continue or not?

[boulder19]

I have been working on my PPL for 4 months now. I have 28 hours and have not soloed yet. I don't think I am ready to solo but my instructor says I am. My 141 school requires that I take a stage check with one of the senior instructors before I solo. I do not think I will pass this stage check, my instructor thinks I will. The average estimated cost from this school was $7,200. I have already spent $7,730.
My original intention when I started flying was to be a professional. Things have changed for me and I only want to do it as a hobby now.
My problem is I am a full time student and have a part time job. I don't have the time or money to keep putting into this. How difficult would it be to stop flying now and pick it up later in life, when I have more time and money? Would I have to start over because of loss of proficiency? Would this be more costly than finishing up cross country stuff now?

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated!

 

[mvspring]

just a thought

This is just a suggestion as I am still going for the PPL myself, but why not go for a recreational pilots license for now. You could fly a while and then pick up the PPL later. I don't know how you could go about doing this, but it is an idea. Good luck.

mvspring

 

[Timebuilder]

It sounds to me as though your heart isn't in it. I find it hard to understand that it took 28 hours to reach this conclusion, but there we are.

For those who don't absolutely LOVE flying, I usually recommend waiting for the hobby phase of life, such as when you are a law partner or surgeon. Then, you have the money to do this "hobby" right. All right, I'm being facetious. You can enjoy flying a lot by renting a 152 for an hour on Sunday afternoons, too.

If you are college age, maybe a talk with the parents is a good first step. Perhaps you are just a little unsettled, or doubt your abilities. Most good instructors can tell when a student is ready to solo, and many students disagree with them at the time. I was one of them. Then, with some prodding, I proved my instructor right. Man, did that feel good.

It just may be that this is a speed bump on your road to the PPL, and you could still get it done. Some frank discussions are in order.

Good luck.

 

[V-1]

For what it's worth...

Every good student I had didn't feel they were ready to solo when I told them they were going it alone.

It was the ones who were gung-ho about soloing that concerned me the most. Those were the ones that will get an instructor into trouble if the instructor doesn't figure out how to reign them in a little.

If it makes you feel any better, the stage check is a test not only of your ability, but your instructor's teaching ability. The stage check airman is there to ensure you are ready, and your instructor hasn't overlooked anything.

I'd recommend at least soloing before you give it up or switch schools. It's amazing what a few hours of flying the airplane by yourself will do for your confidence.

I agree that if you have decided to pursue flying as a hobby you probably are better off financially approaching it from a part 61 training philosophy. Be aware the quality of instruction received via part 61 varies widely, unlike most good 141 programs.

I agree with Timebuilder on this one. Talk with your instructor, family, and friends before making a decision later.

 

[Please Hire Me]

Hang tough and finish. You will be very glad in the future that you did.

 

[naviator]

If you stop flying now you'll probably have to start from scratch later on. You can still use your "old" hours towards the requirements but proficiency wise you'll be set back.

When it comes to Recreatioanl vs PPL: don't do it! It's almost the same time requirement for both but the recreational certificate is a lot more restrictive.

My advice is to continue with your PPL and get it out of the way. Then you'll have the option to fly every now and then or come back to aviation one day down the road, with your certificate in your pocket. It'll save you a lot of money too. By the way, 7700$ is A LOT of money for a PPL. You should be able to get it for 3500 to 4000 if you shop around.

And like the other post mentioned, if your goal is hobby-flying go Part 61. A lot cheaper and less time consuming.

Good luck!

 

[bobbysamd]

Soloing

For that matter, I didn't feel 100% confident when I took my Private practical, and I did alright.

Trust your instructor. Look at it from his/her perspective. Your instructor is laying his/her prestige on the line when he/she sends you up to solo and/or for a stage check. So, if your instructor believes that you're ready for either or both, you probably are.

And, pay no heed to the number of hours it's taken you to get there (I realize you have to pay heed to the $$$.). Plenty of people need extra training and they go on to professional careers. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. There are those who will solo early but won't have a clue about the gauges and how to make them show what they want them to show come instrument training time. There are those whose ability to understand systems rivals that of the engineers who designed them, and there are those who, after 250 hours, can't even spell "pilot." The bottom line is you that arrive at your goal, but, more importantly, that you are a safe and competent pilot.

Go solo the airplane. And, best of luck with the rest of your training.

 

[banned username 2]

I have been working on my PPL for 4 months now. I have 28 hours and have not soloed yet.

I have already spent $7,730.

What are you flying???? Even if you took out $1,730 for ground instruction you are still paying $214.29 per hour for flight time!!!

I may be wrong but I think you are getting hosed!

I haven't Flight Instructed in quite a few years, but I don't think a Cessna 172 is going for $214.29/hr dual anywhere in the US. (Not even at the VERY overpriced American Flyers!)

 

[boulder19]

okay, you guys are going to think I'm a jackass, but somehow I was $3,000 off. I swear it was the calculator. Okay, maybe operator error. I took another look at my receipts and to date I have spent $4770. Not $7730. I was wondering how I could have gotten hosed that bad.
Anyway the real question is should I keep going through cross country or drop it and pick it up later in life?

Thanks for the reply's so far.

 

[eriknorth]

As long as you aren't 3000 FEET off...

 

[azpilot]

Take the stage check and see what happens! Yes, 28 hours is a bit long but that could because the school sucks and is milking you for money. You lack confidence in yourself so you sub-conciously are doing things that are preventing you from soloing, etc. Way back when just before I was ready to solo I started making really crapping landings. Fear factor I guess. I took a week of and then soloed with no problem. The stage check went fine as well. One thing you should do is go round and round in the pattern if you landings aren't good. If you instructor isn't instructing and clearly offering suggestions to make improvements get another one! I see so many instructors that are in it for the hours and not for the instructing and that is a sad state of affairs.

Good luck,
AZPilot

 

[laker inbound]

Take it from me, you definitely should go ahead and finish it off now. You're situation sounds a lot like mine. I didn't solo until I had 31.3 hours, and I also dreaded taking the stage check. I ended up doing fine, although it took me about ten minutes of flying in circles before I finally found the little grass strip he had me divert to.

My real challenge came a few weeks later when on my first solo cross country, I drove off the runway at my destination and needed to hail some kind folks to help me push it back out. Luckily I didn't do any damage, and I flew back to home base and never mentioned a thing. But then I took a few weeks off to think if I really wanted to finish getting the license. In the end, I decided to go for it, and here I am -- 175 hours, and currently working on my instrument.

I would never have forgiven myself if I hadn't finished it off.

GO FOR IT DUDE !!!

 

[banned username 2]

My real challenge came a few weeks later when on my first solo cross country, I drove off the runway at my destination and needed to hail some kind folks to help me push it back out. Luckily I didn't do any damage, and I flew back to home base and never mentioned a thing.

Uh Folks...

If we do something like this to an airplane, even if we THINK there is no damage... mention it to someone and have it checked out by maintenance! You could slightly buckle the firewall or any other range of damage and not see it with the untrained eye...

ALWAYS report something like this to maintenance... You owe it to anyone else who flies that plane after you did!!!

Fly Safe!

 

[mckpickle]

hang in there. If you give it up chances are you will never go back. Your just at a bump in the road. When you solo you will feel a huge weight lifted off you. And it will motivate you!

I had a student once, who was having a little trouble. He flew fine but he had no self confidence. I got to the point when I said,
"OK this lesson is over pull the plane on the ramp." Then I got out, signed his logboog. I looked him in the eye and said, " your scaring the He11 out of me and I dont want to be in a plane with you, now go take this thing around the pattern for a few trips"

He did some of the nicest landings I have ever seen, and then had the motivation and the self confidence to go on. Later he said to me what a lot of us feel on our first solo. You take the plane off, you got to get it down, all by yourself and when you do it it feels mighty good.

 

[mckpickle]

Uh Folks...

If we do something like this to an airplane, even if we THINK there is no damage... mention it to someone and have it checked out by maintenance! You could slightly buckle the firewall or any other range of damage and not see it with the untrained eye...

ALWAYS report something like this to maintenance... You owe it to anyone else who flies that plane after you did!!!

Fly Safe!

agreed 100%. Had a plane at my flight school that came down hard on the nose wheel. No one mentioned it to anyone. on the next 100 hour, MX found the firewall buckled and the nose wheel hanging on by one bolt! Could have been bad.

 

[supsup]

finish!!!!!!!

If you quit now you will be spend much more money trying to finish your ppl. I am by know means an expert instructor, but from my experience many students seem to reach a plateau in their training. For some its pre-solo and for others its cross countries or short and soft field landings. If your feeling frustrated with your progress don't be, I read in a magazing a while back that the average total time for ppl is up to something like 65-75 hrs. If your instructor says your ready, your ready. No cfi is going to sign some off to go solo if their not ready.

Keep flying,

supsup

 

[ILLINI]

I agree with everyone else here. Go ahead and finish. How long has your instructor been telling you that you were ready to solo? Remember that you will not be expected to make great landings at this stage in your training. You are only expected to fly the plane safely and get it on the runway in one piece without bending any aluminum. And don't even sweat the stage check. Like V-1 mentioned, it's more a check on your instructor than a check on your abilities. The check instructor just wants to make sure that your instructor hasn't missed anything. I can't tell you how many students i've had to practically push into the airplane for them to solo. It is natural to be nervous and think that you aren't ready for it. You really have to trust your instructor and your abilities. No instructor with half a brain would let you solo if he/she didn't think you were ready. Everyone has a bump or two in their training. It sounds like you have gotten to yours. Just dig in and go forward. Who knows, you may breeze through the rest of your training after you solo.

Another thing to consider is your relationship with your instructor or instructors. You wan't to make sure that the two of you have a good relationship. You don't have to be best friends, but you should feel comfortable with him/her and be able to talk with them about any problems or concerns you may have. A bad student/instructor relationship can lead to lengthy training and added cost. If this is the case, talk to the school manager or chief pilot. They know the importance of a good realtionship and should understand your concern, as should your instructor. They should be able to get you a new instructor. This isn't unheard of, so you don't have to worry about it being any trouble. Now if you are constantly changing instructors, that's another story.

Best of luck!