when do you typically solo?

Jaybird180 said:
shaking legs and all
Click to expand...

My legs were shaking so bad on the rudder pedals after each landing...

My first solo was in an aircraft I had never flown before during approaching twilight. In fact my instructor had to teach me how to turn the lights on before getting out of the plane.

He said "those were great controlled crashes. We'll work up up to solo landings. I even think you got some grass on one of those."
 
Everyone is different, you will solo when you and your CFI feel like you can consistently land the airplane without his/her inputs. Since you recently switched aircraft it may take some additional time to be comfortable in that 235. Don't rush the solo, it will come soon! :)
 
I took about 30 hrs to solo, a pretty long time. WX & schedule wouldn't cooperate so I would have to play catchup on the next flight. The flip side was that I was ready to go when the day finally came.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
The other part of the Solo that was neat was getting out of the plane and realizing other people knew what was going on. You get tunnel vision that day and it is a blur.
Click to expand...

No kidding. EVERYone knows. It's real obvious when you aren't in the left seat and someone else is soloing. Pulling up to the bench, shutting down, and shoving out the instructor is a dead giveaway….

After my third landing, I got a "congrats" from Tower.

Then I picked up my CFI and told her how much better the airplane flew without her in it. And I didn't even get slapped!
 
muleywannabe said:
Thank you, that seems logical. I really need to nail my radio calls now and several other things for sure. I like to see the wide range of solo times, makes me feel more human. I hear some people say, " your at 17 hours and you have not soloed" like I am some kind of idiot. I want to be safe and sound, most importantly for my family. We own our plane, so time is our friend, If I was renting, then I would really be stressed to get the PPL done.
Click to expand...

My students have ranged from 8 or so to 40+ (which involved a delayed medical). Dropping the 40 the average is about 13. But much is dependent on frequency of lessons. The more frequent the sooner you solo. Transitioning airplanes will obviously add some number, too. Don't sweat the ultimate number. Every hour is building muscle memory and confidence. Pilots pride themselves on accumulating hours. Nor harm in picking up some extras presolo with an instructor sharing his accumulated experience.
 
LDJones said:
My students have ranged from 8 or so to 40+ (which involved a delayed medical). Dropping the 40 the average is about 13. But much is dependent on frequency of lessons. The more frequent the sooner you solo. Transitioning airplanes will obviously add some number, too. Don't sweat the ultimate number. Every hour is building muscle memory and confidence. Pilots pride themselves on accumulating hours. Nor harm in picking up some extras presolo with an instructor sharing his accumulated experience.
Click to expand...

great point right there.
 
11.7 hours until solo, 57.5 hours at start of check ride. Everyone is different. And that 180 hp C-172N really climbed fast without the CFI in the right seat.
 
My instructor made a point to occasionally take a friend or two with us for lessons. As a result, I never got used to a particular weight configuration.

Of course, my instructor was a slender woman (still is mumble years later), so the weight change was minimal anyway.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top