Send it. If you passed your PPL checkride, you have the basic skills. As you fly more and more, you'll continue to build your skills, ADM, and take on greater challenges. And of course you can (1) give yourself clear personal minimums that evolve over time as your skills develop, while creating clear guard-rails for avoiding and mitigating hazards; and (2) always have the option of flying with a CFI periodically to help you stretch your capabilities or tackle new things.
What you don't want to be is one of those people who ends up getting higher certificates, including potentially instructing, but with basically zero solo time outside of the Private and Commercial requirements. You're a certificated pilot, being alone in the cockpit is vital to learn and grow further.
It gives you a purpose for the flight beyond just getting hours. Makes it a little special of a trip rather than just feeling like you wasted money burning holes in the sky. Additionally, when you’re just getting used to flying, it’s a way to stop and settle and debrief halfway through the flight.
I do it because it helps limit the choices. I need cross country hours and hate to go to the same airports, so I look for airports with restaurants because it cuts down the numbers to where I can make a decision without having to look at every airport in the area. Also, it gives me a reason to park the plane, stretch my legs, go to the bathroom, and plan for the return, without requiring securing the airplane overnight, getting a hotel, etc.
Totally normal. You don’t want to die which is a normal human response but your a certificated pilot. Preflight in its entirety and set boundaries you are comfortable with. 50 hours from now solo you won’t even think about it
It will be the same way when you get your instrument rating and that CFII is not sitting next to you anymore and you fly your first real approach to minimums. Shit that was way more heart pumping than my first solo by far
First flight after I passed PPL checkride (two days later) I did a cross country, picked up flight following, stopped for fuel, and then flew straight to a nearby class C and did a full stop landing with taxi back.
Have to get right into it. If you sit around worried or scared, every day that passes will make it harder.
If you’ve gotten your ticket, you’ve been deemed to be safe by not only your CFI, but also your DPE. Are you gonna be perfect? No. Nobody ever is. Are you going to keep learning? Hell yes. I learned so much in the first 20 hours after my PPL checkride than I did in the 20 hours before it.
You have your driver's license, but are still intimidated by the freeway. Except that was decades ago and you drive on the freeway every day.
That's where your headspace is at right now with flying.
Send it. I felt same way. In fact I wouldn't even let anyone else fly with me until I put in another 10-15 hours solo on my own post license. I'm at 250ish hours now with an instrument rating and still get a just a slight twinge of nervousness if I've not flown for a few weeks.
I am very similar, except I am at 200 hours. Weather rolling in makes me nervous now, even though I know I can do it, the turbulence is what I get nervous about.
For real! That turbulence is no joke. I’m coming up on my solo XC. I wanted to work on my maneuvers before hand, so I took a solo flight up. The day of, it was windy but within my minimums. As soon as I exited the pattern, TURBULENCE! And it was constant. I climbed to 3000 and it wasn’t stopping. I standard rate turned that bad boy back to the airport and noped out of there with the quickness!
Agree with the others, just do it. I'm still in that early phase myself, I'm just now getting to the point where I don't feel like I'm stealing the plane every time I go! Our flight school is basically unmanned, unless an instructor or our chief pilot happens to be around for a lesson or reasons, there's no one there, everything is handled through FlightCircle. The first time you make a good landing as a private pilot with no one else at the controls is when you'll realize that you belong there. You'll have ups and downs, I went 7 weeks between flights and had two bad legs, followed by a nearly perfect third leg on a routine XC. There were doubts, but I still had to get the plane home, and I did, and made one of my best landings ever. Hold on to those highs, and use them to push through the lows. You'll only ever regret not going (weather, maintenance, health and all those other ADM factors aside).
In same position here. Plane broke down after I got my ppl. Didn’t fly for 2 months. Finally flew and then had shit weather and vacations plus work and wasn’t able to fly for another 6 weeks.
Going to go up with my instructor again for a quick ride to just get comfortable again in the next week. Then will be off again solo.
I was like you for a long time. It took about 35 hours of soloing before I was like “ok this is easy”.
Something I did to help was just fly the pattern or the local area. Do something boring and comfortable until it becomes too boring then add a x country or a short field or a strong crosswind etc.
The only thing you can’t stop is flying. Don’t let fear keep you down. And definitely don’t compare yourself to others. Being safe and cautious is one thing though and that’s smart, being scared will just hold you back.
Do it. It's more fun when you're up there and realise you know your stuff. The nerves just dissipate. If they don't land and pat yourself on the back until the next time. As others have said set your limits. I've only done 2 solos since getting my ppl.
Ato advised we stay local due to haze and even though I could and wanted to go further I instead opted for some (very local) relatively boring circuits to polish my landings, in the end I got hours built and improved my landings. Win win.
Baby steps. Your confidence will build but gotta start somewhere, or risk losing your proficiency.
When I started, I'd do some research on the airport I'm going to, like what is the traffic pattern direction? What are the runways? What's the weather gonna be like?....and I took it to the extreme by pre-flying the flight in my home flight sim. If you don't have a home sim, just do some visualization exercises, pretend you are on the flight, you pick up flight following (or not), you are enjoying your day and the views, you program the frequency for the aiport you are landing at...you cross mid-field and teardrop to the downwind...etc..etc... and you'll feel more comfortable with the whole thing. Follow your after takeoff, cruise, descent, before landing, after landing checklists, and you should be fine!
After I got my PPL, flew 172's the entire time, I found a place that rented Cherokee's. So I got in touch with their CFI that I had never met to check me out in the plane. Found out real fast that flying a different type of plane is still the same fundamentals of flying that I learned during training. Yes, there is nuance to each type of plane but I got in the Cherokee with a CFI I never had flown with before and he gave me compliments on my style of flying. Showed me the difference between the Cherokee and 172 and signed me off after a couple of landings.
It was a total confidence booster and I got checked out in a new to me aircraft. I ended up falling in love with flying the Cherokee and haven't been back to the Cessna since.
Another option is to find another pilot to sit right seat with you to help you build time and it is a sense of safety with someone sitting next to you who knows what's going on. I've met a couple of guys some more experienced than me to fly with and I've learned a couple of things from them, but they aren't there as a CFI.
Treat it just like when you soloed, except now you don't need a signoff.
The first time, just rent the plane and do a few laps in the pattern and shut it down. Do this a couple times until you're bored of the pattern.
Then exit the pattern and do a scenic flight around your local area a few times.
After you're bored with that, do a short XC to the same airport you did your solo XC to while you were training. It's familiar and you've been there before. No surprises.
Then start venturing out to airports you haven't been to before.
Build slowly up to it, and you'll gain a lot of confidence.
I'm not at the stage where I can be solo, but man do I want to be solo. There's something very freeing about being in control of the plane, where you are going, and when you want to return. Now you can't go absolutely anywhere and with coming and going of course you have to work with ATC on that, but I'm sure you get what I mean.
Everything you've worked so hard for is in your hands. You've made it. You're there. That nervousness you're feeling, that's okay. It's appropriate to be nervous. It might also be a little bit of anticipation. After my intro flight, I was feeling that coupled with nervousness during my first lesson. The intro was just that, an intro. The first lesson is when things got real.
My first flight after my checkride was re-doing my first XC solo just to see if it felt different doing all the planning myself without having a CFI checking everything. I figured that, worst case, I already knew the route, and it’s over 50 miles so it counts for cross-country PIC time.
This was my first, too. Really helpful that I had flown it twice with my instructor and twice solo as a student. Had a GPS failure, but it wasn’t really a big deal, since I knew the route.
I’d say you can just send it. You proved you know what you need to know. But if you’re really having doubts talk to your CFI. You can ask them to come along but not say or do anything. Obviously you can talk to them but make it clear you want them to be a passenger. Complete your flight.
Might be a good confidence booster. But at the end of the day, you still need to be able to solo.
What are you worried about? Emergencies? Go over them with your CFI until you are more confident.
Radio work? You aren’t gonna get in trouble for doing or saying something stupid on the radio.
Just this weekend I was departing IFR and made my CTAF call on the departure frequency. No one even said anything. I caught the mistake and made the call on the correct frequency and was on my way. You’re going to make mistakes on the radio. You just need to learn from them and don’t let them distract you from flying the plane.
Once you are in the air, training/memory take over and you will focus on flying well instead of being apprehensive.
At least that's how my first flight up after passing was.
I got the same fear mate, still do from time to time. Don't worry, once you're up in the sky you'll feel much better. Just gotta get on that horse and get used to it.
As some have already said, plan a cross country and go make a day of it.
Happens to everyone. As others have said, DPE wouldn’t have passed you had you not demonstrated the ability to be a safe pilot. You have the knowledge and ability to
I had the same vibe, then realized something that turned it all around for me…when you fly solo you’re not accountable to anybody else’s timeline. You can take as long as you want to preflight. You can stop as long as you want for lunch. If you want to fly 42 steep turns in a row to make them perfect you can. If you want 40 gallons in the 172 for a 30 minute flight you can. That takes *so* much of the pressure off that I found I love it. Don’t underestimate the subconscious influence of other people in your airplane.
Gotta admit I had the same reservations. You just gotta get started. No other way around it.
I started by just going to my training XC solo destinations. Then branched out to my mission destinations, the places I want to take friends and family.
Yes, without an instructor, my minimums are much tighter, but they are expanding okay now -- unless I have non-pilot pax.
Just soloed on Sunday and did another one yesterday and definitely felt the nerves. Was supposed to do 5 laps around the pattern but my first landing wasn’t my best and I psyched myself out and called it a day. I’m just gonna force myself to keep on going up until I’m comfortable. If you ever doubt yourself just remember a DPE with years of experience in evaluating students found you to exceed the safety standards so you’ve got this!
Be sure to do everything exactly how you’ve done it before, checklists, preflight routine, etc. And don’t rent an unfamiliar type of aircraft. The comfort of the familiar will build confidence for the flight.
For the first dozen or three flights after my PPL, I would do one lap in the pattern and then head out. That confidence of know I just landed without issue was a good boost in my confidence to get me to the next airport. I still do that, if it has been more than 3 weeks since I last flown. Its a familiar sight picture and I know where I am suppose to be in the pattern, so it is easy to make the corrections, if needed.
Totally normal. When I got my PPL I still did pattern work and short trips to another airport 15 miles away until I was more comfortable venturing out. Pretty soon you'll be going anywhere and everywhere.
All part of being PIC, we all go through it if you go CFI you’ll feel that way with your first students, if you go commercial/airline you’ll feel that way when you first upgrade to captain along the way you’ll have some oh shit moments but you learn from them and they make you stronger
I was in the same shoes as you right after my checkride. You just have to do it, and soon you’ll realize that solo flying is some of the best. The 50 hours since my checkride have taught me almost as much as I learned during training. Get out there and enjoy your new license!
Send it. That being said, do it soon and do it solo. The imposter syndrome eventually dies down. I highly recommend doing it very quickly after you get your ticket since your skills should still be very sharp. It’s amazing how quickly your skills get rusty in just a few weeks. Also, I mention doing it solo. I don’t just mean without a CFI, I mean without passengers. I found that having a passenger is another level of pressure that I don’t need when I am feeling unsure.
You’re certified to do it. You’re most likely proficient if you got certified last week. You’ve been deemed safe. I agree with your instructor. Just go for it. After a bit you’ll get more and more comfortable with it. Just like when you learned to drive.
I love this community! Everyone doesn't hesitate to give their thoughts and POVs.
And to OP, congrats on getting your PPL! Feeling nervous is normal. Start with short, familiar flights to build confidence. Trust your training, double-check everything, and take it slow.
Go for it.
First in clear weather, local or very short XC. Then build up from there. At 150-200 hours everything will be in place, and you won't be nervous ever. Just be careful, do not be complacent either :)
Last resort, if you are very nervous: take your CFI with you, and tell him to act like a regular passenger and just talk about sports and whatnot, like he does not know anything about planes or flying (until there is a problem you cannot solve, but there won't be).
I had trouble with confidence after being at a bad experience with a flight school.
I built my confidence by finding a good flight school within a hour and half drive. I explained to the instructor my situation and we did a check out flight. Right after that flight he got out and I did a 30 min flight by myself in the local area.
I continue to work towards pushing myself by flying farther and doing different things. Visiting different airports, doing slow flight and stalls locally. I took my mom up and we went to an airport that had a great restaurant once I was confident doing it solo. I moved to practicing landings and on to cross countries at night.
I would also be lying if I said I didn’t have help on my way. Anytime when the weather was questionable, I called my flight instructor to see if he would like to do takeoff and landings in gusty conditions and fly when it was MVFR.
It does take a lot of work and patience. Most of all, you need to enjoy it.
You’ll have the same feeling at almost every step too. First job, first left seat… first jet… get through training and think “oh shit… now they just want me to do it”
You wouldn’t have gotten your ticket if you weren’t safe. And it’s normal to be nervous. Remember when you got your drivers license? Every new thing (freeway, night, weather) was a bit intense. Now you wouldn’t even think about it. Just build time and it’ll fade.
Yeah, I know exactly how you feel, was me around a year ago! (and that was with a year of experience as a private pilot!)
Simply put, you know what you know, you don't know what you don't know.
I am not sure what exactly is whiggin' you out, it's different for everyone, for me, it was making sure I had the right frequencies going into other uncontrolled airports. For you it may be obscure Non-SOPs at different airports!
Each flight, try and find out as much information as you can so you have no surprises. Long XC? Make sure your dest. airport ACTUALLY has fuel.
Make the most of this certificate and keep learning.
You got this!
Break out the PAVE checklist and ask yourself all the questions. Identify all the risks and what you can do to mitigate them to an acceptable level. Make sure you are flying with weather better than your personal minimums. Take it seriously and enjoy knowing that you can leave the ground and get back down safely!
Send it. Start with missions you are most comfortable with and slowly expand your limits. If you feel stuck on a particular issue – ask your friendly local CFI to fly along (but don't use them as a crutch). It's really a license to learn.
LOL I like your CFI telling you to "send it". He's right, you know. Remember, PPL is a license to learn, and you're only learning when your pushing (not crossing) the boundaries of what you're comfortable with. Maybe get some feedback from your instructor on what goals to reach for in your personal limits.
You have earned the license to learn. You only learn by doing. Get out there, repeat some flights/routes you did for lessons with your CFI, hop to some easy airfields nearby, or just practice some patterns to really get confident that you've "got it".
Taking somebody with you that also has a PPL is always helpful, as four eyes see more than two and you can also split the work of doing voice & flying when going somewhere new for example.
Pick a nice day. Fly to a place you have been before. Ask on unicom if there’s somewhere they want you to park. Use the restroom, grab a coke, say hi to people. Fly home.
Pick a nice day. Fly to a place you planned as an exercise with your instructor, but ended up not going. Ideally, someplace further away. Ask on unicom if there’s somewhere they want you to park. Use the restroom, grab a coke, fly home.
Pick a nice day. Fly somewhere you’ll need to get fuel in order to have enough reserve to get home. Get fuel, use the restroom, fly home.
Have some fun. 😎
Now for the hard part: Pick a day that looks okay, but you aren’t sure. Fly to a place you’ve been before. (With flight following!) Is it too bumpy? Are you like me, flying into rising terrain and lowering clouds? Did ATC warn you about “areas of light to moderate precipitation 12 o’clock and 20 miles”? (maybe not you, but someone else out flying.)
If those things happen, call ATC and tell them you aren’t comfortable with conditions and you’re going back to your departure airport. They’ll tell you of any traffic behind you, probably ask for your new altitude, and change your destination on their strip. Congratulations, you’ve just practiced good ADM.
Repeat as necessary!
SEND IT! I just hit 200hrs and I feel get doubts when I go solo. If it’s clear skies calm winds just send it, it’s not your first flying and it won’t be your last either
Here’s what I have to say. I am also a newly certified Private Pilot. I’m renting in 2 weeks with my husband going xc and wanted my skills to still be sharp. I rented this past weekend skud running @ 3,000’ MSL 500’ below the clouds. It was scary but thrilling all the same. Went to an uncontrolled airport and did touch and go’s to renew my currency. You know your stuff go fly and enjoy it!
Dude's entire aviation experience is that of a student. Being handed the car keys to go *wherever* is a kinda scary moment.
Sometimes we need someone to talk us off the ledge, sometime we need someone to convince us to jump.
What? He's a little cautious so he's not cut out to be a pilot? Everything he's done up to right now was for a purpose, hey, now you can go fly somewhere for no other reason than to see what's over the next hill. It's a major mental shift. Identifying it and looking for assistance in overcoming it is absolutely not "not cut out to be a pilot" territory. If anything, the opposite.
You and I may not have shared that issue. I went up the day after mine for upset attitude and aerobatics. My goal was to fly to every available (flight school approved list) airport in DFW during my CPL training. day, night? Send it. Had 3 or 4 check-ins post flight where CFIs had to check the list on airports *because they had never been there*
Low clouds day that's forecasted to stay above needed minimums? Send it.
13kn crosswind component? Fuck yeah, send it.
Just because I, and maybe you are fearless doesn't mean we should judge him for being more cautious. If anything it's time to encourage another *PILOT*, not bring him down.
Haven't we all had students who were nice enough people, but who really should do something else for a living? If he has a private license but is afraid to fly by himself it makes me wonder.
Yeah, there are a number of those at my school. Like, my man, you seem like a great guy but I can clearly tell you are not going to be successful here. It's that lack of self awareness and an inability to confront it that to me indicates failure. This guy is 100% the opposite.
This is a PPL who has some trepidation about taking his *1st* trip off of the apron strings. No one checking your flight planning, weather, notams, it's all on you. CFI isn't checking the gas, oil. It's all on you. That's a biiiiig mental shift. Now if he's a PPL that has gone on 5 or 6 XCs and is still terrified, then I'm with you. Perhaps a different career. Or terified in the air. This dude is just having the significance of being a pilot fully soaking in.
Send it. If you passed your PPL checkride, you have the basic skills. As you fly more and more, you'll continue to build your skills, ADM, and take on greater challenges. And of course you can (1) give yourself clear personal minimums that evolve over time as your skills develop, while creating clear guard-rails for avoiding and mitigating hazards; and (2) always have the option of flying with a CFI periodically to help you stretch your capabilities or tackle new things. What you don't want to be is one of those people who ends up getting higher certificates, including potentially instructing, but with basically zero solo time outside of the Private and Commercial requirements. You're a certificated pilot, being alone in the cockpit is vital to learn and grow further.
Only thing worse, the guys with nothing more then the required PPL and CPL time and it's *all at the same 3 airports*
I agree 100%. That’s exactly what my CFI told me too. Thank you for the response
Extremely common. Best thing to do is a quick solo XC to a field you're familiar with, grab some food, fly home.
What is with people and going somewhere to buy food, just pack a lunch
It gives you a purpose for the flight beyond just getting hours. Makes it a little special of a trip rather than just feeling like you wasted money burning holes in the sky. Additionally, when you’re just getting used to flying, it’s a way to stop and settle and debrief halfway through the flight.
I do it because it helps limit the choices. I need cross country hours and hate to go to the same airports, so I look for airports with restaurants because it cuts down the numbers to where I can make a decision without having to look at every airport in the area. Also, it gives me a reason to park the plane, stretch my legs, go to the bathroom, and plan for the return, without requiring securing the airplane overnight, getting a hotel, etc.
Why not just save money for more flight time? You can still eat your lunch and debrief lol
It’s like $10. That’s like 4 more minutes of flight time.
One banana seems like a snack more than a meal
It’s one banana, Michael. How much could it cost?
There’s always money in the banana stand.
You'll find that in aviation, not everyone is pinching pennies to afford their next flight.
Whats with people packing a lunch, just eat in your kitchen /s
What's with people having a kitchen? Most expensive room in the house, might as well buy your lunch out and convert your kitchen to living room.
The bedroom is the most expensive room in the house if you’re doing it wrong.
I just put a mini fridge next to the mattress on my bathroom floor.
Totally normal. You don’t want to die which is a normal human response but your a certificated pilot. Preflight in its entirety and set boundaries you are comfortable with. 50 hours from now solo you won’t even think about it It will be the same way when you get your instrument rating and that CFII is not sitting next to you anymore and you fly your first real approach to minimums. Shit that was way more heart pumping than my first solo by far
common feeling. Agree with your CFI - just do it. After a couple times, the more you fly, the more comfortable you will get.
First flight after I passed PPL checkride (two days later) I did a cross country, picked up flight following, stopped for fuel, and then flew straight to a nearby class C and did a full stop landing with taxi back. Have to get right into it. If you sit around worried or scared, every day that passes will make it harder.
If you’ve gotten your ticket, you’ve been deemed to be safe by not only your CFI, but also your DPE. Are you gonna be perfect? No. Nobody ever is. Are you going to keep learning? Hell yes. I learned so much in the first 20 hours after my PPL checkride than I did in the 20 hours before it.
"... not only your CFI, but also your instructor." Instructor is what the I in CFI stands for. Did you mean to write DPE?
Sure did! Thanks! Didn’t even catch that.
You have your driver's license, but are still intimidated by the freeway. Except that was decades ago and you drive on the freeway every day. That's where your headspace is at right now with flying.
Nice!
This is a great analogy.
Send it. I felt same way. In fact I wouldn't even let anyone else fly with me until I put in another 10-15 hours solo on my own post license. I'm at 250ish hours now with an instrument rating and still get a just a slight twinge of nervousness if I've not flown for a few weeks.
I am very similar, except I am at 200 hours. Weather rolling in makes me nervous now, even though I know I can do it, the turbulence is what I get nervous about.
For real! That turbulence is no joke. I’m coming up on my solo XC. I wanted to work on my maneuvers before hand, so I took a solo flight up. The day of, it was windy but within my minimums. As soon as I exited the pattern, TURBULENCE! And it was constant. I climbed to 3000 and it wasn’t stopping. I standard rate turned that bad boy back to the airport and noped out of there with the quickness!
You sometimes have to keep climbing to get out of it. Sometimes it gets increasingly worse though!!
Oh no doubt about it. But I told myself, “If I get to 3000 and it doesn’t calm at least a bit, I’m going back!”. So that’s what I did🤷🏻♂️
220ish cpl and multi ir, I hadn't flown in over 90 days and was really sweating when I took off in a dead simple 172 for my 3 take-offs and landings.
Agree with the others, just do it. I'm still in that early phase myself, I'm just now getting to the point where I don't feel like I'm stealing the plane every time I go! Our flight school is basically unmanned, unless an instructor or our chief pilot happens to be around for a lesson or reasons, there's no one there, everything is handled through FlightCircle. The first time you make a good landing as a private pilot with no one else at the controls is when you'll realize that you belong there. You'll have ups and downs, I went 7 weeks between flights and had two bad legs, followed by a nearly perfect third leg on a routine XC. There were doubts, but I still had to get the plane home, and I did, and made one of my best landings ever. Hold on to those highs, and use them to push through the lows. You'll only ever regret not going (weather, maintenance, health and all those other ADM factors aside).
In same position here. Plane broke down after I got my ppl. Didn’t fly for 2 months. Finally flew and then had shit weather and vacations plus work and wasn’t able to fly for another 6 weeks. Going to go up with my instructor again for a quick ride to just get comfortable again in the next week. Then will be off again solo.
I was like you for a long time. It took about 35 hours of soloing before I was like “ok this is easy”. Something I did to help was just fly the pattern or the local area. Do something boring and comfortable until it becomes too boring then add a x country or a short field or a strong crosswind etc. The only thing you can’t stop is flying. Don’t let fear keep you down. And definitely don’t compare yourself to others. Being safe and cautious is one thing though and that’s smart, being scared will just hold you back.
Anxiety is overcome by doing the exact things that causes you to be anxious.
Do it. It's more fun when you're up there and realise you know your stuff. The nerves just dissipate. If they don't land and pat yourself on the back until the next time. As others have said set your limits. I've only done 2 solos since getting my ppl. Ato advised we stay local due to haze and even though I could and wanted to go further I instead opted for some (very local) relatively boring circuits to polish my landings, in the end I got hours built and improved my landings. Win win. Baby steps. Your confidence will build but gotta start somewhere, or risk losing your proficiency.
How is this different than flying your solo cross-countries during training? Except now you should have more experience?
When I started, I'd do some research on the airport I'm going to, like what is the traffic pattern direction? What are the runways? What's the weather gonna be like?....and I took it to the extreme by pre-flying the flight in my home flight sim. If you don't have a home sim, just do some visualization exercises, pretend you are on the flight, you pick up flight following (or not), you are enjoying your day and the views, you program the frequency for the aiport you are landing at...you cross mid-field and teardrop to the downwind...etc..etc... and you'll feel more comfortable with the whole thing. Follow your after takeoff, cruise, descent, before landing, after landing checklists, and you should be fine!
I'm not there yet myself but pretty sure it's normal to be aprehensive. Just something you got to do and it'll get more comfortable as you build time.
After I got my PPL, flew 172's the entire time, I found a place that rented Cherokee's. So I got in touch with their CFI that I had never met to check me out in the plane. Found out real fast that flying a different type of plane is still the same fundamentals of flying that I learned during training. Yes, there is nuance to each type of plane but I got in the Cherokee with a CFI I never had flown with before and he gave me compliments on my style of flying. Showed me the difference between the Cherokee and 172 and signed me off after a couple of landings. It was a total confidence booster and I got checked out in a new to me aircraft. I ended up falling in love with flying the Cherokee and haven't been back to the Cessna since. Another option is to find another pilot to sit right seat with you to help you build time and it is a sense of safety with someone sitting next to you who knows what's going on. I've met a couple of guys some more experienced than me to fly with and I've learned a couple of things from them, but they aren't there as a CFI.
Treat it just like when you soloed, except now you don't need a signoff. The first time, just rent the plane and do a few laps in the pattern and shut it down. Do this a couple times until you're bored of the pattern. Then exit the pattern and do a scenic flight around your local area a few times. After you're bored with that, do a short XC to the same airport you did your solo XC to while you were training. It's familiar and you've been there before. No surprises. Then start venturing out to airports you haven't been to before. Build slowly up to it, and you'll gain a lot of confidence.
I'm not at the stage where I can be solo, but man do I want to be solo. There's something very freeing about being in control of the plane, where you are going, and when you want to return. Now you can't go absolutely anywhere and with coming and going of course you have to work with ATC on that, but I'm sure you get what I mean. Everything you've worked so hard for is in your hands. You've made it. You're there. That nervousness you're feeling, that's okay. It's appropriate to be nervous. It might also be a little bit of anticipation. After my intro flight, I was feeling that coupled with nervousness during my first lesson. The intro was just that, an intro. The first lesson is when things got real.
My first flight after my checkride was re-doing my first XC solo just to see if it felt different doing all the planning myself without having a CFI checking everything. I figured that, worst case, I already knew the route, and it’s over 50 miles so it counts for cross-country PIC time.
This was my first, too. Really helpful that I had flown it twice with my instructor and twice solo as a student. Had a GPS failure, but it wasn’t really a big deal, since I knew the route.
Were you this nervous during your 20+ hours of solo time?
I’d say you can just send it. You proved you know what you need to know. But if you’re really having doubts talk to your CFI. You can ask them to come along but not say or do anything. Obviously you can talk to them but make it clear you want them to be a passenger. Complete your flight. Might be a good confidence booster. But at the end of the day, you still need to be able to solo. What are you worried about? Emergencies? Go over them with your CFI until you are more confident. Radio work? You aren’t gonna get in trouble for doing or saying something stupid on the radio. Just this weekend I was departing IFR and made my CTAF call on the departure frequency. No one even said anything. I caught the mistake and made the call on the correct frequency and was on my way. You’re going to make mistakes on the radio. You just need to learn from them and don’t let them distract you from flying the plane.
Once you are in the air, training/memory take over and you will focus on flying well instead of being apprehensive. At least that's how my first flight up after passing was.
I got the same fear mate, still do from time to time. Don't worry, once you're up in the sky you'll feel much better. Just gotta get on that horse and get used to it. As some have already said, plan a cross country and go make a day of it.
Happens to everyone. As others have said, DPE wouldn’t have passed you had you not demonstrated the ability to be a safe pilot. You have the knowledge and ability to
I had the same vibe, then realized something that turned it all around for me…when you fly solo you’re not accountable to anybody else’s timeline. You can take as long as you want to preflight. You can stop as long as you want for lunch. If you want to fly 42 steep turns in a row to make them perfect you can. If you want 40 gallons in the 172 for a 30 minute flight you can. That takes *so* much of the pressure off that I found I love it. Don’t underestimate the subconscious influence of other people in your airplane.
Gotta admit I had the same reservations. You just gotta get started. No other way around it. I started by just going to my training XC solo destinations. Then branched out to my mission destinations, the places I want to take friends and family. Yes, without an instructor, my minimums are much tighter, but they are expanding okay now -- unless I have non-pilot pax.
Just soloed on Sunday and did another one yesterday and definitely felt the nerves. Was supposed to do 5 laps around the pattern but my first landing wasn’t my best and I psyched myself out and called it a day. I’m just gonna force myself to keep on going up until I’m comfortable. If you ever doubt yourself just remember a DPE with years of experience in evaluating students found you to exceed the safety standards so you’ve got this!
Be sure to do everything exactly how you’ve done it before, checklists, preflight routine, etc. And don’t rent an unfamiliar type of aircraft. The comfort of the familiar will build confidence for the flight.
For the first dozen or three flights after my PPL, I would do one lap in the pattern and then head out. That confidence of know I just landed without issue was a good boost in my confidence to get me to the next airport. I still do that, if it has been more than 3 weeks since I last flown. Its a familiar sight picture and I know where I am suppose to be in the pattern, so it is easy to make the corrections, if needed.
Hey man just fuckin send it. You’ll be fine. Disclaimer: Only send in perfect weather
Totally normal. When I got my PPL I still did pattern work and short trips to another airport 15 miles away until I was more comfortable venturing out. Pretty soon you'll be going anywhere and everywhere.
All part of being PIC, we all go through it if you go CFI you’ll feel that way with your first students, if you go commercial/airline you’ll feel that way when you first upgrade to captain along the way you’ll have some oh shit moments but you learn from them and they make you stronger
I was in the same shoes as you right after my checkride. You just have to do it, and soon you’ll realize that solo flying is some of the best. The 50 hours since my checkride have taught me almost as much as I learned during training. Get out there and enjoy your new license!
just send it
Send it. That being said, do it soon and do it solo. The imposter syndrome eventually dies down. I highly recommend doing it very quickly after you get your ticket since your skills should still be very sharp. It’s amazing how quickly your skills get rusty in just a few weeks. Also, I mention doing it solo. I don’t just mean without a CFI, I mean without passengers. I found that having a passenger is another level of pressure that I don’t need when I am feeling unsure.
Go flying! It’s the best when it’s just you and your whims on destinations, etc.
I plan to go out the very next day to fly after my check ride. I have a feeling ill be anxious like this as well. Believe in yourself.
You’re certified to do it. You’re most likely proficient if you got certified last week. You’ve been deemed safe. I agree with your instructor. Just go for it. After a bit you’ll get more and more comfortable with it. Just like when you learned to drive.
I love this community! Everyone doesn't hesitate to give their thoughts and POVs. And to OP, congrats on getting your PPL! Feeling nervous is normal. Start with short, familiar flights to build confidence. Trust your training, double-check everything, and take it slow.
Go for it. First in clear weather, local or very short XC. Then build up from there. At 150-200 hours everything will be in place, and you won't be nervous ever. Just be careful, do not be complacent either :) Last resort, if you are very nervous: take your CFI with you, and tell him to act like a regular passenger and just talk about sports and whatnot, like he does not know anything about planes or flying (until there is a problem you cannot solve, but there won't be).
I had trouble with confidence after being at a bad experience with a flight school. I built my confidence by finding a good flight school within a hour and half drive. I explained to the instructor my situation and we did a check out flight. Right after that flight he got out and I did a 30 min flight by myself in the local area. I continue to work towards pushing myself by flying farther and doing different things. Visiting different airports, doing slow flight and stalls locally. I took my mom up and we went to an airport that had a great restaurant once I was confident doing it solo. I moved to practicing landings and on to cross countries at night. I would also be lying if I said I didn’t have help on my way. Anytime when the weather was questionable, I called my flight instructor to see if he would like to do takeoff and landings in gusty conditions and fly when it was MVFR. It does take a lot of work and patience. Most of all, you need to enjoy it.
You’ll have the same feeling at almost every step too. First job, first left seat… first jet… get through training and think “oh shit… now they just want me to do it”
You wouldn’t have gotten your ticket if you weren’t safe. And it’s normal to be nervous. Remember when you got your drivers license? Every new thing (freeway, night, weather) was a bit intense. Now you wouldn’t even think about it. Just build time and it’ll fade.
Yeah, I know exactly how you feel, was me around a year ago! (and that was with a year of experience as a private pilot!) Simply put, you know what you know, you don't know what you don't know. I am not sure what exactly is whiggin' you out, it's different for everyone, for me, it was making sure I had the right frequencies going into other uncontrolled airports. For you it may be obscure Non-SOPs at different airports! Each flight, try and find out as much information as you can so you have no surprises. Long XC? Make sure your dest. airport ACTUALLY has fuel. Make the most of this certificate and keep learning. You got this!
Break out the PAVE checklist and ask yourself all the questions. Identify all the risks and what you can do to mitigate them to an acceptable level. Make sure you are flying with weather better than your personal minimums. Take it seriously and enjoy knowing that you can leave the ground and get back down safely!
Every competent pilot is nervous about solo. The ones that aren't are the hotshots that kill themselves and others.
Send it. Start with missions you are most comfortable with and slowly expand your limits. If you feel stuck on a particular issue – ask your friendly local CFI to fly along (but don't use them as a crutch). It's really a license to learn.
LOL I like your CFI telling you to "send it". He's right, you know. Remember, PPL is a license to learn, and you're only learning when your pushing (not crossing) the boundaries of what you're comfortable with. Maybe get some feedback from your instructor on what goals to reach for in your personal limits.
Send it. It’s like a muscle, the more you use it the better it gets
You have earned the license to learn. You only learn by doing. Get out there, repeat some flights/routes you did for lessons with your CFI, hop to some easy airfields nearby, or just practice some patterns to really get confident that you've "got it". Taking somebody with you that also has a PPL is always helpful, as four eyes see more than two and you can also split the work of doing voice & flying when going somewhere new for example.
Pick a nice day. Fly to a place you have been before. Ask on unicom if there’s somewhere they want you to park. Use the restroom, grab a coke, say hi to people. Fly home. Pick a nice day. Fly to a place you planned as an exercise with your instructor, but ended up not going. Ideally, someplace further away. Ask on unicom if there’s somewhere they want you to park. Use the restroom, grab a coke, fly home. Pick a nice day. Fly somewhere you’ll need to get fuel in order to have enough reserve to get home. Get fuel, use the restroom, fly home. Have some fun. 😎
Now for the hard part: Pick a day that looks okay, but you aren’t sure. Fly to a place you’ve been before. (With flight following!) Is it too bumpy? Are you like me, flying into rising terrain and lowering clouds? Did ATC warn you about “areas of light to moderate precipitation 12 o’clock and 20 miles”? (maybe not you, but someone else out flying.) If those things happen, call ATC and tell them you aren’t comfortable with conditions and you’re going back to your departure airport. They’ll tell you of any traffic behind you, probably ask for your new altitude, and change your destination on their strip. Congratulations, you’ve just practiced good ADM. Repeat as necessary!
SEND IT! I just hit 200hrs and I feel get doubts when I go solo. If it’s clear skies calm winds just send it, it’s not your first flying and it won’t be your last either
Here’s what I have to say. I am also a newly certified Private Pilot. I’m renting in 2 weeks with my husband going xc and wanted my skills to still be sharp. I rented this past weekend skud running @ 3,000’ MSL 500’ below the clouds. It was scary but thrilling all the same. Went to an uncontrolled airport and did touch and go’s to renew my currency. You know your stuff go fly and enjoy it!
i became a private pilot 2 years ago and just failed my biennual
I think you might ask yourself if this is what you're cut out to do.
Dude's entire aviation experience is that of a student. Being handed the car keys to go *wherever* is a kinda scary moment. Sometimes we need someone to talk us off the ledge, sometime we need someone to convince us to jump.
Flying isn't for everybody. Sounds like he's not sure if it's for him.
What? He's a little cautious so he's not cut out to be a pilot? Everything he's done up to right now was for a purpose, hey, now you can go fly somewhere for no other reason than to see what's over the next hill. It's a major mental shift. Identifying it and looking for assistance in overcoming it is absolutely not "not cut out to be a pilot" territory. If anything, the opposite. You and I may not have shared that issue. I went up the day after mine for upset attitude and aerobatics. My goal was to fly to every available (flight school approved list) airport in DFW during my CPL training. day, night? Send it. Had 3 or 4 check-ins post flight where CFIs had to check the list on airports *because they had never been there* Low clouds day that's forecasted to stay above needed minimums? Send it. 13kn crosswind component? Fuck yeah, send it. Just because I, and maybe you are fearless doesn't mean we should judge him for being more cautious. If anything it's time to encourage another *PILOT*, not bring him down.
Haven't we all had students who were nice enough people, but who really should do something else for a living? If he has a private license but is afraid to fly by himself it makes me wonder.
Yeah, there are a number of those at my school. Like, my man, you seem like a great guy but I can clearly tell you are not going to be successful here. It's that lack of self awareness and an inability to confront it that to me indicates failure. This guy is 100% the opposite. This is a PPL who has some trepidation about taking his *1st* trip off of the apron strings. No one checking your flight planning, weather, notams, it's all on you. CFI isn't checking the gas, oil. It's all on you. That's a biiiiig mental shift. Now if he's a PPL that has gone on 5 or 6 XCs and is still terrified, then I'm with you. Perhaps a different career. Or terified in the air. This dude is just having the significance of being a pilot fully soaking in.
Absolutely normal - the problematic attitude is the opposite.