From: geoff@peck.com (Geoff Peck)
Subject: Re: Hours to SOLO
Organization: Geoffrey G. Peck, Consultant, San Jose CA
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1992 16:44:02 GMT

In article <1992Oct1.141955.17708@cbnewsd.cb.att.com> rcm@cbnewsd.cb.att.com
(randall.c.moline) writes:
> How many hours did you have in your logbook when you solo'ed???
>
> I am about a week away from mine and was just curious how long it took
> other people. You can reply via e-mail and if I get enough responses
> to make it worth while, I will tabulate the results and post it (don't
> worry, no names).

Please, please, gentle readers, let us not waste net.bandwidth and go into
another storm of posting solo or other times-to-whatever.  If you wish, you
can, as Randall asked, send him e-mail.

Speaking as one who has soloed many students, I can tell you that
time-to-solo is a highly variable number, and that, quite frankly, it
doesn't really correlate with anything.  Some pilots solo quickly but
require lots of post-solo time and end up taking longer to get to the
private certificate; others solo a bit late, but are very well-prepared and
then zip right through to the private certificate.

Some of the factors which affect the time it takes a student to solo
include:

    -  The complexity of the learning environment.  It's clearly easier
       to get a student to the point of solo if they're learning at a
       deserted, uncontrolled field surrounded by miles of open, grassy
       fields, than if they're learning in a busy metropolitan area.
       The metro-area student has to learn to deal with radios, traffic,
       more complex emergencies, and so on; also, lessons do typically take
       somewhat longer t such airports.

    -  The frequency of lessons.  A student who takes one lesson per month
       may quite simply _never_ solo.  A student who flies three or four
       times per week may take a bit less time than one who flies twice per
       week.

    -  The willingness of the student to "do their homework."  If a student
       takes the time to _really_learn_ the things which the instructor
       requests, then various procedures in the airplane will take much
       less time, and will have to be repeated less.  Two examples come to
       mind:  emergency checklists and communications procedures.  Both of
       these can be studied and memorized at home, without an airplane.
       Some students take the time to do this; others don't.  Those who
       don't usually do take longer to learn this critical material.

    -  Instructor experience and conservatism.  Different instructors
       have different levels of experience in getting students over,
       around, and through the challenges of learning.  Different
       instructors have different criteria for soloing students -- some
       seem to bring their students darn close to private pilot standards,
       others will bring them to the point that they can safely fly around
       the pattern and handle probable emergencies.

There are more factors, to be sure.  But I can tell you one thing for sure.
Bragging about how little time you took to solo is completely irrelevant.
Becoming a safe pilot is the name of the game.

						Geoff