Soloing
 

Ok, here's a question I am curious about. When do you think of someone as "soloed"? My club has a formal "Soloed" status, with a little test you have to pass.

To be "Soloed" you have to setup and start the plane yourself in a safe manner. Take off and land 3 times (3 flights in the same day, or one flight with full-stops and taxing back in to position, no touch-and-gos). And the hard one, 1 simulated deadstick landing on the field. The simulated deadstick is done by haveing the student fly around doing their thing with the instructor standing next to him. Then, with out warning, the instructor reaches over and idles the engine. The student then glides it back to the field.

Until someone is "Soloed", they aren't supposed to fly with out an instructor on a buddy box with them.

Soloing
 

I agree that there should be a test. We have a handful of people who can sign-off new pilots. I joined the club recently so I didn't need to go through the soloing process.

I think it is a takeoff, loop, roll and landing and that's it. There may be more to it than that and I like the dead-stick idea. I also like the idea of putting the plane into a poor attitude and giving the student the box. I doubt most clubs would do that because if the student doesn't recover the plane then who pays for it? On a buddy box it shouldn't be a problem.

Soloing
 

There are lots of instructors who don't give a test per say, but do basically the same things you are being asked to do before solo. Every instructor takes the student through some sort of test weather the student knows it or not. One thing I like to do when flying with a student before solo is while he is flying, I let go of the trainer switch just long enough to put the plane in a really strange attitude without him knowing it. He has to recover. This happens at odd times during all phases of flight. It is good to get them to understand how to recover from unusuall attitudes.

Soloing
 

At my club there are 12 instructors, 5 of which can sign a pilot off as solo.

There appear to be two methods of training:

Informal: Where the student has to take off, fly around and land, probably doing various maneuvers in flight. Sign off is based on the one flight witnessed by the examiner and also on previous flights witness by the instructor and other club members.

Formal: The club has a sheet with items that need to be signed off. The list is:
Pre-flight check
Ground taxi: must be able to taxi and make L/R turns
Flight turns L/R
Oval Patterns L/R
Figure 8
Point to point
Approach / fly bys L/R
Trims: Instructor moves a trim in flight, student must retrim
Stalls
Landing
Take off

Funnily enough, the list doesn't mention dead sticks but these are usually included (real ones, not 'simulated')

The 3 take offs and landings may seem a bit rigid, but its to ensure consistency. One good landing can be a fluke, three good landings means you are either very lucky or know what you are doing :D

Soloing
 

Hmm, I forgot that the student has to at least shoot a good approach from both directions, preferably doing at least one landing from each direction, but the wind doesn't always allow that. That also takes care of the "left and right turn" issue.

I like the idea of messing with their trim levers, I'm going to have to add that informally.

I also personally get guys to do a straight ahead stall and even try a snaproll just so they see what their plane does when you put the sticks in the corners (most trainers won't actually snap though). But it's not required.

Oh, if the student has a "real" deadstick and lands it, that counts :). If they dead stick on take off and get it back on the field themselves that usually counts as a the deadstick and a take off and landing set, if they don't get approved on the spot :).

Yeah, the 3 take offs and landings it to take the "lucky landing" bit out of it.

All of the above +
 

Hi,
Was reading all of the replies, and they are all good suggestions before one should be considered soloed. Here is something one of the clubs I was involved with also added

A loop - can be used for spacing during peak flying times to get 'in sequence'

Immellman Turn - Spacing, Turnaround, Avoidance of other planes

Split S - To quickly loose Alt, and heading change to lower desired Alt in opposite direction.

And one of my pet peeves...Taking off, and landing in both directions using left hand, and right hand turns. I still to this day see people...even after years of flying who cannot make a simple right hand turn without clearing the flight line...THAT is the instructors fault...nobody elses!

These manuevers also instill confidence, and skill, and gives a newcomer more options to make the 'right' decision quickly. I think it's alot more fun for the newcomer to be flying rather than rebuilding. As long as I've been flying, I still ask myself this simple question everytime I fly, and especially when attempting something new... I say to myself "Would I be willing to strap myself in that plane if it were full-scale and fly through what I'm about to do with this transmitter"...if not, I don't do it.