Private Pilot Checkride Notes

[Guest]

May 13, 2002 12:30

[Guest]

Congratulations Todd! :-sun1 Your story was really exciting. I hope I will experience the same one day - and I would be glad to end with the same result ;) .CheersSimeon

[Guest ftessler]

Todd,Great account, as always, and congratulations again!I suspect that most people undergoing oral or practical exams don't consider this, but the testing procedure can be quite stressful for the examiner, too. As you know, there's a gray zone between pass and fail, which they must navigate. I'm sure that seasoned examiners deal with this more easily, though.-Franklin------------------------------Franklin TesslerG4/500Fly! for Mac Forum Co-moderator

[Guest]

Superb Todd,Sounds like your instructor told her to grill you on short field t/os...My GFT included an engine failure into a farm strip, and then a short field t/o for real. About 5 months later I had a proper-real-grown-up engine failure (cylinder head bolts broke - oil everywhere), and I landed in the exact same field.For me its the GFT that I remember - going solo was an anticlimax, we'd been waiting for weeks to get 'nice' weather.Enjoy the flying.Best Regards,Brian

[Guest]

Thumbs up and congrats Todd! And again, thanks for sharing the entire experience with us. I realize now that getting your PP license is not as easy as I once thought. Makes me wonder how much a flight sims actually contributed to your success. Rich@KLEWBeige G3 233 MHz DT rev.1 G4 400 MHz NewerTech upgrade OS 9.2.2 384 MB RAM ATI Radeon Mac (PCI) Thrustmaster FCS/WCS

[Sonar5 3]

Hi Todd,Congratulations again. Thanks for posting your checkride notes. back in '99 I posted mine over at the Student Pilot Network. I wonder if they are still there.. :-hmmmYour story sure brought back memories. It really reiterates the license to learn methology as the DE's really are there to make sure we can actually fly safely which is always my goal as well.Great Job, and was that one of the most exhilirating moments of your life or what. I had to fly to a towered airport to pick up my DE, and my flight back was one of my most enjoyable flights I have ever had. The freedom, the control, and the joy, I think I will never forget. Thanks for posting and keep on having fun. :-)Best Regards,Joe :-wavehttp://home.attbi.com/~jranos/mysig.jpg http://avsim.com/hangar/air/bfu/logo70.gif

[brucek 38]

Hi Todd,"ToddPP-ASEL(!)"Doesn't that feel good? !!Your article reminds me of my check-ride. "Get me back to gate safely and you're a private pilot", he said after our last (short field) landing. This is at an uncontrolled airport with a long taxi (8,000 ft runway) back to the FBO (other end of the runway than my short field). I call on UNICOM to state I'm taxiing, and start off, only to see a GulfStream taxi onto the taxiway at the far end, coming towards me. I really wondered how we would pass safely, but he saw me and turned off before he was committed. Whew!Thanks for the great article, Captain!Bruce.

[Guest]

Great account... Thankfully my DE was much more talketive during this Oral and Practical. Made me much more relaxed... and it seemed he was more relaxed too... I've heard stories where the DE is just too nervous as well... so anything u do wrong gets questioned quickly before you have a chance to correct it...I had to fly to a different airport to pick up my DE as well... I'm assuming that helped cause it showed that I could fly the plane by myself to reach there safely!! and I totally understand what Joe said... Flying back after getting the temp license was the best flight I've ever had... I didn't feel like returning back to the airport... just wanted to fly around for a few more hours!! :)Mihir

[Guest]

Thanks for sharing your checkride Todd, and congrats!!!Paulhttp://www.advdigitalmedia.com/sig3.gif

[Sonar5 3]

These are from Student Pilot Network's Forums.Here is my post from my first Solo:http://www.studentpilot.net/cf/msgboard/me...sageid=7780&g=0Here is my Checkride scheduled Post:http://www.studentpilot.net/cf/msgboard/me...ageid=11386&g=0And here is my Checkride Post:http://www.studentpilot.net/cf/msgboard/me...ageid=11851&g=0I hope you enjoy my story:Regards,JoePS - Todd, I have now saved these posts to my computer. Thanks for flipping my switch to go look for these. :-)http://home.attbi.com/~jranos/mysig.jpg http://avsim.com/hangar/air/bfu/logo70.gif

[Guest]

Congrats Todd!It was odd that your DE decided to do half of your oral in the air. Maybe the distraction factor is part of her testing philosophy. It would have been perfectly within your bounds as PIC to politely ask her to hold off the questioning until your workload decreases (maybe she was even looking for that?). Some advice...when you start taking passengers along with you, do not hesitate to ask them to be quiet for a while, maybe even include that in your passenger brief before the flight. As you know since you fly them, the audio panel in the Cessna has an isolation switch on it, with settings for crew (both front seat mics active) and pilot (only pilot mic active). You may have not had occasion to use it yet, but don't hesitate to use it with passengers in the plane. The NTSB files are full of mishaps caused by distracted pilots. My flight instructor landed with the gear up once because of just that (pic below). In fact, a lot of commercial carriers have "sterile cockpit" procedures that include no conversational exchanges allowed between cockpit crewmembers below 10,000 feet. http://ftp.avsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3ce4179176259ec4.jpgSteve SpicerPP-ASEIKMTN

[Guest jrewing]

Hey Todd,Again, great job!The PTS for private pilot contains information about the examiner's use of distractions. I think she was just trying to distract you with questions to see if you could keep flying the plane reasonably well.When the DE on my one of checkrides started hammering me with questions during the beginning of the flight, I told him that as PIC I had to insist that he please hold questions until we were clear of class C airspace. You know what? He shut right up!Fly safely and don't forget those checklists! ;-)John

[Avcomware 1]

Hi, Todd. Congratulations on your PP license. The most difficult thing, after the test, is to stay current. I would recommend that you find a Club and or a body, someone with IFR, or above rating preferred, and fly together, just keep flying. Thanks for your feedback. It sounds like the first impression, well prepared for oral, gave you a short ride. You will have this uncomfortable feeling, from time to time, when that happens go flying, until it gets comfortable again. Go flying with your next goal in mind , IFR rating, and slowly work up to it. If you find a CFI, to time share, you can get a lot of benefit from him/her. Keep in mind, pilots are not your typical people, be patient, listen to them, give them the benefit of the doubt, but take control when you do not feel comfortable. Good luck. TV