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Absolutely terrified on first solo, and why is the first solo such a big deal?

The other day I met up with a local group of PPLs.

One of them recounted her experience of her first solo, in the 1990s, at a local airport (a hard runway place with an ILS, etc).

The instructor did what seems to be the standard thing: announced she was going solo only when part way through the lesson. I can understand that because otherwise the student might have nightmares over it and get really worked up on the day.

But she ended up so terrified she could hardly speak on the radio. She did it however, with a lot of help from ATC, and landed OK, still terrified.

I wonder if there is some way around this sort of thing.

And why the huge emotional attachment to the first solo, anyway (by both the industry and the students)? Why not have it a lot later when the student can actually fly well?

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

I think the first solo land away is a bigger deal than first solo.

On your first solo, you will already have done that exact same landing at the same airfield probably with the same controllers dozens of times. Your instructor is almost certainly be available on the radio. The only real difference is that the aircraft climbs twice as fast!

On the first solo land away, all your safety blankets are gone. You’re really doing something on your own.

The first solo is such a big deal for many students, because they realise that they sit in an aircraft and they are the only persons in the whole world to be able to bring this aircraft to the ground.

That said, they normally are able to fly quite well with consistent good landings and are capable to recognise abnormal flight conditions, end a stall, know about steep turns, have dome a couple of training lessons with forced landings and have flown, preferably multiple times, to the neighboring airfields just in case the airport becomes unuseable during their solo. Then they are checked out by a second instructor and usually the solo is in calm weather and relative low traffic around.

Flying solo is an archievement and it is felt as such, so it is part of the gratification in the process of learning to fly. The solo circuits and training are very important for the learning process and to consolidate the students capabilities. If you over-train the student and she gets the impression of being denied what she is capable of, you might loose her interest in further lessons and in aviation in general. The question when to solo a student is very individual and timing is important, aswell as a good sense of the students physical and psychic condition. As an instructor you have to find the right time to balance demand and encouragement. That is not always easy.

It is a big thing for the instructor because the student still flies on the instructor’s license and he is fully responsible for the flight and the decision to solo the student. Usually you don’t tell the student to prevent overly nervous students that don’t deliver the necessary performance and feel rejected when the solo does not happen.

Bear in mind that in very few field the direct one-on-one relationship between student and instructor is so important as in aviation.

Of course there are instructors who don’t take their “jobs” serious (enough), but they should not set the standard.

Last Edited by mh at 27 Jul 08:14
mh
Aufwind GmbH
EKPB, Germany

mh wrote:

The first solo is such a big deal for many students, because they realise that they sit in an aircraft and they are the only persons in the whole world to be able and bring this aircraft to the ground.

I think you nailed it. In 99% of the situations we find ourselves in today, we can ask for help, for someone else to effectively take over. That’s also true to a certain extent when you sail or ski. But not if you’re on your own in a plane. You have to do it, nobody else can.

Last Edited by denopa at 27 Jul 08:15
EGTF, LFTF

My first solo was an absolute non-event. It was just like a regular instructional flight. I felt prepared and comfortable. My first solo X-C from ENKJ, through the Rygge ENRY TMA down to Sarpsborg or Fredrikstad and back to ENKJ via Mysen or something like that, was a bigger deal. I even got my one and only carburetor icing event ever during that flight. The RPM seemed to diminish and I advanced the throttle. After a few of these adjustments I realised that it had to be carburetor icing and opened carb heat. The engine reacted in a textbook manner with an initial drop of RPM followed by an increase when the ice cleared.

LFPT, LFPN

mh wrote:

It is a big thing for the instructor because the student still flies on the instructor’s license and he is fully responsible for the flight and the decision to solo the student.

It’s the question I always ask my friends who are instructors: How can you be sure that the student is capable of doing this?

Regarding my first solo, it was as same as few previous flights with instructor and as same as many to follow nothing special and exciting. The only thing that still makes me somewhat nervous in flying is the weather

LDZA LDVA, Croatia

Peter wrote:

And why the huge emotional attachment to the first solo, anyway (by both the industry and the students)? Why not have it a lot later when the student can actually fly well?

I don’t think the problem is the timing or the skill. It is purely a lack of confidence on the part of the student that causes the emotional hiccups. The instructor is fully confident that the student has the skills. She just doesn’t know it yet. And after the flight… she does!

I vividly remember how I enjoyed the lack of an instructor saying “do this, do that” on my first solo(s)

LOAN Wiener Neustadt Ost, Austria

mh wrote:

The first solo is such a big deal for many students, because they realise that they sit in an aircraft and they are the only persons in the whole world to be able to bring this aircraft to the ground.

This! & it is a great feeling. I don’t think most people are terrified. I think they’re focused and excited.

Tököl LHTL

I can still feel the overdose of adrenalin released after landing. I was shaking so hard I couldn’t properly write the logbook entries. I was not terrified, but I was very very anxious. In fact my experience was perfectly described by

The first solo is such a big deal for many students, because they realise that they sit in an aircraft and they are the only persons in the whole world to be able to bring this aircraft to the ground.

Mind you, I still feel an increase of adrenalin after landing, especially if the navigation was a bit demanding. Must be due to my low experience. Strange enough, I feel much more relaxed on the rare occasions I carry a passenger.

EBZH Kiewit, Belgium
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