Re: First solo at only fifteen hours.
Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2016 1:00 pm
Being "old school", solo at 10 hours is normal,
solo at 5 hours is early, and solo at 15 hours
is late.
The above varies with the environment, of
course. If a lot of time is logged on the ground
taxiing and waiting for takeoff, and flying to
and from a distant practice area, it's going to
be higher.
Time to solo is one of the most truly useless
metrics I can think of. All it indicates is your
previous experience (which is quickly absorbed
and in fact is often a problem) and the slope
of your learning curve, which unfortunately
can plateau at any time and frequently does.
solo at 5 hours is early, and solo at 15 hours
is late.
The above varies with the environment, of
course. If a lot of time is logged on the ground
taxiing and waiting for takeoff, and flying to
and from a distant practice area, it's going to
be higher.
Time to solo is one of the most truly useless
metrics I can think of. All it indicates is your
previous experience (which is quickly absorbed
and in fact is often a problem) and the slope
of your learning curve, which unfortunately
can plateau at any time and frequently does.