Checkride Horror Stories

[azure]

I wouldn't call this a "horror story" but my IR DPE was a bit of a nervous nellie too. I have an Aeromedix CO monitor (key fob type) that I hang on the top of the glareshield. I normally position it so that I can easily read it, but so that it doesn't interfere with my view of any primary instruments or the GMX-200, which means that the right-seater can see and read it too. I gave the DPE fair warning as we were walking out to the plane that I had one, that I was going to use it, and that I commonly see ppm values in the single digits and even low teens, particularly during descents with the gear extended, and that they are nothing to worry about.

My first approach was an ILS, and my usual practice is to put the gear down at glideslope intercept. Soon after, the DPE mentioned that he was getting a nonzero reading on the CO monitor. I asked how much, he said "2". I told him, not a factor. Then he started asking me more questions about it, such as what is a normal level, when should he worry, etc. I had already given him most of this info during the preflight briefing and was busy keeping the needles centered, so I wasn't sure exactly what more he wanted to know. I told him that I would answer his questions in more detail later but that right now, I needed to fly the plane. He would have none of it. "This is a safety of flight issue and I need to have my questions answered NOW." I told him I was PIC and in my judgment, 2 ppm was not a safety of flight issue, and basically that if he wanted to try to distract me, okay, he is supposed to, but I refuse to be distracted so please shut up. No joy. He insisted that he could distract me at any time and to whatever degree he wanted to. I told him that I was trying to fly an approach and could not discuss this at the same time. He replied that we were VFR and that HE could land the plane if need be and that I was REQUIRED to answer all of his questions related to this "issue". At that point I was convinced that he was trying to maneuver me into blowing the checkride, and I was within a few seconds of discontinuing it myself, landing, and throwing him out of my airplane. As a last ditch effort, I asked what specifically he needed to know, which turned out to be a value at which he should start to worry. I gave him "25", which appeared to satisfy him even though it was only, truth be told, the value at which the unit will first sound an alarm. I completed the approach, and the rest of the checkride went splendidly.

He told me later that he had experienced CO poisoning once (a house furnace malfunction) and was actually a bit phobic about it. Lesson learned: hang the CO monitor somewhere else or put it where your passengers can't see it. You never know when a nervous flyer with "a little knowledge" is going to make a scene because of a little too much information. And that nervous flyer might just be your DPE.

 

[saracelica]

Check rides by DPE are of little or no value anyway. The FAA has been ordering new check rides be performed all over the country due to what they believe, are faulty check rides given by their designated examiners.

I thought it was just my examiner that has been having check rides voided, but it has been happening to DPEs everywhere.

What it boils down to, by paying a DPE for your check ride, there is a more than good chance that you are throwing your time, stress, and money away.

If you want a check ride that sticks, it must be done by an FAA employee examiner. Go to your local FSDO and explain that you can not afford to throw five hundred dollars away on a check ride that will more than likely be canceled in the near future.

Insist that they provide an FAA examiner for you.

The FAA has effectively voided their own designated examiner program, do not throw your money away on it.

-John

You're not bitter at all, are you John. One DPE doesn't ruin the rest of the bunch.

 

[Stevel]

Check rides by DPE are of little or no value anyway. The FAA has been ordering new check rides be performed all over the country due to what they believe, are faulty check rides given by their designated examiners.

I thought it was just my examiner that has been having check rides voided, but it has been happening to DPEs everywhere.

What it boils down to, by paying a DPE for your check ride, there is a more than good chance that you are throwing your time, stress, and money away.

If you want a check ride that sticks, it must be done by an FAA employee examiner. Go to your local FSDO and explain that you can not afford to throw five hundred dollars away on a check ride that will more than likely be canceled in the near future.

Insist that they provide an FAA examiner for you.

The FAA has effectively voided their own designated examiner program, do not throw your money away on it.

-John

John, I hadn't heard that it had spread. Are there conversations online somewhere where names or FSDO locations are mentioned? I am aware of one situation where it is probably warranted, but is not happening, but i hadn't heard of any beyond Ed Lane.

 

[Z06_Mir]

You're not bitter at all, are you John. One DPE doesn't ruin the rest of the bunch.

x2

I'm pretty confident my DPE isn't going to void my checkrides. Even if my commercial for next month got voided there is always another ride to take.. so yeah. I get the Lane screwed some people (maybe he didn't, but his FSDO did). But trying to get Scottsdale FDSO on board with giving PPL, IR and COM rides? yeah right, they don't even want to give the CFI rides that they get in masses, probably why they fail so many so people want to be a CFI less.

 

[Ken Ibold]

When I took my instrument checkride, the DPE had me do a 0/0 takeoff, though I had never done one in my life (and it was not part of the PTS). Fortunately, I had just enough peripheral vision out of the foggles that I knew where the runway edge was.

In a way, I guess that was good practice for flying the Pitts I later bought!

 

[hpux735]

When I took my instrument checkride, the DPE had me do a 0/0 takeoff, though I had never done one in my life (and it was not part of the PTS). Fortunately, I had just enough peripheral vision out of the foggles that I knew where the runway edge was.

In a way, I guess that was good practice for flying the Pitts I later bought!

0/0 takeoffs are bizarre. My CFII had me do one a few weeks back. I'm sure that I'll never really do one. I mean, what are your options once you're off?

The only bad thing I had on my PPL check ride was a spirited debate of whether a "stop-and-go" is a "full stop" with respect to solo towered work (I train at an uncontrolled field). Luckily at this point it wasn't yet the oral, and my instructor and the chief instructor were there providing me support. In the end, it was fine. My only real mistake was accidentally turning left for my turn around a point twice, the second one was supposed to be to the right. Half way through, I laughed at myself and said "I did that wrong, let's try it again."

 

[MAKG1]

0/0 takeoffs are not in the instrument PTS. Can you just refuse on the grounds that it's unsafe?

 

[John Baker]

You're not bitter at all, are you John. One DPE doesn't ruin the rest of the bunch.

Actually, no, I'm not, I was pretty much done anyway. My industry was particularly hard hit with the crash.

I was talking to a CFI friend of mine out at KMYF a few months ago...well bitching about what happened to me, he is the one who told me that. He said the FAA did the same thing to two DPEs in San Diego as well. He said it is happening all over the country.

Myself, I have a hunch all of it is more related to our governments wanting to clear the skies of weekend warriors in order to make way for their drones.

I can't remember the numbers for Eddy Lane that were ordered to retake their check ride within 30 days or lose their ticket, but I think someone on this forum mentioned something like 7,000 pilots. Then the two DPEs I know of for sure here in San Diego have to number well into the thousands as well. The two guys have been around a long time.

I do know this, if I knew then, what I know now, I would have gone to the FSDO and insisted they give me my check ride.

What is the point of putting yourself through all that stress and expense if there is more than a very good likelihood the FAA is going to void it in the near future.

The FAA can not charge for a check ride, so a retake is free, assuming you can be ready within 30 days of the date on the notice, not the date you receive it.

It does not matter who gives you a check ride, for the most part, the dance is the same. I think that DPEs having full knowledge of the FAA crack down, that they probably would be giving a much more demanding check rides than a guy who is getting a guaranteed FAA salary would give.

When you include the FAA effort to whittle down on the numbers of GA pilots, the cost of fuel, maintenance, and storage in urban areas like San Diego, the impact on GA has become very obvious.

There is a wonderful rout along the cliffs of Point Loma that until just a few years ago it was like watching a parade of small airplanes go by. The rout has to be flown at 500' above the water, now, even on a nice weekend day, it is rare to see an airplane go by.

Anyway, the one thing for certain, that little piece of green plastic awarded after a successful check ride is now a temporary item unless the FAA itself performs the check ride....even then..I think it would be vulnerable to the whims of higher ranking FAA mucky mucks and politics.

San Diego has been selected to be our nations first urban test area for governmnet drones. Virtually all sizes will be flown regularly in our skies.

If you go to any of our GA training airports, even on what used to be busy days, they are now pretty much sitting idle most of the time. I was out at KSEE a few days ago, there should have been at least five or six planes in the pattern, there were none, not one. The FBO should have been crowded with instructors and students, there was one student talking to the owner and a couple of old hanger pilots having coffee, that was it.

-John

 

[Fearless Tower]

Actually, no, I'm not, I was pretty much done anyway. My industry was particularly hard hit with the crash.

I was talking to a CFI friend of mine out at KMYF a few months ago...well bitching about what happened to me, he is the one who told me that. He said the FAA did the same thing to two DPEs in San Diego as well. He said it is happening all over the country.

Myself, I have a hunch all of it is more related to our governments wanting to clear the skies of weekend warriors in order to make way for their drones.

I can't remember the numbers for Eddy Lane that were ordered to retake their check ride within 30 days or lose their ticket, but I think someone on this forum mentioned something like 7,000 pilots. Then the two DPEs I know of for sure here in San Diego have to number well into the thousands as well. The two guys have been around a long time.

I do know this, if I knew then, what I know now, I would have gone to the FSDO and insisted they give me my check ride.

What is the point of putting yourself through all that stress and expense if there is more than a very good likelihood the FAA is going to void it in the near future.

The FAA can not charge for a check ride, so a retake is free, assuming you can be ready within 30 days of the date on the notice, not the date you receive it.

It does not matter who gives you a check ride, for the most part, the dance is the same. I think that DPEs having full knowledge of the FAA crack down, that they probably would be giving a much more demanding check rides than a guy who is getting a guaranteed FAA salary would give.

When you include the FAA effort to whittle down on the numbers of GA pilots, the cost of fuel, maintenance, and storage in urban areas like San Diego, the impact on GA has become very obvious.

There is a wonderful rout along the cliffs of Point Loma that until just a few years ago it was like watching a parade of small airplanes go by. The rout has to be flown at 500' above the water, now, even on a nice weekend day, it is rare to see an airplane go by.

Anyway, the one thing for certain, that little piece of green plastic awarded after a successful check ride is now a temporary item unless the FAA itself performs the check ride....even then..I think it would be vulnerable to the whims of higher ranking FAA mucky mucks and politics.

San Diego has been selected to be our nations first urban test area for governmnet drones. Virtually all sizes will be flown regularly in our skies.

If you go to any of our GA training airports, even on what used to be busy days, they are now pretty much sitting idle most of the time. I was out at KSEE a few days ago, there should have been at least five or six planes in the pattern, there were none, not one. The FBO should have been crowded with instructors and students, there was one student talking to the owner and a couple of old hanger pilots having coffee, that was it.

-John

Who were the two DPE's that got their status yanked?

I know one who has been in the SAN FSDO's cross hairs for a while now (for good reason).

 

[John Baker]

I can't recall their names, the CFI who told me about it was Jakob who used to teach out of Gibbs, and is now over at NAC. I'm not so sure I should give out his phone number, but if you call NAC 858-279-4595, I'm sure they could hook you up with him. You might even know him yourself.

-John

 

[MBDiagMan]

Every one of the 4 checkrides I've taken so far was a positive experience and relatively painless-even the CFI initial. I suppose I've been lucky.

Yeah, lucky or well prepared. With that record, I would bet on well prepared.

 

[Avensa727]

Failed IR Checkride

So I just failed my instrument practical. It was a total nightmare (aside from the loss of $500 and the coming $250). The oral was 4 hours long, and that's not the worst of it.....well the flight portion went very well, except he shut off my moving map display, and KLN94 when I was on a GPS approach. I deviated about 2SM from course and reestablished myself once it loaded back up. Made the approach without further issues. Once we landed he debriefed me and told me I had failed the approach

 

[ZeroPapaGolf]

Re: Failed IR Checkride

So I just failed my instrument practical. It was a total nightmare (aside from the loss of $500 and the coming $250). The oral was 4 hours long, and that's not the worst of it.....well the flight portion went very well, except he shut off my moving map display, and KLN94 when I was on a GPS approach. I deviated about 2SM from course and reestablished myself once it loaded back up. Made the approach without further issues. Once we landed he debriefed me and told me I had failed the approach

Was he wanting you to go missed as soon as the gps 'failed'? (Which is the correct response, btw) What specifically did he say was the cause of failure?

 

[jpower]

Isn't he required to tell you that you've failed as soon as it happens?

 

[Avensa727]

Re: Failed IR Checkride

Was he wanting you to go missed as soon as the gps 'failed'? (Which is the correct response, btw) What specifically did he say was the cause of failure?

He never told me "your GPS failed", he just flicked it off, then back on without uttering a word. On debrief all he explained was "you can't deviate that much on your approach". I explained that he turned off my GPS on a GPS approach. I thought if he was testing me on a failure he would tell me at least. And no, he never told me I failed until we landed and debriefed the reason was for deviating from the approach coarse.

Even the chief pilot thought that was odd...then again the DPE had a rep for doing some unusual things and failing otherwise excellent students for small mistakes yet passing incompetent students and barely giving an oral/practical.

 

[poadeleted20]

Re: Failed IR Checkride

He never told me "your GPS failed", he just flicked it off, then back on without uttering a word. On debrief all he explained was "you can't deviate that much on your approach". I explained that he turned off my GPS on a GPS approach. I thought if he was testing me on a failure he would tell me at least. And no, he never told me I failed until we landed and debriefed the reason was for deviating from the approach coarse.

Even the chief pilot thought that was odd...then again the DPE had a rep for doing some unusual things and failing otherwise excellent students for small mistakes yet passing incompetent students and barely giving an oral/practical.

Continuing the test without telling of the failure and obtaining your consent to continue under those circumstances is contrary to the guidance of FAA Order 8900.2.

However, the DPE is under no obligation to tell you he is simulating a GPS failure -- you should recognize it and react accordingly without being told it's happening. The correct response to the loss of the GPS at that point would have been to immediately abandon the approach, climb to a safe altitude, and contact ATC for a revised clearance. Restarting/reloading the GPS and continuing the approach is not an option in that situation. In that regard, the failure was justified, even if the DPE did not follow established policy for notifying you of that failure.

 

[prophead5]

Check rides by DPE are of little or no value anyway. The FAA has been ordering new check rides be performed all over the country due to what they believe, are faulty check rides given by their designated examiners.

I thought it was just my examiner that has been having check rides voided, but it has been happening to DPEs everywhere.

What it boils down to, by paying a DPE for your check ride, there is a more than good chance that you are throwing your time, stress, and money away.

If you want a check ride that sticks, it must be done by an FAA employee examiner. Go to your local FSDO and explain that you can not afford to throw five hundred dollars away on a check ride that will more than likely be canceled in the near future.

Insist that they provide an FAA examiner for you.

The FAA has effectively voided their own designated examiner program, do not throw your money away on it.

-John

When I got my CFI I was supposed to use the DPE for that area. I was told to budget $500 for the test and $200 for the retest. When I asked why I was told for this DPE you will never pass the first time. I raised the BS flag and went to the FSDO for the evaluation. Passed with no problem. I say this due to the fact that every one of my DPE rides for my PPL, inst, and COMM were pink slipped and had to retest. My CFI, II, ATP and all my helo ratings were not a problem. The DPE program is a scam that needs to be reorganized and needs to be closely regulated by the FAA. One DPE I dealt with was out of a small airport just north of SAT. She had no business being an examiner and I hope that the FAA took my letter seriously. Not only was she unfriendly but now knowing what I know I question her competence. There are a bunch of them out there and you have to tread carefully. It's sad that one or two fools and their power trip could conceivably effect someone's career down the road.

 

[RotorAndWing]

Re: Failed IR Checkride

Continuing the test without telling of the failure and obtaining your consent to continue under those circumstances is contrary to the guidance of FAA Order 8900.2.

However, the DPE is under no obligation to tell you he is simulating a GPS failure -- you should recognize it and react accordingly without being told it's happening. The correct response to the loss of the GPS at that point would have been to immediately abandon the approach, climb to a safe altitude, and contact ATC for a revised clearance. Restarting/reloading the GPS and continuing the approach is not an option in that situation. In that regard, the failure was justified, even if the DPE did not follow established policy for notifying you of that failure.

On the other side, if the pink slip shows the only failed maneuver being the one GPS approach then the recheck will only be another NP approach, rather than the NP approach and then everything after it.

 

[ChrisK]

On the other side, if the pink slip shows the only failed maneuver being the one GPS approach then the recheck will only be another NP approach, rather than the NP approach and then everything after it.

Doesn't the DPE have the option of allowing the applicant to continue?

 

[Meanee]

My DPE showed up to airport looking like someone took a gigantic crap in his Cheerios this morning. Winds were pretty strong, but within limits.

During oral, he checked aircraft records himself, did not utter a single word. When asked about lightgun signals, I told them that I know the important ones, but detailed are on my kneepad, which is right here. I got yelled at for taking it out and was requested to remember them then and there.

Did everything by the book. On turn around a point, I was VERY SLIGHTLY closer to the point (verified with CloudAhoy), and "would you like to continue?"

During engine out, he picked a field he wanted me to land at. I told him that there's an airport 2 miles away where I can glide to and land (we were at 4000 feet), I was "strongly advised" to use the field he picked.

When I said that Yes, I would like to continue, I got a deathly stare. I was told to go to local class C airport for landing.

During oral portion, he told me that we will taxi to FBO, shut down, start up, get clearance, ground taxi, and so on. So when I landed at the airport, and told ground that I would like to taxi to FBO, I got yelled at by DPE "why the f**k would you do that???". I chose not to argue. We launched back to home airport.

If his goal was to set a hostile environment for the checkride, he succeeded.

When I did my retake, guy acted like he just won a lottery. Calmest, easiest flight ever.

Moral of the story: If your DPE looks grumpy, reschedule.

 

[fiveoboy01]

During engine out, he picked a field he wanted me to land at. I told him that there's an airport 2 miles away where I can glide to and land (we were at 4000 feet), I was "strongly advised" to use the field he picked.

I can't comment on the rest, but I think the DPE has the right to dictate where he wants you to land. Remember, the emergency is simulated, and the DPE can "simulate" any conditions he wants, including a scenario where a field is the only place you can put it down.

Weird though, through all my training, and my checkride too, I picked my own field to land during simulated engine outs... I was never told "land there".

 

[RotorAndWing]

Doesn't the DPE have the option of allowing the applicant to continue?

Yes.

8900.2
Section 2. Conduct Practical Test/Certification Functions

d. Demonstration of Aeronautical Skill.

(2) With the consent of the examiner, the applicant may also elect to continue the test after failing a required task. The applicant must receive credit only for those Areas of Operations which are satisfactorily completed.

 

[poadeleted20]

I can't comment on the rest, but I think the DPE has the right to dictate where he wants you to land.

Sort of. If the DPE says "land there" after you've said you're going to land "here", and "here" is an entirely suitable landing site, then the DPE is dictating how you handle the emergency, not just injecting the problem. If you then don't get the approach right, the door is open for you to appeal the bust on the grounds that the DPE caused it, especially if you make it clear that you do not think "there" is the best choice or even suitable.

 

[Avensa727]

My DPE showed up to airport looking like someone took a gigantic crap in his Cheerios this morning. Winds were pretty strong, but within limits.

During oral, he checked aircraft records himself, did not utter a single word. When asked about lightgun signals, I told them that I know the important ones, but detailed are on my kneepad, which is right here. I got yelled at for taking it out and was requested to remember them then and there.

Did everything by the book. On turn around a point, I was VERY SLIGHTLY closer to the point (verified with CloudAhoy), and "would you like to continue?"

During engine out, he picked a field he wanted me to land at. I told him that there's an airport 2 miles away where I can glide to and land (we were at 4000 feet), I was "strongly advised" to use the field he picked.

When I said that Yes, I would like to continue, I got a deathly stare. I was told to go to local class C airport for landing.

During oral portion, he told me that we will taxi to FBO, shut down, start up, get clearance, ground taxi, and so on. So when I landed at the airport, and told ground that I would like to taxi to FBO, I got yelled at by DPE "why the f**k would you do that???". I chose not to argue. We launched back to home airport.

If his goal was to set a hostile environment for the checkride, he succeeded.

When I did my retake, guy acted like he just won a lottery. Calmest, easiest flight ever.

Moral of the story: If your DPE looks grumpy, reschedule.

I completely agree with you on that. When I retested on my IF (and passed) we repeated my GPS approach, and he asks me "why did you go off course last time??" I said "well you turned off my KLN94 and moving map display", and he replies looking confused as all hell "no I didn't...."

So your moral sounds reasonable lol

 

[Avensa727]

Sort of. If the DPE says "land there" after you've said you're going to land "here", and "here" is an entirely suitable landing site, then the DPE is dictating how you handle the emergency, not just injecting the problem. If you then don't get the approach right, the door is open for you to appeal the bust on the grounds that the DPE caused it, especially if you make it clear that you do not think "there" is the best choice or even suitable.

It's important to remember during a checkride that you are the PIC, not the guy in the right seat. But this same situation I've heard a person fail not once, but twice, on a commercial checkride for not landing where the DPE wanted him to

 

[jordane93]

i really enjoyed my instrument check ride. the DPE, who is somewhat of a legend on LI Frank D'Angelone was so laid back (but stern when needed) and cool. he made the oral a breeze and the flying portion fun and told me if something is not clear tell him to repeat it or re word it. im looking forward to taking my commercial with him as well!

 

[denverpilot]

So I just failed my instrument practical. It was a total nightmare (aside from the loss of $500 and the coming $250). The oral was 4 hours long, and that's not the worst of it.....well the flight portion went very well, except he shut off my moving map display, and KLN94 when I was on a GPS approach. I deviated about 2SM from course and reestablished myself once it loaded back up. Made the approach without further issues. Once we landed he debriefed me and told me I had failed the approach

Two words should have come out of your mouth, as he turned off the only GPS on a GPS approach. "Missed approach", followed by "Climb checklist".

 

[Z06_Mir]

Two words should have come out of your mouth, as he turned off the only GPS on a GPS approach. "Missed approach", followed by "Climb checklist".

Yep. You can't very well shoot a GPS approach without a GPS.

 

[poadeleted20]

It's important to remember during a checkride that you are the PIC, not the guy in the right seat. But this same situation I've heard a person fail not once, but twice, on a commercial checkride for not landing where the DPE wanted him to

I'd be interested to see how that would play out before that DPE's POI.

 

[overdrive148]

My PPL checkride was definitely something interesting. I was only 17 for a couple months when I took the checkride, and I was flustered and naturally panicked and worried. The local checkride examiner Greg (at KAPV anyway) was a heavy set guy and seemed nice enough, but I knew there was going to be something that'd throw me off.

We do a bit of Q&A on the ground, some oral, then ended up going out to the plane. At first, I did things normally but then I felt like I had to do everything in an obscenely evident manner so he'd catch it for sure. On taxi, he pulled out his then-new iPhone and tried showing me cool apps and stuff, but I reminded him not to have it out (I wasn't sure if that was the case or not at the time but I decided that there had to be more than him just being in the plane and riding along). He smiled and said "good", then put it away after turning it off. We get airborne and do a straight out departure, followed by some maneuvers and other stuff.

I failed to track a VOR properly and did two complete turns before he asked me if I was panicking. I said pretty much, yes, thank you for noticing.

Then the fun began. He pulled the throttle on me randomly after telling me to fly in that direction => and we descended to just barely above minimums, lower than I'd ever gone before.

We went back to the airport to practice some short field and soft field takeoff/landings. I did decently until right after touchdown on the third soft field landing, he told me to do a short field takeoff while on the roll... I freaked out because I'd never done anything like that ever on the roll!

Finally, after feeling like I'd failed the whole thing and that I'd have just cost my dad 400 bucks for nothing, he told me to take us full stop on the next landing. I set up the airplane and lined up on final and double checked my notepad for anything I'd missed. He yawned, reached over behind my seat, and flipped the window latch on our 172 open and punted the window all the way out. The notepad and charts exploded off my lap in the warm desert air. I looked over and asked him what the hell that was for, and his response was "I was hot!". I ended up landing the aircraft just fine, pulling off the active, braking to a stop, then closing my window gently. Turns out that he gave me my license after that, saying that no one is perfect but that it was a license to learn, and to never stop that. I guess I handled myself in the airplane well enough to earn it.

 

[asechrest]

We are our toughest critics. I started a power off stall despite hearing the DPE ask for a takeoff stall and then repeating it back to him. I also completely botched some class B radio work because I had never done it in that way before. Also didn't have my Vfe memorized because I take the top of the white arc for granted.

Thought for sure I was screwed. Come to find out the DPE remarked what a conscientious pilot I was.

My PPL checkride was definitely something interesting. I was only 17 for a couple months when I took the checkride, and I was flustered and naturally panicked and worried. The local checkride examiner Greg (at KAPV anyway) was a heavy set guy and seemed nice enough, but I knew there was going to be something that'd throw me off.

We do a bit of Q&A on the ground, some oral, then ended up going out to the plane. At first, I did things normally but then I felt like I had to do everything in an obscenely evident manner so he'd catch it for sure. On taxi, he pulled out his then-new iPhone and tried showing me cool apps and stuff, but I reminded him not to have it out (I wasn't sure if that was the case or not at the time but I decided that there had to be more than him just being in the plane and riding along). He smiled and said "good", then put it away after turning it off. We get airborne and do a straight out departure, followed by some maneuvers and other stuff.

I failed to track a VOR properly and did two complete turns before he asked me if I was panicking. I said pretty much, yes, thank you for noticing.

Then the fun began. He pulled the throttle on me randomly after telling me to fly in that direction => and we descended to just barely above minimums, lower than I'd ever gone before.

We went back to the airport to practice some short field and soft field takeoff/landings. I did decently until right after touchdown on the third soft field landing, he told me to do a short field takeoff while on the roll... I freaked out because I'd never done anything like that ever on the roll!

Finally, after feeling like I'd failed the whole thing and that I'd have just cost my dad 400 bucks for nothing, he told me to take us full stop on the next landing. I set up the airplane and lined up on final and double checked my notepad for anything I'd missed. He yawned, reached over behind my seat, and flipped the window latch on our 172 open and punted the window all the way out. The notepad and charts exploded off my lap in the warm desert air. I looked over and asked him what the hell that was for, and his response was "I was hot!". I ended up landing the aircraft just fine, pulling off the active, braking to a stop, then closing my window gently. Turns out that he gave me my license after that, saying that no one is perfect but that it was a license to learn, and to never stop that. I guess I handled myself in the airplane well enough to earn it.

 

[spinfire]

Here is my instrument checkride story.

I meet the DPE and we do the oral. I've worked with this DPE before, a very good and fair guy, friendly. I pass the oral and we're ready to go flying. He says we'll depart Nashua and do the ILS Runway 6 into Manchester if they'll let us, do a missed approach, then head to the Manchester VOR and do a hold. From the hold we'll do a partial panel VOR-A approach and do a touch and go, then take off VFR and do unusual attitudes, and finally finish with RNAV 32 Nashua. All sounds good to me, and pretty close to what I practiced before.

I'm all preflighted and I demonstrate the aircraft's equipment to him. Just before we are about to get in and start up he has to run back inside to hit the bathroom real quick. At the time an innocent seeming foreshadow of what was to come! We departed Nashua and I set up for the ILS Runway 6 which is a very quick intercept when you depart Nashua on runway 32.

I was really doing great. Ahead of the airplane, needles centered, right on the speed - it was a great ILS. We were about a hundred feet above minimums and the examiner said to me "I hate to do this to you but we need to change the plan, take off the foggles here and make this a full stop, you have the airplane, I can call the tower to tell them". I was freaking out for a moment thinking I'd messed up but I made a very nice landing and he said we just needed to make a pit stop at Wiggins. It turns out that a second emergency bathroom trip was required, and I taxied carefully to Wiggins and my DPE was able to do his business. He said it wasn't horribly urgent but he wouldn't have made it through the ride.

When he came back to the plan he was very apologetic and said we could discontinue if I wanted but he was fine to finish. He said my flying so far had been excellent so I finished off the checkride as planned and passed just fine. Definitely my most interesting checkride to date.

 

[RotorAndWing]

Sort of. If the DPE says "land there" after you've said you're going to land "here", and "here" is an entirely suitable landing site, then the DPE is dictating how you handle the emergency, not just injecting the problem. If you then don't get the approach right, the door is open for you to appeal the bust on the grounds that the DPE caused it, especially if you make it clear that you do not think "there" is the best choice or even suitable.

I'd be interested to see how that would play out before that DPE's POI.

Keep in mind "appealing" a busted check ride is a steep hill to climb and very doubtful the FAA will reverse the decision of the DPE.

The DPE is their (FAA) designee, he has been vetted through a long process and undergoes regular surveillance by the local office. In other words, they know him. An applicant comes along and makes allegations that this or that wasn't fair, the FAA will listen but they will also listen to the DPE as well.

In the end it's not difficult to see who will prevail. The best advice? Do your homework on who you select as the DPE to take your ride from.

 

[brooklyn26point2]

My DPE showed up to airport looking like someone took a gigantic crap in his Cheerios this morning. Winds were pretty strong, but within limits.

During oral, he checked aircraft records himself, did not utter a single word. When asked about lightgun signals, I told them that I know the important ones, but detailed are on my kneepad, which is right here. I got yelled at for taking it out and was requested to remember them then and there.

Did everything by the book. On turn around a point, I was VERY SLIGHTLY closer to the point (verified with CloudAhoy), and "would you like to continue?"

During engine out, he picked a field he wanted me to land at. I told him that there's an airport 2 miles away where I can glide to and land (we were at 4000 feet), I was "strongly advised" to use the field he picked.

When I said that Yes, I would like to continue, I got a deathly stare. I was told to go to local class C airport for landing.

During oral portion, he told me that we will taxi to FBO, shut down, start up, get clearance, ground taxi, and so on. So when I landed at the airport, and told ground that I would like to taxi to FBO, I got yelled at by DPE "why the f**k would you do that???". I chose not to argue. We launched back to home airport.

If his goal was to set a hostile environment for the checkride, he succeeded.

When I did my retake, guy acted like he just won a lottery. Calmest, easiest flight ever.

Moral of the story: If your DPE looks grumpy, reschedule.

Would you mind saying who the DPE was? Given that applicants shouldn't have to deal with such volatility in a DPE, this seems like a good person to avoid. There's a DPE where I am with a similar reputation, I'd like to know if it's the same person.

 

[Avensa727]

Two words should have come out of your mouth, as he turned off the only GPS on a GPS approach. "Missed approach", followed by "Climb checklist".

Well, I could have attempted an available VOR approach, since the missed procedures for the GPS were programed on the GPS XD
oh well, it's in the past and I'm rated now, just with less money

 

[Avensa727]

Here is my instrument checkride story.

I meet the DPE and we do the oral. I've worked with this DPE before, a very good and fair guy, friendly. I pass the oral and we're ready to go flying. He says we'll depart Nashua and do the ILS Runway 6 into Manchester if they'll let us, do a missed approach, then head to the Manchester VOR and do a hold. From the hold we'll do a partial panel VOR-A approach and do a touch and go, then take off VFR and do unusual attitudes, and finally finish with RNAV 32 Nashua. All sounds good to me, and pretty close to what I practiced before.

I'm all preflighted and I demonstrate the aircraft's equipment to him. Just before we are about to get in and start up he has to run back inside to hit the bathroom real quick. At the time an innocent seeming foreshadow of what was to come! We departed Nashua and I set up for the ILS Runway 6 which is a very quick intercept when you depart Nashua on runway 32.

I was really doing great. Ahead of the airplane, needles centered, right on the speed - it was a great ILS. We were about a hundred feet above minimums and the examiner said to me "I hate to do this to you but we need to change the plan, take off the foggles here and make this a full stop, you have the airplane, I can call the tower to tell them". I was freaking out for a moment thinking I'd messed up but I made a very nice landing and he said we just needed to make a pit stop at Wiggins. It turns out that a second emergency bathroom trip was required, and I taxied carefully to Wiggins and my DPE was able to do his business. He said it wasn't horribly urgent but he wouldn't have made it through the ride.

When he came back to the plan he was very apologetic and said we could discontinue if I wanted but he was fine to finish. He said my flying so far had been excellent so I finished off the checkride as planned and passed just fine. Definitely my most interesting checkride to date.

lol, I was thinking he was just going to call it a pass after that precision approach - but heck, you passed the first time, good job!

 

[azure]

It's been long enough after my IR checkride now that I'll tell my story publicly -- without naming the DPE however.

I pretty much breezed through the oral after some initial bad juju involving not having my IACRA login info handy. Then a discontinuance due to weather that lasted 2 weeks. Finally decided to go ahead with the ride on a day when the wind was forecast to gust to 25 kts at about 60 degrees from the runway. That is outside my comfort zone so I was pretty nervous.

I briefed the DPE on all the equipment in the plane -- including my AeroMedix digital CO monitor, which I hung in its usual position on the glareshield between the seats. I explained that it will occasionally show single-digit ppm readings, especially when the gear are down on approach, and that this is nothing to be concerned about.

So off we went to KFNT. He had already told me which approaches I would shoot, and even in which order: the ILS 27, followed by the VOR 27 partial panel to a CTL 18, and finally the RNAV 18 without vertical guidance followed by the published miss, a hold at POLAR. I got established on the localizer for the ILS without much difficulty, put the gear down as usual at glideslope intercept. After a minute or so on the glideslope, the DPE started asking about the 2 ppm displayed on the CO monitor. I told him it was nothing to worry about, but he wanted to know more: when should I worry? That of course is a complex question that depends on the phase of flight, whether it's rising or steady, and length of exposure. I figured he was just trying to create a distraction so I told him what I would tell any pax who started asking me questions when I needed to focus, that we would discuss it later, but right now I need to focus on flying the airplane.

Well the DPE would hear nothing of it. He said, no we're going to discuss it now. I said no, he insisted. I said that I appreciate that he needs to create a distraction but I'm not going to be distracted, so please stop. He accused me of scolding him and said he could distract me however much he wanted. He then said that it was a safety of flight issue so he needed to know and he needed to know NOW. He said we were VFR, and he could land the plane at any time. IOW, to hell with my PIC judgement that the value shown was normal. By then I was thinking that I had happened to pick the DPE from Hell, and was seriously thinking whether to discontinue, land at FNT, kick him out of my plane and find another DPE, though it would have cost me another $400. Finally as a last try at shutting him up I gave him a semi-meaningless number, 25 ppm (the monitor's first alarm setting), and hallelujah, he was satisfied.

The rest of the ride was pretty interesting in that after the partial panel VOR (which was so sloppy I was thinking for sure I'd busted on it), on setting up for the last approach, when I removed the instrument cover from my HSI I must have accidentally hit one of the buttons that flipped it into moving map mode, which I never use because I don't keep the database updated and so couldn't remember how to get out of it. Yep, bad preparation on my part: KNOW EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR PANEL before you take your IR checkride. So I switched to the 480's NAV page and used that instead, until the DPE offered to take the controls so that I could figure out how to get my HSI back. I said I'd rather use the A/P, to which he agreed and then even suggested a fix for the HSI, which turned out to be almost right. So he wasn't the DPE from Hell after all, and at that point I really was wondering what was up with him...

During the debrief back home he finally told me what the deal was: apparently he had once had CO poisoning from a defective home furnace... requiring hospitalization, so not something easily shrugged off. Lesson learned: never put the CO monitor in view of a pax unless I have a good idea of how they will react to knowing that there is a trace amount of CO in the cabin. Apparently his earlier brush with death by gas had given him CO phobia, and he became a real-life problem pax. In 20/20 hindsight I didn't handle it all that well either. If I'd had my wits about me, I would have told him "if it beeps once, watch it carefully, if it beeps twice, trust me, we're landing ASAP".

And oh yes, he told me the way I handled the HSI glitch was "worth 100 points right there". He said he had no hesitation about passing me.

 

[Raftthis101]

This did NOT happen to me...thank god...but to a good friend.

My friend is getting ready for his ride and he is told by the CFI to be sure to show up in shirt and tie, as this DPE has a well-earned reputation for failing everyone who doesn't dress sharp enough for the ride...
So my friend shows up for his oral dressed to kill, nice tie, dark jacket, pressed shirt, shinned shoes, and the works.

DPE walks in, doesn't even say "hello", doesn't step forward to shake hands, just stops and looks at my buddy and says, "Your tie is crooked. " My buddy (who happens to be a LE officer for a major LE organization) wants to walk over and strangle the guy, but manages to bite his tongue and says nothing. He did pass the ride though.....

And...I learned something important from this...to never use that DPE for any ride....

I know the FAA doesn't give a rats **** but there are MANY unprofessional DPE's out there...so choose your DPE very carefully.....

 

[Palmpilot]

...After a minute or so on the glideslope, the DPE started asking about the 2 ppm displayed on the CO monitor. I told him it was nothing to worry about, but he wanted to know more: when should I worry? That of course is a complex question that depends on the phase of flight, whether it's rising or steady, and length of exposure. I figured he was just trying to create a distraction so I told him what I would tell any pax who started asking me questions when I needed to focus, that we would discuss it later, but right now I need to focus on flying the airplane.

Well the DPE would hear nothing of it. He said, no we're going to discuss it now. I said no, he insisted. I said that I appreciate that he needs to create a distraction but I'm not going to be distracted, so please stop. He accused me of scolding him and said he could distract me however much he wanted. He then said that it was a safety of flight issue so he needed to know and he needed to know NOW. He said we were VFR, and he could land the plane at any time. IOW, to hell with my PIC judgement that the value shown was normal. By then I was thinking that I had happened to pick the DPE from Hell, and was seriously thinking whether to discontinue, land at FNT, kick him out of my plane and find another DPE, though it would have cost me another $400. Finally as a last try at shutting him up I gave him a semi-meaningless number, 25 ppm (the monitor's first alarm setting), and hallelujah, he was satisfied...

After handling things the wrong way more than once, I've come to the conclusion that part of my responsibility as the sole crewmember on an aircraft is to handle passenger concerns. From that point of view, once he made it clear that he wanted to discuss it NOW, it might have been best to take off the hood, start a climb, and tell ATC that you were abandoning the approach to deal with a passenger comfort issue.

 

[RotorAndWing]

I know the FAA doesn't give a rats **** but there are MANY unprofessional DPE's out there...so choose your DPE very carefully.....

They do care because it causes local problems when you have a DPE that gives minimum check rides and another DPE that is booked out months in advance.

While DPE's are vetted through the National Selection Board and the local FSDO, we all know that some people can "play the game" until they get that designation in their pocket (Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde).

Because of a few cases where the FAA lifted designations the lawyers appeared and protracted fights for their client to retain his "privilege" ensued. Now it's almost impossible to lift a designation even if you know the guy (gal) is a dip****.