How long until you fly solo PPL?

Question

Ok I am only 16 I have 5.8 hours of flying which was broken up into 5 lessons. At 16 I know I am eligible to solo with a medical. My current flight instructor says the best pilots solo at about 25 hours (SOAKING). I've been speaking to "advocates" who neither gain or lose from just speaking the truth. These certain advocates are real time CFI's and Instrument instructors as well. He said his students solo'd in just 5 lessons! 5 lessons is about 5-7 hours but my current instructor says about 25-30. From all the instructors I have flown with (except my current primary instructor) they all said I am talented and pick up very fast on flying. Can someone or even a CFI tell me after how long people tend to Solo flight. Also what is the correct definition of "soaking." It feels like my current instructor is "soaking" me if all that makes sense.

Answer 1

Tell you what, mate...where I come from, if somebody told me that I can't solo until I have had 25 hours of dual instruction, I would have wh*upped his azz !



I soloed when I was 16 on a grass airsrip after 11 hours of dual instruction, and with a 20knot crosswind (without using flaps) on an FA152 Aerobat and received my PPL at 17. Of course I don't expect this to be the norm, nor am I intimating that I am a better flyer than the one who soloed after his/her 18th dual. Only time and practise can tell. But I've met individuals who soloed after 9 or 10 hours of dual instruction. But my point is I have confidence in myself and what's more important, my flight instructor had confidence in me, and it showed from both of us. I did my part and boned up on my studies, psyching myself up for the big day. Building confidence between student and instructor pilot in Australia is usually the norm, (a kind of mateship that's kinda hard to explain) and the way it should be...not ripping off student pilots. Word gets around, and that instructor would be better of manufacturing sheep dip !



so what's my other point?



My point is....obviously, your instructor is 'soaking' you, and you are truly and assuredly about to be 'soaked.' Get rid of that bum and get another CFI !

Answer 2

No one can tell you when you should solo.. There really is no average either...



When a person solos is dependent on their ability to 1) be safe and 2) fly the maneuvers and 3) land.



At less then 6 hours is not likely enough time to have mastered the required pre solo maneuvers that are dictated student pilots be proficient in.



20 to 25 would not be considered high, I would ask your instructor if that is the minimum time you must have before he signs you off to solo OR is that the average he has seen others do it in.



I usually see people solo in 10 to 20.. Again, this all depends on how fast they learn, how well they do flying the airplane and how much of the required knowledge they have.



Not sure I would be pressing to solo at 6 hours or feeling that the instructor is "soaking me"... If it makes you feel better fly with another instructor or call and talk to another instructor where you can go into more detail about your 6 hours you have already..



I can tell you what I look for before soloing a student.. If I'm sitting there completely board. With nothing to do I ask myself if I would put my family in the plane with this student.. IF I'm board and the answer is yes.. Then its time for this student to solo...



Hope that helps some, I would need more information to give better advice.

Answer 3

That's a very personal question it all depends on the student... some will solo sooner then others... Though most people solo by 25 hours and sooner... (and if there is a very poor student maybe they never solo). However, just blurting out 25 is a little predetermined. There are people who are best pilots (even average pilots) who have done it in less time.





You should read this article by Rod Machado... http://www.rodmachado.com/?p=170



He gives a lot of great info in it!!



Added: I should note too that I was also in your situation; My CFI said the same thing when I ask him when his students solo. He said 25 to 30 hours... (and that he would not let anyone solo before 15 hours). In the end I soloed at 60 hours... Make your decision from there...

Answer 4

The ONLY thing that takes that long to solo is a Robinson R-22 and that's an FAA requirement for that model of helicopter. Most of the students that I had in my school soloed between 7 and 12 hours dual IF they were spending 1-2 days a week flying AND had completed ground school. I have seen students go to 22 hours and had one that flew once a month that took nearly 40 hours to solo but took a week off and flew 1 hour a day and soloed in 8 hours when he set his mind to it. Those were 2 students out of 100s.



IF you feel like an instructor is soaking you ask for another instructor or leave that flight school and go to another. Look for an older instructor that isn't looking to build hours for the airlines and one that is respected by their students.



Another option you may have is joining an organization like the Civil Air Patrol and flying as a cadet; just remember that they are not a flight school or a business and some instructors will not have the time.



I was approved to solo at 8 hours but had to wait until 12 because of crosswind components and the requirements for that CAP airplane. It could handle a 15kt crosswind component but I flew in the evenings and the crosswind at the airport was usually 12-15kts and the insurance only allowed solos at 10kts in the CAP plane. ...so I woke up early one morning and soloed in the morning. The student before me flew a CAP plane and soloed at 7.6 (and rubbed it in because I was at 8.1 dual)



***Your instructor is welcomed to post their contact information to this question if they say we are lying. The best pilots solo at around 8-10 hours and the worst pilots solo at 20-30 hours OR, as it was already noted, they may never solo.

Answer 5

It depends on the student, the instructor and where you are flying, but 25-30 hours seems excessive. The average is about 15 if you fly regularly. I've soloed numerous students in under 10 hours. Then again, I've been an instructor for almost 25 years. Perhaps your instructor has little experience and is afraid to solo you, or perhaps he's jusy gouging you. If you're reasonably sharp you should be able to get your PPL with 30 hours of dual and 20 of solo time.

Answer 6

Depending on a lot of variables, the average student will solo in 10 - 12 hours... It would be difficult to complete a reasonable curriculum to solo in five hours with current FARs requirements..



When I was instructing (2500+ hours of GA instruction given), the lowest time was 6 hours, but the student had a lot of time flying with his father, so he obviously had experience to draw on... The slowest student took about 18 hours, and simply took longer to absorb the skills.



Some students never solo due to a number of reasons... Money, time, ability, loss of interest.



25 - 30 sound excessive.. I'd ask for an evaluation of your skills by another instructor...

Answer 7

Ppl Hours

Answer 8

I soloed in a T-craft after 5 lessons after school when I was 16. I traded work for flying lessons.



That was in 1954. I hear they don't teach spin recovery or stalls now! Don't think I want to ride with a new pilot.

Answer 9

You solo when you're ready.



I'm currently flying circuits, working up to my first solo. Of the students who started when I did, the first to solo soloed at 18 hours, then the next soloed at 30. I expect to solo somewhere in between.



Once you solo you have just about all the PPL flying stuff learned, then it's practice and refinement. Don't rush it. Get it right.

Answer 10

It depends on two things: how you feel about it, and how much flight time you have. Also, if you have had very few flight hours, but you feel fine going up by yourself, don't do it. That is called being cocky and that will get yourself killed. You have to find the right balance between your experience and your actual feelings. Once you feel comfortable in the plane, and you have a good bit of flight time, then I don't see why you shouldn't go for it.