Flight lessons- Once a week adequate- or waste of time/money for PPL?

[tobnpr]

Like some, I've got a 50 hr day job- and a small "side" business as well.
Small FBO I've been flying with (under 10 hrs so far), CFI doesn't work weekends and I get the impression from our conversations that he expects 2 days per week minimum and doesn't want to be bothered if I can't commit to that frequency.

Not gonna happen with me. I'm fully aware that the skills are very perishable, but after having had to take a month off (work) he complimented me on the execution of my steep turns and pattern work as though I hadn't skipped a beat. I have a decent sim setup, and use it regularly as well and find it useful not just for flight, but the repetition of running checklists as well when I can't get there for a lesson.

It's common sense that flying more often is more efficient than less- am I being unrealistic thinking I can accomplish this flying weekly (on average- obviously, weather combined with juggling my jobs is going to shift this around)? I fully expect it will take more hours than it otherwise might to solo and ultimately the license, but I have no choice but to accept this tradeoff currently.

Anyone else here going/been down this path?

 

[eman1200]

Tell him to have a nice day and immediately go find another CFI that will work with your schedule.

 

[FoCoJayco]

I'm a student pilot who just received my solo endorsements today. Hopefully I'll be solo this week (weather permitting). I started flight lessons last Oct and have just over 39 hours. Most weeks I'd take 1 lesson per week, some weeks I'd get in two lessons, and some I'd get zero due to weather or vacations. I saw benefit in weeks I had more than one lesson, but that wasn't an option to do consistently for my work & family schedule.

Based on my experience and what I've read from CFIs, if you want to be as efficient as possible, book at least 3 lessons per week. If you're not able to do that, you can still be successful but it will take longer and cost more.

Edit to add: I was also waiting on my medical appeal; I was told by 3 CFIs (including mine) I was ready to solo a couple months ago but was held up by medical.

 

[Gilbert Buettner]

We see it all. I had one guy finish in six weeks start to finish. I had one guy take more than six years. Here in the north, lots of students suspend training in the wintertime because of limited daylight. For many, it's financial limitations.

I am available full time for a part time job. Three lessons today (the fourth was a no show at 8 this morning - I got to sit around for two hours without earning anything, and no, did not get a call or text that he was not coming). This time of year it is not unusual for me to fly every day for two weeks with no day off. But I love the job and do all I can to accommodate. Weekends? Of course, most people have jobs or are in school during the week. Early morning? You bet, I love to get them when they are fresh instead of at the end of a work day.

OP, look around for someone who will work with you. We are out there.

 

[rhkennerly]

I did it with an hour a week, sometimes two hours back-to-back. You need another flight school.

 

[Albany Tom]

If you went to the local diner, and they said "I'm sorry, you only eat here once a week, that doesn't work for us." what would you think? Maybe I'm being harsh.

I only had time to fly once a week for most of the first part of my learning to fly. Yes, it took longer. When I had a chance to take a week off work and fly 4 days in a row it was great. But I got it done. Now, if you asked "can I finish in 40 hours of flying time going once a week?", then I'd expect them to say probably not...but that's not how I read your question.

I started out with a goal of learning to fly. And I did. Secondary was getting the piece of paper. If you approach it that way, and are having fun as you go, I think you should go for it. Learning to fly is one of the most rewarding things I've done. If you want to do it, do it, get it done.

 

[FrankPilot]

Did mine in Aussie land about one per week, sometimes a bit longer, lots of home simulator time in between - no problems and it spread out the costs. Was useful to be at a school with many instructors - learnt different things from each of them. None of them said I should be doing lessons more often. Cheers.

 

[2-Bit Speed]

*must not make joke about the wasteful nature of all GA operations...*

Why are you flying? For fun or finances? For finances? He's right. The faster you get the license, the faster you get hired, the faster you start to earn money to pay for your initial flight lessons.

For fun? Who cares? Do you enjoy the time with your CFI and the time in the plane? Then there's no need to rush. Take your time, learn as much as you can, and enjoy the experience. If you aren't enjoying the time, find out why and work to rectify that. Maybe you don't mesh well with the CFI or something.

 

[4CornerFlyer]

I would recommend students try to schedule twice a week. On average 1 out of 3 scheduled lessons will be canceled for various reasons, such as weather, mechanical issues, the renter ahead of you being late etc. The cancellation percentage is higher for solo, and even higher for solo cross-country.

Of course real life takes priority over flight lessons for most people. Still, the instructor’s advice is sound, even if he comes on too strong about it. Two weeks is a long time to go between lessons, if you are trying to progress.

Jon

 

[mandm]

1-3 times per week is fine. Don’t think too much about it.

 

[sarangan]

Like some, I've got a 50 hr day job- and a small "side" business as well.
Small FBO I've been flying with (under 10 hrs so far), CFI doesn't work weekends and I get the impression from our conversations that he expects 2 days per week minimum and doesn't want to be bothered if I can't commit to that frequency.

Not gonna happen with me. I'm fully aware that the skills are very perishable, but after having had to take a month off (work) he complimented me on the execution of my steep turns and pattern work as though I hadn't skipped a beat. I have a decent sim setup, and use it regularly as well and find it useful not just for flight, but the repetition of running checklists as well when I can't get there for a lesson.

It's common sense that flying more often is more efficient than less- am I being unrealistic thinking I can accomplish this flying weekly (on average- obviously, weather combined with juggling my jobs is going to shift this around)? I fully expect it will take more hours than it otherwise might to solo and ultimately the license, but I have no choice but to accept this tradeoff currently.

Anyone else here going/been down this path?

I would say it is not the frequency of flights but how much time you spend reviewing and studying between lessons that determines the efficiency of learning. Flying more frequently will increase retention if you are the type who shows up for the next flight having given no thought to the previous flight. If you review and go over your flight, you can get by with less frequent lessons. I record all flights with students with a gopro installation and upload to youtube. I expect them to review, take notes and come ready.

 

[Vance Breese]

I love flying and I love teaching people to fly.

It is fun working toward a goal.

In my opinion if you’re not having fun either you have the wrong instructor or a poor attitude.

More often will likely be more efficient.

What is your compelling reason to be more efficient?

 

[Craig]

When I started, I told my CFI’s upfront that I had a job where I was on call 24/7, worldwide. Missed for several weeks and when I next saw the CFI, he wondered where I’d been. Told him I’d been in London for the last month. We’d generally fly once a week, but up to two hours at a time. Moved twice before I finished up half way across the country.

 

[Pinecone]

One flight a week will mean it will take longer until you are ready for your checkride. That longer between lessons, the more each lesson is devoted to getting you back to where you were at the end of last lesson, leave less time for new stuff,

That said, MANY people did their PP one flight a week. it can be done.

 

[Tai]

Like some, I've got a 50 hr day job- and a small "side" business as well.
Small FBO I've been flying with (under 10 hrs so far), CFI doesn't work weekends and I get the impression from our conversations that he expects 2 days per week minimum and doesn't want to be bothered if I can't commit to that frequency.

Not gonna happen with me. I'm fully aware that the skills are very perishable, but after having had to take a month off (work) he complimented me on the execution of my steep turns and pattern work as though I hadn't skipped a beat. I have a decent sim setup, and use it regularly as well and find it useful not just for flight, but the repetition of running checklists as well when I can't get there for a lesson.

It's common sense that flying more often is more efficient than less- am I being unrealistic thinking I can accomplish this flying weekly (on average- obviously, weather combined with juggling my jobs is going to shift this around)? I fully expect it will take more hours than it otherwise might to solo and ultimately the license, but I have no choice but to accept this tradeoff currently.

Anyone else here going/been down this path?

My situation is a bit similar to yours. I work full-time and the flight school I plan to attend is a 80-miles (round trip). Because of this, going twice a week doesn't work for me. However, the school has worked with me to fit in two 3hr-block sessions on the one day that I attend (6 hours of instruction). I'm not sure how much of those hours actually translate to flight time, as ground knowledge/instruction is mixed up in there.

I had my discovery flight last Friday and it went extremely well. My CFI indicated in his notes for my review for me to "start flying". I believe with their program, flight time comes after a few weeks of ground instruction. However, he was very pleased with my banking, knowledge of rudder use, smooth movements and my reaction to his instructions in the air during my intro flight. I've also been studying (PHAK & Airplane Manual) for 2 months and understanding major concepts of flight as whole. Because I've studied so much on my own and continue to take additional courses online, he believes that once a week for me (6hours) is sufficient.

I also have started a "diary/log" in which I indicate what I did that was successful, how I felt about it, what maneuvers we made and which items made me feel uncomfortable. I also made sure to recite the comments/tips my CFI made and what he did when he corrected me. I believe a careful analysis of any flight experience will help keep things "fresh" from week-to-week.

I think the advice given from others is excellent. I will definitely keep these comments in mind. You may be able to commit to once a week, but there may be a few opportunities that you can fit in a couple sessions a week.

The suggestion I have for you is what I have for myself: enjoy the process--learn the process and success will come.

Hope this helps and I can't wait to hear when you've completed the PPL!

 

[SebIp]

Mine has told me to go more than once a week now we are getting ready for check ride.

It was bad for a long while in their end of winter spring where weather made me missed weeks on end. Also doesn’t help he is working full time at a college flight program and can only do late afternoon or weekends.

The lack of multiple days a week is catching up with me. My flying is fine. It’s those specific task you need to do right for the flight test that’s getting me. And lack of time flying doesn’t help that.

 

[DFH65]

Depends on the person. Up until I got close to the test my lessons were at most once a week sometimes 2 or 3 weeks depending on the weather. I soloed in just over 9 hours and completed the requirements in 40. I felt ready for the test around 50. Then burned another 10ish hours waiting for the test. It took just under a year. Iincreased frequency as i got closer to the end. It can be done.

As much as some pilots want you to believe otherwise it isn't rocket science. We are not that special. Not saying it is easy but a person of average intelligence and average hand eye coordination is certainly capable of flight. Ask me how I know. Remember back in the day there were guys flying in combat with what some CFIs think people need to solo these days. One other thought people who live in the North often go several months in the winter without flying. The planes aren't falling out of the sky.

 

[Domenick]

Like others, I did it work fulltime+ and scheduling once a week until I soloed. Sometimes it would be weeks due to our wonderful winter weather in the GPNW. It definitely impacted my training by lengthening my time to solo. Once I had soloed, I could fly on my own schedule, so I wasn't tied to a single CFI scheduled time once a week.

 

[RyanShort1]

Once a week was all I could afford back in the day. You're the client. It's up to the instructor to try and make it work for you. Sure, he may be right that you'd finish faster and cheaper at twice a week, but if that doesn't work, it's still doable.

 

[Brad W]

I too probably averaged about 1x per week...
sure it might take a bit longer and therefore costs more...but why would your instructor care about that?!?
I wonder if it was based on a previous student that kept having to be re-taught the same thing over and over and over... just never got it
Anyway, I worked full time could pretty much only fly on weekends...and sometimes it was a holiday weekend & I would be out of town visiting families or whatever....occasionally travelling for work...but even more common the wx was bad. Sometimes schedule conflicts meant a plane or the instructor wasn't available. And perhaps even more than all that I didn't have an unlimited budget so I had to keep it throttled back!

Looking at my logbook it seems that through my PPL checkride, most months I have between 3-6 flights. A very few weekends I had 2 flights but mostly about 1 per week. There was a month with a single flight, and two months with zero... I kicked it up just before the checkride and had 9 flights the month prior and 8 flights the month of prior to the ride

I would say it is not the frequency of flights but how much time you spend reviewing and studying between lessons that determines the efficiency of learning. Flying more frequently will increase retention if you are the type who shows up for the next flight having given no thought to the previous flight. If you review and go over your flight, you can get by with less frequent lessons. I record all flights with students with a gopro installation and upload to youtube. I expect them to review, take notes and come ready.

I think sarangan is right about studying... I think it's really even more about you and how you process.
I recon for a lot of folks flying too often might even be less efficient than flying only once per week. What I mean by that is that if a person doesn't take time to process a lesson then by the time the next lesson rolls around they still don't got it...and would need to be shown the same thing again. Lots of variables in this... sometimes it's just about taking time to calm down...let fear subside.... think about it form a different angle...chair fly...or whatever.
An example of what I mean - The first time I tried snow skiing I never took a formal lesson.... I was in college and had some buddies try to show me how to snowplow for a few minutes and then I was on my own for the day while they went off to the bigger slopes. I was 100% absolutely out of control. At the end of the day I still had zero control....couldn't turn, couldn't stop...had tackled more people by crashing than I care to admit. Just one day and no more. But I had a blast.... during the summer I thought about it from time to time. The following winter, the very next time I out on some skis, I could somehow magically turn, stop, control my speed.... No lesson, no practice, but somehow processing it helped me to figure it out.

 

[tobnpr]

Appreciate all the feedback.
I fully understand it will probably require more hours than might otherwise be the case, but life "is what it is".
Thus far, there hadn't been any need to re-learn anything- each flight built on the last.
Something I always wanted to do; my son's an IP in the AF and I read the tea leaves- if I don't do it now, probably will never be able to enjoy flying with him some day...

I've told him- and same goes for everyone here that's earned their wings- I never imagined the tremendous amount of knowledge and the effort required to be proficient in the needed skills. Respect . Working my way through the ground school curriculum, I commit to at least 6 hrs/week on that and 4 hours on the sim. I'm determined to get there, however long it takes.

 

[cornell eyde]

Like some, I've got a 50 hr day job- and a small "side" business as well.
Small FBO I've been flying with (under 10 hrs so far), CFI doesn't work weekends and I get the impression from our conversations that he expects 2 days per week minimum and doesn't want to be bothered if I can't commit to that frequency.

Not gonna happen with me. I'm fully aware that the skills are very perishable, but after having had to take a month off (work) he complimented me on the execution of my steep turns and pattern work as though I hadn't skipped a beat. I have a decent sim setup, and use it regularly as well and find it useful not just for flight, but the repetition of running checklists as well when I can't get there for a lesson.

It's common sense that flying more often is more efficient than less- am I being unrealistic thinking I can accomplish this flying weekly (on average- obviously, weather combined with juggling my jobs is going to shift this around)? I fully expect it will take more hours than it otherwise might to solo and ultimately the license, but I have no choice but to accept this tradeoff currently.

Anyone else here going/been down this path?

Yep, when I started I had 1 day a week that I could dedicate to flying, I made it work. can you do 2 lessons back to back (with a small lunch break)?

The not working weekends stuff is nonsense, time to find a CFI that will work with you.

 

[Tai]

…No lesson, no practice, but somehow processing it helped me to figure it out.

THIS.

I think this is actually one of the most important points of learning anything for me. It’s the processing part. Reading and doing something over and over doesn’t actually make me knowledgeable about what I’m doing. I have to understand why (processing it) and that further enforces my knowledge of whatever it is I’m doing.

I think this is why some of us can be successful at flight fairly quickly and moreso than others. Some of us process things quicker…some at a slower rate. However, as long as we process it, we’ve succeeded, regardless of how long it takes.

Patience is part of it. I understand that I may spend more money by flying less each month. But I’m okay with that because this is something I want to do, and anything I strive to do requires patience on my part.

Excellent and helpful points mentioned in this thread.

 

[455 Bravo Uniform]

Try it. You might be someone for whom it all just clicks, or not, but by 4-6 lessons in you and your CFI will have an indication. Go for it!

My journey was less than 60 hours over 10 months - avg 6 hrs/mo though it wasn’t exactly linear (13 months, but I took a 3 month hiatus). I was in my late 40s. I don’t consider myself a particularly good (or bad) stick, maybe average. You can do it if you prep, focus, debrief each flight (I took notes after each flight, and focused on my suckage obsessively until the next flight).

Fly your procedures in bed, in the shower, on the crapper. I think you’ll do just fine if you’re totally focused on the goal during your free time.

 

[Clip4]

Too much work and too little flying isn’t a great combo.

 

[Pinecone]

Another thing that will make a difference is how you use the time between lessons. If you just go about your life and don't really think about flying, the longer between lessons the more you will need to relearn some things.

Chair flying is a good way to get your mind on your flying. Just sit in a chair and imagine flying the last lesson. Except, imagine doing every maneuver perfectly. Yes, hold your hands on a pretend yoke and throttle and make the proper movements. It really does work.

 

[SkyChaser]

Mental engagement between lessons is key. When I averaged it out after my checkride, I was taking one lesson every two or three weeks, and I was ready for my checkride at about 55-60 hours. Something that I found really helpful was using my daily commute to work as review time. If you have a long, traffic-less commute like I did at the time, you can use that time to practice radio calls, checklists, and maneuvers, and it doesn't even take up any time out of your day because you had to drive to work anyway. It also gets you used to doing something else that requires some of your attention while still running checklists and making radio calls.

Beware of practicing maneuvers in the car if tired, however. Especially if any part of your car is similar to the airplane you fly. I may or may not have almost pulled the emergency brake while driving at highway speed due to it's similar look, feel, and location to the flap handle in the Archer...

 

[sarangan]

Mental engagement between lessons is key. When I averaged it out after my checkride, I was taking one lesson every two or three weeks, and I was ready for my checkride at about 55-60 hours. Something that I found really helpful was using my daily commute to work as review time. If you have a long, traffic-less commute like I did at the time, you can use that time to practice radio calls, checklists, and maneuvers, and it doesn't even take up any time out of your day because you had to drive to work anyway. It also gets you used to doing something else that requires some of your attention while still running checklists and making radio calls.

Beware of practicing maneuvers in the car if tired, however. Especially if any part of your car is similar to the airplane you fly. I may or may not have almost pulled the emergency brake while driving at highway speed due to it's similar look, feel, and location to the flap handle in the Archer...

I remember many years ago learning the phonetic alphabet while driving by spelling out each license plate in front of me. And, trying to determine cloud types and base altitudes.

 

[Gary Ward]

I started training at 55 years old and had a full time job and many other things on my mind. It was suggested to fly twice a week. Flight school was 35 mins away. At first I was unprepared for each lesson and struggled with lot's of things like landing. Nothing wrong with my flight school as there was plenty of instructors and planes to fly 7 days a week. I could get on the schedule fairly easy then. I was assigned one instructor at first and then they started moving on when they got enough hours to get a job somewhere. I flew with at least 5 instructors during my primary training not including stage checks when I flew with chief flight instructors.
It was tough doing it while working full time. I was always flying at least one weekend days when I didn't have to work and was fresher than after a days work which I did many days. I started scheduling 3 days a week with one of them being cancelled by weather many weeks.
At the end which took me 16 months I was thinking about flight training 24/7 and taking a lot of time off work to get it done. If I wasn't so pre occupied at first I could have done it in a shorter amount of time.

Yup chair flying helped and so did sitting in my car after flight training listening to the aviation radio at the class delta airport I learned to fly at so I could master the radio.

Good luck with your flight training.