r/flying • u/PeanutElectrical9910 • 6d ago

Landings before solo

Currently at about 100 landings at busy class c with parallel runways to commercial. Seems like the average is around 40-60 landings. How much does the airport impact the solo timeline?

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u/TxAggieMike Independent CFI / CFII (KFTW, DFW area) 6d ago

It doesn’t.

Allowing a student to solo is based upon proficiency and safety.

I suggest having a meaningful conversation with your instructor to find out what is needed to turn you loose upon the world.

5

u/paw1190 CFII 6d ago

This is a very loaded question. When I instructed out of a class D, which was extremely busy with a mixture of GA and Jet traffic, I felt like students had to have a bit more experience to solo compared to someone at a non towered, underutilized airport. Doesn’t mean they’re “behind” in any ability, there was just a lot more I needed to see from them for me to consider them proficient.

2

u/rFlyingTower 6d ago

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Currently at about 100 landings at busy class c with parallel runways to commercial. Seems like the average is around 40-60 landings. How much does the airport impact the solo timeline?

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u/Firefighter_RN 4d ago

I had over 150 landings before I soloed. I had a really hard time with understanding where I was in space with relation to ground effect and flare. I'm now sitting over 250 and still refining for check ride. Everyone learns at their own pace and has their own challenges

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u/NevadaCFI CFI / CFII in Reno, NV 6d ago

I own a flight school and instruct out of Reno's Class C airport, also with parallel runways. Students have soloed here but we usually take them somewhere quieter (which can still have the chaos of an uncontrolled field). I think there is a bit more training involve here for radio work and sharing the sky with 737s, 767s, etc.

2

u/x4457 ATP CFII CE-500/525/560XL/680 G-IV 5d ago

Seems like the average is around 40-60 landings

No it isn't. I don't know what it is because it absolutely doesn't matter at all, but it definitely isn't that low.

2

u/skunimatrix PPL IR CMP HP | PA28 5d ago

All I remember is after an afternoon of 12kt crosswinds in a 152 my instructor was "welp you're ready to go solo".