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I’m a PPL pre-solo student in a Part 141 program (university) and thinking about quitting due to anxiety. Do y’all have any advice?

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Private Pilot, Student Pilot

Hello there! I'm a student pilot at a 141 university-affiliated flight school with 24 hours in the pre-solo stage of PPL training.

I have the pre-solo stage check coming up in a week and I'm suffering from near-debilitating anxiety just thinking about it. I feel confident on the oral portion but for the flight portion I feel extremely anxious, especially for the air work portion (steep turns and stalls). While my instructor feels confident that I can fly them within standards, I have a gut fear that when it comes time to perform them on the test I'll freeze up and get caught like a deer in the headlights. Taking off and landing don't make me nervous at all; same goes for straight-and-level flight, turns, and simulated instrument flying. However, having to perform the maneuvers for a senior instructor has me feeling sick to my stomach. Flying solo also has me sick to my stomach thinking about it as well. I think that my fear mainly stems from the fear of failure and the time and financial consequences coming from it.

TL;DR, my main concern is whether the maneuver tests and my anxiety toward them will just get harder and harder as I progress through PPL and the other ratings. I don't want to keep sinking thousands upon thousands of dollars into something whose required tests and maneuvers cause me debilitating anxiety. So, I guess my question is this: At this point, do you think it's worth continuing my training? Should I at least finish PPL and get started in instrument training and make a decision then?

For additional context, I do have a special issuance on my medical for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), and I feel that it's really started to flare up as I've gotten to this stage check phase of training. I'm genuinely considering inquiring with a HIMS AME about anti-anxiety medication if my situation doesn't improve and if it's worth it to continue training.

Thank you so much for reading my post! I value any advice or input!

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4 Answers

  1. Best Answer


    Bryan on Nov 15, 2022

    First, I want to point out that you recognizing and acknowledging the issue puts you way ahead in the game. Second, ultimately, you have to make the call about whether you are safe to fly or not. Third, most students with performance anxiety usually perform better than they think they do–honestly, it’s the ones that think they can do anything that worry me.

    My next observation is that I remember being quite nervous about flying with other instructors pre-solo, pre-XC solo, and private end of course. But it got less and less weird each time I flew with someone different. From demo flight to CFI, I received instruction from seven different instructors and I’m adding one more to work on my CFII. In time, flying with someone else gets easier because you realize that everyone who sits in the seat next to you loves flying just like you and is a potential friend.

    My recommendation would be to take things one step at a time. It’s not useful for your anxiety or your wallet to be worried about anything more than the next step. And from that standpoint, what do you have to lose by doing the stage check? There’s an instructor in the plane so even if your anxiety gets the best of you, the instructor will land safely. But you will learn. You might learn for sure that being a pilot is not for you. You might learn that your worries about your anxiety were unwarranted. If you don’t keep working until you either achieve your goals or actually get stopped by your anxiety, you will always wonder whether you should have done more.

    Please don’t interpret this advice to suggest being reckless. At the end of the day if you run IMSAFE and you don’t think it’s safe, don’t go. But your health care provider and your instructor and both given the green light thus far. A double check with an AME wouldn’t hurt just to get more information. But in my opinion, you should fly the stage check and then make decisions with that additional information.

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  2. Nate532017 on Nov 15, 2022

    Bryan,

    Thank you so much for your candid and encouraging response! I think you’re right that I should take it step by step and not let speculation about my condition get the better of me. I plan to go through with the stage check to see how I do. However, you’re absolutely right that as PIC, you’re ultimately responsible for determining whether you’re safe to fly.

    Thank you again for your insight. I really appreciate it!

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  3. Russ Roslewski on Nov 17, 2022

    It’s NORMAL to be nervous about any kind of evaluation – test, stage check, checkride, whatever. I have several thousand hours, multiple type ratings, and I STILL get nervous about checkrides. Not debilitatingly so, but sure I get nervous. Everyone does. It’s normal.

    The #1 thing I have found that helps is actually pretty simple – just meet with the person doing your checkride/stage check a week or so beforehand. Even if it’s just chatting with them at the FBO counter. I find that if you have never met the person before, they take on a kind of giant ogre/sky god/Marine Corps drill instructor persona in our minds. When really, they’re actually normal people and generally pretty nice as well. So I’ve found that just getting to meet them and see that they don’t actually have horns really takes a lot of stress and anxiety away.

    Heck, when you do meet them to say hi, just go ahead and admit to them that you’re pretty nervous about it. They will understand, they were there at the pre-solo stage once too. And they’ll probably say something like “Hey I get it! I was there too – but don’t worry about it. Your instructor obviously thinks you’re ready, so we’re just going to go up and have some fun. No big deal!”

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  4. KSands on Dec 09, 2022

    Id be more concerned as an instructor if you lacked any anxiety before a major check ride.
    We have all been there, going into the unknown without the watchful eye of your instructor will be unnerving.
    But as you have heard countless times , you will not be endorsed unless your CFI is 100% confident you’re ready , remember you fall back on his ticket for 3 years.
    Always understand in this field , you will never know everything , also know that “right moment” will never come , you have to make that happen , and pushing through those uncomfortable feelings are the only way forward.

    Enjoy the Ride !

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