solo jitters - talk about it here!

[ayavner]

Mine is still to come, for some reason i keep having this vision of "what if I just completely panic when my turn comes?" You know, like the kid who immediately steers his bicycle into a tree for no real good reason other than he's been told the training wheels are off?

 

Is that a common thing, that feeling? Anyone here had that, and what are some techniques you might use to overcome it? I know one would never go through with it if both the CFI and yourself were sure you were ready, but the mind does funny things...

 

discuss.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

You'll be fine, just focus on flying the plane.

 

 

[jorditzu9]

trust me once the rush kicks in, everything is by the book in what you have learn, just remember you wont be sent solo until the instructor is confident in your ability!

 

 

[Chris Tarran]

Your CFI will assess you and if you are not ready he/she wont let you. When they do decide they are absolutely certain that you can do it and you should be to. When I soloed after a couple of dual circuits I had no nerves whatsoever which surprised me no end. I'll remember the moment forever. Cheers Chris

 

 

[Thx1137]

I thought my instructor was joking when he got out of the plane. After being stunned wore off I thought. "I know what to do, just do it! He wouldn't let me do it if he wasn't sure.".

 

I was about to turn base and had a moment of doubt but just though "I have done this heaps of times, just go around if it starts looking a bit ordinary". I noticed I was pretty tense so I made myself relax (moved my shoulders, made myself extra comfy in the seat) and simply did what we are trained to do.

 

 

[gareth lacey]

anytime now mine is coming mouth willbe dry but am confident can do (i wish it was a morgan it flies itself)

 

cheers gareth

 

 

[facthunter]

No plane flies itself. Some are easier to manage than others, but YOU are the one making it happen. The circuit is a standardised sequence of events , that you are taught. IF you do these actions one after the other as you have been taught, you will have a successful result.

 

IF you start to worry about the landing the second your wheels are off the ground, it's not good. Just do what you have been trained to do.

 

My advice would be to be thoroughly trained to perform a go-round from all possible situations. You shouldn't have to do it but you should certainly be capable, and it can be a critical situation. Nev

 

 

[Bandit12]

I contemplated a go around on my first solo - a couple of thermals on final and the weight of the instructor missing meant that the Tommy just didn't want to descend like it had before....but I got it there. If you busy yourself with all of the things you are meant to be doing, you won't have time to worry.

 

 

[facthunter]

The weight change effect, because the instructor is absent can be really significant, and should have been mentioned numerous times during your training, pre solo. Nev

 

 

[Bandit12]

I can't recall it being mentioned, but knew immediately what it was. Same as the phenominal rate of climb (of maybe 700fpm!) which was a rush at the time. How I would love to go back to those days....

 

 

[ayavner]

Some great thoughts here, I can only imagine how busy it is going to feel with all of the things to keep track of when I know for absolute certain there is no one else there to help! I know I have quite a mental checklist of things to "remember" (lots of right rudder, flaps up at 300', not too much bank angle on the climbing turn, TRIM!, watch position relative to runway, don't muck around cutting power on base turn - oh and the radio calls - and that tricky bit about letting it settle in before flaring...).

 

Wow that felt good, now only if i can remember that whilst airborne!

 

 

[Guernsey]

I did my first solo in an Auster and whilst the rate of climb without the instructor was noticeable it would not have been as much as in a lighter Raa aircraft.

 

I had been waiting for some time to get my first solo mainly due to weather and was anxious to do it and felt I was ready but on the day conditions were not the best so I did not anticipate that it would happen. I did five circuits with the last landing being safe but not a particularly good one. We left the runway and started taxiing back to the Club when the instructor told me to taxi back to the holding point, he said " I want you to do one more circuit but this time do it properly and by the way, you can do it on your own". After a short briefing he got out of the aeroplane and headed back to the Club House. I gave my radio call. lined up and took off. At about 300 feet I shouted Yahoo!!! or words to that effect and believe it or not I felt relieved and excited because now I did not have my instructor watching my every move, if the ball was not exactly in the middle, so what!

 

I was in charge and thoroughly enjoying it. I came in a bit high (forgot about being lighter) put on full flap and did a much better landing than with my instructor.

 

This was to continue throughout my training which was hairy at times because we only had one runway in Guernsey so we were frequently landing with varying cross winds but my instructor often remarked that I flew better on my own than when he was onboard. That has continued up until today( over 40 years later).

 

So when your day finally comes be confident and enjoy the experience because your instructor is confident in your ability and wants you to enjoy it also.

 

Alan.

 

 

[farri]

Anyone here had that, and what are some techniques you might use to overcome it? discuss.

Hi ayavner, I have never believed in a " One Fits All " solution ( So to speak ). What works for one person may not work for another.

 

I started flying Recreational ( Ultralight ) Aircraft in the days before twin seat Ultralight aircraft were legal in Australia, and so, there was no twin seat instruction available for the type of aircraft I wanted to fly.

 

I went and did a positive thinking course to help me with all the study I needed to do. I would also sit quitely and visualise what it was that I wanted to happen before I went flying . It worked for me and later on when I was instructing, I recommended to my students that they use visualisation as a learning aid.

 

Whenever we do a task, be it going on our first solo or anything else we wish to do, we must first see clearly in our mind, what it is that we are going to do and how we are going to do it. Once the objective is completely clear in our mind, then it is simply a case of doing the task.

 

All negitave thoughts must be controlled and this is the challenge to all of us. The best way for you to achieve this is to use the way that works best for you. You need to clearly see yourself doing that solo, successfully.

 

When I thought someone was ready to go solo,I would say, " You are ready to go solo. Do you want to go "?.... If the answer was yes, I would let them go and if it was no, I would put in the extra time they needed to become confident in themselves.

 

When the time comes to go solo,think well about it and be true to yourself.

 

Frank.

 

 

[biggles]

The weight change effect, because the instructor is absent can be really significant, and should have been mentioned numerous times during your training, pre solo. Nev

Very wise words indeed Nev. My first solo was done in Bundaberg in 2006 with a pleasant young instructor however I cannot recall any warning by him of the expected change in aircraft response . Being somewhat apprehensive about going alone I did not pay much attention to the faster rate of climb , being more concerned about getting safely back on the ground . My circuit was accurate and well controlled , however when I flared with the usual amount of 'back stick' , it produced a very disproportionate response to what I was used to . I knew I had done something wrong but could'nt work out what . At this stage I had ballooned and was almost in a stall and as I thought that the outcome may not be pretty and I had better do something quick . The training kicked in and I applied full throttle back to circuit height , all the time thinking I must nail it this time . Knowing that the ballooning was related to the degree of back stick , I was a little more cautious the next time and landed as I had been trained to do . Ayavner some very good advice here . Good luck !

 

Bob

 

 

[Piet Fil]

I never had a problem once I was sitting in the aircraft. I have always talked myself through every part fo a circuit out loud whilst walking the dogs (including all radio calls) made it easy to verbalise when flying and gave my instructor a good idea of where I was at and what I was doing.

 

But I have to say that leading up to the solo just as I was falling asleep I was plagued by thoughts of either a) banking into a turn at low level and falling into a spin. or b) losing the ability to set up right on finals with no instructor for fall back.

 

But as I said in the light of day and certainly in the plane ....... no problems. Put it down to human nature playing normal mind games

 

 

[sfGnome]

Ayavner, you know how when we were kids, we thought that only mad people talked to themselves? It's time to become a little mad. Talk yourself all the way around the circuit (oh, and shouting yahoo at the top of your voice isn't a bad idea either ).

 

 

[fly_tornado]

I wasn't too concerned about my first solo as much as I am about my first XC. The idea of landing @ a new strip after being in the air for an hour or so is a bit concerning, especially if the weather turns and the grass is wet.

 

 

[ayavner]

some great advice here, i have been doing as many have suggested and really taking some time to mentally walk myself through the entire circuit, and trying to include all of the small things that I know my instructor does now. Good point about the weight difference. One positive thing though is I won't have his huge melon in the way when i am trying to see the runway out the right side as I am tracking parallel :)

 

for some reason, I have always read about left hand circuits, but so far at Bankstown i have only done right. Hope THAT doesn't change on the last day! That would be interesting. Guess it would be more or less the same, other than mental reference points I had picked out.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

The secret to a good circuit is maintaining the consistency of your actions

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

Right hand circuits are a bugger. I don't like them but am getting used to them flying at Caloundra. I much prefer left hand ones as you can see the strip at all times. RHC you really need to use picked sighting/turning points and I find my circuits are not quite as accurate as a LHC. I went solo recently and I am a heavy guy 125kg my instructor weighs 80kg and just him getting out did make a surprising difference in performance but the main difference is when landing as was said in the previous posts. This is where you will really notice the difference the flair is certainly much different just be ready for some ballooning

 

 

[biggles]

Right hand circuits are a bugger. I don't like them but am getting used to them flying at Caloundra. I much prefer left hand ones as you can see the strip at all times. RHC you really need to use picked sighting/turning points and I find my circuits are not quite as accurate as a LHC. I went solo recently and I am a heavy guy 125kg my instructor weighs 80kg and just him getting out did make a surprising difference in performance but the main difference is when landing as was said in the previous posts. This is where you will really notice the difference the flair is certainly much different just be ready for some ballooning

Many people find right hand circuits a little uncomfortable , particularly in a busy circuit . Take your time and slow the a/c down if possible , to allow you to familiarise with your surroundings , but try not to lose sight of the runway . When on Final everything returns to normal .

 

Bob

 

 

[gareth lacey]

did my glides today did 2 with flaps 10,20.40 o and 2 with flaps bit of a breeze went up to some more and we were called in by ATC to much rain so that was it for the day circuits not so stress ful now actually all coming together at last

 

cheers Gareth

 

 

[naremman]

I can recall an instance when I was dirty on my instructor when he did not send me solo!! With all the confidence and brashness that only 18 year olds possess we had spent an hour doing circuits in perfect spring weather, not a breath of wind with the setting sun right behind us on final. With a grand total of just over six hours I was ready to have a crack on my own. I had a sense of dispointment when we shut the old 172 down with said instructor still sitting beside me.

 

Our instructor visited Bruce Rock on a fortnightly basis, and two weeks following the conditions were not so benign. Middle of the afternoon and hotter. Wind shear at either end of the strip, turbulence in the circuit, windsock about halfway out and not pointing downthe runway by a fair bit. Two hours of ciruits where my learning curve sharply inclined. This time I was really happy to have my instructor sitting firmly alongside me. I was a lot wiser for the experience, and that high level of confidence that I possessed a fortnight earlier was diminshed by a fair bit.

 

Next visit after 40 minutes of consolidation I was somewhat surprised when I was informed the next circuit was to be sans instructor. Alas, I remember it well, and my night solo, first aerobatic solo, Tiger Moth solo and Jabiru solo just as fondly.

 

In an interesting aside, eight years later the same instructor and I were discussing my first wife's impending solo around six hours when she was learning on my Airtourer. Both the instructor and I agreed there was no reason to delay the solo if the conditions were favourable, but she delayed her own solo for another two hours as she "did not want to bring her husband's beloved Airtourer home in a wheelbarrow"!! I used the opportunity to discuss my own solo with my instructor, and mentioned that I had been disapointed when he hadn't sent me at the six hour level. "Yes, you probably would have been OK, but remember what happened two weeks later" he was quick to remind me!! 38 years on whether I soloed at six or nine hours matters little. I count myself fortunate to have had a sage and prudent instructor.

 

 

[sfGnome]

For some reason, I have always read about left hand circuits, but so far at Bankstown i have only done right. Hope THAT doesn't change on the last day! That would be interesting. Guess it would be more or less the same, other than mental reference points I had picked out.

Where I learned, it was all left hand circuits. One day my instructor told me that we'd be doing glide approaches from the dead side. Ok, thinks I. He'll let me do one power-on circuit so I can get the right hand circuit sorted and then we'll worry about glides. Nup! Half way down the dead side, off goes the engine, and Gnomey has to turn the 'wrong' way with the 'wrong' picture of the strip in my head and plant it on the piano keys with no power. Guess what? It seems that good ol' CFI had a better understanding of what I was capable of than I did. I'm pretty sure that yours will too.

Oh, and be very careful about mental reference points. Consciously try to choose things that are not specific to your home airport. For instance, if you turn base above some particular landmark, then that landmark won't be there when you go to another airstrip. Instead, get a picture in your mind of how far you are from the strip when you're on down wind (because that will always look the same anywhere), and then turn at some point relative to the end of the strip (eg when you cross a line drawn at 45deg from the end of the strip, or something like that).

 

 

[Guest davidh10]

Fill your mind with the things you are going to do. Don't think about what you must not do, as that distracts your mind from success.

 

Farri's post was excellent, and reflects Human Factors lessons in this regard.