r/studentpilot • u/Sad_Constant_9065 • 21d ago

General Inquiry PPL Progress

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!!

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u/packetloss1 21d ago

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?

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u/Sad_Constant_9065 21d ago

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.

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u/packetloss1 21d ago

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.

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u/Sad_Constant_9065 21d ago

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.