average hours till Private Pilot check ride?

[akwstanley]

Okay, I now have about 70 hours and still working on all I need to know for my check ride...my instructor tells me I'm doing fine, but I feel like I'm a really slow learner! Just curious what some other student pilots are up to in hours? I'm getting close...I think!

[otto_pilot]

I did part 141 for my ppl i took my test w/ 45 hrs. Every person takes a different amount of time; it all depends on a lot of different things. I'm sure your doing great.

[Marty Becker]

In 1981, I did my PPL in 42 hours, soloing in 8.  As Anthony said, every person takes a different amount of time.  I do believe people are taking longer these days than 20-30 years ago.  Why, I have no idea.

Good luck! No matter how long it takes, it's worth it.

[Robin Rebhan]

    I took 58 hours over one year and 3 months. Money to fly, age ( 55 ) family, work ( two jobs - fatigue ), and weather led to a lot of regression due to lapses in flying time. I may not have had money or time to fly weeks at a time. Which also was a problem for getting my IFR rating ( 65 hours ). I am now working on my Commercial.
    Regression by the way is where you go backwards in skill, hand eye muscle coordination due to lapse in training. And then have to do reviews to catch up quicker.
     That said, I had a lot of flying experience and training by time I got my IFR which in the long run made me a better pilot.
     I had determined to get IFR rating if it killed me attitude that really helped, along with a one very patient flight instructor.

     If it were easy, everybody would be doing it!

     

[Shabadoo]

Don't sweat it.  It took me around the same amount of hours as you, mostly due to a lapse in training because of poor weather where I live and financial difficulties which made lessons hard to afford.  Its different for everyone but just think of it as making you that much of a better pilot.  And if you are planning on getting your CPL, it doesnt make a difference anyways beacuse hours are hours.  Getting the PPL is not an easy task, and only a very small percentage of the world population are pilots.  So don't worry about how long its taking you, and be proud of yourself for getting this far!  All that matters is that you will be a pilot, and most people dont have the smarts and persistence that you do.  You stand out among your peers as doing something that humans were not designed to naturally do.  Being able to fly is one of the most amazing things that you can do in life.  So keep it up my friend, and don't ever get discouraged!

[otto_pilot]

Getting the PPL is not an easy task, and only a very small percentage of the world population are pilots.  So don't worry about how long its taking you, and be proud of yourself for getting this far!  All that matters is that you will be a pilot, and most people dont have the smarts and persistence that you do.  You stand out among your peers as doing something that humans were not designed to naturally do.  Being able to fly is one of the most amazing things that you can do in life.  So keep it up my friend, and don't ever get discouraged!

VERY VERY VERY well put.

A checkride ought to be like a skirt, short enough to be interesting but still be long enough to cover everything.

I found that quote on a website and thought you might find a bit of humor in it.

[ozziecat35]

Agree with the above poster, you should be proud you've gotten this far!!! Some people pick it up quicker than others. Who knows, you may pick up the Instrument stuff than others. To answer your question though, I solo'd at 11 hours, Private Checkride @ 43 hours, and Instrument (Part 141) at 80-85 hours.

[onesierrawhiskey]

[deleted]

[Eng/Pilot]

Solo @ 11.0, Private @ 40.2, Instrument @ 106.5

[keith]

The numbers mean very little.  They are a function of how often you fly, the region in which you fly, the effectiveness of your instructor, and of course, your ability to learn.

I don't recall when I went solo, but I know I got my PPL at around the 90-100hr mark, purely because I was having so much fun with my repeated solo XC endorsements, it was practically like having a PPL, so I was in no rush.

Don't sweat the numbers one little bit.  If you're concerned about your progress, talk to you instructor and ask what he/she feels you need to work on to be ready for the test.

[geoflyer]

I agree with everyone else, though this is a question I've been asking myself lately as well.  I'm a student pilot with about 45 hours.  I soloed at 39 hours and I'm about to undertake my first solo XC this weekend.  Lots of things can influence how long it takes and how fast you learn - I'm a graduate student and also working (double mental fatigue) so definitely my alertness and ability to learn change from lesson to lesson. 

I think that as long as you feel like you're making progress, it doesn't matter how long it takes.  I've heard other pilots say that if it's taking a really long time then it might be the instructor that's the problem, not the student. 

Good luck! 

[wampler24]

Solo@ 8 hours. PPT at 41 and working in instrument now. Took me two months but I flew a lot and often. I think that is the only reason I could do it that fast. Another guy I fly with has 62 hours and has not yet taken the test. He has spread his out over the past year.

[SCMichel]

Solo = 11
PP Checkride = 78

Whole year off between due to moving and paying two mortgages. 

[Inferno]

Solo:20 (required by law to wait until 20 hours for solo in R22)
PPT Check ride: 42 or so (over 40 because of scheduling issues)

This was for my rotorcraft license. I did this in the span of 1.5 months though.  If you take breaks, or don;t fly on a daily/ semi-daily basis, i can easily see how it could take longer. Don;t give up. You're almost there! Just remember on your check ride to not take it lightly. My instructor failed to stress just how intense the ground portion was going to be. Needless to say, that was just about the most painful 4 hours of my life.

Good luck!

[aviatorchick]

My first post! Soloed at 34, license at 67, this past August.....My lessons were spread over 11 months.

[ThirtyEcho]

Frequency is the thing. If you fly once a week, you are 90% "rusty" by the next lesson and have to re-learn things you had almost mastered last week. Most of all, this is not a race, take the time to be safe.

[FlyAuburn13]

I started my training at age 15 and spread it out over pretty much 3 years.  I ended up getting my private with 90 hours.  It really is just a matter of how often you fly.  Don't sweat it and just have fun learning.

[pocho]

Got mine at 58 hrs. I started at 14 yrs old... soloed a week after my 16th birthday. I took my time so I ended up getting my PPL at age 18.

I flew about once a month on a weekend all throughout high school. It wasn't until I was nearing the checkride that I flew about twice a month.

The more off time between flights, though, the more you need to study/review on your own at home so you won't forget everything for the next lesson.

[Gaby]

Hi,

I got my first Solo flight at 6.5 hours and my PPL at 42 hours. i guess the most important thing is that to make your instructor feels that you are a safe pilot by mastering all emergency procedures.

Good luck anyway!

[melika]

I performed my first solo flight after 13 hours (as it was the policy of my school)
then after passing axams of ppl, the check ride was at ride 41.
for ppl  it took about 9 months (all of the courses and flights but flights lasted about 2 months). 
in my country when i was studying the minimum time of flying experience for ppl was 40 hours and for cpl was 140 hours and 20 hours for instrument rating. (now it has increased).

[timcfi]

Solo: 8.8
Pvt: 40.5
Total Time: 12 months

Now as a flight school owner, I've learned a LOT about averages.  The above posts are very correct, there are many variables.  The claimed national average is up to around 75, but we see an average of 50 at our school.  We have both towered & non-towered fields in the school, and the non-tower students average about 5 hours less, but the tower students are also better on the radio.  My own students range from 40 to 60 hours.

Good luck and have fun!

- timcfi
www.IowaFlightTraining.com

[dentaylor]

Frequency does matter. I solo'd at 12. Signed off for the checkride at 68. I went 3-4 weeks without flying sometimes. Some flights I would spend 1/2 the time just flying around instead of practicing (got bored with the manuevers). I try to fly once a week but I hold down a family and a full-time job so it took me about a year of training. I figured there's no real 'end' to this since you never stop learning/training. Might as well take my time and not focus on hours. Instrument training is next on the list.

[Bobtron_14]

Frequency and type of training are key for the time it takes. If you take lessons privately, you most likely are flying based on your personal schedule, meaning once a week or less. Another factor with private lessons is that people frequently run out of money to spend on lessons and have to take a break for a month or more to regenerate the funds to fly. Both infrequent lessons and breaks for money lead to your skills fading and requires lots of extra time to get the feel for the plane back. I'm flying at a Part 141 college and I fly up to 3 times a week given that the weather is good.

Solo in 12.5 hrs
Private Checkride in 40.7 hrs
Private Training day 1 to checkride - 6 months to the day

[kchskrs]

Solo:  10 hrs
PPL:  45 hrs
Time:  9 months

I had hoped to get my Private in 4-5 months, but my work schedule, weather (this is a big one!), CFI scheduling conflicts, etc. dragged it out to 9 months.  Tried to fly at least twice per week during training, but typically only got in an hour or so per week.  And at some point during your training, you'll feel like you've hit a plateau or regressed in some area.  For me, it was crosswind landings, right before I was set to take my checkride.  I swear, it got to where I didn't want to go up if there was a 10kt+ wind blowing.  The week leading up to the ride, my CFI and I went out and just nailed them out until I was comfortable again.

It's not about how much time it takes.  It's about being a safe pilot.

[jmatthews70]

Private at 86, got divorced six months after starting, worked in Russia for a year and a half in the middle, and moved 1000 miles before the end. Started in Dec 2005,  Started again after the move Dec 2007 and finished May 2008.

Instrument started June 2010, and finished March 30, 2011 +/- 50 hours for that one.

Don't think of it as more hours, think of it as more experience!