First Solo and Total Hours Flown

This is exactly the type of comments that makes me sad to hear from
pilots - 'not everyone is cut out to be a pilot'. This attempts to make
the point that pilots are some kind of superior being.

As you very well know, flying is only 10% motor skills and 90%
attitude. You can even teach a monkey the motor skills required to fly
an airplane. But you can't teach attitude.

Solo is all about motor skills. It is like teaching a monkey. It is a
big jump from there to becoming a pilot, unless of course someone is
under the illusion that flying is all about pushing buttons and moving
the yoke.

Quality of instruction is a big factor that affects solo time. It is
pretty lame when instructors start bailing out by claiming that 'not
everyone is cut out to be a pilot'.

Under the GI bill, there might have been some financial interest in
making these claims. In addition, since someone else was paying for
their flying, there might have been some students whose heart was not
in it.

If someone said they took 75 hours for solo, I will start by first
asking questions about their instructor.

Albert Einstein didn't speak until he was four years old and wasn't
fluent until at least age eight. I suppose you would claim that he was
not cut out to be an intelligent person.




karl gruber wrote:
"Andrew Sarangan" wrote in message
ups.com...
birdog wrote:


While this is a rediculuous question, it fits right in with our current
political environment, in that the federal gov't. should dictate the
number
of hours it SHALL take us to be competent to solo. I've known licensed
pilots with 300 hours that I wouldn't fly with, and others who have
solo'd
in 6 hours. 75 hours to solo? Why was he EVER allowed to solo?

Are you saying that someone who took 75 hours to solo must have had
some serious problems, and therefore should not be allowed to solo?


Yes. Very serious problems. I know here on RAP it is popular to encourage
high time pre soloers to continue. But I think they are simply not cut out
for aviation.

I KNOW that during the GI bill time that lasted until 1978, we instructors
had to regularly advise all sorts of perspective commercial pilots to think
about buying a boat instead.

Not everyone is cut out to be a pilot.

Karl
"Curator" N185KG

"Andrew Sarangan" wrote:

This is exactly the type of comments that makes me sad to hear from
pilots - 'not everyone is cut out to be a pilot'. This attempts to make
the point that pilots are some kind of superior being.

Actually it is a correct statement. I am not cut out to be a doctor,
basketball player, jockey, lawyer, etc. Such is life. It does not
mean that people who are those professions are superior than me.

Ron Lee

All you need to fly an airplane is motivation, perseverence, basic
intelligence, money and spare time. We are not talking about becoming a
Chuck Yeager or Niel Armstrong. Anyone with basic intelligence and
basic motor skills can be turned into a basic pilot.



Ron Lee wrote:
"Andrew Sarangan" wrote:

This is exactly the type of comments that makes me sad to hear from
pilots - 'not everyone is cut out to be a pilot'. This attempts to make
the point that pilots are some kind of superior being.

Actually it is a correct statement. I am not cut out to be a doctor,
basketball player, jockey, lawyer, etc. Such is life. It does not
mean that people who are those professions are superior than me.

Ron Lee

"Andrew Sarangan" wrote in message
ups.com...
All you need to fly an airplane is motivation, perseverence, basic
intelligence, money and spare time. We are not talking about becoming a
Chuck Yeager or Niel Armstrong. Anyone with basic intelligence and
basic motor skills can be turned into a basic pilot.

Anyone with basic intelligence and basic motor skills can be turned into
someone who can control an airplane. That does not mean that they can be
turned into a pilot, even a basic one.

Even the lowest levels of FAA certification are beyond the reach of some
people who may well have basic intelligence and basic motor skills.

Recently, Peter Duniho posted:

"Andrew Sarangan" wrote in message
ups.com...
All you need to fly an airplane is motivation, perseverence, basic
intelligence, money and spare time. We are not talking about
becoming a Chuck Yeager or Niel Armstrong. Anyone with basic
intelligence and basic motor skills can be turned into a basic pilot.

Anyone with basic intelligence and basic motor skills can be turned
into someone who can control an airplane. That does not mean that
they can be turned into a pilot, even a basic one.

Even the lowest levels of FAA certification are beyond the reach of
some people who may well have basic intelligence and basic motor
skills.

This thread has made me wonder whether pilots really do differ from the
general population in some ways other than just the desire to fly.
Remember those aptitude tests that we (in the US, at least) were given at
different times during our elementary and secondary education? I suspect
that good "stick and rudder" pilots also scored high on the 3D
visualization parts of those tests. Good navigators probably scored high
on math and abstract association.

Neil

This thread has made me wonder whether pilots really do differ from the
general population in some ways other than just the desire to fly.
Remember those aptitude tests that we (in the US, at least) were given at
different times during our elementary and secondary education? I suspect
that good "stick and rudder" pilots also scored high on the 3D
visualization parts of those tests.

Supposedly this is why a higher percentage of pilots are left-handed
than would otherwise be expected. Something to do with the way
right-brainers perceive the world...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
This thread has made me wonder whether pilots really do differ from the
general population in some ways other than just the desire to fly.
Remember those aptitude tests that we (in the US, at least) were given at
different times during our elementary and secondary education? I suspect
that good "stick and rudder" pilots also scored high on the 3D
visualization parts of those tests.

Supposedly this is why a higher percentage of pilots are left-handed
than would otherwise be expected. Something to do with the way
right-brainers perceive the world...

What world?

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...

Supposedly this is why a higher percentage of pilots are left-handed
than would otherwise be expected. Something to do with the way
right-brainers perceive the world...
--


I doubt it. Nobody is keeping score...............nobody.


Karl

Peter Duniho wrote:
"Andrew Sarangan" wrote in message
ups.com...
All you need to fly an airplane is motivation, perseverence, basic
intelligence, money and spare time. We are not talking about becoming a
Chuck Yeager or Niel Armstrong. Anyone with basic intelligence and
basic motor skills can be turned into a basic pilot.

Anyone with basic intelligence and basic motor skills can be turned into
someone who can control an airplane. That does not mean that they can be
turned into a pilot, even a basic one.

Even the lowest levels of FAA certification are beyond the reach of some
people who may well have basic intelligence and basic motor skills.

The point I was trying to make is that flying an airplane is not an
extraordinary skill. Anyone with average capacity can accomplish these
tasks, given enough time, patience and money.

The reason the lowest levels of FAA certificate appear to be beyond
certain individuals is because they lack the discipline and patience
required to reach those goals, not because the skills required are
beyond their capabilities.

Hence I do not believe certain people are 'cut out to be pilots'. That
implies that you have to have some kind of special gift. That may be
the case with people with extraordinary capabilities, such as nobel
laureates and olympic winners, but flying a small airplane around a
traffic pattern is not one of them.

...is because they lack the discipline and patience

Thlse that lack the discipline and patience are not "cut out" to be pilots.

Jose
--
"There are 3 secrets to the perfect landing. Unfortunately, nobody knows
what they are." - (mike).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.