What was the hardest phase of training?

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BagOfMoneyNoChange@reddit

For me, the hardest phase of training was filtering through all my grindr matches.

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countextreme@reddit

Clearly nobody has told all of my potential matches on Tinder how cool being a PPL is yet. Any day now...

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According to my instructor, most private students hit a wall around 10-20 hours where they plateau and don't see themselves improving, and this is where they wash out. I doubt you will have this issue with your unofficial hours.

For you, if you haven't started working on your written yet, you might be surprised by the amount of studying and ground school that's involved. It's possible that will be the difficult part for you, but it depends on the individual and whether studying is difficult for them or not.

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Phillimac16@reddit

Get your medical first. That can be the biggest challenge for some. Other than that, short-field landings.

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countextreme@reddit

And if you have to answer "yes" to any of the questions on the medical, even if it seems innocuous, schedule a CONSULTATION (not an exam) with an AME or qualified professional before you finish applying.

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Maleficent-Prize-698@reddit

Private pilot was the hardest rating. And I’m in CFI training rn btw I still think Private was the hardest

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bottomfeeder52@reddit

everyone is different. for me instrument then multi.

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Serious_pOoper69@reddit

Overall, private was very easy for me. I will make this argument till the day I die but, Flight Simulator was a big contributing factor. I showed up to my first lesson knowing how to read my instruments, knew what the twin wheel was for and how to use it, and understood the BASIC fundamentals of flying. Now, the first time I tried landing in real life well, I almost quit and walked away. I didn’t almost die or crash, but it was bad enough to where I wanted to take the money from the loan I’d gotten and just go spend it on something else.

My greatest advice is to NOT give up. Unless you completely realize that flying isn’t for you and you don’t feel safe, stick through it. Learn and don’t just memorize things. Understand them! Everything has a purpose and a reason. Flying is an exciting hobby/job, but often people overlook the responsibilities associated with the trade.

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Jhorn_fight@reddit

I completely agree I went into training not needing to be taught how to fly a heading and use the controls as well as reading instruments and doing a scan. Just came naturally because of flying in the sim for so long.

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Jhorn_fight@reddit

I’d love to see the statistics for what people fail on the most but I’d assume it’s landings. I recommend going out with a couple different instructors during this phase just because everyone likes to teach it slightly different and you can learn something from everyone.

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imblegen@reddit

Learning how to land pre-solo.

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Tiny_Patient_2574@reddit

Do not prepay for anything more than what you can fly in a month. That's the rule I tell students.

Paying for 150 hours up front is ridiculous. Leave that to the ATP kids. My rental shop offers bulk discounts too, and they come with a big red "NON-REFUNDABLE" warning. I bet your place will do the same.

The legal enforceability of such a claim is dubious, but do you want to try and take a rental operation that no longer exists to court if they close their doors with your money? Probably not.

Pay for no more than like 20 hours at a time.

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Recent-Day3062@reddit (OP)

Hadn’t thought of the bankruptcy

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MundaneHovercraft876@reddit

Happens all the time toi

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CluelessPilot1971@reddit

Nonsense, it never, ever happens

/s

(Note the /s above - I don't really mean it)

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Warrior_witha_Garden@reddit

On the Civilian side will be shitty Instructors who dgaf and just milking your for hours.

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NovelPrevious7849@reddit

Paying.

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throaway691876@reddit

Instrument for me.

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RiverFrogs@reddit

Was commercial for me. I loved instrument

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Ok_Truck_5092@reddit

I can’t flipping wait to be done with commercial.

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LightPilotLifeguard@reddit

I might genuinely die if I have to do one more PO180

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throaway691876@reddit

I’ve been doing IR for a year, had to take a break, haven’t looked outside the plane in a year it seems.

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RiverFrogs@reddit

I just loved how black and white it was. First time single engine night IMC scared the shit out of me though

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Flyer1957@reddit

Comment. CFI here. Part 61 good idea. Do not prepay for anything unless it’s like a prepaid package to buy flight hours and get a discount off that.

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TxAggieMike@reddit

Do not pre-pay any flight training money that you cannot afford to lose.

Here is a news story that elaborates why.

https://avweb.com/flight-safety/flight-schools/flight-school-closure-students-refunds/

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TxAggieMike@reddit

From an instructor point of view, the first 10 to 15 hours are challenging if you are starting with no previous flight experience.

You are learning all the new jargon, establishing a positive connection with your instructor, establishing the mental pathways and physical habits of proper airplane control.

Remember the phrase “drinking from a firehose”? It is that.

But like any new skill, the raw new stuff gets easier with practice.

A game to play: early on, your instructor has a lot to share over the intercom as you’re learning what to do. Your goal: make him cease talking because you’re doing everything properly and there isn’t anything for him to say.

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vintageripstik@reddit

Do not prepay

https://share.google/RuGkJfhHPI2IPCGDJ

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PLIKITYPLAK@reddit

For me and most people it is Pre-Solo. In other words your first 15 to 20 hours of training until you Solo. Once you get past Solo (first time flying all by yourself) you gain a whole nother' level of confidence and it becomes easier.

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ltcterry@reddit

Do not prepay for a more than you are willing to walk away from if the place closed its doors tomorrow.

It happens.

Pay for ten hours and get 11? Makes sense. Pay for 150 hours? As my wife says, “Hell to the no.”

What an incredibly bad idea/business practice.

The FBO where I instruct gives a prepay discount for $2,500 down and keeping refundable balance above $250. Totally reasonable.

There’s a club discount available for $20/month that makes sense for regular customers.

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rFlyingTower@reddit

This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:

I just signed up for my first lesson this coming. Saturday.

At first they’ll let me pay by the hour to see if I want to signup for their complete package, which aims to give you as much progress as possible in three years and 150 hours. They are Part 61. It is a fixed charge, as I understand it.

I’m just curious where I might get stuck. My father was an ambitious private pilot who taught me to fly in my teens. I occasionally have flown with an instructor. Ive probably

Flown 150 hours or more unofficially. I’ve never had ground school but Sporty’s gives you a free sample written test and I passed it.

My suspicion is I will get my PPL. But I ha e no idea how difficult future licenses or endorsements will come. So I’m trying to assess whether to drop the money and sign up for the 150 hour package. If passing instrument flying is going to take either a long or short time will inform my decision.

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