An uncontrolled, nearly deserted airfield really speeds things up!
At the six hour mark I was supposed to solo, but there was a snag in the insurance, so we delayed it.
Then the seasonal change in winds came and my instructor and I learned that I had a fundamental problem in handling serious crosswinds on what was supposed to be "once around the patch with me and then you're on your own."
Nix to that, and two hours later I had crosswinds sorted out and went around four times by myself. Apparently I was chuckling during my radio calls from the fun and he asked if I wanted another one. You betcha!
While I took training seriously - flying twice a week in the middle of the day to catch the weather and being prepared for the next lesson - I never stressed over how many hours to solo or for the check ride. Learning to fly the plane well and understand how it fit into the sky with other aircraft (the aviation side of things) were my goals; thankfully I had a CFI that matched them perfectly.
Ian, my CFI applies the same standards for his Sport Pilot and Private Pilot students; the curriculum is the same until one gets to the hood, after all. No night, no hood, no controlled airspace - but everything else from weather to ground reference manuevers is the same.
I know a guy that took over twenty hours to solo. He flew infrequently (sometimes months between lessons) and in controlled airspace. He's a fine pilot and someone I'll seek out for advice without reservation. Similarly, I know a fellow that raced to his ticket and couldn't read a weather strip on a twenty dollar bet.
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