Can You Solo In A Week?

[Bob Willman]

In the fall of 1959 I soloed at the end of the 6th hour in a Piper Tri-Pacer. I do not recall how long in days it took but I probably flew a couple of times a week. The local Piper dealer had a special guaranteed solo for $75 or guaranteed private for $350. I could not find $350.

[Richard Warner]

[QUOTE=Byron J. Covey;48252]I know of one example back in the 1960's where a person who had already passed his written and had a third class medical got his private in one week.
His uncle was the instructor as well as a designated examiner. They had excellent weather in the summer time with long daylight hours. Having personally flown of a 40 hour evaluation period in three weeks, with 37 of those hours in 7 days, I can attest to the fact that that is an intensive flight schedule."


I wonder how much, if any, of the time was "Ball Point Pen" time for the one week private. That sounds like a very exhausting schedule. I guess it could be done as you say, but it is almost unbelievable.

[Byron J. Covey]

[QUOTE=Richard Warner;48365]

I know of one example back in the 1960's where a person who had already passed his written and had a third class medical got his private in one week.
His uncle was the instructor as well as a designated examiner. They had excellent weather in the summer time with long daylight hours. Having personally flown of a 40 hour evaluation period in three weeks, with 37 of those hours in 7 days, I can attest to the fact that that is an intensive flight schedule."


I wonder how much, if any, of the time was "Ball Point Pen" time for the one week private. That sounds like a very exhausting schedule. I guess it could be done as you say, but it is almost unbelievable.

I worked at the airport part time back then, and I can attest to several days of flying that were 8+ hours. I pumped most of the gas for them.

I completed 35 (of the required 40) hours of flight evaluation for my airplane in 7 days in the November, with relatively few daylight hours. No ballpoint time involved.


BJC

[Jim Rosenow]

I thought I picked up on something earlier in the week while watching video coverage, although I reserve the right to claim misinterpretation on my part. Someone associated with the project made a statement to the effect that by the end of the week 'the student will conduct a complete flight without the instructor manipulating the controls' or a similar phraseology. Anybody else see that?

We should find out today, I guess...

Jim

EDIT... http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/A...e-week-big-day .....They were "supervised solos"...aka instructor sitting quietly in the right seat with no input. Certainly not solo, but probably made sense in the SnF environment.

[Bill Greenwood]

It would have been a good thing if the students had actually soloed at the end of a week.
They didn't do this.
Frankly, I am not sure Redbird even had any intention of the students doing a solo flight, even if they had not lost a day or so to weather problems.

When I spoke to someone at Redbird at the start of the week, I was given the phrase of "assisted solo" which meant a student flying the plane, doing all the controls and decisions and all the piloting, but with a CFI next to him in the plane, which of course is not solo.

Getting a student who has never had any flying experience or knowledge to fly the plane safely on landings and patterns and go arounds and touch and gos, in just a week is a big step, but no the bigger one of an actual solo.

And the week was titled, "Ready to solo in a week" , not soloing in a week.
So maybe they did all they claimed to be doing.
One reason given on the AOPA site for not soloing was the busy airspace near Lakeland with Sun N Fun. But it would have mostly cleared out Sun and today, Monday would have likely have been quiet and open for these students, especially at Plant City which was where the planes were.

It will be interesting to see what happens with these students now. I hope the program continues in some way, and they do solo soon and go on to get their private certificate. We will see.

[Floatsflyer]

We seem to live in a world today made up of 'what once was the unadulterated, unquestioned truth is no longer the case'...and all at the whimsical discretion of anyone that cares to take part in the manipulation.

"Solo" to 99.999 % of the world means something done or performed by a single person unaccompanied. Redbird and the Denizens of Sun N' Fun would have you believe differently. Well, using their early onset stupid logic, I am proposing the following new truth:

Lindberg was not the first to fly the Atlantic solo and non-stop in May, 1927. In June, 1919, Alcock and Brown were the first to complete the feat flying from St. Johns, Newfoundland to Clifton, Ireland. I have it on the most excellent of authority and information that Captain John Alcock did 100% of the flying and navigation without any input whatsoever from Lieutenant Arthur Brown who was merely along for the ride in a supervisory capacity.

[Bunkie]

+1 on the redefinition of terms. Last night I saw an ad for a shoe chain promoting a BOGO sale. To me BOGO means "buy one, get one free". The ad defined it as "buy one, get one at half off".

As to the question, I am certain that it can be done. But two years ago during my initial training (for which I took time off and arranged an intensive schedule), I discovered that at just under 4 hours of training per day (much of it landing practice), this (at the time) 57 year old was wrung out like a dishrag.

[Bill Greenwood]

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.

[1600vw]

I would say it depends on the type of aircraft one wants to solo. Something like a quicksilver, that could be done in two days maybe even one. Something like a 747, I would dare to guess, even though no one solo's a 747. But you get my point.
I soloed in 10 hours. My instructor told me I was ready at 5 hours. I wanted more seat time before going alone. I never flew before as pilot. I flew as passenger and only twice in a small airplane when I was very young. All others were heavy's that needed a ticket to ride.

Tony

[Mayhemxpc]

Just noticed this thread. I am not sure about one week, but the CAP National Flight Academies do it in 10 days. One of the venues is at OSH the week or so after AirVenture. I used to regularly provide instruction for the encampment. The syllabus is 8 hours of flight. The cadets fly at least once per day (weather allowing) twice when we can, and ride back seat with another cadet. Ground school when not flying. Not all make it to solo in that time period. Most do.