Getting Ready to Solo

Nash Patrick

Nash Patrick

Filing Flight Plan
Joined
Jan 20, 2017
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5
Location
Wakarusa, Indiana
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Display name:
Nashpatrick927
I am a new pilot and have only been flying for about 6 months. My father is a pilot and I am 16 years old getting ready for my first solo flight. I have accumulated about 7 hours so far. My instructor seems pretty confident in my ability and has given me my pre-solo take home test so I'm assuming it will be coming up here soon. Would any of your guys have advice for me?
 
Don't be in a rush to solo. If your CFI is doing his/her job, you have to be exposed to stalls, slow flight, simulated forced landings, emergency procedures, a ton of take offs and landings before you solo. Be a safe pilot, and know what to do if something doesn't go as planned. That is more important then doing your solo in as few hours as possible.
 
1. Just remember you have the go around as an option.
2. If there is lots of traffic, you can say "This is my first solo"
I had a guy doing a GPS approach when I was on base on my 1st solo and It didn't occur to me at the time that I could say that to him. He made a 360 anyway but in hindsight, I think he thought i was ignoring him because I didn't know anything other than my rote radio calls.

Have fun, Report back, post some photos.

Good Luck!
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
1. Just remember you have the go around as an option.
2. If there is lots of traffic, you can say "This is my first solo"
I had a guy doing a GPS approach when I was on base on my 1st solo and It didn't occur to me at the time that I could say that to him. He made a 360 anyway but in hindsight, I think he thought i was ignoring him because I didn't know anything other than my rote radio calls.

Have fun, Report back, post some photos.

Good Luck!
Click to expand...
Go-arounds are one thing that my instructor has made sure that I am comfortable with and being able to tell if I need to
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
1. Just remember you have the go around as an option.
2. If there is lots of traffic, you can say "This is my first solo"
I had a guy doing a GPS approach when I was on base on my 1st solo and It didn't occur to me at the time that I could say that to him. He made a 360 anyway but in hindsight, I think he thought i was ignoring him because I didn't know anything other than my rote radio calls.

Have fun, Report back, post some photos.

Good Luck!
Click to expand...

You forgot the biggie Bryan if the OP is flying a Cirrus. C'mon you can tell him about it. It's right there waiting right? Nice and colorfully bright, just waiting to be caressed. Tell him Bryan! Do it!

Cirrus chute.jpe

;):D
 
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Agreed with everyone.

In addition, you'll likely feel nervous with an empty right seat. But remember everything you learned by verbally calling out every move (just as if your CFI were in the right seat.) This will help build confidence.

Oh, and depending upon weight of your instructor, your aircraft will climb/perform better. Don't be surprised when it does.
 
Nash Patrick said:
I am a new pilot and have only been flying for about 6 months. My father is a pilot and I am 16 years old getting ready for my first solo flight. I have accumulated about 7 hours so far. My instructor seems pretty confident in my ability and has given me my pre-solo take home test so I'm assuming it will be coming up here soon. Would any of your guys have advice for me?
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You must have worked a lot in the pattern, I think I had about 7 landings at 7 hours, most of them assisted.

Good luck, post some pictures.
 
exncsurfer said:
You must have worked a lot in the pattern, I think I had about 7 landings at 7 hours, most of them assisted.

Good luck, post some pictures.
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Yeah a lot, so far almost all of my work has been pattern. I have about 50 landing under my belt. It's an uncontrolled airport which makes it easy. <br /><br />Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 
Dont forget to retract the flaps after landing. SLOW DOWN your runup and after landing and USE THE CHECKLIST. The excitement of soloing adds confusion and forgetfullness you have never experienced before. Good luck!
 
rtk11 said:
Oh, and depending upon weight of your instructor, your aircraft will climb/perform better. Don't be surprised when it does.
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Even if your instructor is a 50 lb "little person," it will fly better. ESPECIALLY since it's a 152.

My instructor was half my weight. In a 172, the performance difference at first solo was really obvious. Of course I told her how much better the plane flew without her in it....
 
exncsurfer said:
You must have worked a lot in the pattern, I think I had about 7 landings at 7 hours, most of them assisted.

Good luck, post some pictures.
Click to expand...

1978,,,
16 days a flight trainee,,,
7th training flight,,,
73! landings,,
then,,,
I went solo,,, it was wonderful.

uncontrolled field, we could get a lot done in little time.
cessna 150M.

the 1st time i had made a really good landing,
i said, please, cant we just fly around some, just for fun and relax?
he said sure, you deserve that..
he directed me to the east, 5 mi.,,,
then i saw his hand go to the mixture,, he pulled it out,,,
but in a way, he made his devious plan easy for me.
i looked down and saw a tiny asphalt airstrip just ahead!
he said,,, you have to land there!
i got about 5 min. of just flying for fun to relax,, it was great, while it lasted...
then i made a passable emergency landing on a tiny unfamiliar strip!!!

remember, your instructor knows more about your ability and knowledge than you do.
you trust what you think you know,
your instructor knows it too, he wont cut you loose until he is sure!
 
to add,,,, I weighed 170lbs,, and my instructor was 270lbs!!!
yes we flew over gross a lot of times! but just a little,, he said it would be OK, guess he was right!
when i went solo,,, i didnt even notice the difference,
i guess i was thinking about something else.....
 
Relax and have fun. Do as you've been taught and you'll do great!

:D
 
I was happy to solo. But like many others, I soloed before I did any cross-country. It wasn't until much later that I thought "what if there was an accident on the runway and I had to divert? Would I know where to go and what to do?". In hindsight, soloing earlier gave me some added confidence, but after I got my license, how early I soled meant zero. Something to think about if you plan to solo at an airport with lots of traffic.
 
Follow the training from your CFI. Get your finances and schedule set so you can fly two or three flights per week. You will complete training in fewer hours overall if everything is more fresh going into each training session. That said, relax and enjoy it!
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
1. Just remember you have the go around as an option.
2. If there is lots of traffic, you can say "This is my first solo"
I had a guy doing a GPS approach when I was on base on my 1st solo and It didn't occur to me at the time that I could say that to him. He made a 360 anyway but in hindsight, I think he thought i was ignoring him because I didn't know anything other than my rote radio calls.
Click to expand...

A couple of weeks ago, I had a guy cut me off in the pattern (tower told me to extend upwind and him to follow me; I did, he didn't). Then he stepped on several of my radio calls and he flew an airliner-sized downwind. On final, he was so far below the VASI that I had trouble seeing him under my cowling and he was so slow that it was all I could do to maintain separation. Then he used the full length of the runway to roll out and took his time getting clear. As I was walking across the ramp back to my car I ran into him posing for pictures in front of his plane. I simply smiled, shook his hand, said "congrats on the 1st solo" and resumed walking back to my car.
 
We always have to remember that.
It is just like in traffic. If someone cuts me off I initially get ****ed then I tell myself "Maybe his mom is in the hospital dying" or whatever.
Flying, I think we need to keep in our heads "Maybe he is a nervous as **** student on his first xc or solo" or whatever.

I am by no means a seasoned pilot but I remember those first few solo and solo xc flights and being so timid relative to now.
I bet I did some things wrong that ****ed an old pro off.
 
Relax & enjoy. Even though your instructor isn't in the 152 you'll still hear his voice.

As with every milestone, if you're ready it will be anti-climatic.

Most of all...HAVE FUN!
 
saddletramp said:
Relax & enjoy. Even though your instructor isn't in the 152 you'll still hear his voice.
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"Don't crash. If you do crash, make sure that logbook with my endorsement in it burns in the fire."

LOL!

Kidding. Have fun with it. That's the best answer. :)
 
denverpilot said:
"Don't crash. If you do crash, make sure that logbook with my endorsement in it burns in the fire."

LOL!

Kidding. Have fun with it. That's the best answer. :)
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I just had an image of you running towards a downed airplane with a can of lighter fluid and some matches.

To the OP my best advice other than what has already been said is to do everything just like you would if the instructor was next to you. Runup out loud, before landing checklists out loud. Don't skip any steps.
 
I must be missing something here, misunderstanding.
Six months, accumulated 7 hours (averaging a little over an hour per month of flying) and ready for solo?

I can't even grasp, even if a gifted, natural talent, how that would work.

But good luck!
 
Look out the front of the plane and remember to breathe!
 
I can assure you the 152 climbs at 1,200 fpm in winter with 140lbs in the left seat.
Be ready for the airplane to balloon up when you put the same amount of back pressure in without the extra weight. I was not expecting that, and dropped it in harder than I wanted to the first time in.
 
LongRoadBob said:
I must be missing something here, misunderstanding.
Six months, accumulated 7 hours (averaging a little over an hour per month of flying) and ready for solo?

I can't even grasp, even if a gifted, natural talent, how that would work.

But good luck!
Click to expand...
I'm curious about the same and also wish you good luck. More info?

As was mentioned above, don't force anything. I was so eager to land my first three, I pushed mediocre set-ups and had less than great landings. The plane and I were both in-injured, but I would like to be able to look back and see that had exercised better judgement and more patience.

Be sure to let us know how great it went.

Best,
Matt
 
LongRoadBob said:
I must be missing something here, misunderstanding.
Six months, accumulated 7 hours (averaging a little over an hour per month of flying) and ready for solo?

I can't even grasp, even if a gifted, natural talent, how that would work.

But good luck!
Click to expand...
Thanks I am not the only one... I have about 4 hours in just starting to learn the pattern haven't even started landings can't imagine I would be anywhere near solo in 3 more hours......
 
Nash Patrick said:
Yeah a lot, so far almost all of my work has been pattern. I have about 50 landing under my belt. It's an uncontrolled airport which makes it easy. <br /><br />Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
The CFI in me is concerned that given all your 7 hours is in the pattern and you feel that your solo is coming soon. There is zero chance I'd consider signing off someone to solo that hasn't demonstrated slow flight and stalls. Hopefully your CFI is just getting the pre-solo test out of the way for some reason but is still planning on more instruction outside of the pattern prior to solo.

With that said, good luck and stay safe.
 
I don't know what it is about instruction these days. Under 10 hrs used to be the norm on first solo. I see some of these posts like kiddbats that has 4 hrs and hasn't done any landings. I look at my logbook and we did fundamentals, stalls and take offs and landings on the first flight. I got my moneys worth as from the time we walked out to the airplane until it was tied down he was teaching. There was no just sitting in the airplane droning around. This was at KSNA in 1976 so I also got to do the radio work from the second flight on. I soloed in 7 hour sand was allowed to go on my own in 9 hours. And yes we did all the stall series A LOT, emergency procedures (most of the time we did power off approaches from the downwind so doing an engine out was a no brainer) every flap configuration slow flight etc. That was the norm at the part 141 flight school I went to. Got my PPL in 35 hrs. Sounds like the OP has a good instructor. Don
 
yakdriver said:
Sounds like the OP has a good instructor. Don
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I'm confused, he said he has 7 hours and hasn't left the pattern. That's contrary to what you described with your training. If you haven't left the pattern then you haven't practiced slow flight/stalls. I respectfully disagree about him/her being a good instructor based on that. With that said, I completely agree with 100% of the rest of your post. Your training and results are similar to how mine was and how I instructed as a CFI.
 
Radar Contact said:
I'm confused, he said he has 7 hours and hasn't left the pattern. That's contrary to what you described with your training. If you haven't left the pattern then you haven't practiced slow flight/stalls. I respectfully disagree about him/her being a good instructor based on that. With that said, I completely agree with 100% of the rest of your post. Your training and results are similar to how mine was and how I instructed as a CFI.
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To clear things up, I have left the pattern, we have done a couple flights to a near by airport and have worked on power on/off stalls and slow flight.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 
First, your instructor won't have you solo until he / she is confident that you are ready. When it happens, take a deep breath, think about the steps you'll follow in the pattern and have fun. It will be something you will never forget.

The plane will seem to leap off the ground without the instructor next to you and you'll probably have to trim a little differently than you have with two in the plane. Other than that everything is the same so relax and enjoy the flight.

Let us know how it goes. We are all pulling for you

Gary
 
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