Ray wrote:
My point is that if a student starts training with the expectation that
it will take only 40 hours, he or she is likely to get frustrated
(possibly to the point of quitting) if it ends up taking a lot longer.
Also, if the student only budgets for 40 hours of flying, money could
become a factor towards the end of the training and that's never a good
thing.


I can accept the second part of your argument: that money could be a factor if
you budget for 40 hours and have no reserve. OTOH, budgeting for 80 hours for
something that is mandated to require only 40 hours is ridiculous. Don't you
have any personal standards for success?

Maybe I'm a dinosaur. The current PC crap I read in the paper a couple of weeks
ago about "deferred success" for young failing students made me want to puke.
Yes, it's all about feeling good about yourself, but how can one feel good about
yourself when you're a failure? (I'm not talking about you personally; I refer
to the general population.) Failure is supposed to make you feel bad; avoiding
that bad feeling about yourself is what is supposed to motivate one to succeed.

Employers don't give a rat's ass about whether you have self esteem or feel good
about yourself. They are interested in results. What a lesson that must be for
the current crop of young chaps.

Getting back to the average number of hours flown by students in your area: I
have to wonder if the reason the numbers are so high is because the FBO or
flight training program is greedy. There's no excuse I can see for why it takes
people twice as long to achieve what should be done in 40 hours or thereabouts.
If you flew as frequently as you say, you should have been on top of your game.
I consider your flight frequency ideal for a student. I just don't understand
your results. People have been earning private pilot's licenses in less than 50
hours literally for generations.

If it takes a lot longer, perhaps the student lacks aptitude and should quit.
Or maybe they ought to find a program that gets the job done without screwing
people.

I congratulate you on sticking it out.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE