Student pilot here with 30 something hours. I’ve yet to solo which is frustrating also, but I get if I’m not ready I’m not ready. My question iswhat would you do in this scenario: fly part 141 utilizing in house checkrides, no scheduling delays from DPEs while using GI bill benefits. This would take me 18 months to 2.5 years to get all the ratings and then build time and have a 1,000 RATP or build ratings on your own doing part 61 using your own money and paying out of pocket for everything? I want to a regional as fast as possible and even after getting my ratings I’d probably be able to pay for my flying hrs to help expedite building the hours. I’ve just always heard do this debt free etc. However, with the hiring exodus is all that now out the door?

 

Assuming you already have a bachelors degree, what you need is a school with a solid curriculum plan. You and your instructor should know what you are going to be doing prior to every flight. This enables you to prepare more effectively and the instructor to focus on those events. 141 schools have this in order to be part 141. However, some part 61 schools also have this. Even if you are just flying with an instructor working on his own, you should have this. The model of you just kind of muddle through training and get to stuff when you get to it wastes everyone’s time. That said, the onus is on you to show prepared to fly. That means know what you will be doing on the flight and chair fly it ahead of time.

 

I’d call it silly if you wouldn’t use the GI Bill.
However, not all 141 schools have “in-house” examiners nor is it a requirement.
Even a small school can be 141 it doesn’t have to be a pilot mill.
Try to do this with the least amount of debt.
Not solo by 30 hrs can have a myriad of reasons, some you need to be concerned about (such as substandard instruction) but most do not warrant concern.
I was never a quick learner even to this day.

 

I have everything down my CFI says except landings. Some landings are perfect, some I float or balloon up, and some I sink. Today after about 100 landings my CFI tells me to start looking at the end of the runway and I could tell a noticeable difference on knowing when to flare. Also sometimes I’m to high on final also, but he says that’s better than being low. But, I’m hoping the solo comes soon so I can start moving along. The 141 school is outside of DFW and while I know nothing about them really, I do know they seem to put a lot of pilots through the system.

 

Why even be an airline pilot man? I can't see how young person today would think it's a viable path!

 

30 hours is a lot of time prior to solo. Were I your instructor, I would be concerned. If I had been unable to provide the insight to get you past whatever is holding you up, I'd have asked another instructor to fly with you for an evaluation flight or two; sometimes it's something the instructor doesn't see, and sometimes flying with a different instructor is what makes the difference. That's if the issue is one of learning, a learning plateau, or the instructor.

There are flight schools out there which milk students for every dollar, as do some instructors, who may be more concerned with "building hours" than your progress. In either case, flush the school or instructor faster than you'd drop a hot rock in a sauna.

Most students don't complete training in the FAA-prescribed minimums under Part 61; lowering that to reduce cost under a Part 141 school doesn't mean the student will learn faster.

The hardest part of learning to fly is paying for it.

Do what you can with your GI bill, having knocked the private out of the way, but evaluate what you're getting for your dollar. The GI bill can be used at more than one school. If this one isn't doing it for you, there are others.

The most important flight training you will ever receive is what you're getting right now; it's the fundamental upon which everything else rests, going forward. If you're not getting what you need, find someone else who can provide it.

There is a very small percentage in the student world of those who cannot, and should not fly. In my life, I've met two whom I recommended discontinuing training, and a few along the way who were working as pilots who really shouldn't have. More than a few of those slip through the cracks. I doubt this applies to you, but the scientific mind looks at all possibilities, so it's well to look inward and both motivations and aptitude as you press forward in your training. Thirty hours is a long time to get soloed. It's generally something that an instructor wants to knock out of the way as soon as possible. It's a confidence booster, and a milestone. Infrequent flying, poor instruction, challenging conditions, personal issues or stress, aptitude, and a number of other reasons might account for going 30 hours prior to solo. Hours are just numbers, but they do provide a rough metric for where one is or ought to be in general terms, especially early in the training process. Consider the possibilities and look at any changes that need to be made. Don't stay with a problem situation simply because you like the instructor or because the GI bill will be paying for your future training there, or because you feel invested. Consider yourself the CEO of your training experience, and you determine the budget and where it's spent. Be honest in your assessment, to see if you're the source of the long time to solo, and if so, look at ways to fix this; in nearly all cases, it is fixable.

Lastly, don't dispair over the process, and don't feel pressured. Yes, you should be soloed at this point, but the focus should be on your studies, not comparing yourself with others. The only value in such an assessment is determining what you need to do to help yourself along.

If nothing leaps out at you and you're satisfied in all respects, just focus on your training and move forward.

One thing that many forget to do in their race to kickstart a career is to remember what got you here. You want to fly, it's a journey, and your career is about the journey, not the destination. Those who make the destination their focus tend to be the ones you hear whining the loudest about their lot in life along the way, whether it's pay or quality or whatever their heartburn is on a given day. Take time on a hike to look around, appreciate the journey, and the same is true of the flight training. It's something to be absorbed, not rushed through. It's not a box to check. It's your world at the moment. Pick it apart, savor it, live it. You only pass this way once.

 

JohnBurke gives wise advice.

 

Landings are not a ‘stand alone’ item.
Everything you do in the practice area builds towards a successful solo.
My thoughts are you were not taught ground reference maneuvers to a sufficient depth.
Clue: too many instructors see them as a nuisance tick-the-box excercise.
As a (former) chief flight instructor 141/61 this with what I used to have to fix.
If you were closer I would have flown with you.

 

Sir, I think you for all your input always. My ground reference maneuvers consisted of one day flying turns around a point for about an hour and another day of doing s-turns for about half an hour. I have recently changed up schools and am going part 141 to try and get the Private finished. And I agree, it’s to bad you aren’t close to the DFW area.

 

First of all, ALWAYS use your GI Bill for training if able. That's a 70 to 100K value flushed down the drain on a two year degree. Secondly you are not going to have a 1000 RTP on a 2 year program. You will get a R-ATP of 1250. You need a 4 year program to get the R-ATP of 1000. Also that school needs to be certified to do that (not all part 141 programs qualify for the R-ATP).

As far as not soling yet, it may be time to start looking at your instructor. When I was flight instructing we had a guy who it seemed like he never had students progress to their checkrides. He then got called up for a year long tour in the Guard so many of his students transferred to me. The first one that I took up was shocked that while landing I didn't have my hands on the yoke. He said his previous instructor always had his hands on the yoke and he could always feel him making slight adjustments. The student felt like they never actually landed the plane because the instructor was on the yoke all the time. Many of his students had more hours than you did and never soloed. Long story short within a few lessons I got many of his students to finally solo. If your instructor is not giving you the freedom to learn from your own mistakes, it is time to move on.