continue or not?

[azpilot]

Take the stage check and see what happens! Yes, 28 hours is a bit long but that could because the school sucks and is milking you for money. You lack confidence in yourself so you sub-conciously are doing things that are preventing you from soloing, etc. Way back when just before I was ready to solo I started making really crapping landings. Fear factor I guess. I took a week of and then soloed with no problem. The stage check went fine as well. One thing you should do is go round and round in the pattern if you landings aren't good. If you instructor isn't instructing and clearly offering suggestions to make improvements get another one! I see so many instructors that are in it for the hours and not for the instructing and that is a sad state of affairs.

Good luck,
AZPilot

 

[laker inbound]

Take it from me, you definitely should go ahead and finish it off now. You're situation sounds a lot like mine. I didn't solo until I had 31.3 hours, and I also dreaded taking the stage check. I ended up doing fine, although it took me about ten minutes of flying in circles before I finally found the little grass strip he had me divert to.

My real challenge came a few weeks later when on my first solo cross country, I drove off the runway at my destination and needed to hail some kind folks to help me push it back out. Luckily I didn't do any damage, and I flew back to home base and never mentioned a thing. But then I took a few weeks off to think if I really wanted to finish getting the license. In the end, I decided to go for it, and here I am -- 175 hours, and currently working on my instrument.

I would never have forgiven myself if I hadn't finished it off.

GO FOR IT DUDE !!!

 

[banned username 2]

My real challenge came a few weeks later when on my first solo cross country, I drove off the runway at my destination and needed to hail some kind folks to help me push it back out. Luckily I didn't do any damage, and I flew back to home base and never mentioned a thing.

Uh Folks...

If we do something like this to an airplane, even if we THINK there is no damage... mention it to someone and have it checked out by maintenance! You could slightly buckle the firewall or any other range of damage and not see it with the untrained eye...

ALWAYS report something like this to maintenance... You owe it to anyone else who flies that plane after you did!!!

Fly Safe!

 

[mckpickle]

hang in there. If you give it up chances are you will never go back. Your just at a bump in the road. When you solo you will feel a huge weight lifted off you. And it will motivate you!

I had a student once, who was having a little trouble. He flew fine but he had no self confidence. I got to the point when I said,
"OK this lesson is over pull the plane on the ramp." Then I got out, signed his logboog. I looked him in the eye and said, " your scaring the He11 out of me and I dont want to be in a plane with you, now go take this thing around the pattern for a few trips"

He did some of the nicest landings I have ever seen, and then had the motivation and the self confidence to go on. Later he said to me what a lot of us feel on our first solo. You take the plane off, you got to get it down, all by yourself and when you do it it feels mighty good.

 

[mckpickle]

Uh Folks...

If we do something like this to an airplane, even if we THINK there is no damage... mention it to someone and have it checked out by maintenance! You could slightly buckle the firewall or any other range of damage and not see it with the untrained eye...

ALWAYS report something like this to maintenance... You owe it to anyone else who flies that plane after you did!!!

Fly Safe!

agreed 100%. Had a plane at my flight school that came down hard on the nose wheel. No one mentioned it to anyone. on the next 100 hour, MX found the firewall buckled and the nose wheel hanging on by one bolt! Could have been bad.

 

[supsup]

finish!!!!!!!

If you quit now you will be spend much more money trying to finish your ppl. I am by know means an expert instructor, but from my experience many students seem to reach a plateau in their training. For some its pre-solo and for others its cross countries or short and soft field landings. If your feeling frustrated with your progress don't be, I read in a magazing a while back that the average total time for ppl is up to something like 65-75 hrs. If your instructor says your ready, your ready. No cfi is going to sign some off to go solo if their not ready.

Keep flying,

supsup

 

[ILLINI]

I agree with everyone else here. Go ahead and finish. How long has your instructor been telling you that you were ready to solo? Remember that you will not be expected to make great landings at this stage in your training. You are only expected to fly the plane safely and get it on the runway in one piece without bending any aluminum. And don't even sweat the stage check. Like V-1 mentioned, it's more a check on your instructor than a check on your abilities. The check instructor just wants to make sure that your instructor hasn't missed anything. I can't tell you how many students i've had to practically push into the airplane for them to solo. It is natural to be nervous and think that you aren't ready for it. You really have to trust your instructor and your abilities. No instructor with half a brain would let you solo if he/she didn't think you were ready. Everyone has a bump or two in their training. It sounds like you have gotten to yours. Just dig in and go forward. Who knows, you may breeze through the rest of your training after you solo.

Another thing to consider is your relationship with your instructor or instructors. You wan't to make sure that the two of you have a good relationship. You don't have to be best friends, but you should feel comfortable with him/her and be able to talk with them about any problems or concerns you may have. A bad student/instructor relationship can lead to lengthy training and added cost. If this is the case, talk to the school manager or chief pilot. They know the importance of a good realtionship and should understand your concern, as should your instructor. They should be able to get you a new instructor. This isn't unheard of, so you don't have to worry about it being any trouble. Now if you are constantly changing instructors, that's another story.

Best of luck!