How long to Solo?
 

I am interested in getting some responses regarding how long it took for y'all to solo

How many flights?

How many gallons of fuel?

What plane did you solo with?

And finally, Did you use a simulator?


Cheers!

RE: How long to Solo?
 

Well I did it the hard way. My first flight was succesful, as was my second. My third fight was too but the landing left a lot to be desired. Anyway I fixed the fire wall and flew that plane four more times until it met an untimely demise. To date I have flown with some degree of success, and I have not lost one of my fleet lately but you know how that goes.

I soloed with an World Models Super Stunts 40. Pretty tame. I did and do play my G2 sim, and I think it is very helpful to teach the thumbs whats up. After a while it just becomes second nature:)

RE: How long to Solo?
 

Great Planes PT 40 Trainer, 8 years ago. I took me approximately 20 flights over the course of about 6 weeks, no simulator. I was taught well and used rudder for crosswind landings from the start. :D
Dennis-

RE: How long to Solo?
 

My official solo was on my fourth real flight with an Avistar RTF.

I used the RealFlight G2 simulator for about a month. I put in 200+ simulator flights under various wind conditions. I even set it for 100 mph winds during Isabelle[&:] (The simulator taught me that Avistar's don't fly well in hurricanes)

I followed a plan I read in a posting here. Using the sim, learn to fly:

10 consecutive circuits without errors
10 consecutive figure 8s in each direction without errors
10 consecutive inverted circuits without errors
10 consecutive successful landings (on the runway)

Then go fly the real thing. I realize this schedule can be somewhat boring so mix in fun stuff like loops, rolls, different planes, various weather, etc. But once you can do this, the major cause of trainer crashes, control disorientation, will be a thing of the past.

Remember that no matter how proficient you get on the sim, there are always nerve issues on your first real flights. Also, sims don't teach you anything about field assembly, engine starting and safety.

Simulators may be worth their cost in balsa but instructors and buddy boxes are still worth their weight in gold!

Good luck and happy flying.

RE: How long to Solo?
 

one and a half gallons with an Ugly Stick and OS 40.

RE: How long to Solo?
 

I am learning to fly my Avistar now. I have a very willing and able and patient instructor. I figure by 2007 I will have it down pat. Seriously, I have flown 8-10 flights and am getting the turns down pretty good. I have not taken off or landed. It has been lots of fun. I am willing to wait on the landings until my orientation is better.

Time is running short in Minnesota...it is 45 degrees Fahrenheit this AM. The wind wants to blow.... darn. I hope to solo this fall.

The guys in the club have been very impressed with the Avistar and do recommend it highly. This forum was very helpful during construction.

RE: How long to Solo?
 

about 20 flighs but my first solo was perfect. But i do know someone who went solo in a day a flying.

RE: How long to Solo?
 

Solo from the start, uhh...first landing resulted in a trip to the hobby store for a new prop and then back in the the air.:eek: After my 5th I purchased the g2 sim. and so far so good.:D

RE: How long to Solo?
 

I was flying solo in about 3-4 weeks and i was flying a thunder tiger trainer 2000 and my instructor was dedicating all his time to teach me i landed my first deadstick on the 3rd flight.

RE: How long to Solo?
 

I only took about 20 flights or less. Those flights were over the course of almost 3 months because of weather, damage, ect. I used a Avistar RTF. Great little plane. If you are going to fly off of grass, get a .46. You will be glad you did. I did'nt use a sim, but I flew a lot on Microsoft Flight Sims. I guess that helped with knowing that you only move the stick very little.

RE: How long to Solo?
 

Soloed on my fourth trip to the flying field. Didn't have a buddy box and the instructor was from the old school whereas he got the plane in the air, (Hangar 9 Easy Fly .40) and then he would trim it out and hand the Tx to me and "kind of" talk me through it.:)

On the fourth trip to the field I was practicing flying the pattern and just set it down and landed. I then turned the plane around and then took off again! That was my trial by fire. (My knees were shaking and I didn't breathe for nearly twelve minutes but I did it!:D)

I was plagued by an unreliable engine during my "training period" so I even got good at the dead-stick! I was better at dead-sticking than I was under power!

I'm too darn cheap to spring the $$$ for a simulator. Keep thinking about it though. Anyone wanna ' sell one cheap?;)

My advice to a beginner is to buddy up with a good instructor and don't give up. Oh yeah, don't forget to breathe either!

RE: How long to Solo?
 

Why not try FMS, while its not G2, it is FREE!!

It has several updates and models to use, all you need to get is a connecting cord for your Tx and use it directly (no lame Tx replica). These cords can be had on ebay for 10-20 bucks, a real cheap way to get a solid sim.

RE: How long to Solo?
 

I have FMS and G2 and I don't use the USB controller that came with G2, I use my Tx. I think G2 is a far better simulator, with MUCH more realism in the flight characteristics. Just cause it's free does not mean its worth anything. Thats what I think anyway.

RE: How long to Solo?
 

I don't remember... But I taught myself (not recommended-)

This was 1983 so no sims (that I am aware of-) I actually started electric then QUICKLY switched to glow-

I recently trained a 737 pilot on a Hobbico 60 sized trainer, in about 4-5 trips to the field, he was doing the show by himself- (no sim for him either-) now he is flying a Dazzler (Low wing tail dragger) after about 10-15 flights on the trainer-

I still buddy-boxed him on the low wing but he quickly took over- (Maybe flying for Southwest helped a little?)

These days, get a sim, then go to the field with any trainer, a RELIABLE engine and a buddy cord! Sure signs of success...

Later

RE: How long to Solo?
 

I agree, I've messed around with G2 and must say its impressive, but not 100-300 dollar impressive... it is simply overpriced. I have friends in software (eng & prog) and are absolutely stunned at the price for R/C sims, just as i am. Untill G2 comes wayyy down in price I will be sticking with FMS. Besides its a SIM not a plane, and my money is much better spent on planes and related items. IMHO FMS is a really good way to get your feet wet, so if you are interested in spending loads of time in front of your PC perfecting manuvers instead of building/tweaking then G2 is the way to go, otherwise FMS is unbeatable.

RE: How long to Solo?
 

Hossa!
I soloed right from the start. Mind you, I started with sailplanes here in the Alps. We were standing on a mountain slope @ about 2000m a.s.l. and my "instructor" just grinned at me and said "no risk no fun!". got the hang of it very quickly and after about 15 Flights with the Glider I switched to a .40 Trainer. Soloed right from the begining again and I except for being brought down by the dog of a fly-mate (the dog actually jumped and bit the wheel AFTER Take-off) last weekend I haven't had any problems.

Be confident!

Rev

RE: How long to Solo?
 

The question has no meaningful answers. It depends on local insurance liability and probably land governances and conditions for the use of the field.

Some clubs required very specific maneuvers to be performed up to certain safety proficiency before solo and some clubs just require that you don't kill anyone and avoid collisions with all the cows/livestock while trying to land; survival of the plane is optional, however.

RE: How long to Solo?
 

I agree with Pjtg0707. I've seen too many people who claim to have soloed, but tend to crash a lot and not only that, scare the devil out of everyone on the field when the alleged "solo" pilot flies (read: constantly avoiding crashing). I watch their fingers on the sticks constantly dancing around like they were mixing a pancake batter. They sometimes successfully take off and sometimes successfully land without crashing.

They never seem to get any better, but still claim to be "solo" pilots. Some took several years to get this point, but still praise their instructors for doing such a good job of bringing them to solo status. Much too often when these solo pilots come to the field, no one else flies and more often than not, we try to find some place safe to hide.

Still can't understand why their instructors never seem to teach their students NOT to bang the sticks around. I've seen fliers with many years of flying under their belts still constantly banging the sticks around and unnesessarily working the tails off flying their
planes. To make matters worse, when they instruct, they seem to think that it's necessary to teach their students to do the same thing. Oh well.

nascarjoe

RE: How long to Solo?
 

I agree with the others about the definition of "solo". Most people seem to use it to indicate their first flight where they took off, flew around some, and landed, without the instructor ever taking his finger off the trainer switch. That's an OK definition, but it doesn't really indicate a whole lot in terms of proficiency. Maybe the wind was absolutely calm, and the landing was lousy, and it wasn't near the runway, but you "soloed"!

To me, "solo" means when you are comfortable flying alone with your plane, in modest winds of any direction, and you can put the plane down at pretty much exactly the spot you want it to land on almost every time. Ray Smith, of [link=http://www.hobbiesaloft.com/oursecret.htm]Hobbies Aloft[/link] says "Research has shown that the average newcomer will need to accomplish 400 to 600 dual instruction landings and/or touch-and-goes in order to demonstrate competency." I don't know what his research is, but I tend to agree with him.

For me:
How many flights: about 125
How many gallons: 4
Which plane: U.S. Aircore
Simulator: Not much. I found the real training to be much more fun.

RE: How long to Solo?
 

Here is my clubs definition of "soloing" --- I thought that chartered AMA clubs would be similar.

www.flyingelectrons.com

Enter site
go to club documents (left column)
go to training program

(sorry, cant seem to put the page up directly)

I assumed that this was the standard definition of solo, barring minor differences. No one at my club is a pilot that doesnt complete this program, to the best of my knowledge, so it seems fairly comprehensive.

I do, however, understand that its possible to be on your best behavior while training, and then become a maniac in the sky, but it seems to me that a well constructed and established training method is the way to go.

RE: How long to Solo?
 

I had planned on going to a club to find an instructor for training. A good friend that I trust said the club was not very freindly to "rookies" and that they had a rather snobbish attitude. He decided to learn to fly his heli on his own and I am doing the same with my alpha trainer.

RE: How long to Solo?
 

I soloed my trainer,A Balsa USA EZ 100,in eight flights and went on to build three more before I moved on.I hacked the crap out of those planes before deciding it was time to move on.The last one had a Rossie 60 on a pipe and would go out of sight as soon as it had enough altitude for the elevator to clear the runway when rotating.In all likelyhood,i had a problem,kinda like a babies security blanket.:)On the other hand,I soloed a one to one Cessna 152 during my seventh lesson.Go figure:D

RE: How long to Solo?
 

Well I'm about to solo on Sunday for the 1st time. Alone with no instructor. I have had 4 lessons, and gone up 3 times each....so a total of 12 flights. I was making approaches after my 5th flight or so. And actually touched down on my 8th or 9th. Feel pretty good, but one thing that I know I'll have to get over is the mental crutch of having an instructor connected to your box not actally being there.

So that's it for me...12 fligts. I think that having a great instructor is the way to go though. I know I would be REALLY nervous if I hadn't had the benefit of an instructor.

Noir

RE: How long to Solo?
 

- 1 flight with a friend on his trainer, passing the controller when I got into any problems.
- 2 weeks with his RealFlight sim - spent about 15 hours playing around getting the hang of take offs and landings, flying the pattern etc (I lost count of how many times I crashed with the sim! at least it was with the sim, right?!)
- 2 unsuccessful outings by myself trying to take off - couldn't get the hang of the rudder input needed, and broke about 4 props :-(
- 2 outings with my Tower Hobbies trainer with my friend giving me lessons and about 5 flights. Got the takeoff sussed by about the 3rd flight. Practiced loads of low level approaches, and many bumpy landings!
- joined AMA and my local club
- went out one afternoon and had an instructor check over my plane and did a check flight to be certified to fly solo... successfully took off, flew all the patterns, then made a pretty good landing but did come off the runway onto the grass.

The next flight immediately after passing the test I had a brief panic moment where I lost perspective and didn't know if the plane was coming towards me or away and I thought it was all over! Made a couple of turns and worked out where I was then everything was ok!

Made 5 more successful solo flights the following weekend, a couple in 10mph or so wind. Gradually building up more confidence and having great fun...!!

RE: How long to Solo?
 

oh and the fuel - only 1/2 gallon so far on the .46 in my Tower Hobbies 40.