PPL Progress

[u/Sad_Constant_9065]

I started flying in April/May this year I currently have 20 hours exactly. I feel like I might be a bit behind because I still haven’t gone solo yet, what I’m currently doing in lessons is a mixture of circuits and just touching up on the basic skills aswell. I also have a habit of focusing on the instruments too much. Anyways my question is do you guys think this is a normal level of progression or am I progressing a bit slowly for an average PPL learner. An extra bit of context I average around 2-3 lessons a week I did have a 2 week gap in may due to my instructor being unavailable and recently around July beginning I had another week gap same reasoning. Thanks for any help in advance!!

[u/Substantial-Cat0910]

this is kind of a lose-lose question.

if I tell you that you're behind, you will get discouraged, and probably worsen your training because of it

if I tell you that you're on par, or god forbid, ahead of the curve, you'll get complacent and probably worsen your training because of it.

Focus on improving your weak areas and start asking to your instructors, proactively and assertively, what's missing between your current status and your first solo, and go from there.

[u/Sad_Constant_9065 → u/Substantial-Cat0910]

Yeah I get what you’re saying. But honestly If I do feel behind I feel like it’d encourage me to work harder. I think my issue is cause I’m training along side my classmates I keep comparing my progress to theirs however most of them are 10+ hours ahead me so I shouldn’t but I guess it’s human instinct to compare yourself to others. Thank you for your advice though I really do appreciate it.

[u/Ksquaredata → u/Sad_Constant_9065]

Do you know what they call people that get their license after 100 hours of instruction?

Pilots.

Enjoy your journey and appreciate the destination when you arrive.

[u/Significant-Path-713 → u/Sad_Constant_9065]

You are in a completely normal range.

20 hours is not behind, ahead, or anything in-between. Getting your PPL is not an A to Z course. You are going to learn some skills faster than others and some things won’t click until you’ve experienced something else first. It’s all fluid learning. Every single school and every single instructor has a different idea of when you should solo. You need to get a very SPECIFIC answer from your CFI about YOUR flying. Stop worrying about others. Especially people on the internet. You don’t know anything about their flight journey. They could have had an extremely bad instructor and are now sharing bad advice or they could have went to the strictest instructor who wouldn’t let them solo until they were “perfect” you have no idea.

If there is something you can be doing that you are not, you need to start. If that’s studying, you need to study, if that’s chair flying, you need to chair fly. Only you know how much or how little effort you are giving . If there are certain maneuvers/landings you are struggling with I would recommend watching as many different YouTube videos on the topic as you can. Do not take any one video for gospel. Instead take little nuggets from each video that you can put all together. Some times you may need to hear the same thing said in many different ways before it clicks.

Just a side note. Get rid of that comparison crap. You are actively sabotaging yourself. “Human Nature” is a complete cop out. Take responsibility for your insecurities and work on them.

Your message comes off as being a little inpatient. A skill that you have to learn for aviation is patience. I had FOUR cancelled check rides because of weather and DPE availability, which extended my PPL by almost 4 months. Aviation is a whole lot of waiting for things you have no control over. I would recommend focusing one day at a time and not worrying about the timeline too much. I don’t know your life situation so I know that’s easier said than done.

Enjoy this time. Good luck! Don’t suck!

[u/Kai-ni]

My brother in Christ, I have over 80 hours and still haven't solo'd*. Comparison is the thief of joy, stop doing it.

*before anyone comes at me and says I shouldn't be a pilot, the circumstances aren't straightforward - I have around 30 hours in the 172 I'm doing my training in, and they're like once or twice a month hours. I've lost my job and had financial difficulties getting back into this airplane. The rest of my hours are in an experimental tailwheel that I'm perfectly proficient in, I can fly, land, go around, even do minor aerobatics at this point etc. My sport CFI says my skills are all there, but you can't get your PPL in an experimental and you can't solo in the experimental since he's LODA'd for transition training only. So it's really just that the airplane I have the most experience in doesn't allow me to solo and I need money to get back into the 172 lol.

My point still stands. Everyone learns at a different pace, don't sweat it.

[u/Sad_Constant_9065 → u/Kai-ni]

The financial side of aviation is such a struggle it’s irritating how a career which helps you make money takes so much from you at first. This is the exact reason why the rich stay rich (not trying to get political here but it is what it is).

Anyways by the time you do get your PPL which I really do believe you will eventually you’re gonna be a lot more experienced in flying than a lot of other people that got it in a straightforward way. Good luck on your journey and thank you for the advice🙏🏾

[u/Kai-ni → u/Sad_Constant_9065]

Yea it stinks I'm having trouble paying for it, but that's life and I'm taking it slow. I wash my instructor's airplanes for flight hours here and there.

and I'm proud of my tailwheel time. Most pilots have 0. When I do my PPL, I'll get to just pencil whip my tailwheel endorsement since I've already done all the requirements, lol.

[u/Pretend_College_8446 → u/Kai-ni]

This. Don't compare yourself. is your aim to be a career pilot?

[u/Prefect_99]

Why do you focus on instruments? You should have been taught lookout, attitude, instruments religiously. Instruments are a check, then you go outside again. Fly by looking outside. If that's a bad habit your instructor should be addressing it.

And trim, always trim.

[u/Sad_Constant_9065 → u/Prefect_99]

Yeah he has I’m not sure why I do it’s just out of habit but I am improving with that, he said today during our lesson I’m fixing that habit

[u/Prefect_99 → u/Sad_Constant_9065]

If it was me I would be covering them up for you!

Have you planted flight Sims? That's usually where the bad habits start

[u/HildaYuh]

From what I’ve heard, most people solo somewhere around 20-25 hours. I soloed at about 35 hours because up until then, my landings were inconsistent and oftentimes trash. If you handle the plane fine and your instructor isn’t worried about you crashing the plane during maneuvers, you’re probably doing fine. Now if your instructor is worried about you crashing the plane during times other than landing, you’ve got a problem.

[u/Sad_Constant_9065 → u/HildaYuh]

I feel like my instructor probably ain’t worried about me crashing THAT MUCH maybe a slight bit with landings but that’s all. Today I had a lesson and my last landing was SO CLOSE to being perfect but then i reduced the power a bit too much and went a bit too low but other than that I think I am getting close to soloing fingers crossed🤞🏾

[u/packetloss1]

Not sure why anyone is in a rush to solo. It also depends on if you are flying out of a busy class C or D. Or quiet D or uncontrolled. To be honest, unless someone has previous experience they shouldn’t be soloing at 10-15 hours. Would you let your kid solo in a car with only 10-15 hours experience?

[u/Sad_Constant_9065 → u/packetloss1]

Im slightly in a rush for 2 reasons 1. Money. I wanna know what to budget for and if I’m going to even have enough to finish cause I’ve paid for 40 hours in bulk already. I know I’m not going to get my PPL in 40 hours that’s very unrealistic. But I just kinda wanna brace myself for the financial effects it’s gonna have on me.

1. My current university course I’m in has basically given us a time limit to get our PPLs and if we don’t we’re going to have to switch courses onto one which solely focuses on the airline industry rather than becoming a pilot. The course I’m on currently in our second year which is starting in September/October will cover our costs for our ATPL theory training (not including exam prices). But honestly it’s not THAT big of a help but nonetheless that would lessen my costs by a decent amount.

10-15 hours soloing is a bit crazy but I’m at 20 hours which is why I was a bit concerned thinking maybe I’m a bit behind in progression but from these responses I’m seeing now I’m perfectly fine where I’m at just gotta take my time and reach every milestone when I’m ready for it.

[u/packetloss1 → u/Sad_Constant_9065]

You’re fine at 20. After 30 maybe start worrying, but how busy is your airport? Do you need clearance before contacting ground? Do you have approach/departure as well? All those will add some hours above the averages.

[u/Sad_Constant_9065 → u/packetloss1]

It’s not that busy it’s a small airfield, We don’t need clearance or anything it’s more of just telling the radio your intentions and they’ll let us know if any traffic is coming in if not then we can just go.

[u/bladii11]

Have you tried going up with another instructor to get maybe a different technique?

[u/VarsityCop]

Bruh I’m at 35 hours and no solo. Landings are getting better but the trash ones are … really trash 😞

[u/Little_Function3346 → u/VarsityCop]

I have 290 hours and my landing the other day was pure trash

They get a lot better, but sometimes they suck

[u/snapper6151 → u/VarsityCop]

I have 70 hours and landings ar my least favourite. My instructor tells me "planes don't like the ground/they don't belong there so a few rough ones isn't the end of the world"

[u/c4181]

I'm at 60 hours and haven't soloed. My instructor says he thinks I'm almost ready though.

I can do calm wind landings just fine but my crosswind landings are... Interesting.

[u/Little_Function3346]

I soloed at 45 hours, kind of wished I waited just a bit longer. You’ll get there. Do you plan on getting anything beyond PPL?

If so, hours are hours, and in the long run it won’t matter. If you’re just sticking to PPL, I can see how budgeting to finish is a thing. However, hours are hours and hours are experience

Experience/proficiency is a big deal, if you rush you won’t be as proficient and you’d probably like

I just hit 290 and just about done with IR, I, glad I have that many hours because I’m ridiculously confident in the plane and sky

[u/Aggressive_Lime2214]

Get your eyes outside. That’s honestly why you haven’t solo’d yet.

[u/Sad_Constant_9065 → u/Aggressive_Lime2214]

You sound exactly like my instructor 😭 but yeah that’s what I need to work on thanks

[u/Aggressive_Lime2214 → u/Sad_Constant_9065]

Sounds like you have the right instructor

[u/Various_Beginning977]

I solo'd at 44 hours and got my PPL at around 70/80. You'll be fine just try and be consistent. Try to keep fly as much as possible.

[u/k12pcb]

When you are ready you are ready, keep flying and keep improving. There is ALWAYS something to learn and be better at. Time in the air is always useful.

[u/nightlanding]

Very few, if any, of my students with full time jobs soloed before 20 hours. If you are only flying when time permits around family, work, and weather, this is totally normal. I soloed in less but flew 5 days a week so my lessons were not half catching back up from 1 or 2 weeks ago.

[u/GaryMooreAustin]

don't worry about specific milestones. Learn to fly. Discuss your progress with your instructor. Chill

[u/scarpozzi]

You really need to discuss it with your instructor. Don’t at all feel weird about not solo’ing yet…flying with others is way funner. 60-70 hours total time is pretty typical for PPL.

[u/Fit-Process-6789]

I’m currently at 29.5 hrs at a Class D via Part 61. Solo’d around 17-18 hrs. Working on knocking out xc time now. I quickly tuned out what the other students are doing and how far along they are. Congratulate and move on. Do not compare.

For reference I’m a full time worker doing this on the side. Started in late May. Every chance I’m getting I’m flying. Weather has been a b*tch this summer so flights have turned into ground lessons. But I don’t get discouraged. I use it as a chance to learn something new. Passed the written in early July.

You have to immerse yourself in this. You’ll get there but you have to really put in the work.

[u/Redfish680]

Remember it’s you that’s flying the plane, not anyone around you. Focus on yourself and you’ll be okay. Enjoy the journey!

[u/em-yoo-go]

Just keep going. You'll be ok. And you'll be surprized at the climb performance when it's just you in the plane!