What would be the shortest possible number of fliight to solo in the military,?

Question

The Flight training programs I've been expose to are , Navy and Marine, where you must qualify fixed wing then transition to Helicopters. I believe the Army has a WP program that only concentrates on Rotary Wing. Recently I heard someone, claiming military background, say he soloed in 9 hours. Is that correct? Most military training programs exceed private requirements.

To repeat the question before I get reported as I have about 20 times in the past few days; What is the minimum number of hours associated with solo flight in Helicopters?

Answer 1

There is no FAA Regulation (Part 61) that specifies a minimum number of hours before solo for the Rotary Wing Certification.  The 10 hours refers to the number of hours required (performed solo) to qualify for the private certificate.

If you like, you can look through Part 61 here:

http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/head...

and Here:

http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/tex...

And to those who talk about a 'License' - It's a Certificate.  It's only a 'license' to learn.  I have one.

Answer 2

It depends on the type of aircraft,helo,  fixed wing, rotor or jet it takes about 2 years from basic flight training to full operational mission flying status.

Answer 3

Thomas Lanphier soloed after one airplane flight with an instructor.

Answer 4

My dad narrates -

In 1964, I went solo in a T-37, with exactly 18 dual rides (including solo check) in less than 12 hours total flying time.

People flying helicopters used to go solo after approximately 50-70 hours total flying hours. In some cases pilots exceeded these figures but were subsequently grounded if they could not solo by 100 hours. Regretfully, these are military hours and I wish I could provide you with the equivalent in civilian flying.

PS: In our system, people who were suspended from fixed wing were sent to helicopters, transports ATC etc.