100 Hours and Still Nervous

This is normal and will extend to other areas.

I was nervous enough yesterday to stay in the pattern for a full hour and I have over 500 hours.

REASON:

Plane just came out of a MAJOR annual. I found a couple of things on a SUPER pre-flight since it is just coming out of maintenance. Was making sure I had a runway near me if anything acted up.
 
Me too but I call it trepidation, prevents me from doing stupid things so it's not all bad
 
kenjr said:
You've flown all 100 hours with your CFI? That's pricey. (well, sans XC solo's and other things that you had to do alone...)

I'd say it's a little koo-koo to get all the way through your PPL and still not want to go up by yourself. But hey, on the bright side - your CFI likes you, I'm sure. :)

No substitute for experience. Just get up there and do it - even if it's just pattern work or something for awhile.

I think I can speak for the majority of us on the board to say that, yeah...a bit of nerves early on...but that is a good thing...keeps you on your toes.
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Reading fail. Read first three words of second sentence.
 
I would say that is normal. If I had to put numbers on it for good weather VFR flying I was around 60-70 hours when I felt comfortable solo x/c and around 100 when I could take passengers and not feel like I was going to do something dumb that would scare them.

At 650hrs/cpl I am at the point where 99% of day/night vfr/ifr x/c flights are a routine thing. But I can relate a few months ago I was definitely a bit uncomfortable in the bahamas out islands with crappy weather and no ATC or weather services like we are used to here. There was an aborted attempt to clear the area VFR followed by a landing in a taildragger just as a rain shower hit with a 20-25kt crosswind.
 
I think it's completely normal, and even healthy, to feel a bit nervous before a flight. It shows that you are aware of the many dangers. Complacency is more likely to kill than nervousness, I think.

I'm a low-time sport pilot (150 hours total, 77.5 as PIC, 46.6 hours solo) and I have different levels of nervousness, depending on who, if anyone, is in the right seat (being sport pilot, there is no back seat, of course).

I suppose I feel the least nervous when a CFI is next to me, but I think this is a false sense of security that most of us fall into, no matter how many hours we have, or what rating we might be pursuing. One only need read all the NTSB reports about dual-instruction fatals to realize that just because you have a CFI aboard, your safety is not guaranteed.

But, after falling into that trap, I feel most safe when I have a passenger aboard who is also a pilot, which happens occasionally. I figure he or she can at least help me navigate, and look out for other traffic, even if he or she is not qualified to land the plane I fly.

I am most nervous when I have a loved one aboard, or some other non-pilot passenger. Most non-pilot passengers are under the impression that we're well-trained and will protect them. Truth of the matter is, it's pretty shocking how few hours it takes to become a pilot!

And, lastly, that brings me to solo flight. In many ways, I am most at peace when flying solo, because I am only responsible for myself.
 
WingsOverNY said:
So I reached 100 hours this week and I'm still dealing with my nerves for some reason. On the occasion I go up with an instructor I'm so comfortable in the airplane I could take a nap if I so desired however when I'm flying with frends I seem to be very anxious and nervous in the airplane. As you can probably imagine, I have not flown a solo fight since my checkride. My takeoffs, landings, and flight planning is always spot on but I just can't seem to shake the fact that if something goes wrong I'm the only one in command of the airplane. Is this normal to some degree for my number of hours or am I just bats hit crazy? :)
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Did you have the same feeling when you were flying solo before you got your licence, particularily on the solo cross country flights?
 
It could be that you are intelligent enough to know you may be in a 30 to 50 year old airplane , ( hard telling where it's been or who has worked on it) and that you only have 100 total hours. ( that's not many) How old is the car you drive and how long have you driven? The average car is 11 years old. Quite a difference from most GA aircraft! Fly close to your home base, then gradually go out a ways. You should gain confidence and be fine.
 
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