- Age
- Coordination
- Aptitude
- Confidence
- Time between training
- Previous experience
Typically most students learning to glide will do a combination of both winch launches and aerotows. To go solo a student must be able to consistently demonstrate to their instructor that they are safe to fly on their own to do this the student will have to have shown:
- Good coordination of stick and rudder
- Good circuit planning - including landing from out of position locations
- Sensible decision making when under pressure
- Good judgement of height & distance
It normally takes between 80 - 120 flights to go solo, but occasionally some students learn much faster and others take longer.
If you have previous experience flying powered planes, paragliders, hang gliders or other air/wind based sports you will have a slight edge over other students.