Do I give up? | TheaterFire

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KosmolineLicker@reddit

Advice I've given to students in the past that struggle with the round out on landing.

Do not look over the nose at the runway. Where your eyes go, the plane will follow. Look up towards the end of the runway. Fly until the plane to the end of the runway, don't let it land.

Use your peripheral vision to see if the runway is getting wider. If while looking to the end of the runway, you notice it's getting wider, gently pull back on the yoke as long as the runway continues to get wider. If it stops getting wider or is getting narrower, ease up on the yoke

Not sure what plane you're in, but if you are in a 172, you can flair very far, to the point that you no longer see the runway over the nose and still be safe from a tail strike. You can probably ask your instructor to sit on the tail while you are inside the airplane to see how far it can go without a tail strike. I say all this because all my landings have the stall horn go off. I've bled the plane of any energy to fly, so it will land.

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flyghu@reddit

This is good. Watch Rod Machado's runway expansion effect video.

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makgross@reddit

172s can strike the tail in the flare, but it takes an aggressive, rapid pitch up and actual stall (not just a stall warning) to do it.

Sitting on the elevator is not recommended. But if the plane has a G5 or other PFD, you can read the pitch from outside the plane, with someone holding the plane down by its dorsal reinforcement. Only works on trainers. Don’t do that in a 182 or 206/210.

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KosmolineLicker@reddit

Didn't say they couldn't, but I find students are afraid to pull back because they don't know how much they can.

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eSUP80@reddit

Agreed. You really cannot tail strike a 172 short of a complete stall after an aggressive nose up attitude. Even then, you usually run out of lift before you’re able to achieve enough pitch up.

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Single_Pizza4867@reddit

I know a major captain who solo’d at 120 hours lol

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Go_Loud762@reddit

Yes.

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allowableearth@reddit

Damn at 30 hours I was flying back course ILSs while inverted /s

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Mysterious_Set_8558@reddit

If i can tell you anything from my small experience. Keep trying, dont give up yet. You are only 30hrs in. Dont listen to those who say I did my solo at 10 hrs, ok congratulations you still need 1490hrs for atp if you are planning to go that route. I am working on my instrument now, every day there is something I mess up but its part of the learning process. I thought ppl was hard especially learning to land was a challenge for me too. But when I think about it now, ppl was a cake walk compared to instrument so every step it gets harder. aviation is all about keep trying and keep learning. Being a proficient pilot is way more important than being a I did my solo at this much hrs pilot. Maybe try different cfi. I got a different cfi fir one day, and my steep turn got improved significantly, like day and night difference. Good luck.

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CardiologistEqual336@reddit

I solo’d at 60hrs 😅

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InJailForCrimes@reddit

Come on…30 hours? Buddy that’s nothing. Keep at it.

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Agreeable-Flounder45@reddit (OP)

All the people I know solo at like 15-20 hours and even though they go to different flight schools with different structures I just feel so behind

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shadowalker125@reddit

Most people aren’t “good” and landings until probably 300-400 hours. You just need to be safe. Try flying with a different instructor and see what they say, as sometimes a different perspective is all it takes for it to finally click.

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Aerios37@reddit

Flying with different instructors is such an underrated thing. I had 3 instructors and flew 2 different types of aircraft during my ppl training. It gave me different perspectives on the same thing, every instructor has their own tips to pass on, and it definitely made me feel more well rounded once I got my ppl.

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MultiMillionMiler@reddit

I once took a lesson with a diff instructor cause mine was away and he was soo much better, asked if I could switch but he was fully booked with students already ugh.

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Pure-Suspect-8890@reddit

I started with gliders. Most people solo in about 30-50 flights there depending on their skill/time.

I soloed at 90 flights. flew every weekend from October till June when able. I thought it was hopeless. It will happen

ASEL I soloed in 18 hours, and I’d say my glider experience helped a ton, but without it I’d say it’d easily be doubled.

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CluelessPilot1971@reddit

Why do you care how much time it took other people? What does your CFI say? Did you try other CFIs? Did you try learning it differently, e.g. flying in flare attitude over a long runway for as long as you can (before you have insufficient runway ahead of you and you're forced to climb)? More ways you use to learn the same things, the better you are.

Eventually you will get it, and you're going to have a hard time understanding what changed or what you weren't getting before.

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TxAggieMike@reddit

Comparison is the thief of joy.

Stop doing that.

Talk to your instructor

Develop a plan of action for improvement and success.

Execute the plan.

YT video playlist on landings

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latedescent@reddit

The secret to round outs is to fly as close to the runway as you can without actually touching it!

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Real-Cartographer881@reddit

Took me forever to solo, until one day it just clicked. 90-100hrs for my PPL. After the solo I breeze through the rest of my training. Now Im a CFI. Possibly try a new instructor, also watch the "timing your flare" by Rod Machado on YouTube. It was a great help

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AccidentCommon208@reddit

Brother…. my buddy soloed at 75 hours and got private at 220. You’re good keep at it

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RunAgreeable7576@reddit

This is a thing you won’t perfect well past 300 hours. Sometimes you need it explained differently or demonstrated differently. Biggest gamechanger for me was “eyes to the end of the runway” or try setting your trim a little extra back so you can simply release yolk pressure and have a smooth round out instead of the balloon

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Throwawayyacc22@reddit

30 hours is nothing.

But if you want to give up, go ahead.

This won’t be the last time you feel behind/inadequate, either get over it or quit, that decision is up to you.

30 hours and no solo is not some major red flag

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TangeloSpecialist535@reddit

I’m a bit of an extreme case but I didn’t solo until 68.4 hours. Took 105.5 total to get my private. I started at a pilot mill and left with about 35 hours and had to start all over at a mom and pop flight school. It sucked and hit my ego hard, however I’m working on my commercial now and have been for less than two weeks and I’m flying through it because hours are still hours.

For landings I watched sooo many youtube videos to get as many different perspectives as I could, that helped a ton. What helped the most was getting microsoft flight simulator with the turtle beach yoke and rudders. I hardly use it now but I was able to get over my fear of landings using it. It’s expensive but so is another flight, it’s something to look into!

In the end you’ll need 1,500 hours, who cares how you got them. Don’t give up, if you love it it’s worth pushing through!

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acesup1090@reddit

It took me 120 to solo. Everyone in here would have been advising me to give up and they all would have been wrong. Only you can answer this question for yourself with some input from your CFI

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Mehere_64@reddit

As others have said it might be worth working with another instructor for a brief bit.

But the bigger question is what discussion have you had with your CFI? Your CFI should be able to critique your landings or even show you a few times to help you understand better what is going wrong.

A secondary question is what research had you done looking online into how to properly land? There are quite a few videos and articles out there discussing this topic.

Concentrate more on being a good safe pilot versus when you are able to solo.

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First-Length6323@reddit

OP. If you could define the flair/roundout/stages of a landing whatever you want to call it... how would you define it?

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blizzue@reddit

Learning physical skills requires more than muscle memory and progress follows a pattern. Learning plateaus happen to everyone and they happen to everyone differently.

If you’re passionate about flying and you want to fly, keep at it. Changing instructors can be a great option temporarily. You might just need a different perspective or someone saying it a different way.

My plateau came during instrument training. I stalled and needed a new instructor that came at the topic differently. It was like lighting a rocket because after that clicked my progress really accelerated.

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DisregardLogan@reddit

I soloed at 40 something hours. You’re ok dude

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glassersies@reddit

I soloed at like 35 hours I think

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EliteEthos@reddit

Nobody here can make that decision for you. Plenty of people solo with more hours than you.

If this is enough for you to quit, you can probably save a ton of money versus dragging this out.

If you have nothing left to give, then you probably know your answer already. Additional training only gets harder.

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IPlayALittleMartin@reddit

I soloed at 23, just about done my CPL. This past week, I struggled with landings. Some days you just don’t fly well.

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-Cheebus-@reddit

It took me a lot longer than 30 hours to be confident I could land the plane alone every time. I solo’d around 25 hours. I don’t think you should give up but you should figure out what the issue is and maybe fly with a different CFI

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OracleofFl@reddit

Spend some time with a different CFI to work on that one thing.

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rFlyingTower@reddit

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

I'm currently a 30 hour ppl student who still hasn't solo because I can't get the round out on landing. I have made no improvement over the last 15 hours even though I've tried my hardest am I just not good enough to be a pilot? Should I just give up?

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