First Solo and Total Hours Flown

Time logged... and probably time with few exceptions.
Jose wrote:
An instructor that sends out a student with 3 hours or less

Time? Or logged time?

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.

Time logged... and probably time with few exceptions that are far
between.
Jose wrote:
An instructor that sends out a student with 3 hours or less

Time? Or logged time?

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.

I don't understand why there are so many negative comments discouraging
high time solo students. First and foremost, not everyone aspires to be
a professional pilot, some people like to fly for enjoyment and are not
rushed into any deadlines. Second, some things involved in flying are
like learning to ride a bicycle - you have to just get it, and it may
take 2 hours or 70 hours. There is nothing wrong with 75 hour pre-solo
pilot, as long as they are enjoying what they are doing.

Personally, I will admit I have not soloed until 37.4 hours of dual
(just looked in my logbook). It took me a while to *get* a feeling for
landings. At the same time I had to deal with different instructors
with very limited schedules. On the other hand, by the time I soloed I
had some cross-country time, confidence to fly with 4 other airplanes
in pattern on my solo day, and handle 15kt crosswinds (came in *very*
handy for a cross country 2 weeks after solo).

I have a great deal of respect to all pilots that have soloed in 5 or
10 hours. But I'm disappointed that some of those people will use their
accomplishments to put down efforts of others with the same love for
aviation. It takes a lot of effort and money to fly, it makes no sense
to insult people without knowing their goals, learning situation, and
capabilities.

Artie

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

Regarding the WW2 pilot almost 4 hour solo...

I'm not judging your piloting skills... the point of a minimum time in
my honest oppinion to to give a person familiarity with his/her
surroundings (like when you first drove a car and needed some time to
figure things out), you (I'm assuming you're the fighter pilot) was
brilliant at military airfield procedures, but probably (if you were at
a slightly busy airport) would have benefited a bit from familiarity
with what is going on around you.

PLEASE do not confuse familiarity with ability.

wrote in message
ups.com...
I don't understand why there are so many negative comments discouraging
high time solo students.

Well, be sure first that you are correctly interpreting the "negative
comments". For example, the post you replied to did not actually include
any such "negative comments discouraging high time solo students" (I would
say "high time pre-solo students", but I think I get your meaning).

There's a different between asserting that some people may not be suited to
being a pilot, and asserting that one can determine whether a person is
suited to being a pilot by considering their time to solo. The former is
what the post to which you replied said.

Others have indeed said the latter, but those people appear to me to be in
the minority. I didn't actually count, and it may be I'm just less
sensitive to the question, but I don't get any sort of general wash of
opinion that ought to discourage high time pre-solo students.

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

"Bob Noel" wrote in message
...
In article .com,
"Andrew Sarangan" wrote:

I would love to see the 3-hour guy's logbook for all the 15 items
required by the FAR for solo. In fact, I would love to see the 5-hour
guy's logbook too.

Why? 61.87 doesn't have *that* much stuff to go over. Are there
other requirements for solo flight?

How many kids started learning to fly in Dad's plane when they were quite
young, but the instruction was not loggable?

I can think of a few who had zero LEGAL (logged) hours, but could handle the
aircraft quite nicely because they had been "flying" for ten years or more.

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
oups.com...
FWIW: I soloed with 1.5 hours logged.

How many NOT logged?

How many hours your kids got, Jay?

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"

Matt Barrow wrote:

How many hours your kids got, Jay?



A local FBO recently caught an 80 hour PP-ASEL, who rents aircraft from
them, not only teaching his kid to fly, but logging it as DUAL GIVEN and
signing the kid's logbook!