The closer I get to checkride, the further it feels

It is clear to me at least, you need to never talk to that school again. Move on. Now.
 
Half Fast said:
If you’re concerned about “ferrying” a plane on a student certificate, you’re not the only one......
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Not so sure how legit having a PP student do a takeoff under the hood is either.... though I don't have a FAR in mind that would disallow it, it certainly seems wrong.

Any student that a CFI feels comfortable doing a hood takeoff with is certainly ready for their checkride.
 
SkyDog58 said:
Yep. He either got hooked up with a real shady place or he is a troll stringing us along. But if he is for real, the school needs a visit from the local FSDO.
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GreatLakesFlying said:
I assure you I am not a troll. I am just a disappointed student pilot. Disappointed mostly with myself because I may have missed red flags about the school earlier. Disappointed because I may have let loyalty cloud my judgment. In hindsight, maybe I should have left the school when my original instructor left -- he and I got along just fine. Maybe I should have challenged the school about the necessity of a takeoff under the hood as part of my training for a PPL.

On the positive side, I have 62 hours of safe solo flying. I want to continue learning about aviation and flying. And I am most certainly not trolling. I am looking for some friendly advise, maybe some encouragement, and also some feedback from your experience as you were getting close to your checkride.
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Ok, I’ll take you at your word that you are not a troll. That only leaves option 1 then. It most likely is a shady place that you need to run from and quickly. What airport are you flying from or close to? I’m sure someone on here can recommend a school and maybe even a particular CFI. I bet with the proper CFI, you’ll be signed off in 5 hours, ptobably less.
 
BTW - when you show up at your new school, don't drive up in a new Porsche and walk in with an Omega Speedmaster on your wrist. (Think sharks and blood in the water.) Best to arrive in your rusty 1978 F150 manure hauler while wearing worn jeans and a dirty feed store t-shirt.
 
Salty said:
Not so sure how legit having a PP student do a takeoff under the hood is either.... though I don't have a FAR in mind that would disallow it, it certainly seems wrong.

Any student that a CFI feels comfortable doing a hood takeoff with is certainly ready for their checkride.
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I've done it with instrument students to simulate low visibility takeoffs. Nothing prevents a CFI from having a Student Pilot do it. I never have had one do it, but I can see some value in doing it to demonstrate what a "0-0" takeoff would be like.

And no, performing the maneuver doesn't mean one would be ready for the check ride either. The ACS spells out a CFI and student's requirements. A hooded takeoff is not part of it.
 
mscard88 said:
I've done it with instrument students to simulate low visibility takeoffs. Nothing prevents a CFI from having a Student Pilot do it. I never have had one do it, but I can see some value in doing it to demonstrate what a "0-0" takeoff would be like.

And no, performing the maneuver doesn't mean one would be ready for the check ride either. The ACS spells out a CFI and student's requirements. A hooded takeoff is not part of it.
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I knew someone would take my comment out of context.

You seriously would put a PP student under the hood for a takeoff? Not an IR student, but a PP student that you don't think is competent enough to pass his PP checkride. If so, that's foolish.

And no, being able to do a hood takeoff does not directly mean they can do everything in the PP ACS, obviously. But IMO, a CFI without a strong desire to bend an airplane, is not likely to perform one with a student that can't perform the things in the PP ACS.

You can't fly the plane yet, so let's put a hood on you and see if that helps. ;)
 
Reread my post Salty. I said I've never had a Student Pilot do it but can see value doing it. Doesn't mean I'm gonna go out to the airport and have a SP do it!
 
The more I think about it, the more I hope this is a troll. The balls of charging a student for the pleasure of ferrying a plane for them is just too much.

If it's true, it's just more proof they are ripping the OP off and don't have his best interests at heart.
 
Salty said:
The more I think about it, the more I hope this is a troll. The balls of charging a student for the pleasure of ferrying a plane for them is just too much.
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But if they didn't charge him, he was flying for compensation in the form of PIC hours and thereby violated the FARs.

Either way, it sounds like the plane was fresh out of the shop. Do you really want a student doing the first flight after maintenance or modifications?
 
SkyDog58 said:
Ok, I’ll take you at your word that you are not a troll. That only leaves option 1 then. It most likely is a shady place that you need to run from and quickly. What airport are you flying from or close to? I’m sure someone on here can recommend a school and maybe even a particular CFI. I bet with the proper CFI, you’ll be signed off in 5 hours, ptobably less.
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KPWK is my preferred airport but I could easily drive to other nearby fields including KUGN, 06C, and KDPA. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
 
The ferrying thing is iffy, IDK maybe they just saw a student who needed to make a flight and a plane that needed to be elsewhere and did something logical. In fact I expect that was exactly the case, but the optics of it look bad especially on public internet forum with people always looking for something wrong. Maybe just don't use the word "ferry" as it has connotations of something a student or PPL should absolutely not be doing.

For the OP, there are certainly instructors/schools that hold back students who are ready to go to milk them for more $. I have no idea if this is the case with you but if you feel like you're making no progress maybe do have that talk or look elsewhere as others have suggested. That said, I had very high hours... I think pushing close to 90 before I got to take my test. Like you I had to switch instructors and had many delays. My first instructor kept telling me I was almost ready, almost ready... for months almost ready. Then, he stopped being based out of my airport and was harder and harder to schedule with so I switched.

The standards of my second instructor were a lot higher for certain things and I had to go back to some basics and put in a lot more hours to get him to sign me off. It was taking months and it seemed like forever. I too started doubting if I could actually do this, had many lessons where I felt like I wasn't going anywhere. Really I was just dealing with someone who wanted me to learn a different technique on some things and had standards higher than the ones I'd been expected to meet. Eventually after many more sessions it finally did happen. The hardest part of getting my PPL was meeting the instructor's standards so he'd sign me off, the actual test was easy in comparison.

I wouldn't give up.
 
Half Fast said:
BTW - when you show up at your new school, don't drive up in a new Porsche and walk in with an Omega Speedmaster on your wrist. (Think sharks and blood in the water.) Best to arrive in your rusty 1978 F150 manure hauler while wearing worn jeans and a dirty feed store t-shirt.
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True, true.

I'm currently negotiating the sale (and price) of a property, and when I meet with the prospective buyer, I'm always driving the hooptie, and wearing four-year-old Levis, scuffed Stan Smiths and a rumpled T-shirt.

Wait, that's how I normally dress! :eek: Well, at least I make sure the T-shirt is not aviation-themed. :)
 
IMHO...you've probably got more solo time than he does teaching... Tell him that you feel confident enough to take the check ride and ask that he give you the opportunity, finally, to pass or fail. Not letting you use trim in steep turns so the DPE won't pull the power on you is the most ridiculous thing I've heard... DPEs are not trying to make you fail. They are testing you against standards set... That would be contrary to his purpose... Lets see what that new standard would be... Can student survive a power outage in the middle of a steep turn during a flight check.... :rolleyes: By the way...if the DPE wants to pull the power, it won't matter if your hand is on it or not...
 
SoCal RV Flyer said:
True, true.

I'm currently negotiating the sale (and price) of a property, and when I meet with the prospective buyer, I'm always driving the hooptie, and wearing four-year-old Levis, scuffed Stan Smiths and a rumpled T-shirt.

Wait, that's how I normally dress! :eek: Well, at least I make sure the T-shirt is not aviation-themed. :)
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I knew those gold-plated, diamond-studded A20s would get me in trouble!
 
FlySince9 said:
...if the DPE wants to pull the power, it won't matter if your hand is on it or not...
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+1

My DPE never touched the throttle. My hand was already on it anyway, and he just announced an engine failure and I pulled it to idle myself.
 
SoCal RV Flyer said:
True, true.

I'm currently negotiating the sale (and price) of a property, and when I meet with the prospective buyer, I'm always driving the hooptie, and wearing four-year-old Levis, scuffed Stan Smiths and a rumpled T-shirt.

Wait, that's how I normally dress! :eek: Well, at least I make sure the T-shirt is not aviation-themed. :)
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An old Skynyrd shirt fits the bill! ;)
 
SkyDog58 said:
Yep, best to wear a PBR or a lynyrd skynyrd shirt. Either one of those will let them know you ain't got money.
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Better yet wear the Skynyrd shirt and show up with a PBR in hand!
 
Early on I had an issue learning to land (luckily they just clicked one day and I've been fine ever since) and didn't solo til 19 hrs. I bought a plane and was flying solo a lot, got busy with work, and just generally didn't care for a while since I was flying. Those 3 things allowed me to procrastinate and I drug out my training for 2 yrs. I, too, had over a hundred hrs at checkride time. I think all that experience squelched the anxiety most students have (I didn't have any). I breezed thru my checkride. My dpe did touch the throttle. He simulated partial engine failure (not enough power to maintain level flight). He also helped a little when I thought I stalled it good enough. He pulled back more and held it til a wing dropped. 1st time I've seen my plane actually drop a wing and start to spin (it's very difficult to make a Hershey bar Cherokee wing drop).

Stick with it. It's very rewarding to get to fly more than 25 miles from your home field.
 
manac said:
They can’t teach anymore.
My son wants to take lessons I need to find him a compatant instructor that can get him his license in 40 or so hours
That is what it should take today.
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The "average" is quite a bit more than 40.
 
GreatLakesFlying said:
KPWK is my preferred airport but I could easily drive to other nearby fields including KUGN, 06C, and KDPA. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
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Hey, we are in the same area relatively (I'm in Central IL). I did my flight training at 3MY. An airport close to your location with great reviews would be Blue Skies Flying Services at 3CK. I have never been to them personally but they received the 2017 AOPA Best Midwest Flight School. Jim Fellers won the national best flight instructor for the same thing...he teaches from 3CK. They have a huge training fleet too.

Also just some encouragement to keep at it, you've come too far to call it quits. Work on the rough edges and you should pass with flying colors! When you get your license I'd love to meet you at a nearby fly-in or something.
 
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