Feeling behind in flight training… haven’t even started landings yet
Posted by I-am_just-curious@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 30 comments
Hey everyone,
I’m feeling really discouraged and wanted to see if anyone else has been through something similar.
I’m at about 16 hours of flight training and I haven’t even started landings yet. My instructor says it’s because I haven’t mastered stalls yet. The thing is, I’ve only had like two lessons where we actually worked on stalls because a lot of the time it’s too windy.
On top of that, I still struggle with holding altitude and honestly most maneuvers don’t feel solid. I feel like I’m constantly behind the airplane and not really improving as fast as I thought I would.
Then I see people saying they were landing or even soloing around 10–15 hours and it makes me feel like maybe I’m just not cut out for this.
Does it actually get better with time and repetition? Or is this one of those things where if it’s not clicking by now, it might not?
Would really appreciate honest experiences 🙏
TinyAd6315@reddit
Took me 65 hours and 3 years to get my PPL - no shame in it taking a while. I could only fly 1-2 times a week, and not every week, so it took a long time.
21MPH21@reddit
Landings are stalls
Your CFI is right
How often do you fly? Once a week will lead to slower progress than flying more often. But comparing yourself to others is not super helpful
Ok-Door-4991@reddit
I mean.. I hope you aren’t stalling onto a runway 🤣🤣😂
Ok-Door-4991@reddit
Slow flight in ground effect is not a stall sir
I-am_just-curious@reddit (OP)
I fly twice per week but sometimes gets cancelled for weather
21MPH21@reddit
That's the minimum. Good luck, listen to your instructor but as you progress make sure that they're a good fit.
Ok-Door-4991@reddit
I would find a different instructor/school tbh, long time ago now but I would be working on landings within the first few flights, gatekeeping progress like this is costing you money.
vivalicious16@reddit
Take your time. 16 hours is nothing. Continuing this mindset will just lead to rushing and nothing else good.
iridesc3nce@reddit
Don't compare your # of hours with people on the Internet. People here constantly say they solo in, like, -2 hours.
I solo'ed in 80-something hours, and that's not unusual for students at the same flight school & aircraft.
Just keep chipping away!
Neither-Way-4889@reddit
80 hours is insane tbh. I would find a different school or at least a different instructor if they made you take more than the average time to get your license before they signed you off to solo.
Either you suck, your CFI sucks, or your CFI was milking you for money. I'm willing to bet it was one of the latter two as most of the people who fall into the first category will never make it to solo.
IzoAzlion@reddit
80 hours!?
iridesc3nce@reddit
No, more. 84 hours.
IzoAzlion@reddit
Are you taking like one lesson every 2 weeks or something? I dont get it.
BazingaBeeKay@reddit
I fly once a week, sometimes once every two or three weeks, 11 hours in and I’m about to solo.
Really depends on the person.
iridesc3nce@reddit
It's not unusual at that flight school & aircraft. I had ~3 or 4 flight lessons on the calendar every week.
It's a mix of different things: LSAs + weird winds + time-building instructors that are constantly churning (and many are instructing in LSAs with limited LSA experience) + lack of aircraft availability + cancellations due to area weather + super picky instructors/flight schools that want to see the student at checkride proficiency before sending them to solo.
IzoAzlion@reddit
Wow I would leave so fast.
If theyre that inconsistent you're $$$$$ in and only part way done. I appreciate in the current market instructors are trickier to find but man.
Take stock for a quick second. Unless youre learning in something super niche and cool, or it's paid for by an airline or something?
OP should be well into working on the circuit.
iridesc3nce@reddit
I think you're missing my point.
The hours circlejerk on this subreddit is not productive. I've talked with student pilots just starting out, just like OP, and many of them get demoralized at ~10-20 hours because they're further away from solo than they "should be" based on reading this subreddit.
We don't know OP's circumstances. We don't know if the windy weather is significantly hindering progress (this is my guess, as OP mentions it specifically - if it's too windy for stalls, I don't think I'd want to throw a student pilot into the traffic pattern for the first time that day!). We don't know if OP's instructor's expectations are calibrated. We don't know if OP's flight school requires a certain level of proficiency before starting traffic pattern.
Harry73127@reddit
If it’s not unusual at that school, why’d you stay?? I finished my ppl at 80 hours after taking 2 years off in the middle. It’s not a race but you’ll get your ppl in more hours than is required for ppl + instrument. That’s a lot of extra money spent.
OzrielArelius@reddit
I understand where they're coming from, but I used to have my students start landing on day 1. I was always there as a backup, but at least let em fly it down into ground effect and if necessary go around or let me land it.
Strange_Code_68@reddit
Just want to chip in here and also remind you that different instructors will hold students to different standards.
Yes, in theory, they all need to log and fly the required maneuvers/procedures written in the regulations, but some instructors will have students fly stalls/ground ref just a few times (3-4 hrs.), the immediately put the student in the pattern even if they are exactly proficient in those maneuvers. Of course, how could they be? 3-4 hours is what you spend watching Youtube and eating dinner after work lol.
So just be aware that different CFIs do it differently — I’m not saying that it’s right or wrong — but some have a goal to solo a student as fast as possible. Others, perhaps like yours, want to see a higher level of safety/proficiency in stalls which, by the way, will make you better at landing the airplane when the time comes!
Cool_Month7100@reddit
2.How often are you trimming the aircraft or changing power settings when trying to maintain altitude?
Nearby_Context_1998@reddit
Its a marathon not a race
fallingfaster345@reddit
Haven’t read the other comments but please, please, please do NOT fall into the trap of comparing yourself to other students or treating flight training like a race to be won.
Just go ahead and accept the fact that there will be pilots who are better than you and master skills faster. And there will be pilots who are worse than you and master skills slower, or not at all. And people have different experiences: some people who wiz through private pilot struggle in instrument training. Some people who struggled through private pilot breeze through instrument. And guess what - none of it matters.
Stop comparing yourself to anyone else. Focus on yourself and keep working at the task ahead of you. You will eventually maintain altitude. You will eventually recover from stalls. And you will eventually land. Don’t rush the process. And maybe your process takes a little longer than someone else’s. THAT’S OK, friend.
mr_d31ightfu1@reddit
38hr TT PPL student here, you’re at 16hrs & haven’t even landed yet. I did a solo XC around 20hours. Don’t compare yourself to anyone but compare yourself today to yourself yesterday. Clear skies & tail winds !
ananajakq@reddit
Aviation training isn’t a linear path. It’s more like a squiggly line crumpled into a ball and then you come out the other end somehow and can land a plane.
You’re learning like 15 different categories of information all at the same time when you do a PPL, all of which are brand new. Fine motor skills, hand eye coordination, meteorology, decision making, spatial awareness. Plus overcoming fear. It’s all happening at the same time. It’s very normal to need extra time to absorb that, and every airline pilot I know struggled with one or more of those categories. At the end of the day, just be kind to yourself and climb the mountain one step at a time. You’re doing fine!
HighVelocitySloth@reddit
Don’t compare to other pilots. Some it clicks faster. If you can’t handle the basics you aren’t ready to do landings. You need to be proficient enough in basic handling before you move on. Master 1 thing at a time instead of everything at once. Have patience. When things start to click your confidence will be high. Listen to what your instructor is saying. He or she is sitting with you seeing what you are doing. Nobody here can.
TxAggieMike@reddit
Regarding finding the maneuvers challenging and difficulty maintaining altitude….
Talk to your instructor and share your observations and feelings.
If you don’t share these things, the instructor cannot provide the proper help.
It is also fair to ask the instructor to slow down a bit and teach each maneuver in a block by block method.
Watch this video from Rod Machado with your CFI. Then have a discussion about how you can use this with your lessons. Rod Machado: Suburi training technique for students and instructors
TxAggieMike@reddit
Stop comparing yourself to others… that is the thief of joy.
Are you and instructor following a printed syllabus? Having one really helps with staying on track and helping you properly prepare for the upcoming lesson.
If your instructor wants to see a certain proficiency at stalls, have they explained what they are looking for, how to make that happen, and provide appropriate encouragement so success will happen?
Stalls are not difficult to learn nor perform. What often causes difficulties is the student trying to do the different parts too rapidly (Pappa bear) Momma bear too slowly doesn’t work either. But if you can suss out the right amount of baby bear steady pace, the stall will happen as you want it too, and the recovery will be simple and proper.
Alive-Advance-6137@reddit
son keep flying and you'll see
rFlyingTower@reddit
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
Hey everyone,
I’m feeling really discouraged and wanted to see if anyone else has been through something similar.
I’m at about 16 hours of flight training and I haven’t even started landings yet. My instructor says it’s because I haven’t mastered stalls yet. The thing is, I’ve only had like two lessons where we actually worked on stalls because a lot of the time it’s too windy.
On top of that, I still struggle with holding altitude and honestly most maneuvers don’t feel solid. I feel like I’m constantly behind the airplane and not really improving as fast as I thought I would.
Then I see people saying they were landing or even soloing around 10–15 hours and it makes me feel like maybe I’m just not cut out for this.
Does it actually get better with time and repetition? Or is this one of those things where if it’s not clicking by now, it might not?
Would really appreciate honest experiences 🙏
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