How long did your oral for the ppl take?

D

dreaming89

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Benjamin
My instructor is telling me it'll take 2 and a half hours... Is this true?
 
An hour ish. If you know your stuff cold the oral shouldn't take that long.
 
My appointment was at 0900. The logbook check and oral lasted until noon. We broke for lunch and then reconvened at 1300. The aircraft check and flight portion took until 1630.

About 2.5 for the oral and about 3 hours of flying. 0.5 for the pilot's log check and 0.5 for the aircraft and aircraft log check (my airplane). It was a good time, all of it.
 
One took 0.5 of actual oral and an hour of the DPE trying to come up with the most absurd and non-relevant questions possible.

The second involved the DPE giving me a time-defined scenario into a difficult airport that was taken from her Part 135 experience. THAT one involved her saying "brief the flight" and 3 hours of my going through the planning and various considerations from the scenario.
 
Paperwork about an hour, story telling about an hour, oral if I edited out the commentary and discussion about 45 min of actual question answer.

Relax you would not be going if you instructor did kit think you are ready. It was 100 times easier than I thought it would be.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
A long time ago but sounds a lot like the above....I had scored fairly high on the written. As I recall the oral was pretty short maybe an hour-ish. Discussion of my planned cross country and then questions mainly focused on the one or two I missed on the written. No big deal. Just did a BFR and the ground portion of that was longer I think but I have been out of flying for awhile so he wanted to make sure I knew my stuff.
 
mine was 3 days. About 15 minutes of that was Q&A about aviation.

agree with the above comment. If you know the material there is no reason to sweat the duration of the test. Just remember, you don't have to memorize the aim. You just need to be able to locate the information in a manner consistent with how you will locate it in real life.
 
Mine was a hair over 30 minutes

It depends on how prepared you are.
If you are missing a lot, the DPE will dig deeper and deeper dragging it out.
If you over prepare, it will be over in a flash.

YMMV
 
Mine was about 1.5.

Know your stuff. Highlight. Make the books look like they were actually opened. Use sticky notes.

If they see that you're well prepared, they will take it easy.
 
My whole check ride beginning to end was about 3 hours.nthats, meet and greet, old book review, BS about personal life, oral, some more BS about aviation, pre flight, check ride, land, tie down, de brief, ticket, some more social BS, out the door.
 
Little over an hour. I imagine most DPE can tell in 5 minutes if you're ready and the rest of the time is testing your limits.
 
Mine took a tad under an hour. The flight was about that same length if not shorter.

We started at 8, waited around for some low fog to lift, and finished up right before noon.
 
Too long ago, but I doubt it was over an hour. Didn't fly that day due to low ceilings. When we flew we put 1.4 hours on the Hobbs. And my CFI had to keep his mouth shut in the back seat. The DPE invited him to come along. For some reason I had run a W&B spreadsheet with the DPE and me up from and my CFI in the back seat and when she suggested that he come along I handed her the printout saying, "We're legal". I'm sure that didn't hurt. Just a suggestion that you might want to file away. :D

Oh, and make sure you've practiced everything in the PTS. We had never done a departure stall in a turn. Fortunately, I knew that plane like to drop a wing in that stall and the DPE didn't specify a direction. So I turned making that the high wing. Sure as can be, it dropped when I stalled. Caught it wings level with rudder and then recovered. Worked well.

My CFI and I went through the kinds of questions the DPE had asked in the past, so I was prepared for the oral. Keep in mind that the oral has changed since 2001 when I took my PP ride. It is now situation based. I had that for my IR ride. The DPE will have you plan a flight in advance and then will ask questions about it and your planning. Some questions are pass/fail based on the "correctness" of your answer, others were (for the IR) clearly testing my decision making process. I suspect the PP oral is the same idea now. If you've been studying and learning your CFI isn't going to sign you off for the ride until he/she is sure you will pass. Read Ron's check ride advise (a sticky) and take it to heart. There is much good advice there. I remember thinking of his first rule of Italian driving while on final for landing after my 2nd IR ride and having a big grin on my face. You will too once you shut down after your successful PP ride.

Best of luck. We're all counting on you.
 
I think my Private oral was something like an hour. My longest was my CFI initial at 3.5 hours (which is shorter than most get away with on the initial CFI)
 
EdFred said:
An hour ish. If you know your stuff cold the oral shouldn't take that long.
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I've done two, Sport and Private, and both were about three hours, and I knew my stuff cold. After my Private oral, my DPE said "If the flying portion goes anything like the oral I'll shed a tear." And still he kept me there for three hours. But it wasn't stressful or anything. Because I knew my stuff, it was just like chatting about flying for three hours. Normally people tune me out after three minutes!
 
1 to 1.5 hours, but it seemed like 14 hours at the time.
 
A little over an hour. The DPE just asked a few questions in each topic and since I answered them correctly he could check off that I knew that topic. You just need to prove you have enough knowledge in all the topics, you don't need to be an expert on everything.
 
I am a master's student with a 4.0 gpa and I'm struggling mightily with absorbing all the information required for the oral. I've tried using flash cards but it is just too much and some of the technical jargon doesn't stick. I'm using the asa private oral prep book- does anyone have any suggestions?
 
dreaming89 said:
I am a master's student with a 4.0 gpa and I'm struggling mightily with absorbing all the information required for the oral. I've tried using flash cards but it is just too much and some of the technical jargon doesn't stick. I'm using the asa private oral prep book- does anyone have any suggestions?
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How'd you do on your written? Have you taken it yet?

I don't recall needing to learn anything new for the oral that I hadn't already picked up preparing for the written or along the way in my flight instruction.
The only prep I did was a refresher while tabbing the FAR/AIM book so I could find stuff quickly during the oral (just in case).
 
dreaming89 said:
I am a master's student with a 4.0 gpa and I'm struggling mightily with absorbing all the information required for the oral. I've tried using flash cards but it is just too much and some of the technical jargon doesn't stick. I'm using the asa private oral prep book- does anyone have any suggestions?
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If you are a 4.0 student, you should be able to tackle the oral part no problem. Just do what you do for school and translate the information/classes into the flying information
 
dreaming89 said:
I am a master's student with a 4.0 gpa and I'm struggling mightily with absorbing all the information required for the oral. I've tried using flash cards but it is just too much and some of the technical jargon doesn't stick. I'm using the asa private oral prep book- does anyone have any suggestions?
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You don't have to know all the reg's verbatim, know your plane, v-speeds, emergency procedures and airspace by heart. Have the rest tabbed and ready to find easily. Have all your log books tabbed with the hours totaled and highlighted. Engine, Airframe and prop logs tabbed. Show up 1 hour early and have everything neatly laid out for review.

My oral was done in less than 45 mins, flight time was 1.1

Good luck




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Takes what it takes for the DPE to determine you are safe, no more, no less - they are not usually paid by the hour.

My PPL Oral was right at 2 hrs by memory, with about 2 hrs in flight for the Pactical - it was 22 years ago though ;^).

It is a rite of passage - the system keeps getting more complex, the planes keep getting more complex, the rules continue to change.

Just be prepared and who knows, 45 minutes in the DPE may say let's head out to the plane but be prepared to spend several hours, there's a lot to cover - and always be prepared to suspend the checkride if you get flustered. Better to pause than take a 'failed' - like my fighter buddies say (tongue-in-cheek of course) - 'Better to die than look bad'.

Good luck.

'Gimp
 
Mine was about an hour. Know the stuff that is practical for the flight you're about to go on. Have any calculations (weight and balance, takeoff/landing, flight plan calculations) done before hand and be ready to explain them. If you're decently prepared, it won't be an issue. Also remember that they created the FAR/AIM in paperback book you can buy for around $10 for a reason.
 
Mine was about 1.5 hours. Honestly it wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected it to be. I thought it would be a "stump the chump" session but it was all very practical.
 
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dreaming89 said:
I am a master's student with a 4.0 gpa and I'm struggling mightily with absorbing all the information required for the oral. I've tried using flash cards but it is just too much and some of the technical jargon doesn't stick. I'm using the asa private oral prep book- does anyone have any suggestions?
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I'm not a fan of the ASA oral prep books. My suggestion is to go through the PTS and make sure you know what it says you're supposed to know. Make an outline and look up information in the book(s) (POH, AFH, PHAK) and write down key points. Use your imagination and come up with your own questions and answers.
 
jordane93 said:
If you are a 4.0 student, you should be able to tackle the oral part no problem. Just do what you do for school and translate the information/classes into the flying information
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thats your problem. You are trying to learn all the material verbatim. You don't have to know it all. You just have to know how to find the answers when you need them.
 
Don't recall mine begin that long. What I do recall is the whole thing was a really great lesson. I'll not be afraid of another check ride, too good an opportunity to learn stuff.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Mine was a hair over 30 minutes

It depends on how prepared you are.
If you are missing a lot, the DPE will dig deeper and deeper dragging it out.
If you over prepare, it will be over in a flash.

YMMV
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Um, you obviously didn't have my DPE. :)

My guy was a PITA. 2.5 hour oral the first time around (long story short...he failed me for not liking how my IA logged our ELT inspection) and I ended up having to come back. We did another 30 minutes covering hypoxia, etc... the 2nd time around. I nailed it...but the dude literally covered EVERYTHING. I even had the opportunity to teach him a few things...specifically that pilots can actually make entries in the logbook. He asked about something being inop and I made a comment about possibly logging it and he about comes up out of his seat, "WHAT? You'd do what? Pilots can't write in the logbooks!".

I was like settle down man - give me 5 minutes in the FAR and I'll show you the regs. I am a partner in a 235 and we do a bunch of owner assist stuff so I know all the rules. My first checkride was a disaster though - literally everyone I tell the story too is just like WTF? I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

But anyway...however prepared you are AND/OR whatever you make on your exam has NO factor whatsoever on how long your oral will be. It totally depends on the DPE, what mood he's in and how much 'extra' answers you give that allow him to ask even more questions. Or he could be like mine and literally ask you everything...and question most of it. He asks me about my fuel system in my plane and I tell him I have 2 electric pumps. He doesn't believe me. Spends 10 minutes digging through my POH to confirm I was correct...

Good luck!!
 
About 36 minutes.. Don't chase rabbits..
 
kenjr said:
Um, you obviously didn't have my DPE. :)

My guy was a PITA. 2.5 hour oral the first time around (long story short...he failed me for not liking how my IA logged our ELT inspection) and I ended up having to come back. We did another 30 minutes covering hypoxia, etc... the 2nd time around. I nailed it...but the dude literally covered EVERYTHING. I even had the opportunity to teach him a few things...specifically that pilots can actually make entries in the logbook. He asked about something being inop and I made a comment about possibly logging it and he about comes up out of his seat, "WHAT? You'd do what? Pilots can't write in the logbooks!".

I was like settle down man - give me 5 minutes in the FAR and I'll show you the regs. I am a partner in a 235 and we do a bunch of owner assist stuff so I know all the rules. My first checkride was a disaster though - literally everyone I tell the story too is just like WTF? I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

But anyway...however prepared you are AND/OR whatever you make on your exam has NO factor whatsoever on how long your oral will be. It totally depends on the DPE, what mood he's in and how much 'extra' answers you give that allow him to ask even more questions. Or he could be like mine and literally ask you everything...and question most of it. He asks me about my fuel system in my plane and I tell him I have 2 electric pumps. He doesn't believe me. Spends 10 minutes digging through my POH to confirm I was correct...

Good luck!!
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That sucks.

My oral was in my opinion a lot of luck. I just happened to be well versed in the things he chose to discuss. There are a lot of things he could have asked that would have been weak points. We barely even touched on weather, Thank God.

I am fortunate that he didn't ask detailed stuff from the FAR/AIM during the oral. If he asked me to find something specific in there, it would have gone downhill pretty quick.
 
About 1/2 hour and consisted only of the subjects I had missed on the written. I thought that was SOP because when my brother went in for his instrument that he passed with 100%, the examiner told him he didn't have anything to ask him.
 
If I recall, it was about a half an hour going over the flight planning and the rest was pretty much firing questions at me while I did the preflight. I suspect the aggregate time wasn't over an hour. Of course, there wasn't anything I didn't have a well described and accurate answer for. The ground portion I had wired....flight not as much but adequate enough to pass.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
That sucks.

My oral was in my opinion a lot of luck. I just happened to be well versed in the things he chose to discuss. There are a lot of things he could have asked that would have been weak points. We barely even touched on weather, Thank God.

I am fortunate that he didn't ask detailed stuff from the FAR/AIM during the oral. If he asked me to find something specific in there, it would have gone downhill pretty quick.
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Exactly how Joseph of Cupertino did it. He was a little challenged to learn the material at seminary so he studied a few small facts and then prayed those would be the examination questions the bishop chose to ask. Later he became a pilotn of sorts.
 
War stories are fun..
My PP was taken back in the misty light of dawn - of aviation. I do not recall much of the specifics about the oral. It was mostly 'what if' questions, such as, what if the oil pressure flickers, etc. and doing a flight plan with alternates. Ya gotta remember this was in the days of a transmitter with three crystal controlled transmit frequencies and a receiver (coffee grinder) that tuned the entire VHF band with a cheesy needle on a miniscule plastic dial face. There were vacuum tubes in the radio. We did have NDB's. And VOR's were beginning to pop up here and there, but the planes I could afford to fly did not have such science fiction equipment. Navigation was your watch and a paper chart - and if you were smart you would get low enough to read a water tower about half way there - my FAA examiner was complimentary about that. (no such thing as a DPE, you had to face the man) IMC under the hood was needle, ball and whiskey compass. The gas pumps at the field included one for 80 octane av gas. Bendix was a big name in airplane electronics. The Vee Tail Bonanza was the latest and greatest thing flying - if you were rich enough (I wasn't - by a long shot, making a $1.85 an hour)

The ride was more in depth. Turns about a point, slow flight, stalls, and one three turn spin (piece of cake) followed by the XC. After it was clear to him I was followg the pencil line on the chart, the examiner says 'bad weather ahead, divert to Munger' and sits back with a little smirk. (there is no airport at Munger)
So, I glance at the compass, roll into a turn, roll out, and proceed to chug along.
After a few seconds he says, "where the hell ya goin?"
Munger.
Ya gotta identify it on the chart first, then turn to the heading, You didn't do nuttin.
Don't have to. The road we are crossing right now is East Bevens road. That clump of woods way ahead on the horizon is on the North end of the Kitchen Farm. When we get there it is 7 miles to Munger, straight ahead.
How in 'ell do you know that. No one knows where Munger is.
I do. That farm off to the right is where I grew up. I dated the Munger Potato Festival Queen a few years back.
Ahh christ, he says. He is irritated. He lights a cigarette and keeps blowing smoke at me.

No glass panel, no moving map GPS, no doppler weather radar, no smart phone with apps - how DID we ever survive?

Don't take me wrong, I love GPS and technology - I probably have more Garmin electronics than anyone you know. In about ten minutes I will be in a roaring tractor for the next 12 hours or so, following a GPS glass panel while planting soybeans - while it whines at me that I am 2.5 inches off line to the right. The screen above it will be reporting how many seeds per acre I am planting (150,000) and that Row X is the worst at 1.37% skips and multiples and Row Y is the best at 0.7% skips. My old examiner (long, long, dead) should have lived to see this :D
 
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