I was there my friend!
Same story almost- always obsessed and started lessons and I was 20 hrs in and felt no where close to solo or even close to just feeling “I got this”. I remeber thinking “maybe I’m not cut out for this”
For me an instructor change made all the difference- though that’s not always the recipe. I’m still friends w my original instructor- his teaching style and my learning style didn’t mesh- simple as that.
But I was right where you are wondering if the dream of flight was unobtainable for me…
Even if you don’t switch instructors a time or three with someone else likely won’t hurt.
The biggest thing is stick with it! If you want- it will come bar some sort of extraordinary inability of yours- and I doubt that to be the case- if you’ve landed it before you got it, just gotta polish…
I’m by no means am I an extraordinary pilot, I think of myself as a good pilot but not amazing, but I stuck with it and earned it- let me share with you my experiences since. This is coming from a guy who thought he couldn’t do it:
Flew 10 years in a 180hp 172 club pretty boring flying- not the plane but what I did with it.
Then bought an old 1947 Cessna 140- I learned that bird like the back of my hand, I knew every control cable and nook n cranny (easy to do w a simple bird) I flew the wings off that thing. I took it from Michigan to Johnson Creek Idaho twice- figuring out high density altitude flying on 85hp- what an amazing couple trips, took her to Florida n back once and colored the state of MI solid with magenta lines. I’ve now moved onto a Mooney M20F and rip around the sky at 140kts traveling states away fishing or taking a kiddo to a friends.
I’ve had the honor of taking a local aviation legend up for his last flight while his great grandson experienced flight for the first time on that “mission”. I took another terminally ill man up so he could taste flight before death, I’ve introduced dozens of kids to flight, flying Young Eagles, and have had camping adventures w my family n friends as well as greasy spoon burgers with buddies. And so much more.
None of those events would have happened had I thrown in the towel. Don’t throw in the towel. Don’t get the attitude of throwing in the towel- someday if an emergency crops up you want to be the pilot with the never give up attitude and chances are you’ll get to tell the tale if you keep a “never throw in the towel” attitude.
You’ve got this grasshopper
. Clear prop and earn those wings even if it’s a tough battle at times- you’ve got this- if you want it.