First solo flight

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The first solo flight is when a new aircraft pilot completes a takeoff, and usually a short flight and safe landing, by themselves. Flying such a flight is a milestone known as soloing. Being solo pilot of an aircraft is different from most other situations in that the pilot has not only to be able to fly and navigate the machine in a competent manner but they also have to be able to cope with unpredictable developments like mechanical failure, bad weather etc. on their own and without advice from other sources (most air traffic controllers are not pilots and may not be contactable anyway).

Contents

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 they are 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 United States, for most aircraft, there is no FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) requirement for a minimum number of hours, but a student pilot certificate is required. 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. [1]

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.

Soloing

Student aircraft pilot who has had the tail of his shirt cut off after a solo flight. Pilot after first solo.jpg
Student aircraft pilot who has had the tail of his shirt cut off after a solo flight.

Upon the completion of all legal and instructor requirements for proficiency, the student's flight instructor directs the student to fly three circuits of the traffic pattern, including landings, solo. [1] During the first circuit of the solo, the instructor may supervise via radio in case the student pilot should need assistance or advice. [1] When flying a glider the newly approved student may make more than one tow the first day though a single solo flight is adequate to earn the "A" badge as a glider pilot. [2]

Traditions

A flight instructor is cutting off the shirt back of a student pilot after a solo flight. Shirt pieces from other students who have already solo'ed can be seen hanging on the wall in the background. First Solo Shirt Cutting 1.jpg
A flight instructor is cutting off the shirt back of a student pilot after a solo flight. Shirt pieces from other students who have already solo’ed can be seen hanging on the wall in the background.

Various traditions or rites of passage have developed around "soloing", including drenching the student with water, [3] or cutting off the back of their shirt. [4] [5]

Solo Shirt Cutting

At the end of the solo, the instructor may cut off the tail of the student's shirt. [5] This tradition derives from early American aviation: before the advent of cockpit intercoms, the instructor would be seated behind the student with no reliable method of communication other than pulling on the student's shirttail. When a student demonstrates their ability to operate an aircraft solo, they no longer "need" their shirttail. To demonstrate this, the instructor cuts it off.

It's common for both the instructor and student to decorate the removed shirttail, including information such as:

  • Tail number
  • Student/pilot signatures
  • Airport code
  • Runway number of the landing
  • Date and time
  • Wind and weather

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Namowitz, Dan (2007), "First solo follies", AOPA Flight Training, 19 (4): 43–44
  2. ↑ Badges & Records
  3. ↑ "Ramping up: Canadian flight schools take on the future". 30 January 2008. A Moncton Flight College (MFC) student along with his instructor getting the traditional first solo cold water soaking on the ramp. The MFC tradition dictates that if the student is the instructor's first solo student, then the instructor also gets soaked.
  4. ↑ "High priorities: 16-year-old flies solo before driving solo". Gadsden Messenger. 8 February 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  5. 1 2 AeroGuardAdmin (2019-12-18). "Solo Shirt Cutting: An Aviation Tradition". AeroGuard. Retrieved 2024-02-13.

Bibliography

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