Must the first solo be 3 landings to a full stop?

[AuntPeggy]

Must the first solo be 3 landings to a full stop?

My first solo was 3 landings, 2 of which were touch and go. Is full stop the requirement? Is 3 landings the requirement?

 

[SCCutler]

Nope. It should be whatever your instructor endorses the logbook for you to do.

My first solo was three or four (I forget) touch & goes.

 

[TMetzinger]

No FAR requirement for full stops. But in some places the schools have a policy requiring them.

My school has a "no touch and go" policy for retracts, and I believe that they get a break from the insurance company for it.

 

[skylanerg]

Most unicoms/FBOs have stamps or stickers for the solo x/c. Those can be nostalgic.

 

[BillTIZ]

In my glider world, we just normally have them do one. To a full stop.

There is no multiple flight requirement.

 

[nddons]

On my first solo I did 5 landings. 4 were full stop, and one was a go-around but I chirped a tire so I guess it was a T&G.

Boy, I think logic says that first solos should all be T&Gs. Even with a 5,000 ft runway, there is a LOT going on with a T&G for a student.

My first solo T&G was after I got my PPL - school rules. However, I'm not comfortable doing them on anything less than a 3,000 ft or 75 ft wide runway. Call me overly cautious.

 

[Tristar]

3 touch and goes is more of a tradition. It's not a requirement. I did one landing for my first solo due to running out of daylight.

 

[Lawreston]

My first solo T&G was after I got my PPL - school rules. However, I'm not comfortable doing them on anything less than a 3,000 ft or 75 ft wide runway. Call me overly cautious.

Ooh! That brings a few memories. I did first flying at 08B Bowdoinham ME, something like 1948'(pictures below). One end has a highway and trees; the other a drop-off, trees, and Merrymeeting Bay. One day I was doing CW takeoffs and landings and did T & G on both ends. (I might add that it was not advised [after the fact] ).

HR

 

[Palmpilot]

My first solo final approach resulted in three landings!

 

[Skip Miller]

Well, one of the landings has to be to a full stop!

As others have noted, there is no FAA rule that says the first solo landings have to be to a full stop, or three in number for that matter. You could do one, or six. Your CFI is in control here...

-Skip

 

[ScottM]

I did three touch and goes on an active US military runway,RAF Lakenheath in the UK, for my first solo.

 

[Clark1961]

I did three touch and goes on an active US military runway,RAF Lakenheath in the UK, for my first solo.

It looks like Scott and Spike must still be up there since neither reported a full stop...

 

[mantakos]

It looks like Scott and Spike must still be up there since neither reported a full stop...

Not necessarily. It's possible that their CFI rejoined the cockpit in flight, so that their final full stop landing wasn't solo.
-harry

 

[Clark1961]

Not necessarily. It's possible that their CFI rejoined the cockpit in flight, so that their final full stop landing wasn't solo.
-harry

But then they wouldn't have completed a solo flight, merely a solo portion of a flight. Of course there is no requirement for a complete solo flight...

 

[kkoran]

I did three touch and goes on an active US military runway,RAF Lakenheath in the UK, for my first solo.

Actually, it was a UK military runway since Lakenheath is technically an RAF Station.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Not necessarily. It's possible that their CFI rejoined the cockpit in flight, so that their final full stop landing wasn't solo.
-harry

Must work for the same FBO that fixed my failed engine in flight. Those guys are good.

 

[Henning]

No set requirement, 3 laps around the pattern is just tradition, full stop is a safety factor especially on a short runway.

 

[AuntPeggy]

Actually, it was a UK military runway since Lakenheath is technically an RAF Station.

It is in the UK and is technically an RAF station, but is a US military runway. (I graduated from High School there.)

 

[Dr. O]

The thought occurs to me that perhaps a skydiving CFI could leave the plane while in flight just to break up the monotony of going round and round with a student... That would make for an interesting log entry...

 

[Matthew]

3 landings with taxi-back for me. My CFI didn't want me doing t&g on my first flights - there was enough going on already.

 

[AuntPeggy]

It is an interesting connundrum. I heard of a CFI who had pre-solo students doing T&G until he was satisfied, then signed off for solo full-stop landings. When one student forgot that it should be full stop on first solo and started the power-up for the go part of touch & go, the CFI yelled "Stop" into the handheld. The panicked student stood on the brakes, pulled back the power, and let the airplane lurch sideways off the runway into a ditch.

 

[poadeleted20]

Not necessarily. It's possible that their CFI rejoined the cockpit in flight, so that their final full stop landing wasn't solo.

I remember seeing some gritty old footage of airplane-to-airplane transfers by barnstormers in the 20's, but I don't think many CFI's do that today, so I expect all Student Pilots make at least one full stop on their first solo.

That said, I think the "tradition" of two or three T&G's and a full stop has more to do with fatigue than anything else. My experience is that after 8-10 trips around the pattern, most primary trainees have about had it. Typically, the instructor will ride through about 5 landings and probably a commanded go-around for at least 6 trips around the pattern immediately before first solo, and after that, anything more than three or four landings is probably the trainee's limit.

 

[dmccormack]

My CFI told me to do "Three touch and goes."

When I finally taxied back, I learned I'd done "Seven."

Hmmmm... guess I lost count?

 

[Radio Flyer]

My first solo was 3 T&G's. Well.... 5 if you count the 2nd one for what it was...

 

[Ghery]

Three trips around the pattern for me. 2 T&Gs and one full stop at the end. 5500 feet of runway leaves lots of room for a T&G, even for a student pilot on his first solo. The bigger distraction was the Corsair that was cleared to taxi behind me and was still doing his runups as I came in on short final for my 1st T&G.