K
KennyFlys
Guest
Yesterday was the oral for my CFI Initial. Nope, I didn't pass. I rather expected it. I knew I had weaknesses but not sure what. It's easy to go through things and think you have an item covered well enough but there are some elements still slipping. One such area for me was visual scanning. I missed a couple visual illusion items. In all there were ten out of some seventy-five items we covered.
Even though only a couple tasks are required to be covered in each area, he manages to link to practically every other task throughout the entire PTS. Sometimes he would just bring up an element that linked but most of the time he took advantage of my answer. When I finished an explanation, he'd reply with, "Speaking of 'blank'..." Open mouth, insert foot!
This week, I'll go through my deficiencies and prepare to complete the oral before the flight next Tuesday. I shouldn't have any problems at all. I had worried over the FOI and I flew through it quite well.
One of the things I thought about during discussion of maneuvers was while working from the CFI PTS, without directly referencing my lesson plan, I was forgetting about tolerances during a maneuver. Along with other references in the CFI task, writing the corresponding Private Pilot or Commercial Pilot task letter could be a reminder to bring up other elements and tolerances as well as quickly refer to that specific task in the appropriate PTS.
I had a couple very odd ones for which I'm dumbfounded. So, I'm kicking them out there for some help...
1) We were discussing Systems & Equipment Malfunctions (CFI Task XIII-B ). I went through those items just fine but then he took it bit further with regard to Required Equipment which links back to Task III-E, a task we did not do in that area.
Continuing from an Engine Overheat, he asked about the cylinder head gauge as required equipment. Okay, it's not required per 91.205 but it is required in the POH Section 6 Equipment List.
So far, so good. He's not done, though. "What about the older planes with a POH that were only this thick?", while indicating a thickness of barely a quarter-inch. The best I've determined thus far he was referring to aircraft prior to 1966. The POH for those aircraft do not have an equipment list.
So, the question is... How do you know if such an airplane would require a given piece of equipment that is NOT required by 91.205?
I stated an AD was one possibility. He accepted that but he wanted more. Thus far, neither I, my Chief CFI nor three A&Ps who maintain our birds can provide an answer.
After the oral, I went to lunch with him. He told me some very interesting stories which I'll tell at the bottom of my post. One was regarding a compass card. I stated I did not know how a compass was swung to get such precise deviations of only a few degrees but it had to be an interesting process. He said the maximum deviation allowed is five degrees. The most interesting thing he said afterward was this rule is not in any of the existing FARs or other easily available publication. It's part of the original Civil Aviation Regulations before the issuance of the first FARs we now work from. I'm at a loss if this is the same source for my answer.
2) The other one I got hit with was from Task VI-A, Radio Communication, item 1-b, specifically phraseology. He asked about the terms, "Over" and "Out." I answered them as follows:
Over: Your transmission is complete and you're returning control to the other party.
Out: Your communication is complete and you have nothing further.
But, he wanted more than that. I haven't the slightest clue as to what! Any clues as to what I may be missing?
Okay, I promised to pass on a couple stories...
One multi-engine pilot showed up with a Seneca to take his commercial-multi add-on. There was no compass card so the ride was off. While the examiner was still there talking with the pilot, another pilot arrived and had offered to loan his compass card to the pilot in the Seneca so he could complete his his checkride. Doh!
Another pilot had a compass card that didn't have any numbers filled in. When queried on the lack of a complete compass card, the pilot stated he bought a blank one for fifty cents because the avionics shop wanted over $200 to get one that was filled in.
There were several more that included bribe offers but the granddaddy of them all was the female CFI who showed up with her female student. The local weather wasn't quite right for a checkride so the CFI suggested they fly up to Kentucky, get a hotel for the night and do the checkride the next morning when weather was going to be clear. Of course, only one hotel room would be necessary.
This guy taught his first lesson as a college student in 1969. He's got the makings for a great book. I hope he writes it. I'll sure as heck buy one!
Even though only a couple tasks are required to be covered in each area, he manages to link to practically every other task throughout the entire PTS. Sometimes he would just bring up an element that linked but most of the time he took advantage of my answer. When I finished an explanation, he'd reply with, "Speaking of 'blank'..." Open mouth, insert foot!
This week, I'll go through my deficiencies and prepare to complete the oral before the flight next Tuesday. I shouldn't have any problems at all. I had worried over the FOI and I flew through it quite well.
One of the things I thought about during discussion of maneuvers was while working from the CFI PTS, without directly referencing my lesson plan, I was forgetting about tolerances during a maneuver. Along with other references in the CFI task, writing the corresponding Private Pilot or Commercial Pilot task letter could be a reminder to bring up other elements and tolerances as well as quickly refer to that specific task in the appropriate PTS.
I had a couple very odd ones for which I'm dumbfounded. So, I'm kicking them out there for some help...
1) We were discussing Systems & Equipment Malfunctions (CFI Task XIII-B ). I went through those items just fine but then he took it bit further with regard to Required Equipment which links back to Task III-E, a task we did not do in that area.
Continuing from an Engine Overheat, he asked about the cylinder head gauge as required equipment. Okay, it's not required per 91.205 but it is required in the POH Section 6 Equipment List.
So far, so good. He's not done, though. "What about the older planes with a POH that were only this thick?", while indicating a thickness of barely a quarter-inch. The best I've determined thus far he was referring to aircraft prior to 1966. The POH for those aircraft do not have an equipment list.
So, the question is... How do you know if such an airplane would require a given piece of equipment that is NOT required by 91.205?
I stated an AD was one possibility. He accepted that but he wanted more. Thus far, neither I, my Chief CFI nor three A&Ps who maintain our birds can provide an answer.
After the oral, I went to lunch with him. He told me some very interesting stories which I'll tell at the bottom of my post. One was regarding a compass card. I stated I did not know how a compass was swung to get such precise deviations of only a few degrees but it had to be an interesting process. He said the maximum deviation allowed is five degrees. The most interesting thing he said afterward was this rule is not in any of the existing FARs or other easily available publication. It's part of the original Civil Aviation Regulations before the issuance of the first FARs we now work from. I'm at a loss if this is the same source for my answer.
2) The other one I got hit with was from Task VI-A, Radio Communication, item 1-b, specifically phraseology. He asked about the terms, "Over" and "Out." I answered them as follows:
Over: Your transmission is complete and you're returning control to the other party.
Out: Your communication is complete and you have nothing further.
But, he wanted more than that. I haven't the slightest clue as to what! Any clues as to what I may be missing?
Okay, I promised to pass on a couple stories...
One multi-engine pilot showed up with a Seneca to take his commercial-multi add-on. There was no compass card so the ride was off. While the examiner was still there talking with the pilot, another pilot arrived and had offered to loan his compass card to the pilot in the Seneca so he could complete his his checkride. Doh!
Another pilot had a compass card that didn't have any numbers filled in. When queried on the lack of a complete compass card, the pilot stated he bought a blank one for fifty cents because the avionics shop wanted over $200 to get one that was filled in.
There were several more that included bribe offers but the granddaddy of them all was the female CFI who showed up with her female student. The local weather wasn't quite right for a checkride so the CFI suggested they fly up to Kentucky, get a hotel for the night and do the checkride the next morning when weather was going to be clear. Of course, only one hotel room would be necessary.
This guy taught his first lesson as a college student in 1969. He's got the makings for a great book. I hope he writes it. I'll sure as heck buy one!