"Todd Pattist" wrote in message
...
I heard long ago that most of the students in the
AF Academy solo from ab initio in only 12 flights. I was
astounded, and to most glider pilots and glider instructors,
it seems almost unbelievable.

There was a programme on TV here in the UK about army training
of helicopter pilots at Middle Wallop. The students started flying in
fixed wing planes (Chipmunks). They started circuit bashing immediately.
They had to solo in 5 hours. If they didn't, they were "on report" and had
another 2 hours to try to solo. If they didn't achieve this, they were out.
If they took more than 5, it was a mark against them and they had to
redeem themselves over the next x number of hours.

Paul