How long did you take to obtain license (HP)?

[flyinghigh]

How many hours did you log to obtain your pilot's certificate (high-performance)? What aircraft did you train in? I'm interested to see how much the type of aircraft people use for training correlates to the hours taken to license.

 

And if you started training in the last few years, did you believe when you started that it would take only 20 hours?

 

 

[The Wolf]

about 30 hours in a Jab 160.

 

 

[facthunter]

Hours to Certificate.

 

Too much emphasis placed on the hours. This has been a selling point and some times a problem with students who feel that they should have soloed at a certain time. No-one should put themselves under time constraints, as variables like preparation, weather previous experience (good and bad), to mention but a few factors come into play, as well as natural ability/aptitude etc. The red Baron did not start off too auspiciously but came good.

 

To answer the question directly, 20 hours MIGHT be enough for a few but would not be enough for the majority. You only get one chance to do your formative flying right. Once you are let go it is likely that earlier errors not detected will continue in your flying technique. Dual instruction is an opportunuty, not a punishment. Nev

 

 

[sseeker]

I did mine in 25 hours with no additional endorsements + 5 hours for PAX so around 30 really. I stretched my training over quite some time though.

 

-Andrew

 

 

[flyinghigh]

Too much emphasis placed on the hours. This has been a selling point and some times a problem with students who feel that they should have soloed at a certain time.

I couldn't agree with you more! Perhaps I should explain the reason for my original post: looking at a number of websites for RAAus training schools recently, I'm left wondering how many people read these and think "it'll only take 20 hours" or "it'll only cost this much". So, I pose the question so our readers can see some real numbers from real people.

 

 

[pilotdave69]

I am upto 44 hours, 10 hours solo, started in May this year.. I wasnt in any rush to get Pilot Cert, i think more flying is better, rushing will get you into trouble. I do my pilot cert test on monday coming. I am pretty happy with how my flying has gone, the club is brilliant making sure of your requirements and learning . Thanks for C West Flying.

 

Dave

 

 

[Bandit12]

A silly question from a GA pilot who is getting back into it, and knows little about RAA.....what is a HP (high performance) licence? Does RAA distinguish from something like a Jabiru to a Drifter in licencing?

 

Cheers

 

Shane

 

 

[flyinghigh]

A silly question from a GA pilot who is getting back into it, and knows little about RAA.....what is a HP (high performance) licence? Does RAA distinguish from something like a Jabiru to a Drifter in licencing? Cheers

 

Shane

Correct. Endorsements are available for high performance ("normal cruise speed in excess of 80kts") and low performance ("normal cruise speed of less than 80kts") aircraft. See section 2.01 of the RAAus Ops Manual for these definitions.

 

 

[naremman]

Glen. Given your CFI role what is the range of hours your students have taken, and around what would be the average?

 

Does learning in summer or winter make any difference?

 

 

[Guest burbles1]

I converted from GA to RA, after having been almost at solo circuits GA after 6.6 hrs (but due to holdups getting a Class 2, not being able to go solo). I then took 16.2 hrs to do first solo RA. When I got my Certificate I had 31.8 hrs dual and 7.3 hrs solo. But all this was done over 14 months due to stopping and restarting for reasons of weather and lack of instructors.

 

 

[Stewy]

Still couldn't tell you of the top of my head. I only want to be safe and competent so I can get home safe and not put any other person in danger. I got my certificate a couple of weeks ago and I Can't wait to be able to take my sons and wife up for a fly when endorsed, but I want to know that I can get them back safely under any circumstances. It took me 20 years to finally start flying from the time I thought about it so I don't see a few extra hours as a big expense when I consider the cargo I want to carry!

 

Stewy

 

 

[Scooby]

If you do your pilot cert in a microlight trike, you only get low performance because cruise is less than 80 kts.

 

 

[Jose]

Hi dave,

 

How did you go on Monday?

 

 

[Tomo]

I got my Cert in 24.5hrs.

 

X-country bumped it up to about 36hrs dual, had 11.5hrs solo as well. So if you work that out, 47.5hrs > PAX, X, 2S, TW, NW, LP, HP, HF <

 

Trained in a LP tail wheel aircraft - did the HP NW conversion in there as well.

 

Someone was saying how little RAA pilots get trained compared to a GA PPL. Just don't forget to add the x country onto the hrs, pretty much the same hrs then. Just half the aircraft cost!! :thumb_up:

 

 

[storchy neil]

i feel that it is not how many hrs to pass but what have you in your log book as duel training as my log book shows drifter 4.5 duel gazelle 17,8 duel texan 9.5 duel cesna 2.3 duel storch 72.8 duel

 

dont add them up

 

i am alive to day because of my determination to get the best out of the instructors

 

the cost of duel saved my children the expence of a funeral after hitting power wires

 

that is why i am quite comfortable to fly to any destination neil

 

 

[Galpin]

I'm up to 40 hours to date, over a period of four years. All flying done in different Jabirus.

 

 

[Guest basscheffers]

44 hours for cert + pax + xc over 14 months in the SportStar.

 

 

[rdarby]

I'm on about 30 hours and not solo yet, starting to land myself now. 10 years ago I was solo and had 10 hours solo but hadn't flow since. So it really depends. One thing I like about taking longer is that I get to experience a lot of different situations with an instructor so I feel I am building experience, even if really stuck on the landings! I have seen several students drop out when the money runs out, as they try predict their budget based on averages, and that doesn't work. Ryan

 

 

[Chrism]

Hours to HP..

 

For me it was about 40hrs in the J160, for much the same reason as others have said, windy weather, many different instructors, over 9 months etc. And I failed my first flight test, but that was probably a good thing!

 

I has 10+ hrs solo though, so in the end I was able to get my HP, Radio, and Pax all on one day.

 

As Tomo said, some say RA don't get as good training as GA, but since my school was a combined one, it was identical to how they would have trained a GFPT (also on J160's). I was assessed on stuff that's not in the Ra syllabus: GA maintenence release docs, weight and balance loading charts etc.

 

Chris

 

 

[Jimbo]

I did mine in around 28 hours including passenger endorsment. This was in the Jabiru LSA 55 with frequent training and reasonable weather at Bundaberg. I am still working on my nav. endorsement.

 

 

[Guest Scout driver]

As somebody said last week, it's all statistics. To get the pilot cert you have to meet the standard - and that depends on your instructor(s) and assessor as well as yourself.

 

People who write syllabi generally put a minimum for each topic that can only be achieved by people 1 to 2 standard deviations above the mean (That's somewhere between the best 5% and the best 16% of the total population - and not many people are in the top 5% for everything they do.) So people should realistically expect to take maybe 30 hours to reach the standard for the basic pilot cert, without passenger or XC. The longer the gaps in your training, the more you need to be reminded of things as you go along buit the better you eventually know them, and the whizz kid who passes the course at minimum experience doesn't always end up the best or safest pilot 100 hours down the track. (Often they get bored and go on to something else without ever really understanding what flying is about - especially the responsibility you are taking on.)

 

Also most instructors reckon they're the best in the business. While students can have too many instructors, those who only have one often replicate that instructor's faults perfectly - so it pays to fly with at least three to get a balanced view of things. How many schools can give you that? However if you have more than 5 it can get a bit confusing unless they are all singing to the same sheet of music!

 

Also it is most important to be able to handle a range of weather conditions and to be able to work out for yourself when you should not fly. Nothing wrong with going and having a look provided you can work out when the right choice is to go home and put the aeroplane to bed - or when you really should leave it there in the first place - but too many people either give up on a forecast, or try too hard when it's obviously not good enough for a day VFR recreational aeroplane with a pilot who is not fully aware of what might go wrong or what has already gone wrong, and press on into worse conditions. One of the great adventures of flying is that you don't know the outcome when you set off on a journey - but you should always be absolutely certain not to get too close to the edges of the air, where you WILL fall off the edge!

 

Me - I had about 1200 hours in a lot of aeroplanes and other aircraft before I got an RAA cert, but that is only a licence to learn, and if I have not learned or been reminded of something important in the last 5 hours of flying, then I'm asleep on the job! More often than not, it;s the last 0.5 of an hour. And everyone I fly with has something to teach me - maybe about how people take to flying and not about the aeroplane, but thanks to some people a long time ago I have filled the bag with experience and hope I have not used up all the luck yet - 'cos something will come along that will need it and I hope I recognise it and remember what it was that I need to pull out to stay safe.

 

Once a student, always a student - but once an expert always dangerous.

 

 

[poteroo]

I hope readers of this thread treat the hours quoted as 'interesting' .... but not indicative. Your location is very influential in terms of weather - so is the month of the year. As well - all the other factors mentioned by other posters. Another point which may have been mentioned is whether your training location has cross strips - which makes a huge difference to how much time you spend learning to cope with crosswinds.

 

happy days,

 

 

[davebmooney]

I did mine in about 26 hrs,did a couple extra hours solo as the instructor wasn't available when I was and the aircraft was.I trained in a Tecnam P92 Super Echo.

 

Dave.

 

 

[DoubleB]

I have 19 hours in a Tecnam including 30 minutes solo and can't see me getting there before 25 to 27 hours, weather and traffic volume is a factor that can hold you back

 

regardless of how well you are flying. I initially thought I would have done my 5 hours solo within the 20 hours, and actually managed my first solo at 15 hours, but if you

 

want to do this right and safely then you are ready when you are ready and not just becaues you have logged the correct number of hours. I hope there will be many hours

 

after I get my certificate.

 

 

[pilotdave69]

Im upto 48 hours, with 13 hours solo, i only have BAK to complete and will be licensed and able to take pax up. I did alot of solo flying so when i was licensed, would be ready to take pax. Im not worried in getting license as quick as possible, i feel like my training has been extremely thorough with the utmost care in making sure all was completed in a timely manner. I did my 1st solo in 20 hours, i am happy with how i have progressed, even if I have flown more prior to obtaining my Pilot Cert.

 

Bathurst airport is very lucky, great weather most of the year and good training areas. The instructors held a couple of day courses for Human Factors, also for NAVs, which i am soon to attend.

 

Im interested in how some of the flying clubs sylabus flows from one club to another?

 

Dave