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Pre-Solo Landing Proficiency – Consistency through the Eyes of Different CFI’s.

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Flight Instructor, Private Pilot, Student Pilot

How do you define proper landing “consistency” for a pre-solo student in 2021 ?

When qualifying for the Pre-solo stage check for a PPL, a student has to be able to properly land the plane and do so in a “consistent” manner. Because of breaks in my flight training, I have had to qualify for solo status on three different occasions with three different instructors at three different schools. Looking back, all my instructors have been really great people, but I get the feeling that “consistency”, much like beauty, may often lie in the eyes of the CFI beholder.

It would be great to hear some perspectives from the more seasoned CFI’s here on the site.  I am not looking for an answer with a precise set number of great landings as we can probably all agree that there is no one correct answer to this question of “consistency”.

Precision pattern work, setting up a nice stabilized approach on final, and then properly transitioning/flaring into the final smooth touchdown are all part of achieving a successful  “landing experience”. I am told that the transitioning/flaring experience just before touchdown often is the most difficult challenge to master for the average student. That was my experience as well. Other individual elements which are part of the overall package include proper runway alignment, correct positioning over the mid-line, appropriate airspeed, crosswind adjustments, pitch, and more.

So before the student can become a candidate for the Pre-solo stage check, what are instructors looking for regarding “consistent” landing abilities?  At what point do you know your student has finally achieved “consistency”?   Rather than a “subjective feeling”, do you employ any objective standards?  Does your school use a checklist to define landing proficiency and "consistency"? 

There is a lot of talent here on this site, and I look forward to folks sharing their perspectives.

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3 Answers



  1. Mark Kolber on Apr 14, 2021

    I think there are a few objective indications such as you mention, but ultimately it is a subjective CFI judgment that, left on their own, the student can handle it. It’s not just about good landings. It about handling bad ones. Has the student chosen to go around when he should or did I have to say something? Plus, it’s not only about handling the airplane. It’s about handlight the airport environment as well. Solo at a busy multi-runway Class D requires a different skill set than a one-runway nontowered with no one else in the pattern.

    The CFI assessment comes down to confidence in the student. That assessment is going to include more than whether the student can land without breaking anything. And, it is going to reflect the CFI’s experience, both quantitative and qualitative.

    It’s an excellent reason for stage checks, even if only a single flight with a second instructor.

    If you are looking for numbers, I can’t give them. It’s more, I’ll know it when I see it.

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  2. KDS on Apr 15, 2021

    I tend to step back and ask myself how I would feel if I owned the airplane. How comfortable would I feel as this person took my airplane around the pattern. Perhaps it isn’t the most measurable standard, but it has worked for me for quite a while.

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  3. AV8R on Apr 16, 2021

    My standard is if the student can take me up in the pattern and I do not have to take over on the controls, nor talk on the radio, and his landings are good…notice I didn’t say perfect, then he’s ready. On the day of the solo I usually tell him I am only a passenger I will not talk nor provide instruction if he can safely do 3 laps around the pattern by himself. then I jump out the airplane and he solos.

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