Kc Flight Blog Why is the national average 67 flight hours for a private pilot.

Let me say that I don't know that 67 hours is the actual average. I've read as low as 55 and as high as 85 as the national average. A quick google search found a dozen different answers to the average flight hours. None of the sources seemed authoritative. I couldn't find an actual number from the FAA. If you find the actual FAA number let me know.I will assume your question is why is the average more than 40 hours if the FAA and KC Flight says I can finish in about 40 hours.Students waste time / money for two primary reasons.First students don't take the training serious with a plan to finish from the start. To finish in 40 hours requires that the student is focused and treats the private pilot course like they would any other college class. Every hour you spend flying requires and hour of study. If you do this and fly twice a week you can easily finish in a college semester in about 40 hours.Second there is no incentive on the part of instructors to finish in 40 hours. To be honest the incentive is to get as much time out of you as possible. I've been in flight schools that the manager has demanded that instructors get a minimum of 60 hours or rent out of each student. Most instructors are more concerned about what is going in their log book than they are what is going in the students log book.==========The first problem isn't a problem if the student is informed. If you are doing this for recreation and you want to take two years and 80 hours that is fine. We will be glad to work with you at any pace. Most students want to finish in the least amount of time and money possible.read more