Tips for a first solo?

[Summer]

Hey guys! I’m new to this forum and fairly new to piloting. I’m a student pilot with around 20 hours about to solo pretty soon. Anyone have tips, advice, or things not to do during a solo? Feel free to share your personal experiences too!

[RossK]

The AC wil fly much sooner than normal and climb faster; watch your altitude, it's easy to bust through the 1000ft AGL circuit height when only 1 up as it will happen earlier in the circuit.

Don't be afraid to do a go around if you're not happy with your approach to landing.

Enjoy, it's a once in a lifetime event 🙂

[facthunter]

Just do it in the same cool, calm and  collected way as you did when you had the Instructor with you. Allow for the weight difference. Do everything without haste, thoroughly and unrushed. You wouldn't be sent off unless you've reached a standard that is good enough . I went around as I didn't allow for the weight of the Instructor behind me being absent.  Do that if you have to but it's unlikely. Keep alert to other traffic and the wind. Really it's just another circuit.  On the C-172 check the seat is locked securely  Nev

[red750]

Hi Summer, welcome to the forum, and welcome to flying.The advice from these guys is great, but please be aware that this is an Australian forum with many US members. Flying is flying, but from a regulatory point of view, there are differences, and you have to take this into account. Speak with your instructor, who is familiar with rules and regulations applicable in your area.

[rgmwa]

You'll be too busy on takeoff to do anything other than remember all the things you need to do. It will happen quickly and you'll be on mid-downwind before you have time to suddenly realise you're flying by yourself. Enjoy it and don't worry. You know how to fly the plane, so just relax and do what you've done many times before with the instructor. Go around if you have to. You will now be one of the 0.1 percent of the population who can fly a plane solo.

[Carbon Canary]

Your instructor will probably do a few circuits with you first (just to check if you are 'in the groove') and will then get out for you to do one by yourself. 

 

Just relax - remember, it's just another circuit like the hundreds you've done before ! Your instructor won't send you solo unless they firmly believe you are totally good to go. 

[sfGnome]

What they all said, but I’d add one thing more. Make sure that you’ve practiced go-arounds from close to the ground (not touch and goes) enough times with your instructor first. I was not ready for way the plane reacted the first time I had to do a go around, and unfortunately I was solo when it happened. I had a great instructor, but that’s one thing he missed…

[Summer]

Thanks for the tips guys!

2 hours ago, sfGnome said:

What they all said, but I’d add one thing more. Make sure that you’ve practiced go-arounds from close to the ground (not touch and goes) enough times with your instructor first. I was not ready for way the plane reacted the first time I had to do a go around, and unfortunately I was solo when it happened. I had a great instructor, but that’s one thing he missed…

 

5 hours ago, Carbon Canary said:

Your instructor will probably do a few circuits with you first (just to check if you are 'in the groove') and will then get out for you to do one by yourself. 

 

Just relax - remember, it's just another circuit like the hundreds you've done before ! Your instructor won't send you solo unless they firmly believe you are totally good to go. 

 

5 hours ago, rgmwa said:

You'll be too busy on takeoff to do anything other than remember all the things you need to do. It will happen quickly and you'll be on mid-downwind before you have time to suddenly realise you're flying by yourself. Enjoy it and don't worry. You know how to fly the plane, so just relax and do what you've done many times before with the instructor. Go around if you have to. You will now be one of the 0.1 percent of the population who can fly a plane solo.

 

5 hours ago, red750 said:

Hi Summer, welcome to the forum, and welcome to flying.The advice from these guys is great, but please be aware that this is an Australian forum with many US members. Flying is flying, but from a regulatory point of view, there are differences, and you have to take this into account. Speak with your instructor, who is familiar with rules and regulations applicable in your area.

 

6 hours ago, facthunter said:

Just do it in the same cool, calm and  collected way as you did when you had the Instructor with you. Allow for the weight difference. Do everything without haste, thoroughly and unrushed. You wouldn't be sent off unless you've reached a standard that is good enough . I went around as I didn't allow for the weight of the Instructor behind me being absent.  Do that if you have to but it's unlikely. Keep alert to other traffic and the wind. Really it's just another circuit.  On the C-172 check the seat is locked securely  Nev

 

6 hours ago, RossK said:

The AC wil fly much sooner than normal and climb faster; watch your altitude, it's easy to bust through the 1000ft AGL circuit height when only 1 up as it will happen earlier in the circuit.

Don't be afraid to do a go around if you're not happy with your approach to landing.

Enjoy, it's a once in a lifetime event 🙂

 

[rgmwa]

Good luck!  Let us know how you go.

[cscotthendry]

13 hours ago, RossK said:

 

Don't be afraid to do a go around if you're not happy with your approach

That is the best advice anyone can give you. 
Your instructor will know when you're ready to solo. He/she will set it up so that you should be ready and comfortable. They'll probably go up with you for a couple of circuitsand then get you to taxi off the runway so they can get out. They'll probably have a handheld radio so they can listen to you and talk to you if there's a problem.

You will know what the conditions are because you will already have done a few circuits.

As RossK said, the plane will LEAP into the air without the dead weight beside you, and it will want to float on your approach. Be prepared for that and as we said, if you're not completely happy with how the approach is going, go around. But don't worry about it. Your instructor isn't going to “Fail” you for a missed approach. In fact they'll probably compliment you on your good decision making. Also, don't get stressed if you miss a landing or two. If you're still flying, you're still in control of the airplane, so you still have choices.

It all sounds dramatic and for the very first time it is, a bit dramatic … but oh so much FUN!!!

[RossK]

4 hours ago, cscotthendry said:

and it will want to float on your approach. Be prepared for that and as we said, if you're not completely happy with how the approach is going, go around. But don't worry about it. Your instructor isn't going to “Fail” you for a missed approach. In fact they'll probably compliment you on your good decision making.

That was exactly my experience.

Ended up high on approach and tried to force it down, realised I wasn't happy with it, so went around.  Bonus circuit for me 😁.

Instructor was happy when I got back as he could see I was too high and was glad I went around.

 

 

[old man emu]

Imprint this in your mind 

 

 

[Roundsounds]

The above advice is great. I’ve sent many first solos, don’t go unless you’re comfortable. Some instructors think it’s cool to simply have you stop the aircraft and get out without any advanced warning and not discussing the event with you. It’s a joint decision between you and your instructor. 
Enjoy your first solo!

[facthunter]

Yes for sure . THAT silly "drop me out and go" was a hangover from the war. It would be a difficult process to defend if something went wrong. The student is entitled to say I'd like a bit more of (xyz) but when He/she thinks they are ready doesn't matter. The instructor decides that. In my view. The How many hours to solo is counter productive. There's too many variables. The Red Baron, Von Richtofen crashed 3 planes in training.   I'm not suggesting that is OK.   Nev

[cscotthendry]

5 hours ago, RossK said:

That was exactly my experience.

Ended up high on approach and tried to force it down, realised I wasn't happy with it, so went around.  Bonus circuit for me 😁.

Instructor was happy when I got back as he could see I was too high and was glad I went around.

 

 

LOL, I've tried many times to force an aircraft down when I'm too high on final and guess what? Pushing the nose over makes it fly faster and even less inclined to descend. It's really counterintuitive, but it's true.

[facthunter]

 Good way to end up wheel barrowing it and tip it over.  A lighter plane must make a slower approach or it will float and float .Nev

[440032]

"History doesn't record the number of go-arounds you do, it only records the one you didn't do, but should have."

[cscotthendry]

IMHO it's more important and beneficial to practice go arounds than forced landings.

[Area-51]

Your instructor has probably already covered this while nudging your new pilot skills into shape.

 

In aviation the best skill you can develop is the ability to recognise your own $&:@ups and know how to affectively correct them immediately before they lead to a stack of multiple $(&@ups; this comes with experience, additional advanced training, and practice. This is what will distinguish "you" as a "proficient" pilot in command.

 

if you've turned Final on approach and you find, or feel the aircraft (because the wind may shift and you are suddenly flying final on downwind) is not setup as expected "fix it". If fixing it is not a confident option "go around" and have another go.

 

I had the valuable experience early into going solo of the wind shifting direction after checking the windsock on downwind; I ended up flying final downwind with 15kt tail wind without knowing. The aircraft felt loose and weird; scanning my IAS and flight instruments was my first go to; coming over the fence it felt the aircraft was too fast; again i checked my IAS; my throttle management workload was greatly increased; I elected to go around and the situation with the wind and windsock repeated; second approach i greased it on all be it with a much faster ground speed than expected... my instructor was watching it all on the ground and able to discern i had the situation managed and was holding off getting on the radio to ask "why are you landing downwind"...  truth be told i had no idea what was going on in the moment, i just focused on managing my airspeed and maintaining my lineup... that was my first experience landing downwind.

 

Why am i sharing this experience? You may not always know you have $&@(ed up, but something may feel weird... Just "maintain airspeed", then "maintain centerline"... if you are unable to manage either, relax, breath,  go around and try again, and go around again until you got it all sorted...

[facthunter]

Go rounds after contact can be a very skill demanding process far in excess of what you've experienced before it. Students don't like doing them because everything is concentrated on the landing and they want to do LANDINGS. Like IF you manage a squeeker nothing else matters? Consistent maintenance of control is what's  required before you are safe.  Appropriate Response to conditions.. SITUATIONAL awareness.  Nev

[cscotthendry]

My very first Go Around

 

The day after I soloed on the trike, my instructor and I flew our respective trikes to a nearby airfield. Him is his, me in mine. At the destination, the wind was directly across the strip at about 15 Kt. There is a line of trees about 20 mtrs to the left of the runway, upwind of the strip. My instructor landed first.

 

When I got down to the level of the tree tops, the crosswind (that I had unconsciously corrected for) dropped out and the trike made a huge lunge for the trees. It scared the crap out of me. I corrected the heading and put the pedal to the metal and went around. On the second attempt, I had the bar pulled in so hard the trike was doing about 65kt when I passed the treetops ... but it came down straight. Once I was passed the treetops and realised that I was out of the crosswind, I let it come into trim and backed off to idle and let it settle.

 

My knees were knocking when I deplaned. But I was pleased because my instructor saw my runway departure on the first attempt and said to himself "Get a hold of it" and before he'd completed the thought, I'd already started my Go Around.

He'd taught me well. He emphasized that if I wasn't happy with the approach, to go around and try again. It saved my bacon then and a couple of times since.

[spenaroo]

don't crash

but on a more serious note,
dont be afraid of being a nervous fool. we all were
I was talking to myself out loud all flight and did a go around or two because I wasn't comfortable.
don't be focused on getting it perfect mistakes happen, fix it and move on. dont try to fix a bad landing set-up.
make your judgment point and stick to it, if its floating down the runway go-around

[Area-51]

The other important item to manage and remain aware of is your "stick stall position"... Don't become a statistic by loosing situational awareness trying to force the aircraft into a tight banked turn on final (or turning xwind on departure) in order to line things up with the runway; let it go and go around... know your aircraft's performance limits.

 

A discussion to have with an experienced aerobatics instructor or military trained pilot.

[Neil_S]

Hi Summer,

 

Nothing really to add to what has already been said. I learnt in an LSA and was certainly surprised by the difference the lack of weight of my instructor made and went a bit above circuit height. He also warned me about sink on final as our airfield is in the lee of a mountain and the wind was coming from that direction and sometimes caused sink, but when it happened I was still a little surprised by it. However, I did as taught and added a bit of power which cured the problem. 

The main thing is to enjoy it - you only do a first solo once!!

 

Good luck,

Neil

Edited January 13, 2023 by Neil_S

[RFguy]

My first solo- I was more relaxed without the instructor present.  Flying the circuit in the last hour of the day in still air it was an easy job. 

And in LSA we all remember how the airplane climbs like a scalded cat without the instructor in the other seat ! Like "Holy sh1t I'm already at 500' and still over the runway "