solo flights
Piloting without passengers
Solo flights are instances of flying an aircraft alone, without an instructor or other crew members aboard.
In pilot training, the first solo flight marks a significant milestone—the moment a student is trusted to take off, navigate, and land independently: She completed her solo flight after just fifteen hours of instruction.
The term extends figuratively to any independent undertaking after a period of guided learning.
- aviatorOne who pilots aircraft
- student pilotLearning to fly aircraft
- cockpitPilot's control compartment
- altitudeMeasured height above reference
- wingspanTip-to-tip extent
airborne · up in the air · open skies · pilot · maiden · cross country · navigation · propeller · courage · sky · clouds · freedom · Lindbergh · Earhart · crosswind · throttle · runway · takeoff
- spaceflightlaunch, astronaut, spacecraft, liftoff, orbit
- flight typesredeye, short-haul, coast-to-coast
- Flying Clubsmembers, membership dues, dues, clubhouse, club meetings
- aviationaircraft, airports, airplane, airplanes, jets
- Long-distance flighttransoceanic, circumnavigation, fuel capacity, range extension