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Flight Training

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4 Answers



  1. KDS on Apr 10, 2018

    I’m afraid you’re kind of stuck. No respectable CFI is going to endorse someone for a practical test unless they see them perform all of the necessary maneuvers to standard.

    The best advice I can give is to have an open and honest conversation with your instructor about exactly where you stand and what is ahead.

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  2. jp_fly on Apr 10, 2018

    I understand the process and I’m not expecting to just be signed off without being checked first. Where it becomes frustrated is being told by my previous CFIs that I’m good to go but not ready yet by their “chief pilot”. At this point I’m ok with investing my money and time anywhere else.

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  3. KDS on Apr 11, 2018

    What should have happened and didn’t was a frank and honest discussion with your CFI long ago to explain the school’s standards. Unfortunately, your CFI failed to make that happen. It’s certainly understandable that the school has a reputation to uphold and a certain amount of liability exposure. So, they aren’t wrong in requiring a pre-check by someone before their staff signs someone off for a practical test. But again, that shouldn’t come as a surprise at the end.

    Without knowing the details of your situation, it’s impossible to know the best way to go. As I wrote before, no responsible CFI is going to recommend you for a check without spending a fair amount of time with you.

    I had a situation like that and it has haunted me ever since. In this case, it was a fellow who had over 30 hours with an instructor, but never soloed. He mentioned it to one of his coworkers who had been one of my students and he recommended me. I thought the fellow did fine the first time we few together, but I couldn’t in good conscience authorize him to solo with only one flight together. We flew a second time and again it was good. One more and I would sign him off for a solo. But, then several weeks passed before we were scheduled to fly again. He called me and told me he had just had the longest cold of his life and hadn’t felt much like getting out of bed, but he was so very anxious to fly and solo. We scheduled another flight. This time he did fine again, but he said he felt like he was freezing and could we land early and call it a day, which we did.

    I called a couple days later to check on how he was feeling. His wife told me he was in the hospital. I won’t go into the details of his medical issue, but it was serious. I went to see him in the hospital. He opened his eyes and saw me and he said “I’ve been watching the wind blow the trees and I believe it’s too much wind to be flying today”. He died a few days later.

    It had been his life’s desire to be a pilot, but like so many men, he spent his money taking care of his kids as they grew and went through college and moved away. Only then, did he feel he could do what he had always wanted to do and learn to fly.

    I’ve asked myself many times since then if I did right by not letting him solo with only one or two flights. If I had known what was going to happen, the answer might be different, but given what I knew at the time, I still feel I made the right decision.

    That’s pretty much the way another flight instructor is going to look at you. You may come off as the someone who was born to fly, but for your own safety, they won’t sign you off until they are sure you do meet all of the standards, and that is going to take time.

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  4. jp_sky on Apr 12, 2018

    Thanks for sharing your story, it must have been a difficult situation. I was also at 30 hours without having soloed, I actually put my flight training on hold 11 years ago while I joined the military so that I could use my GI Bill when I got out to pay for my flying, unfortunately Private is no longer paid for and it’s being out of pocket since, on and off, four flight schools and many years later I’m just looking to finish it one way or another once and for all. I really appreciate your feedback. Thanks

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