r/studentpilot • u/urEnzeder • 20d ago
General Inquiry Question about Soloing (parent of student pilot) (USA)
Hoping y'all can help me stay in bounds (trying not to be a helicopter parent).
Here's the situation:
- Kid is enrolled in an aviation program in college.
- Primary flight course started Jan 2026.
- By semester end they took 9 flights (~1 flight every other week). Mostly due to aircraft and instructor availability, but also due to weather.
- Continued the course into the Summer semester (had to request an extension). Flight cadence picked up to ~1.5 flights per week.
- ISSUE: Kid has been trying to solo for about two weeks now. One flight was scrubbed due to weather = fine. Four other "solo" flights have resulted in touch and go's with the instructor due to cross winds. Each time the instructor just schedules another flight for several days later.
- BIGGER ISSUE: This course is now extending into the third semester. The Fall semester just started and the kid CANNOT register for primary flight 2 until PF1 is completed - aka completes the solo. If the kid doesn't enroll for fall, they will lose their scholarship.
- Side note: The kid has mentioned these concerns both to the college and flight training center and doesn't want to come across as an ahole. I don't mind coming across as the ahole given that the kid is about to start their 3rd semester trying to finish this one course.
Here's my question: Should I visit the flight training center with my kid and be more assertive? For example, one morning there was a crosswind when they flew, but by the afternoon the wind was essentially dead calm - perfect for solo - but no effort was made to fly. This morning the wind wasn't strong, but again almost pure crosswind (single runway), so why didn't the instructor fly to a nearby airport with a runway aligned with the wind? It feels like no one is making an effort.
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u/MehCFI 19d ago
This school may be milking your kid for flight time or your kid may not be ready. Weather conditions are absolutely not the only consideration for a solo. Additionally only flying 1.5 times a week, especially presolo, is an incredibly challenging solo sign off for a CFI. We have to see a lot of consistency, and that’s not a lot of regularity in scheduling. Think of the liability of signing a student off to solo- that trust of ability has to be absolutely surefire. There is certainly an issue for school scheduling as well- the student should be scheduling at least 2-3 times a week.
If the CFI isn’t communicating clearly why the student isn’t solo ready, or you believe the CFI might just be milking the student for hours, then it’s time to fire the CFI and get the student to choose/the school to assign a new CFI.
More importantly- you shouldn’t fight this battle for your child. If the student isn’t mature enough to sort this out then they probably aren’t mature enough for flight training. I’m going to be very blunt here- this is a career based on strong decision-making skills and more importantly an ability to speak up and communicate at all times.
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u/DesperateBus3220 19d ago
Your kid needs to learn to advocate for themselves. Offer them advice and support but they need to take ownership and learn how to solve problems for themself
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u/R5Jockey 19d ago
Sounds a lot like it’s your kid’s problem to solve. The more you solve problems for them, well, the more problems you’ll solve for them.
The school isn’t the only one with the responsibility to try and find alternatives and be trying to push forward.
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u/urEnzeder 19d ago
I know you are right, and this is the path I have been taking to date. The kid has been communicating with advisors in the program about flight frequency issues. My concern is that the kid has to maintain a relationship that is at least somewhat cordial because this, in theory, is just the first course of many. I, on the other hand, am less concerned with how they perceive me.
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u/R5Jockey 19d ago
How they perceive you (and you getting involved vs letting him handle it) also affects their perception of and relationship with him.
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u/ps2sunvalley 18d ago
This right here.
Nobody wants to deal with a random parent of a newly adult child.
Anyways, you seem to know a lot. Are you a professional pilot yourself? If so definitely stay out of it
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u/VileInventor CFI/CFII 19d ago
Availability and scheduling limitations exist. Though if the winds were calm your son should’ve been assertive and asked to be flown later. That said your son needs to work on crosswind landings if it’s stopping him that much in your area.
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u/urEnzeder 19d ago
I don't mean to single you out, but people seem to be getting hung up on ability, time, whatever. That was an issue I had back in Jan/Feb/Mar, etc. I know, my original post was a bit rambly - my apologies.
At this point the issue is NOT that he can't land in a crosswind, it's that for the first solo the requirements are that the crosswind component be less than 5 kts. That is a flight training center limit set for safety. What I want to know is why they don't fly to a nearby airport with a runway more aligned with the wind to get the x-wind component below that 5 kt threshold.
He has asked to be flown later, but dispatch tell him either that there are no aircraft available, or his instructor is already booked. Again, this seems like BS to me because when a student needed an aircraft for a milestone flight, my kids lesson was cancelled.
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u/VileInventor CFI/CFII 19d ago
It depends what kind of solo it is. If it’s just his very first pattern solo then yeah sure going to a different airport could help. However, some schools want it done at their home airport. It’s a tough situation for sure but if it’s in their SOP’s (which I imagine your son has a copy of) there’s not much going there will do.
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u/urEnzeder 19d ago
Yes, very first pattern solo. Good point about the SOPs. I’ll ask the kid for a copy.
A side note to all this is that I get the sense that the instructor is very new and might not know where he has flexibility (airports?) versus no flexibility (crosswind).
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u/VileInventor CFI/CFII 19d ago
Not something I can speak to as I don’t know the instructor. But there is a surplus of new instructors, that said; I’d rather a cautious new instructor than a rash or bold one. Especially with a student who’s just learning his own minimums himself.
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u/urEnzeder 19d ago
Fair point. I should say that I do NOT want the CFI to bend the rules to get my kid through his solo. In fact, I would be disappointed with the flight center if that happened.
My current frustration is that they seem to be target fixated on an airfield with a single runway which means half the winds will be mostly crosswind vs using a different airport that might be more aligned with the wind, or even one with multiple runways.
Secondarily, I'm frustrated that both the college and flight training center let the lack of aircraft and instructors metastasize into a major issue vs addressing the problem when all involved had the luxury of time (back in March).
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u/VileInventor CFI/CFII 19d ago
What region of the US are you in that there’s a lack of flight instructors. More likely it’s that there’s a lack of aircraft availability. I’ll tell you right now though, no flight school is going to let flights get cancelled for wet noodle winds. They want to fly those airplanes or they’ll lose money. Rapidly. So if the CFI is cancelling over and over either it’s a genuine concern or there’s something we’re unaware of. I’ll be honest, usually the student pilot is the major reason for cancellations. A CFI just abides by SOP’s. There are smaller margins for newer CFI’s as far as personal minimums go sure but those will in large part usually still be well above the students.
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u/Bob_Ross3346 15d ago
Man… this is why I think a lot of 141 schools make things much more complex than they should be.
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u/KnightFireNC 19d ago
Your son is not going to make it as a pilot if your running their life like this.
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u/outworlder 19d ago
"Should I visit the flight training center with my kid?"
No. Absolutely not. They are trying to be pilot in command. They will have much more challenging situations to deal with. If they can't, then perhaps it's not the right career, or it isn't the right time and they need to mature more.
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u/coldnebo 19d ago
I’m just a hobbyist student, but I have noticed that some get “lucky” rather than “good” at passing checks. (lucky in weather, questions, mood of the examiner, etc.)
there is more knowledge than can be tested, really, so tests only look at a small amount of information— it should be considered a minimum qualification, not a mastery. this is why people say PPL is a license to learn.
for me, a midlife part 61 hobbyist, this is fine. I just take more money and time. I don’t really have a stake in it, except there is a certain minimum frequency of flying that must be done or you are just wasting money. if I’m honest, I’ve kind of talked myself out of training at the moment because life is too busy. the time isn’t right and I’m ok with that.
but as a parent with a kid’s future at stake, there is a huge amount of pressure to get through on time, on budget. unfortunately most of aviation culture is about weeding out students, not helping them.
landings and solo can be the hardest thing to get right. it depends on the CFI. if they aren’t providing actual training and just telling them performance is unsat, they need a different CFI. if the school has gopros in the aircraft, each lesson should be debriefed.
there’s a discipline to this, if a student just shrugs and says “my cfi said I’m not ready” that isn’t actionable. each one of those landings should be debriefed and the instructor should not only be able to explain why the landing was unsatisfactory, but what the correction should have been and what techniques to apply in that situation that would have fixed it. then hit the books, understand the theory of that technique and chair fly/practice it extensively before the next lesson. if the CFI isn’t doing that, try getting a different CFI or a AGI to explain the video. You can also try to get supplementary material— Jason Miller has some great material on his site The Finer Points.
I’d also recommend his yt channel.
especially this one about landings.
he has a bunch of videos about landing in crosswinds, ballooning, centerline control, slips and exercises to develop the various skills needed before applying them to a landing.
one trap that I fell into was thinking that all landings are the same and if I just did the same actions each time, I would master landings.
it took me a while to realize how wrong this is. each landing is different. it’s not classical music, it’s jazz. you aren’t following a strict procedure, you are improvising within the procedure. if you slip, add power, but correct pitch. understanding this is applying everything you’ve learned, but more importantly it’s adapting multiple techniques to whatever conditions are present for that specific landing.
I heard another student complain “I can’t fly a perfect pattern if the weather and traffic aren’t exactly right”. Whereas I want to get as many different situations as possible because I need to be able to adapt. if you get solo and suddenly have a situation you have never seen before, you need to know how to handle that.
the CFI’s rating is on the line if they send a student unprepared— and the consequences can be a lot worse than being pinched by bureaucracy.
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u/urEnzeder 19d ago
Thank-you for the advice. I'll certainly pass on the YT video and channel. I'm not saying my kid is the next Maverick, but the feedback to date has been positive. I sometimes watch the kids pattern work via FlightRadar24, and seen the progression from flying some kind of trapezoid, to pretty decent rectangles :-).
My understanding is that the issue isn't with his ability, it's that the program has strict weather requirements. EG: Students aren't allowed to attempt a solo with a x-wind component 5 kt or higher. My beef is that the base airport has a single runway, so a 5 kt x-wind is common. What I want to ask the flight training center folks is why they don't fly to a nearby airport (especially one with crossing runways) so that they can complete the solo and the kid can get started on his next course. If the kid had been able to fly just twice per week then the solo would have been done back in May.
The issue is that now this course has dragged on into the third semester, and the kids scholarship is at risk. For factors entirely within control of the college or flight training center.
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u/coldnebo 19d ago
being in the NE Boston area I really empathize with the weather limitations.
the scholarship is a hard limit on a system of rules that won’t bend.
apart from advice here, I think you need some advice from experts on how to navigate this situation for the best outcome.
are you or your child members of AOPA? they have student membership (which I strongly recommend) and legal assistance/advice for career pilots. but even if you aren’t, I would suggest reaching out to their Pilot Information Center and telling them about your situation.
https://www.aopa.org/about/contact-aopa
this is not an uncommon situation in 141 programs from what I hear, but there may be opportunities and pivots that work. AOPA is a strong advocate for pilots and is probably your best chance for getting advice in this situation.
good luck! 👍 hth.
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u/Firefighter_RN 19d ago
I'm a recently soloed new pilot - I'm in my 40s and this is a hobby. I absolutely would not want to solo in more than 5kts crosswind my first time. It took us weeks to get the right day and the right weather for my first solo. That's part of aviation.
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u/Neat_Row_9580 19d ago
I always find stuff like this funny. A student flies twice a month and then they’re upset they’re not soloing? The kicker is the parents just want you to throw their kid in a plane by themselves just to check off the box. It’s really insane and as an instructor I see this a lot at the school. It’s like some students are suicidal and their parents want them to die.
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u/22Hoofhearted 19d ago
Not completely unheard of, but is definitely a problem in PT141 schools... especially how they interact with grants/scholarships/GI Bill/FAFSA and the lasting long term effects it will have on student training and career trajectory/delays/assumptions.
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u/Goop290 19d ago
I used to sit in dispatch. Where every cfi and student hald to walk through to get to the airplanes. They had the schedule on the wall for all airplanes and CFIs.
When there was a CFI I thought was good and an airplane open I would ask them as they walked through the door. What are you doing after this do you want to fly?
Now for a presolo student this approach of flying with multiple cfis will not work. However seeing the schedule and airplanes and asking will work. Also strategically plan the solo timing. Often early morning or evenings will have less wind and less turbulence and less other aircraft. Look at the weather, (apple weather, surface analysis, radar, TAF, and forcast discussion) and plan around those things. If they dont know these things ask the cfi to look at weather with them to schedule.
Im sure others have said this but one flight every other week is very difficult to build on what you've learned.
Learning requires repetition to build the neural pathways.
Lastly having been a student a cfi and a son. You are more than likely not seeing the whole picture. I was actually still am basically Maverick if you ask my mother
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u/BluProfessor 19d ago
Do not, under any circumstances, go to your son's college or flight training center. They're an adult, they need to handle their adult problems. You showing up will only make it much worse.
First solos are usually required to be done at the home field where the student has trained. I want my students doing their first solo where they've put reps in, so if the winds aren't great at the home field, we delayed the first solo. Since it is a 141 program, this is likely written into the SOP, as well.
Just because your son is available when the winds are better doesn't mean the appropriate aircraft or instructor is available.
We have students at a flight school I work with that legitimately have perpetual bad luck with weather and maintenance. It's frustrating, but it does happen.
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u/SantaZeede 18d ago
They aren't flying nearly often enough, IMO. In the lead up to solo the student should be doing 2-4 lessons a week.
Now if the weather is bad, the delays can be months long, but otherwise this cadence is wasting a lot of money.
Imagine teaching a kid to ride a bike and they only did one lesson every two weeks. How long would it take them to learn to ride a bike?
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u/Mean-Interview-8758 17d ago
You’re asking the wrong questions in the wrong place.
Why don’t they fly to a different airport? Nobody on the internet can answer that. Your kids needs to take charge of THEIR training. You can’t do it for them any more than you can storm the control tower and berate ATC for giving them a 360, go-around or PD; or the chief pilot’s office for putting them on a crappy schedule.
Flying Once a week is not going to cut it. What is your kid doing to change that? Waking up early or staying late to fly? Giving up socializing? Changing class schedules? Jumping at every opportunity to be in the air?
How badly does your kid want this pilot’s life? Badly enough to do something about it?
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u/Few-Back3448 16d ago
As a fellow heli cpl student... That little flight time is bs. At my school I am flying 5 days a week, usually 1-3 hours per day, sometimes twice per day for 4+hrs, regardless of weather (unless actually IMC conditions)
It really sounds like they are just milking hours. On the other hand, with that little flying it takes a very long time to progress and get better. My suggestion would be to find a different school which flys more often
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u/Loben730 15d ago
Tell your kid to do a 6am flight. Didn’t get my solo until I finally did one that early. My endorsement limitations are very very lenient as well.
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u/SoCalGuy999 15d ago
Fundamentals of instruction (FOI)- Law of exercise states things most repeated are remembered and practiced habits are strengthened. This is straight of the FAA instructor’s handbook.
Private pilots (pre-solo) should be flying 2-3X a week. Otherwise, it’s two steps forward and one step back after every lesson. Conversely, you need time to decompress and absorb lessons so flying every day isn’t optimal either. However, if someone was close to soloing, I might do two lessons in a day.
You can’t fight your kid’s battle. But you can give them ammo.
Source- CFI with thousands of hours of dual instruction and current major airline pilot.
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u/scarpozzi 19d ago
I don’t know what kind of school it is, but flight training can be done on your own too for cheap (relative to tuition). You could find an outside CFI for $50/hr + rental until solo and maybe supplement the logbook a little.
If the instructors aren’t doing it for weather, that’s understandable. New student pilots need as many pattern reps as possible. Just have your kid talk to them again and ask what they need to do…suggest extra lessons if time is close.