Opinions about above average flight training

If students at one flight school average 10 more hours than the national average for private pilot:

  • That particular flight school provides superior instruction when compared to competitors

  • That particular flight school provides inferior instruction when compared to competitors

  • That flight school provides the same caliber of instruction as competitors

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F

Flush!

Well-Known Member
Hey everyone...

I am a CFI doing some research about the opinions of pilots on the topic of training hours required for private pilot students. Most CFIs have encountered the "90 hour private pilot", and throw that out as a descriptor for a problem student but at one school in my area, 90 hours seems to be a regular occurrence. The average is over 85 hours, with a worst case extreme at 122 hours. In this case, the "average" student at this school is nearly a 90 hour private pilot. AOPA and the FAA both suggest that the national average is somewhere between 60-75 hours.

I realize that multiple variables will play into the hours required, like weather, aircraft availability, etc. In this case, the school is not located in an area with an overly harsh winter... (I'll let you use your imagination there)

It should also be said that the school is not a "pilot mill" for international training. While there are some foreign students, it only makes up 5%-10% of their students (again, on average). The school offers both 61 and 141 instruction.

Please vote, and feel free to share your opinions on the matter. I'm interested in hearing what everyone thinks!!!
 
My mother in law took 200 hours to get her private...

When I got hired at my commuter one of the first things they looked at was how long to solo and how long to PPL, which I thought was interesting.

It's possible the higher time might partially be offset due to training environment (ie busy Class B/C or even D airport) and training curriculum.
 
Career students go faster than weekend warriors. Pilots who train at uncontrolled fields learn in fewer hours, etc, etc...
 
I can't say whether that flight school is providing inferior or superior instruction, but if the average private pilot is going to 85-90 hrs I would say they may be "milking" or "bleeding" them. As a gold seal instructor I can remember only one student who took more than 85 hrs. and I would estimate the vast majority were in the 45-60 hr range.
 
Students needing extra flight time typically isn't because of the quality of instruction. It's usually the students that set the pace they go at.

Ex: those who fly once a week and then blame their instructors they won't get signed off.

Just my opinion with what I saw.

So to answer this question I don't blame the school for their quality of instruction. Now if every student was going 60+ hours for private....that's a different story.
 
Depends on the student, their aptitude, and their goals. My honest opinion. I had students who did everything in minimum time, and I had some students take 100+ hours to get their private. At a 141 school... Some students, it was more important to get all As in all their classes than to study for a flight lesson and come prepared. Some students showed up late, unprepared, or no showed. Some students were all in for flight training, and blazed a trail through it. Then there was everywhere in between. Some were naturals, some were not. I believe you can find students like that at a 61 and a 141 environment and does not necessarily reflect on the school or the instructors.
 
I think I had around 120 hours when I got my private, but I soloed on my 16th birthday, so I had a year of flying before I could take my checkride.
 
As a student pilot, I took 25 hours to solo. Part of it was due to weather. Part of it was due to fear of the airplane. It took a while to get used to the feeling stalls, steep turns, and other maneuvers you don't experience in an airliner. And part of it was that (at the time) I lacked the mindset that was required. There's a lot of variables to consider.

141 School
 
Hacker15e said:
I don't think the answers provided are really finding the core issue.

61 or 141 school?
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Yeah, probably should have been more specific. The school can provide either 61 or 141 but all of the students calculated in the average were students who were in the 141 program. They were scheduled for 3 flights a week, so on average they would usually fly somewhere around twice a week (budgeting for weather cancellations, etc.).
 
With a few year experience teaching both 141 and 61 PPL students at a Class D airport, most of my part 61 people were around 55 ish and most of my 141 people were around 65 ish. Thought It was also very dependent on how often the student fly's. But getting people in the 90-110 hr range did happen from time to time.
 
Der_Meister said:
With a few year experience teaching both 141 and 61 PPL students at a Class D airport, most of my part 61 people were around 55 ish and most of my 141 people were around 65 ish. Thought It was also very dependent on how often the student fly's. But getting people in the 90-110 hr range did happen from time to time.
Click to expand...

I managed to "fat finger" my previous reply. The school is based at a class E field. Sorry for the confusion...

I agree; some people will need the extra time. Some take breaks in training, some can't afford to fly more than once or twice a week, etc. These people were all on the professional track.
 
There really isn't enough info here to answer the question. What's the wx like, all American/foreign students, what is the syllabus like, how often do the instructors turnover, and etc?
 
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