Got my private pilot May 2013. Started training the previous July and had a few times where I would go an entire month if not more between flights depending on the weather, plane, and instructor availability - morning fog was a PITA for me. I was aiming to fly once or twice per week but for me it ultimately didn't matter. I was able to retain what I had learned from each lesson and after I had a dozen or so hours in the real thing I purchased FSX, TrackIR, and the Saitek Cessna setup and started using that the proper way. Got all the goodies - GEX, REX, UTX, home airport I fly out of, etc. and used it just like I was flying the real thing. It was a training tool, not a game. I remember early on even doing imaginary walk around preflights on an invisible Cessna in my kitchen lol. Eventually I even put my Ipad Mini on my yoke mount and used Foreflight in the sim as well and would practice my cross country flights ahead of time.
I was ready for my check ride a couple hours before the required 40 minimum. Ended up taking it once I had around 41 or 42 hours and surprisingly had very little stress that day. The average these days is up in the ~60-80 hour range I believe. I don't think I landed on my own on the first flight, but know I did on the 2nd. Some people will go dozens of flights before their instructor will hand over the controls for a landing. Everyone learns in different ways and at different paces. That's something you have to keep in mind. It doesn't matter how long it takes you to solo, it doesn't matter how long it takes you to get your certificate, all that matters if that you stick with it and enjoy the process. Less than one quarter of one percent of people are private pilots. It's kinda like riding a motorcycle - as soon as you get one you're instantly part of a club. You immediately have something in common with pretty much everyone you meet at every airport you land at.
Now that I'm back to working full time I don't get to fly as often as I'd like - kinda like during my flight training my days off work and the weather don't always seem to see eye to eye. The last time I flew was back at Labor Day when I (finally) took my nephew up for the first time. Flew around for about an hour and took pictures and videos of our houses from about 2500ft. Needless to say he enjoyed it quite a bit. This was the 3rd or 4th attempt at getting that kid off the ground. Each time I'd have to cancel due to fog, or low clouds that hadn't quite lifted and broken enough, or someone being sick. Hell, one time I even went and flew around the pattern a few times by myself to get my required landings before carrying passengers out of the way, landed and got my passengers briefed and seatbelted in and damn if the plane didn't want to start back up afterwards no matter what I did, even asked an instructor to make sure I was doing everything right. That one sucked the most. I know we could have waited 30 minutes and it would have been fine but he hadn't been feeling well that weekend anyway so we just called it off and waited until the next time he visited. We were convinced he was just cursed and wasn't meant to leave the ground lol. But in the end it all worked out and I held up my end of the bargain - gave a kid a memory he'll never forget, and delivered him home safe to Mom at the end of the day.
And for those of you thinking about starting this process... go take an introductory flight. If you have a flying club nearby do what I did, show up on a Saturday afternoon and meet some people, get a tour, etc. I ended up going up with president of our club that day while she went up for some simulated instrument approaches. This was the first time I had ever been in a plane. Little nervous at first but after 10 minutes in the air I realized I was perfectly relaxed with my hands resting on my lap instead of clinching on to whatever they could grab like they had been doing at takeoff lol. As for costs - yes ultimately you're going to spend several thousand dollars to learn to fly (and continue flying) airplanes. But it doesn't all come at once. If you have $200-300/month you can learn to fly a plane. That'll get you 2-3 flights per month which may be enough if you can retain what you learn. Yeah, it might take longer than someone that can fly 2 or 3 times a week but then again it might not. And flight hours are flight hours... they all add up and you keep that log book forever. So yeah, maybe life does get in the way, but one day you can come back to it, knock off the rust, and get back up to speed and finish what you started.
I could keep typing but this is already long enough... and I've gotta get ready for work.
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