Originally Posted by
FlyJSH
How so? Is a maneuver less valuable when it is flown linearly than when it is flown inside a 3 mile box?
Admittedly some lessons do not lend themselves to the 50 fix xc (ground reference maneuvers for example). But a series of stalls followed by a drag/Vmc demo would not cost the student an extra dime.
Besides, if the school is at a class C airport, 10 of the 50 miles is spent just getting clear of the airspace.
If I remember correctly a 172 wouldn't be able to make it 50 miles during one lesson, even if done linearly. Maybe a twin. I used to do that trick by pairing two students up. We'd fly to a close airport and have a nice lunch, they'd switch places and we'd do the other kid's time on the way back. Even then it was a stretch to get all the way out and back.