Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 123
Results 21 to 26 of 26

Thread: Can You Solo In A Week?

  1. #21

    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Posts
    2

    Where's the fire Why the hurry?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Greenwood View Post
    There is a short video on the AOPA website a few days ago which showed and talked about these students.

    It is obvious that the lady can fly the plane, but that they did not do a solo flight at all,the CFI is right there in the plane next to her.

    It will be interesting to see what if anything happens to these students when they go back to their home airport and fly with another CFI. Will they get to do a genuine solo flight soon, or will the CFI have them repeat all the learning they have already done in Florida?

    I assume the course at Sun N Fun was given to these 3 students at no cost to them. What now,will they continue their training if they have to pay for it,and will they become private pilots? I hope so. I'd sure like to meet them as Airventure.

    I don't think Redbird has plans now to continue to repeat this at Oshkosh, wish they did.
    And for those who say it is too busy, too many planes to do this training at EAA, they could easily do what they did at Sun N Fun where the flying was at a nearby airport. Plant City, to Lakeland.
    As a low time student shooting for an SP license, I don't "get" you guys! I'm not quite to my solo yet but I'm getting close. Personally, an "assisted" solo may be better for me than simply tossing me into the left seat without a CFI in as little time as possible just to prove the point that it can be done. Have any of you "aviation purists," ie, "solo means SOLO" considered what that student has got going through his head when you throw him to the wolves just to prove a theory? What if the poor sap crashes on landing because, in his mind, he wasn't ready but in the mind of others, 6 to 8 hours should have been enough? Maybe it's just me but having a CFI in the cockpit with me that sits there and lets me do the flying would be no different than taking up a passenger that knows absolutely nothing about flying. The one difference here would be that the CFI in the right seat can make things right prior to a catastrophic mistake by a low time student. I keep hearing "safety first" but then some of you old timers (or high timers) suggest that we take someone with zero hours to solo in a week. Sure am glad I'm not flying with the likes of you.

  2. #22

    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    FA40
    Posts
    767
    My dad solo'd a Cub in 1943 after 4.6 hrs dual. A guy I worked with solo'd a TH55 in 1966 after 6.2 hrs dual. I've seen both logbooks, not self certified, cosigned by military operations officers.

  3. #23
    lnuss's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    279
    Quote Originally Posted by Scrapper View Post
    As a low time student shooting for an SP license, I don't "get" you guys! I'm not quite to my solo yet but I'm getting close. Personally, an "assisted" solo may be better for me than simply tossing me into the left seat without a CFI in as little time as possible just to prove the point that it can be done. Have any of you "aviation purists," ie, "solo means SOLO" considered what that student has got going through his head when you throw him to the wolves just to prove a theory? What if the poor sap crashes on landing because, in his mind, he wasn't ready but in the mind of others, 6 to 8 hours should have been enough? Maybe it's just me but having a CFI in the cockpit with me that sits there and lets me do the flying would be no different than taking up a passenger that knows absolutely nothing about flying. The one difference here would be that the CFI in the right seat can make things right prior to a catastrophic mistake by a low time student. I keep hearing "safety first" but then some of you old timers (or high timers) suggest that we take someone with zero hours to solo in a week. Sure am glad I'm not flying with the likes of you.
    An "assisted solo" is what I've always done with students prior to the real thing, meaning they must do it all with no help from me, though I'm sitting there. They even have to do it with the panel covered with my coat. You need to keep in mind that a true solo isn't just solo strictly for confidence, though that's a major part of it. It's also a legal (regulatory) term and procedure that is required for a license. If you can't turn a student loose for a true solo then you have a dual only student who will never solo and can never get a license.

    As to knowing what's in the student's head when soloing, it's hard to know exactly for any given person, but I still remember (over 45 years later) what it was like for me, and I also have commentary from various students over the years. And some students aren't ready nearly as quickly as some others -- I've even, on a couple of occasions, refused to solo someone, EVER, recommending they give up flying completely, since they never seemed able to handle it on their own (bad stuff, even after lots of instruction and practice). Thankfully those are rare.

    Also, I don't think you'll find any CFIs "throwing someone to the wolves." As to soloing a student in a week, the intense immersion in flying needed for that to occur makes it a different experience than it is for someone flying two or three times a week. Keep in mind, too, that no one will FORCE you to solo (some CFIs might push a little, but not FORCE), but they'll certainly make sure you have the opportunity if you are able.

    As to 6 to 8 hours? There are rare individuals who can do that with no problem. There are also those who take 30 plus hours to solo. Most are in between.

    Perhaps after you've actually soloed and gained a bit of additional experience, you might ' "get" you guys.'

    Larry N.

  4. #24

    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Posts
    2,575
    Scrapper, if you don't feel ready to solo after a certain number of hours, then don't go. You can just keep on flying dual, the CFI will likely be glad for the income. Bu I would tend to trust the CFI when they say you are ready. I am pretty sure that the safety record for first solo is very good. And learning to fly is and should be fun, not something you see as a worry.
    I have never heard of the term assisted solo until recently. If you are solo then you are the only one in the plane and obviously doing the flying all of it. By the way, nothing in the Sun N Fun instruction said they only had 6 hours or 8 dual. I seem to recall they may have had 18. The point was to see if they could get competent in a weeks time, not limited to a certain number of hours. Each student had their own top CFI and probably a half day or more inst. Say 3 hours a day for 6 days,certain enough time for many to be ready to solo. Now Redbird never had any intention of actual solos but it is obvious that the students were proficient at weeks end to have soloed. They could fly and land they plane.
    Otherwise it is dual. Now before a student solos he will normally have flown the pattern and made landings dozens of times, maybe hundreds with a CFI ,but should realize that at some point the student is doing all the flying, the CFI is there just to supervise. So on the solo flight the student just does what he has already been doing. Mormally you go around for 3 takeoff and landings and the CFI is there either on unicom or in the tower if needed on the radio.
    Solo is a step to a pliot rating and you go on to learn x country, instrument or night flying and the other parts after solo until ready for the flight test. You will both be practicing on your own and also having dual for new parts.
    Last edited by Bill Greenwood; 04-05-2016 at 08:58 AM.

  5. #25

    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    302
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Greenwood View Post
    There is a program which will be done at Sun N Fun which is pretty interesting.
    3 student pilots with no prior experience will be given a week of intensive flight training with the goal of having them ready to solo in One Week.
    Sounds pretty intensive , but we will see. Half of the 18 hours will be in a Redbird Simulator and half in the actual planes. a rebuilt C 172.

    My bet is that they can do it, barring bad weather.
    AOPA is filming it so those of us not at Lakeland can see it later.
    How about a pirep from someone who is there, wish I was this year.

    I'd like to go, even at the last minute, but don't have any housing.
    I am stuck in Seattle and therefore missing Sun n Fun, outherwise I would not be commenting here. Not only is a one week to solo possible, one day to solo is possible. It is not for everyone but has been done. I was at OSH for this one week to solo experiment and interviewed one of the students. It was a good program and not a stunt. Learning to fly does not need to be expensive and time consuming.

    See my new post on free flight lessons and please help the cause.

  6. #26

    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Location
    Franklinton, Louisiana
    Posts
    49
    Jedi,
    What is your post link?

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •