I’m 6 hours in and currently working on my PPL through a 141 school prior to committing all in with ATP. I’m finding that I’m stressed out and my flying performance suffers as I’m working to balance task management and maneuvers. My instructor is intense but fair and this increases the anxiety of the experience.
Does this feeling pass as I feel like I’m feeling more stressed than actually having fun?
At what point do you know you have what it takes to be successful as a pilot?
I understand there is a learning curve, but how can I do a self check to determine if this is really for me so I’m not wasting money?
I’ve seen this happen to a lot of student pilots. Unfortunately, there is no secret formula. I’ve seen some students give up and others persevere. One thing is for sure, flying is not for everyone.
First off, it’s way too early in your flight training to be having this much doubt. Everything is new and flying is not intuitive.
If your instructor is creating an even more stressful environment then you need to talk to them about it or consider getting a new instructor. The instructor should be tailoring your lessons to your ability. But who knows? Maybe they are and you’re still stressed. It might not be the instructor. I don’t know them. You two need to work together on this.
As for question 2, everyone experiences their “Aha!” moment at different stages of their training. It’s not a defined moment either. It’s dynamic. Some have the moment early on and then regress. Others have it on the last flight before the check ride. Everyone is different. I think if you feel motivated to keep coming back to it and try again then I wouldn’t give up so easily.
If/When the moment does come, you’ll know. A good instructor should gradually fade into the back seat the closer you get to soloing. You should be able to run the entire flight without the instructor’s input, that includes handling the unexpected. This I think is the true test. People’s true colors come into light when they encounter the unexpected, especially when it’s something that they’ve never even remotely experienced before. Because it is impossible to teach every possible scenario, those moments are a good measure of a pilot’s readiness because those moments uncover a pilot’s true aeronautical decision making and threat and error management skills.
I found that my discovery flights were very much stress free and enjoyable. It was only until I had to start balancing task management and the constant corrections from my instructor that it became stressful and thus my flying performance began to suffer. Again, he us knowledgeable and fair, but it all just seems overwhelming right now. I wonder if I have the capacity to manage all the multitasking/hand eye coordination. In any case, I may be just being too hard on myself this early in the program.
Is there a point in time (perhaps an event(solo) or #hours) where I should really begin to assess if this is for me as I don’t want to call it prematurely?
I want this and will keep showing up, but I’d like to make the best use of my time and resources if what you say is true in that not all of us are meant to be pilots.
Wait until at least you’re past your solo phase. I couldn’t believe my eyes when i successfully passed my PPL checkride, and it took many more hours to feel confident. If it’s for you, keep plugging along and you will know soon enough.
I think Tory covered this really well but just to chime in with my 2 cents worth. The beginning stages of your flight school should(?) be the fun part. I think you might be putting too much pressure on yourself this early in the game. Give it some time, try and relax, if the pressure is coming from your instructor, you might want to either tell him or find another.
As Tory said, not everyone can or should be a pilot but I think you need to invest a little more time before you make that decision.
I would absolutely wait until you have soloed to make any decisions about your future. That is a good point to sit back and re-assess if the career is right for you. Flying did not come naturally to me in the beginning, it took me a bit of time to get comfortable with it.