It's about damn time. But I am pretty nervous. I have been studying like mad these last few weeks, and I feel like I'll be ok for the oral part. It's kind of weird that I was originally more worried about that than the actual flight, but that has been flipped around since my most recent dual with my instructor. I had a real hard time maintaining altitude in steep turns, so we went to review some other maneuvers and came back to them later. I also had trouble getting into slow flight and tried it twice before getting it the third time. Before heading back in, I tried the steep turns again and got them within minimums. My instructor keeps telling me that its mostly a visual maneuver, but I cant help but stare at the instruments. It seems as soon as my eyes leave the altimeter, I lose altitude. Anyway, I plan on having another dual before the checkride to polish up, and I hope that's all it takes.
How To Pass A Checkride 101
Dudley Henriques CFI Retired
(I get a fair amount of back channel email on flight instruction
issues and this issue comes up quite a lot. Here are some notes from seminars I have given on the subject of check rides, what to expect, and some things that might help students get through them properly.
Notes below;
Let's talk checkrides for a moment shall we? It's an interesting and
important issue to all of us who fly, and I believe it deserves some
special
attention.
I've noticed through the years that this issue comes up many times
when
pilots get together to talk shop, and it's been an issue on the
student
newsgroup as well .It's an issue that all of us, from our pre-solo
checks
through our ATP route checks have to deal with sooner or later if we
intend
to remain pilots. We'll have phase checks, flight tests, checkout
flights,
and continuing proficiency checks to deal with sooner or later in our
careers. I've been both taking and giving checkrides in airplanes for
about
fifty years now, and I believe I've learned a few things about both
ends of
the spectrum. With your indulgence, I'd like to pass some of what I've
learned on to you, especially those of you just starting out on your
long
aviation journey,
Let's concentrate on the flight test check flight for a Private
Certificate
as an example. I choose this scenario because it's really the first
"serious" flight check you will receive as a pilot, and as such, many
have a
tendency to bring unneeded fear and apprehension into this equation.
I'd
like to address these possible fears and apprehensions, and perhaps
steer
you into a proper state of mind for taking on this all important
checkride.....the one you have worked so long and hard to pass!
Lets talk for a moment about attitude, then we'll take a short look at
the
checkride itself, and how you should interface with the examiner
during the
test. You will notice immediately that I am shying completely away
from
maneuver technicalities and maneuver discussion. I think we can all
assume
that prior to taking a checkflight for a certificate that you have
been
properly trained and recommended for the flight test. What I'm getting
at
here is above and beyond this. It concerns the attitude and mental
preparation you take with you when you get into the airplane with the
check
pilot or examiner.
First, and this is probably the most important single factor involved
in a
flight test; RELAX! Realize that the examiner doesn't expect you to be
perfect; the examiner expects you to be SAFE!!!!! Now, what does this
mean
to you? You should arrive for the test as prepared as possible. This
doesn't
mean you have to know the answer to every question you will be asked.
It
means that if you don't know the answer, you DO know exactly where to
find
it. It also means you should expect to make mistakes.This is extremely
important so remember it; the examiner EXPECTS you to make mistakes.
In
fact, the examiner WANTS you to make mistakes so he/she can
immediately see
if you can both recognize that you have made that mistake, and as well
CORRECT the mistake within safe parameters.
Now this point deserves a bit more attention, so listen up a moment
here.
Why are mistakes important to an examiner? Here's the answer. The
examiner
is constantly asking him/herself all through your flight, "How safe is
this
applicant" "How would this applicant react to this or that if I wasn't
here?" These are important and pertinent questions. How does the
examiner
deal with this? ERROR ANALYSIS!!! That's how! There is absolutely no
better
way to evaluate a pilot in flight than allowing that pilot to fly into
an
error; then view EXACTLY how long it takes for the pilot to recognize
that
error, and EXACTLY how long it takes to initiate corrective action,
and most
importantly, EXACTLY what that corrective action is!!! What I have
described
here is not only what a good examiner is doing, but also the formula
for
teaching someone to fly an airplane properly. A good instructor NEVER
rides
the controls on a student. A good instructor knows EXACTLY how far to
allow
the student into an error and makes every effort to talk the student
through
a correction without grabbing control from the student. Doing this
correctly
is the mark of both a good CFI, and a good checkpilot......so remember
this.
Back to the examiner; they want to observe your errors, so if you make
them,
and you most certainly will make them, face the error immediately;
state the
error; and begin correction immediately. Nothing impresses an examiner
more
than a pilot who faces a mistake immediately by recognition and
correction.
Remember this!
You will probably discover somewhere in any check flight that the
pilot
giving you the check does things a bit differently than you do, or how
you
were taught to do it. In almost every instance, you will find that you
can
do it BOTH ways correctly, so demonstrate it as the examiner suggests.
In closing, let me say that it really all boils down to keeping
calm.....being relaxed......and giving the examiner a SAFE, HONEST,
flight.
Recognize those errors.....correct them immediately....and when in
doubt....take the SAFE option.
Best of luck to all of you on your future check flights!!!
)))
Dudley Henriques
. As for the flight portion, he liked to get what he wanted from the controllers (since apparently they were all students of his at some point) so he worked the radios most of the time. He also liked to listen to music on the NDB, but I had to turn it off during the touch and go's. There was some yelling, cursing and laughing, and I felt like I performed very poorly, but if it was good enough for him, it's good enough for me!
