First solo flight

The first solo flight of a new pilot comprises that pilot completing a take off, and usually a short flight and safe landing, by him or herself. Flying such a flight is a milestone known as soloing.

Requirements

Depending on the country, there may be a requirement for some minimum number of training hours to have been completed by the student pilot before he or she is allowed to solo. In most countries, it is assumed that such students will be familiar with (and may have to pass an examination on) the relevant Air Laws or Regulations, and will have completed exercises in handling aircraft in normal conditions, and also what to do in the case of engine failure on takeoff, in flight, and before landing.

In the USA, for most aircraft, there is no FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) requirement for a minimum number of hours. Per FAR Part 61 SFAR 73 section 2, Robinson helicopters have a 20-hour requirement to solo. However the regulations do require that a student pilot show competency in several specific skills to include, for example, the ability to forward slip. In practice, competence is mostly a judgment call of the Certificated Flight Instructor (CFI) responsible for the student. Typically, it takes from 10 to 30 hours of flight time before a pilot has the instinctive feel of an aircraft to be safe flying solo in other than perfect (no wind) weather.

Flying Solo

Flying Solo may refer to:

Television

Music

See also

Flying Solo (novel)

Flying Solo is a young adult novel written by Ralph Fletcher, first published in 1998.

Plot

Mr. Fabiano is a sixth-grade teacher who calls in sick on April 28. When his class arrives, they discover that their substitute teacher has not shown up. The class decides they will not report this to administration and decide to run the classroom by themselves. The students follow the instructions left by their teacher, and all goes fairly smoothly.

Characters