Don't Quit After Your First Solo

Keep the momentum going with these tips to continue your flight training.

Tuesday, February 21, 2023 at 10:17 AM ET

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For the private pilot candidate, the first solo roughly marks the halfway point of their training. [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

An estimated 80% of learner pilots drop out of flight training, often right after their first solo, which marks roughly the halfway point of private pilot training.
Key reasons for dropping out include running out of money for training, forced repetition of lessons by new instructors, and poor guidance or lack of a clear training syllabus.
Other significant factors contribute to attrition, such as instructors becoming unavailable, life events causing prolonged breaks, losing confidence after a frightening flight experience, and difficulty scheduling due to a lack of available aircraft.

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“I took flying lessons years ago, but ….”

You’ve probably been in a few conversations that begin like this. It may even have been you who has spoken this sentence. I have lost count of how many times the conversation begins like this when someone finds out I am a flight instructor. The sentence usually ends with the person telling me they dropped out of flight training, often right after soloing. Sadly, this is very common.