poll hours to solo / ppl

[HomerJay]

7 Hours solo and 45.0 for PPL

You might have guessed I did my training in Florida

[mosquito]

Just reading some of the posts re hrs solo and PPL and impressed to say the least by the low hour achievements. I take it however that these future candidates for the Nasa shuttle program did their training in the U.S. full time. Having done my PPL hrs in EIWT i find it inconcieveable that these hrs to solo and PPL are attainable. When you have to take into account UAW and emergencies, the circuit pattern and deal with (a little known feature in florida) called wind and weather. I just can't imagine any instructor/school in EIWT allowing this to happen. Respect to the people who done it but it seems reckless and dangerous?. Which brings me to another point...and i know this will ruffle a few feathers ..so apologies in advance...but are those PPL's who step off the plane (pardon pun) from these US schools up to scratch?? i have heard from instructors here that many require many more hours to be brought up to irish standards...and that your better off training in ireland...this from both irish and foreign instructors not school reps now. Just thrown it out there..

[mark]

Just reading some of the posts re hrs solo and PPL and impressed to say the least by the low hour achievements. I take it however that these future candidates for the Nasa shuttle program did their training in the U.S. full time.

I did all my training at Weston and solo'ed in 11hrs, not full time either, those 11 hours were spread over 12 months.

[mosquito]

respect....i think i was still learning to start up & taxy properly
i think it's fair to say you were an exception rather than the norm. Fair play.

[mike romeo]

17 hrs solo
45.0 hrs PPL

Did mine with OBA

I was ready for solo at 10 hours but weather did not allow it (gusts for a few days) So I had my 3 dual XC's completed before I soloed

In reply to mosquito's question when I came back to Ireland I soloed a Rallye after 2 hours dual so I'd imagine the Instructor here was also happy with my performance, tho the Rallye is a piece of cake to fly IMO

[HomerJay]

but are those PPL's who step off the plane (pardon pun) from these US schools up to scratch?? i have heard from instructors here that many require many more hours to be brought up to irish standards...and that your better off training in ireland...this from both irish and foreign instructors not school reps now. Just thrown it out there..

Irish instructors telling you its better to train in Ireland, now theres a shock.

For some reason its a popular opinion over here. The fact is a CAA examiner is not going to pass you if you are not a competent pilot, no matter what country you are in at the time.

I have been to three different schools in the US and I was a lot happier with the instruction I received there than I did with 3 different instructors in Ireland.

How exactly is flying every couple of weeks any better than flying each day? Is it because there is more cloud and rain in Ireland? One thing I have learned through my training in both countries is a lot of opinions on schools is based on no facts and just ignorance.

At the end of the day I saved a couple thousand euro and about a year in getting my PPL and I am closer to the career I want. Most importantly I have received more than adequate training and I am a safe and competent pilot.

My experience flying (trying to get off the ground each weekend) in Ireland was a complete nightmare and the costs are an absolute joke to be honest. If someone has the money and patience then fair play to them but I'm happy with my training in the US.

The feedback I have gotten from the Irish instructors when I came back was all positive as well so I seem to be up to these very high Irish standards.

[Overpitcher]

I did my first Heli solo in 45 minutes after my intro lesson................................ Only joking lads, could'nt resist it. Lighten up for Christ sake. Mine is bigger than yours, etc etc. We all have a goal, we all have different experiences ref weather, instructors, conditions on the day,humours etc. Far too many variables for a straight forward answer. Am sure most guys average out at approx the same hours. No one should go throwing toys out of pram about who did what and where. Typical male attitude, comparing notes.Calm down men, get on with the job in hand, and relax over the one upmanship. Starting to look like a secondary school forum as opposed to the mature,level headed,potential apprentice ATPL site that it should be. Get over it. There will be plenty of opportunity for competition in your carreer at a later date.

[ceatach]

I dont have my logbook to hand but I was less than 10 hours to solo and less than 50 to ppl and it certainly was not in a condensed timeframe.

[StephenM]

Lighten up for Christ sake. Mine is bigger than yours, etc etc. We all have a goal ... Far too many variables for a straight forward answer.

Well said.

[mosquito]

... the reason i threw it out there (admittingly knowing it will get people in a tizzy) is that a guy about to start PPL training recently asked me about training here or going to the U.S. Before i would have been an advocate for here but the more i thought about it..cost, Wx and time spent etc, it got me thinking....i suppose there's pro and cons with everthing.

[buzz]

I was ready at about 12 hours, which wasn't bad when spread over two years, 13 instructors in Irish weather at a busy international airport. My logbook was stamped for solo but I hadn't got an SPL due to the fact that the idiots I was learning to fly with neglected to tell me about this minor detail. In the end it took me 25 hours due to delays with the SPL and medical, among other things. This was because I continued flying while waiting for it to be sorted out. After that I found it almost impossible to go solo again at the airport so headed to Weston.

Flyer1 was quite exceptional but of course he had the advantage of quite a bit of unlogged hours with friendly pilots. Realistically given the syllabus it has to take about ten hours or so. It's worth pointing out that it is illegal for a pilot who is not an instructor to give instruction.

But in the end it hardly matters how long it takes to go solo. You go solo when you're ready or when your instructor feels you won't kill yourself and end his or her career simultaneously.

The average is irrelevant really. In busy airspace it can take longer simply because of the extra complexities. The likes of the RAF can demand certain hours but they have a higher standard to maintain plus military pilots are hot housed in their training.

[alphaLaura]

Wow, I took ages to solo and get the PPL compared to most here! I soloed around 22 hours, and got the PPL around 62. I had been flying every couple of weeks for a year before finally getting the nerve to change flight schools and then getting the time to finish off the PPL. Even though I was ready for the flight test around 50-55 hours, I hadn't yet done the PPL exams. So I had to wait a further 2 months to apply for the test. And I flew even more during those couple of months

[Lambada Crazy]

[quote="mosquito"] I take it however that these future candidates for the Nasa shuttle program did their training in the U.S. full time. Having done my PPL hrs in EIWT i find it inconcieveable that these hrs to solo and PPL are attainable. I just can't imagine any instructor/school in EIWT allowing this to happen. Respect to the people who done it but it seems reckless and dangerous?. Which brings me to another point...and i know this will ruffle a few feathers ..so apologies in advance...but are those PPL's who step off the plane (pardon pun) from these US schools up to scratch?? i have heard from instructors here that many require many more hours to be brought up to irish standards...and that your better off training in quote]

Mosquito i am rather annoyed at that previous post of yours where you question the abilities of people on this forum, i dont think an apology in advance cures the situation any better either.

Have you ever flown in "the sunshine state" or even the US???? because when people ridicule them they usually dont know what goes on there.

I trained in a Brand new, state of the Art, Liberty XL2! I had an instuctor with over 10000 hours.
Now you must ask the question from my point of view? Is the "part time" ppl that people do in ireland safe???? They spread 45 hours out over 3 years. I can see where your coming from but you do not know how well it works when you fly 3-4 hours a day.

Furthermore, Florida is a place where you can USE your ppl. I find it abseloutly ridiculous the way ireland behaves towards General Aviation, I wanted to go to cork recently and was PUT OFF by the 50 euro fee to park there. IS THIS SAFE??

In Florida when i did my night rating, I flew from my base airport to another airport approximatly 6nm north of it. There was 8 of us, each in a brand new Liberty XL2, we stopped into the local "bar" where we all had non alchoholic drinks and some food, we stayed untill about 11pm and we headed back to the base, i think i did 1.5 hours of circuits when i flew back to the airport. I got home at about 2am.
That is how you USE your ppl, the sooner that Irish Aviation wake up and see that they are being completely TURNED OVER the better!

And yes some people are unable to complete their ppl in the states, this is not due to weather, aircraft problems etc, it is purely down to ability and dedication and remember,

"Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors."

[Cathal]

hi ,
Did my ppl in Florida , came back and got cpl/meir in minimum hours , and found the training in the US very good and professional

[una]

sounds like 'mine is bigger than yours' i would have thought the average for solo was about 20hrs and ppl about 65