bang around the pattern for the hundredth time. Tried to ask some questions about VOR that I had after studying all week, got brushed off because "that's not part of the syllabus". Hello, law of readiness anyone ? Long story short it was a total buzz kill.

I discontinued flying with that instructor after that because of well... lots of things. I very luckily met a guy that had been instructing for 30 years. We talked about what experience I had while he looked through my logbook. He asked me what I wanted to do today. I promptly and enthusiastically said "cross country !". We went cross country, I had a LOT of fun. Next lesson we practiced some maneuvers, next lesson we practiced some landings and then he jumped out and sent me around three times. My enthusiasm was high and so was my confidence.

Not every learner is the same. Saying do - A,B,C the D,E and F is not always the answer.
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I don't see how your experience relates to the OP. Doesn't sound like you were struggling with the pattern work prior to looking ahead to XC. Sounds more like the opposite.
 
dtuuri said:
And you know this, how? You're a certified flight instructor? You never did the task yourself while learning, yet you manage to fly well yourself without such training? You're qualified to render advice because you, unlike the others here, know the OP?
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If you'd change your tone to a polite one perhaps I'll engage in discussion. As it stands now, I won't discuss the subject with you. HTH and HAND.
 
it sounds like what most people here are trying to say......not me, but most people clearly are recommending that you post your pic. what do I know, I mean I'm just a low time pilot but the more experienced guys are saying to post a pic.
I'm not sure if that will help you, but if that's what they are recommending (not me) then it might be worth a shot.
 
eman1200 said:
it sounds like what most people here are trying to say......not me, but most people clearly are recommending that you post your pic. what do I know, I mean I'm just a low time pilot but the more experienced guys are saying to post a pic.
I'm not sure if that will help you, but if that's what they are recommending (not me) then it might be worth a shot.
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Yes, this is the most logical conclusion. :rofl:
 
jimbilly said:
I don't see how your experience relates to the OP. Doesn't sound like you were struggling with the pattern work prior to looking ahead to XC. Sounds more like the opposite.
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Well actually, I did struggle with landings (same as OP). Like the OP I too was only flying once or twice a week and did very well on the bookwork. Also, had an instructor as well as internet experts tell me I HAVE to solo before XC, so I was preoccupied with the thought of solo. Likewise, I was quite anxious about landings, holding headings and making mistakes. Lastly, I initially did it for fun and it became not fun.

Frankly, I'm struggling to find something I don't relate with the OP about.... :dunno:
 
jaybee said:
Well actually, I did struggle with landings (same as OP). Like the OP I too was only flying once or twice a week and did very well on the bookwork. Also, had an instructor as well as internet experts tell me I HAVE to solo before XC, so I was preoccupied with the thought of solo. Likewise, I was quite anxious about landings, holding headings and making mistakes. Lastly, I initially did it for fun and it became not fun.

Frankly, I'm struggling to find something I don't relate with the OP about.... :dunno:
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Thanks, I think that will be helpful for her to see!
 
jaybee said:
Worst advice ever. Every learner is different. A juvenile e-peen measuring contest about soling in XX hours is disingenuous.

You will solo when the time is appropriate. If going cross country makes you more comfortable in the airplane before you solo then go cross country. I refused to solo the helicopter until I could do a full down autorotation without any input from my instructor. This gave me the comfort I was looking for and proceeded to solo in 18G25 of all things, even though I was still had trepidation about doing a run-on landings without hydraulics. I didn't solo an airplane or a helicopter at the e-peen measurement of XX hours however I did finish both of my ratings in the FAA minimums, with confidence.
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Are you a instructor?




So it's bad advice to focus on solo and not go all crazy working on oral prep, x/c, and other post solo stuff?

Pre solo dual hours have no meaning :rofl:

When you instruct for a while you know how long things should take, everyone is different and a little variation doesn't mean much, but when you're going outside the averages by a decent amount it's a sign, just like a oil temp which is still in the green, but not where it normally is.



I told her to find another CFI and take the bad/different learning style possibility out of the mix and go from there, you disagree :dunno: think she should just keep blazing on even though she's getting so nervous in her training that she's canceling flights and trying not to even THINK about flying :dunno:
 
James331 said:
Are you a instructor?









So it's bad advice to focus on solo and not go all crazy working on oral prep, x/c, and other post solo stuff?
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I think, for some people, focusing on solo is counterproductive. Of course they need to solo eventually if the are going to get their license, but it may help some students to work on other things then come back to it. We heard from someone a few posts ago who did exactly that. Remember the OP and many here are doing this for fun. If the fun doesn't outweigh the worry, why do it? And why be so goal-oriented.?
 
I've found it best to have two parts to the PPL, pre and post solo.

Honestly the solo is when you can say you become a pilot.

The post solo tends to be all down hill, just study and refinement.
 
As has been pointed out before, not everyone is the same and sometimes a different approach works better. None of us know the OP as well as her CFI does. That is not to say that she might not benefit from a second opinion, but I also think that some people put an oversized emphasis on the timing for solo.
 
James331 said:
Are you a instructor?
Yes, I am an instructor.

So it's bad advice to focus on solo and not go all crazy working on oral prep, x/c, and other post solo stuff?
She is uncomfortable for some reason, until that reason is identified anything other than a fun flight will most likely be unproductive.

Pre solo dual hours have no meaning :rofl:
Meaningless pre-pubescent e-peen measuring contest

When you instruct for a while you know how long things should take, everyone is different and a little variation doesn't mean much, but when you're going outside the averages by a decent amount it's a sign, just like a oil temp which is still in the green, but not where it normally is.
When you learn how to be a great instructor, you know that not everyone fits into this neatly little painted box.


I told her to find another CFI and take the bad/different learning style possibility out of the mix and go from there, you disagree :dunno: think she should just keep blazing on even though she's getting so nervous in her training that she's canceling flights and trying not to even THINK about flying :dunno:
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I never disagreed with her finding another instructor, in fact I related my own story of how I went on to use another instructor. Reading is a skill. :yesnod:
 
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