[blackjack_201]

So, here's a question to glider pilots. I've met a guy at my club this weekend that has about 2h solo and 17 solos to his credit. According to him, he's struggling a bit with speed control on finals and coordination despite the instructors telling him it will come together. He's a regular attendance at our club so lack of currency doesn't really come into play.

The big shock for me were his next words: I'm quitting. He claims that it all just feels too hard and not coming together. In fact, it's getting worse. He says he's lost the drive to commit and focusing on the theory stuff for Bronze is near impossible. I've heard this is quite common amongst early solos too.

I really want to help this guy out but I'm not too experienced myself. Any good pep talks / experiences / advice people would like to share? Is life after solo really that soul crushing?

Thanks!

[mick w]

Sounds as though he has been sent solo too soon & then been left to go on without being monitored , get him to do more dual with your best instructor . No problem is insurmountable .

[lobstaboy]

Well...
First off, some people genuinely don't feel the need or have the motivation to go much past solo. That was the aim, and they've done it. Time to try something else.
Second. It's harder once you've gone solo to see the progression of next steps. Some clubs have a 'post solo progression' syllabus which really helps. The point is that it's a big step from solo to bronze without some guidance (I mean in your flying, not just theory).
Thirdly. It's a leisure pursuit. No one says you have to keep going. If you've done enough, for whatever reason, that's fine. You are not a lesser person for stopping.
Fourthly. If on the other hand your friend really wants to carry on but something doesn't feel right, then it would be good to explore what that is. You mention speed control on finals. They should try a few flights where getting that right is the sole aim of the flight. They are still learning, work at it. Are they still flying a two seater? A big step can be the transition to a single seater. How about making that the goal?

HTH

[Grelly]

What about suggesting an hour or two in a motorglider? Then those bits he finds tricky can be practiced again and again.

[profchrisreed]

I'm not an instructor, but regularly take club colleagues up in a two-seater to share the flying. The focus is on those who are post-solo and would like to get some idea about first steps to XC flying/getting away from the immediate vicinity of the airfield.

One aspect which seems to encourage those pilots is that, because I'm not an instructor, they don't feel that they're being judged or assessed. They're just seeing how someone else flies and maybe picking up some useful ideas (or bad habits!) on the way.

If I was flying with the guy at your club I'd be flying the approach and landing, but would talk him through what I'm thinking as I fly it. As an example, once you've turned onto the final approach it's fine just to sit there for a few seconds in normal flying attitude to make sure you have the speed settled. Only then open airbrakes and start the descent. I only picked this up well after solo - the being judged aspect of flying with an instructor meant I felt I had to get on with it, rushing to set up the approach.

Maybe he could find someone to do this kind of flight with him?

[blackjack_201]

Hi again all,

That's some really cracking advice, and loads of good ideas. What was curious to me was that no one suggested stopping for a while or all together as a good idea as way for him to rekindle his passion for it? Any thoughts?

Also, as I'm approaching that stage myself, is this sort of difficulty post solo normal and if so how long did it take you for things to fall into place?

[profchrisreed]

It's normal post-solo in the sense that there is no formal post-solo training syllabus. So the newly solo pilot is left on his or her own, to begin *proper* learning.

This is fine if you're the kind of person who is good at doing that, but quite a few aren't and start to find the flying dull, or can't work out how to fix things (like speed control) etc, etc.

Big clubs sometimes have a formal post-solo training programme. Small clubs can't, so the pilot needs to ask for help.

In a small the club the best thing is to talk to the CFI or an approachable instructor and ask for advice on what to work on post solo. I think it really helps to have things to work towards.

In my case it was: fly single seater, Bronze, XC endorsement, first cross-countries, Silver Badge, local competitions, Gold badge flights, Basic Instructor. Mind you, I only had the two next in mind at any one time, but once I'd achieved one I thought about what to add to the list.

Your list could be quite different, that's fine too. Just make sure you are working towards something and you'll keep the interest.

[mick w]

Desire anag. - reside , if you are not discerning , that's what happens .

[webdevduck]

As I'm sure you've found, gliding takes a lot of investment in terms of time and money. If you're not making progress it can be very frustrating. In the case of your fellow member, 17 solos with 2h time logged suggests he hasn't really had a decent soaring flight on his own, so along with the frustration and perhaps feelings of inadequacy he may be wondering what the point of it all is. Looking at the sharp end of a long, cold and damp winter, perhaps struggling to maintain currency, I can understand why he might be lacking enthusiasm.

I'm a little further along (recent Bronze and approx 25 hours solo) and I still often feel completely incompetent, so he is by no means alone. However, unfortunately the instructors can't teach us never to make mistakes. Instead they try to teach us to be able to deal with them. Even experienced members might admit to making mistakes now and then, which can be both a surprise and a relief when you find out they make the same mistakes as you!

There's an article relating to the high drop out rate of post-soloers in this month's S&G (p10). It doesn't give a definitive answer, but suggests that clubs which have a structured program for training and support have a lower attrition rate. Unfortunately, at many clubs you're largely left to your own devices.

I don't think there's any "off the shelf" answer as to how you can encourage him to stay. I'd suggest exploring why he started gliding, what he's enjoyed most throughout his training and what he wanted to achieve. Perhaps from that you could figure out what would motive him again. Maybe some extra instruction, or speaking to the CFI to discuss progress and set some goals. Does he want to try aerobatics, or going cross country? If it's a lack of air time, a motor glider may be the way forward. It might be that a change of club (either temporarily in the form of an away trip or a post solo course, or even permanently to a club with a bigger fleet and/or better support) is what he needs.

I've decided to pretty much knock pure gliding on the head for this winter. Instead I'm off to do my NPPL in motor gliders. My club does offer motorglider training, but instead I've opted to travel further and pay 40 quid an hour more to do it at a dedicated school because I feel I'd make better progress.