Lessons too close together?

S

Sarah

Pre-Flight
Joined
Jul 29, 2012
Messages
31
Display Name
Display name:
Sarah
I know the consensus is to not have your flight lessons too far apart
(i.e One lesson Once a week.)

What is your opinion on 3 lessons on consecutive days of the week? ( Fri, Sat & Sun)
With the rest of the week "off".
Do you think that many lessons that close together for a complete beginner would be too much?
Would the 4 days away counteract any progress made on the weekend?
I'll need to read one chapter in the books before each lesson but I tend to read ahead, so Im' thinking a review before each lesson should suffice.

Any thoughts?
 
If you can find a CFI who could do that consistently on weekends, I'd be amazed.
 
It's just one more feasible solution to the same problem. If that's your availability, go for it.
 
Hi Sarah. Welcome to PoA. When I was learning, I was lucky if I got to do one lesson a week. I know it likely cost me more, but I had a lot of fun and here I am now a private pilot. My advice (unless you are young and going to the airlines or similar) is to relax and enjoy the ride. If you can fly everyday, that would be best, but if not, you can still learn. Three days in a row will work fine if you can fit it in.
 
I did something very similar to that, and felt like it worked for me.
 
Thanks for the warm welcome everyone.
I'd really like to space out the lessons every other day but, my work schedule makes it kind of tricky.
I however, get really lucky with my CFI; He only takes on a small handfull of students at a time.

What is it about the time off that makes you regress? Is it just the lack of confidence from being away for a while? Or just information overload? My only other option is Late eve flights, fter 6.
I dont even think thats an option this early in the training..?
 
That was a horrible typo (Mobile phone has a mind of its own.)
I meant, I got lucky with CFI.
 
I think it's great. Flight training lessons are more like chamber music coachings than lessons. You could have one every day, if it were feasible.
 
Sarah said:
What is it about the time off that makes you regress? Is it just the lack of confidence from being away for a while? Or just information overload?
Click to expand...
When I was taking lessons, my work schedule and available money meant that I had to space them out. Since flying is at the same time a hands-on and a mental exercise, when you are at the steep part of the learning curve you are having to develop muscle memory while you are trying to wrap your brain around the facts/figures/concepts/nuances of powered flight. Most people tend to retain their grasp on what they just experienced if they reinforce it quickly. The longer you go between initial exposure and reinforcing experience, the more you tend to lose. This is the main reason why I stopped. My lessons were so far apart that I spent an inordinate amount of time on each lesson just going over what I would have been able to internalize if I had been able to fly more frequently.

But having said that, your schedule of 3 on and 4 off seems like a pretty good balance. You would get 3 days of initial exposure/reinforcing experience, followed by a rest period where you could absorb in your own way what you just learned. For me, this would mean that I would document what I trained on. I would also mentally review what I think I know, versus what I think I don't know, try to figure out the gray areas on my own so I could come prepared with educated questions and a fairly solid grasp on where I need to be for the next set of lessons.

I am planning on immersing myself in training when I start again. But I am going to need to schedule down time so that I can "internalize" and "make my own" all of the information and new experiences that are being presented to me. Otherwise (for me) I will be in information overload, and no amount of increased training can overcome that once it starts.

Long story short: I personally like your schedule. :)
 
Last edited:
Sounds good.

I've had guys at 6 time a week at 2hrs a day, solo in a little over a week (taildragger) and PPL in just over a month, CPL in just over 4 months.

Also had weekend guys that did 2hrs a lesson, twice a week, who finished their PPL in about 2-3 months.
 
Sarah said:
I know the consensus is to not have your flight lessons too far apart
(i.e One lesson Once a week.)

What is your opinion on 3 lessons on consecutive days of the week? ( Fri, Sat & Sun)
With the rest of the week "off".
Do you think that many lessons that close together for a complete beginner would be too much?
Would the 4 days away counteract any progress made on the weekend?
I'll need to read one chapter in the books before each lesson but I tend to read ahead, so Im' thinking a review before each lesson should suffice.

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
I used to do 2 lessons a day on my 2 days off Catalina. My instructor would pick me up, we fly a lesson on thway back to LGB, I'd do some ground and then fly again, reverse and repeat the next day. I had my ticket in under 3 months and 41.5 hrs, YMMV.
 
denverpilot said:
If you can find a CFI who could do that consistently on weekends, I'd be amazed.
Click to expand...

That was an advantage with a flight school with many instructors and planes, I'd fly with whomever was available when I was in whatever plane was and there was always someone and a plane available.
 
Henning said:
That was an advantage with a flight school with many instructors and planes, I'd fly with whomever was available when I was in whatever plane was and there was always someone and a plane available.
Click to expand...
My experience as an instructor tells me that there are far more disadvantages to flying different aircraft types and with different instructors every time during primary training. It may be argued that you will become a "more well rounded pilot," but it is certain your training will take longer and be more expensive. I recommend you get your certificate first and then expand your horizons.
 
I think that emotion has overpowered logic on this topic

3 hours a week no matter how they are spaced will be 300% better than 1 hour a week...
 
Dr. O said:
I think that emotion has overpowered logic on this topic

3 hours a week no matter how they are spaced will be 300% better than 1 hour a week...
Click to expand...
I don't think anyone has disagreed yet :dunno:
 
I don't see any disadvantage with your proposed schedule and there may even be some advantages. Typically when lessons are spread out over time, a fair portion of the next lesson is spent in review of past activity. With 3 days on and 4 off, you can probably cover most of the review stuff on the first day and make big leaps in progress on the next two of your 3 day sequence. And if you have some free time during the 4 day "off" period, you can improve your progress by doing some mental review of what you learned earlier in the week. That can be almost as good as flying if you and your CFI make a written record of things to think about during that time.

Also keep in mind that in most parts of the country, when you schedule 3 times/week you'll often end up flying a bit less given the confluence of "bad" weather, airplane downtime, pilot and CFI schedule conflicts. For that reason it would be nice if you could figure out an "alternate" day or evening for the missing 3rd lesson.
 
I did 2-3 lessons a week and almost all were 1.5 hrs flying time on the average. I also had a very good and very aggressive instructor so I got my PPL in 40 days at 35 hrs (part 141 school). I flew with the chief pilot for phase checks and did 2/3 in a 150 and 1/3 in a 172. I also did a Jepp home study course in that time period. That was 1976 so there wasn't any video courses like we have now. I highly recommend that as a way to go. You will retain a lot more between flights so you won't be spending money re learning what you forgot taking once a week lessons. Go for it and enjoy the ride!. Don
 
My only worry is I'd get tired by day number 3. Still, consistency is everything. Good luck and of course, welcome.
 
Ron Levy said:
My experience as an instructor tells me that there are far more disadvantages to flying different aircraft types and with different instructors every time during primary training. It may be argued that you will become a "more well rounded pilot," but it is certain your training will take longer and be more expensive. I recommend you get your certificate first and then expand your horizons.
Click to expand...

"Certain" has been proven untrue many times. When an instructor or plane is consistently 'unavailable' has damaging effects as well. The only 'certain' loss is the CFI income.
 
Henning said:
"Certain" has been proven untrue many times.
Click to expand...
Not when it comes to primary trainees taking lessons in different planes with different instructors each time they fly -- that is always going to be more expensive and take more flight hours.

When an instructor or plane is consistently 'unavailable' has damaging effects as well. The only 'certain' loss is the CFI income.
Click to expand...
If your instructor/plane are "consistently unavailable," you find a different and more available instructor/plane to fly, and move on with your training. Simply taking whatever/whoever is available is, based on my 40 years of flight instructing, quite certainly an inefficient and more expensive way to train.
 
Last edited:
First, welcome to POA.

When you're learning to fly, you're learning physical skills in the same way that you'd learn a golf/baseball/tennis swing. Repetition really matters when you're training your brain and body, so more frequent repetition helps a lot.

Flying for three days and being off for four days should be fine and much better than one day a week.
 
steingar said:
My only worry is I'd get tired by day number 3.
Click to expand...
As many of you know, I do intensive flight training courses where we work all day, every day, for 10 days in a row. Based on that experience, I don't see any fatigue issues arising from taking one lesson a day three days in a row unless you're packing the rest of each day with a lot of other activities, and in that case, it wouldn't change much if you did it every other day or every third day -- you're just putting too many potatoes in your potato bag.
 
steingar said:
My only worry is I'd get tired by day number 3. Still, consistency is everything. Good luck and of course, welcome.
Click to expand...
You must tire easily :D. Taking a 1-2 hr lesson can be tiring but with 20+ hours to recover I don't thing most folks would be overwhelmed by that level of training. People have managed to survive flight training 6-8 hrs/day five-seven days per week without ending up in the hospital, three "normal" lessons on consecutive days should be a breeze.
 
It's a good plan. The only problem is bad weather comes in cycles and it could cause the break to be longer. But no doubt, more and frequent is better. Going for 1 night a week in addition is even better.

You totally have the concept correct.....
 
Last edited:
Take a lesson every day, good luck! A single night's sleep is enough to get you 'reset' and make the next lesson count.

I'd limit them (except for x/c's) to 1.5 hours or so per lesson. You could do 1.5, take a break and then do another hour if you wanted to.

One thing I learned quickly is that an hour and a half of rigorous training is about all I can take before my brain turns to jelly and my performance and ability to learn goes to ****.

Once you get some hours under your belt and begin x/c things will change. I like to think that the first half of flight training is motor skills and the second half is more academic.
 
Last edited:
Ron Levy said:
Not when it comes to primary trainees taking lessons in different planes with different instructors each time they fly -- that is always going to be more expensive and take more flight hours.

If your instructor/plane are "consistently unavailable," you find a different and more available instructor/plane to fly, and move on with your training. Simply taking whatever/whoever is available is, based on my 40 years of flight instructing, quite certainly an inefficient and more expensive way to train.
Click to expand...

I and everybody that was training at Rainbow at the time all trained the same way, multiple planes and multiple instructors and we all finished PPL and took out rides at 40 hrs, most 141 programs operate the same way with the same minimum hrs and pass your ride results, so the certainty is considerably less than certain. The people I hear that have 60 and 100 hrs before a ride or even solo are the ones stuck to one plane/instructor at a time from what I read here.

The greatest difference in time and cost I see is the effort the students are willing to put in.
 
Henning, I think you and I trained around the same time period (mid 70s)? I learned at SNA and almost all of my instructors were ex-military WWII/Korea vintage or first generation instructors taught by the same. They taught stick and rudder skills above anything else unlike the newer generation instructors. The school I went to had around a dozen 150s and eight or nine 172s all a little different but I never had any problems in any of them. I flew eight different 150s and three 172s. Don
 
Henning said:
I and everybody that was training at Rainbow at the time all trained the same way,
Click to expand...
Then you really have no basis of comparison, do you? And since you're not an instructor, you've never dealt with the differences yourself, either.
 
spiderweb said:
I think it's great. Flight training lessons are more like chamber music coachings than lessons. You could have one every day, if it were feasible.
Click to expand...

That analogy works, sort of. You have a lot more "off" time to practice your instrument, and no one would conceive of you being proficient (or even tolerable) with some 40-80 hours of practice.

I believe it is possible to overdo the lessons, largely due to fatigue. An hour a day (even every day) won't do that. More than that might.

It also depends on your schedule. If you need to work a 12 hour shift and then go flying, I'd suggest you're wasting your time. You'll grasp and retain information much better if you're well rested.
 
It works better than once a month. Although I did once a month and got mine in 48 hours so it shouldn't make much difference.
 
Thanks for all the advice everyone!
Im not familiar with "x/c," what does that mean?
Can I take night lessons? Aren't there restrictions for students?
I'm flying out of LGB so I dont think weather will be too much of a problem. The marine layer may give me some trouble though! :O
 
Sarah said:
Thanks for all the advice everyone!
Im not familiar with "x/c," what does that mean?
Can I take night lessons? Aren't there restrictions for students?
I'm flying out of LGB so I dont think weather will be too much of a problem. The marine layer may give me some trouble though! :O
Click to expand...

XC means cross country. You will have to do some of those in your training. It means to fly to an airport 50 or more miles away.
 
Sarah said:
Im not familiar with "x/c," what does that mean?
Click to expand...
As Mafoo said, it means flights to another airport, and to count for Private Pilot requirements, there must be one landing more than 50nm from home.

Can I take night lessons?
Click to expand...
Not only can you, but you must get at least three hours of your training with your instructor at night.

Aren't there restrictions for students?
Click to expand...
Student Pilots have many restrictions, about which your instructor will teach you, but some of them go away as you achieve various stages in your training.
 
My school is so busy, that when they have a bunch of time not blocked, I reserve it. I've done 3-4 hours of instruction in a day. As long as you take a break for food/drink/restroom, it's not a big deal. I've also done back-to-back-to-back days also. No big deal.
 
Ooh! XC sounds fun!
There are a lot of great Aiports in So. Cal!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top