Checkride Tuesday

ChrisK

ChrisK

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After a week of oral and checkride prep, my instructor called me this morning with a date and a time for my checkride, and my initial response was "oh crap!"

I did a "simulated checkride" on Wednesday with another instructor, who determined that I was weak on slips and short field landings. In my defense a front was moving in and our entire base leg on both maneuvers was in the front, giving us a positive rate of climb with power off :mad2: Also, slips and short field landings are probably two of the maneuvers that I've worked on the least (I had a real issue with soft field landings before I fixed those!), so it is no surprise that I'm the least comfortable with those. The fake DPE said he thought I'd be ready for a checkride this week, and I guess my instructor agreed. Today and tomorrow I work with my instructor on these two maneuvers and go through the rest of the PTS...

I have to say that I'm split on my readiness. Part of me feels that, yes, I have demonstrated capabilities with navigation and maneuvers, and that technically I will do fine. The other part feels like, provided I pass on Tuesday, I'm not really tremendously more capable than I was two weeks ago. I feel like the kid who just had a birthday when someone asks if they feel any older. I still feel like a student, and I think I'll try to remain studious regardless Tuesday's outcome. I have been doing this for a couple weeks shy of a year, so I guess things will change after I put in some self-released cross countries.

I really don't have the oral prep guide memorized. I did really well with my instructor asking questions, only missing a couple few, but when I read through the book myself I noticed that he was skipping some of the questions. I'm wondering if he's prioritizing the questions based on the ones he feels the DPE is likely to ask.

Off I go to plan my cross country from 15G to I12, do a couple weight and balance sheets, read the oral prep guide, and hopefully calm down a little bit...
 
Roger on that last part... calm down a bit. Don't let the check ride freak you out. And it's entirely normal to feel like a student pilot; you still are. You won't be magically transformed into a seasoned old pro afterward. Even with that temporary cert in hhand your first x/c to a new airport and your first ride with a passenger will still make you nervous. I know, I just passed my check ride on the 10th! :)

You know what you know, just don't get rattled and don't try out any new techniques on the DPE. If you're anything like me, your personal standard for the short field is probably way more se ere than the PTS, so just concentrate on not muffing it entirely - not on getting it perfect. There are no bonus points for perfection.

So... go forth and practice, relax and good luck on Tuesday! Hopefully you'll have a clear, calm day and the only thing your DPE will have to gripe about is having you do ground reference maneuvers with no wind. :)
 
Relax is the best advice. If your not confident it will show up. Your instructor has over prepared you if he did his job right you'll walk away with the temp certificate and think "Geez that was easier then the training" DO NOT let the DPE see your Oral Exam guide or he will make it that much harder!
 
Soon you'll be congratulated on getting your asel certificate ;)

Until then, congrts on having gotten to this point! I see a handsome little pilot in your sig - not sure if the little one is your kid, but i found that the hardest thing about learning to fly is the impact it is having on the amount of time i spend with my family.

In any case congrats on having gotten to this point and rest assured your CFI is comfident you are ready for the checkride. (At least that's what i learned from others 'cuz i'm still a student and will be so for some time. )
 
Captain Levy’s Checkride Advice

1. Relax and enjoy it. Nationwide, about 90% of applicants pass on the first try, so look around and see if you think you’re as good as 9 out of 10 other students. Also, your instructor must maintain a pass rate of at least 80% to get his ticket renewed, so he’s not going to send you up unless he’s pretty darn sure you’ll pass – otherwise, he has to find four other people to pass to make up for you, and that’s not always easy.

2. Go over with your instructor the logbooks of the aircraft you're going to use the day BEFORE the checkride to make sure it's all in order (annual, transponder checks, ELT ops and battery, 100-hour if rented, etc.). If the airplane's paper busts, so do you. Run a sample W&B, too – get the examiner’s weight when you make the appointment. If you weigh 200, and so does the examiner, don’t show up with a C-152 with full tanks and a 350 lb available cabin load – examiners can’t waive max gross weight limits.

3. Relax.

4. Rest up and get a good night's sleep the night before. Don't stay up "cramming."

5. Relax.

6. Read carefully the ENTIRE PTS including all the introductory material. Use the checklist in the front to make sure you take all the stuff you need -- papers and equipment. And the examiner’s fee UP FRONT (too much chance a disgruntled applicant will refuse to pay afterward) in the form demanded by the examiner is a “required document” from a practical, if not FAA, standpoint.

7. Relax.

8. You’re going to make a big mistake somewhere. The examiner knows this will happen, and it doesn’t have to end the ride. What’s important is not whether you make a mistake, but how you deal with it – whether you recover and move on without letting it destroy your flying. Figure out where you are now, how to get to where you want to be, and then do what it takes to get there. That will save your checkride today and your butt later on.

9. Relax.

10. You're going to make some minor mistakes. Correct them yourself in a timely manner "so the outcome of the maneuver is never seriously in doubt" and you'll be OK. If you start to go high on your first steep turn and start a correction as you approach 100 feet high but top out at 110 high while making a smooth correction back to the requested altitude, don't sweat -- nail the next one and you'll pass with "flying colors" (a naval term, actually). If you see the maneuver will exceed parameters and not be smoothly recoverable, tell the examiner and knock it off before you go outside those parameters, and then re-initiate. That shows great sense, if not great skill, and judgement is the most critical item on the checkride.

11. Relax.

12. During the oral, you don’t have to answer from memory anything you’d have time to look up in reality. You never need to memorize and know everything. Categorize material as:

a. Things you must memorize (i.e. emergency procedures, radio calls, airspace, etc).
b. Things you must know or have reasonable understanding of (i.e. interpreting weather codes, non-critical regs).
c. Things you must know about but can look up and will have time to look up on the ground.

(Thanks to Mark Bourdeaux for this categorization.) So if the examiner asks you about currency, it’s OK to open the FAR book to 61.56 and 61.57 and explain them to him. But make sure you know where the answer is without reading the whole FAR/AIM cover-to-cover. On the other hand, for stuff you’d have to know RIGHT NOW (e.g., best glide speed for engine failure, etc.), you’d best not stumble or stutter – know that stuff cold. Also, remember that the examiner will use the areas your knowledge test report says you missed as focus points in the oral, so study them extra thoroughly.

13. Relax.

14. Avoid this conversation:
Examiner - Q: Do you have a pencil?
Applicant - A: I have a #2, a mechanical, a red one...
Examiner - Q: Do you have a pencil?
Applicant - A: I also have an assortment of pens, and some highlighters...
Examiner - Q: Do you have a pencil?
Applicant - A: Yes.
Examiner - Thank you.
One of the hardest things to do when you’re nervous and pumped up is to shut up and answer the question. I've watched people talk themselves into a corner by incorrectly answering a question that was never asked, or by adding an incorrect appendix to the correct answer to the question that was. If the examiner wants more, he'll tell you.

15. Relax

16. Some questions are meant simply to test your knowledge, not your skill, even if they sound otherwise. If the examiner asks how far below the cloud deck you are, he is checking to see if you know the answer is “at least 500 feet,” not how good your depth perception is. He can’t tell any better than you can, and the only way to be sure is to climb up and see when you hit the bases, which for sure he won’t let you do.

17. Relax

18. It’s a test of your flying skill, not your knowledge of PTS minutiae. Make sure you know which maneuver the examiner wants done, and confirm the details if necessary – before you start the maneuver. Does s/he want stalls taken all the way to the break or just to the buffet or “first sign of impending stall”? Is that “spot landing” s/he asked for the “power-off 180-degree accuracy approach and landing” no more than 200 feet beyond the spot or the “short-field approach and landing” which allows use of power but no more than 100 feet beyond the spot?

19. Relax

20. Remember the first rule of Italian driving: "What's behind me is not important." Don't worry about how you did the last maneuver or question. If you didn't do it well enough, the examiner must notify you and terminate the checkride. If you are on the next one, forget the last one because it was good enough to pass. Focus on doing that next maneuver or answering the next question the best you can, because while it can still determine whether you pass or fail, the last one can’t anymore. If you get back to the office and he hasn't said you failed, smile to your friends as you walk in because you just passed.

21. Relax and enjoy your new license.


Ron Levy, ATP, CFI, Veteran of 11 license/rating checkrides, including 4 with FAA inspectors
 
In addition to everyone else's comments; Don't get worried if the examiner tries to teach you something during your ride, (it may be a different style or technique for a maneuver or a way of approaching a situation) many DPE's were CFIs first and like to feel like they are contributing as well.
 
Feeling a little overwhelmed is normal on a check ride. I've been through a lot of them for certificates, ratings, privileges, type rides, etc. On each one, I always feel like I should have done more, and on each one, I come away having learned more about myself, the airplane, and my craft. Your ride will be no different.

You may find yourself feeling unready, as though you need more time, more instruction, more something, but you can't put your finger on it. That's probably a bit of healthy self-doubt; you looking inward asking "can I do this?"

Yes, you can.

The most overwhelmed I think I've ever felt was at the end of my last flight of OE (operational experience) when doing my Captain Upgrade in the big airplane. I'd flown it for years, and had been through a number of check rides, line checks, ground schools, etc. I'd just completed five months of training for the upgrade, including weeks of ground school, weeks of simulator, line training, check rides, and so forth. Now, my OE check airman was about to sign me off to go for a final ride with the FAA on board, and a company check airman, to be signed off as a captain.

He sat in the right seat, pen poised in hand, looking me in the eye, and asked his final question: "are you ready?" I thought about the kind of flying we did,a and the scope of it. Doing it as a copilot for a long time wasn't at all the same as being the guy that had to make the decisions (which, incidentally, is the same as being the guy in the 172 with his friends in back, still having to make the same command decisions). It was daunting. We'd just been around the world twice on training flights, as well as several atlantic crossings and trips to Africa and Afghanistan.

In the end, I said yes, took the check ride, passed, and moved on. The point is that no matter what stage in your flying career, for fun or for going further in your career, you'll face the same butterflies in the stomach, the same uncertainty, the same sweaty palms. I know a lot of professional pilots that get checkrideitis. That's the incurable disease which afflicts airman before a check ride. It's not you. It's everyone.

Checkrideitis can be a good thing. It can spur you to study harder than you do on a normal day or month. It can encourage you to take the check ride seriously and milk it for all it's worth. That's very beneficial. The check ride is stressful, not because it's a gut-wrenching event, but because you feel a higher level of stress than you might normally feel, and this replicates other times in your flying when the tension might be higher (such as an emergency). It's good training sometimes to operate under such conditions, and a check ride often replicates that feeling nicely. When you know someone is scrutinizing your flying and critiquing what you do, it tests you a little, forces you to be more acutely aware of each detail, and that's not a bad thing.

Where checkrideitis can be a bad thing is when you let it get to you. Don't. Look forward to the check ride. Any day you get to go fly is a good day, right? View it that way. It's an opportunity to show yourself to someone else, to share your flying. It's an opportunity to have someone look over your flying, perhaps offer your some constructive criticism, give you something to work on, to polish.

If you find yourself getting too ancy feel free to count a chicken or two before they hatch. Think about having your new certificate or rating, and what you will do with it, how it will feel to have made that new milestone, and what you'll be doing next. Then take your check ride with the feeling that it's already in the bag, yours to receive, and you'll do fine. Don't let down your guard; the best council I ever received in aviation was two fold; "relax," and "stay tense." Both can be done at the same time, both are equally valid. Finding the way to do that and the balance between the two is the secret to handling an emergency, handling a check ride, and enjoying a normal, routine safe flight. On your check ride, it will be all three, so stay tense, be prepared for anything, but relax and enjoy it.

Fly safe.
 
Out of everything I did related to flying, that check ride was the one thing that put a damper on everything. It took the fun out of all of it. I worked at it, I worried about it, I memorized everything I could. I have an awful memory, so I did that part a whole lot of times.

Even halfway through the ride the DPE asked me how I was feeling, I told him I did not care how it came out, I just wanted it to end, get the whole thing over and done with. Pass or fail, I was done with it.

I passed, the DPE even told me it was the best check ride he had done in years.

The whole darn thing was completely anticlimactic, not near as tough as what I thought it would be.

Everyone tells you to just relax, even enjoy it......you gotta be kidding me? How n hell are you supposed to relax, and especially.... enjoy it?

When your done, when you reflect back, you will discover that advise was actually the key to the whole damn thing.

The toughest part of all of it is convincing your instructor that your ready. It isn't the DPE that matters, it's your darn instructor. If he says your good to go, you have already passed it. The DPE is simply checking his work. The check ride, get it?

You'll do fine. Relax..enjoy the day.

-John
 
Hopefully your check ride will be like mine because when I finished I thought, "Wow, ok that was not so bad!" I honestly felt that the prep leading up to the ride was way harder then the ride itself. If you prepare the way it sounds like you are you will probably be way over prepared. I know I learned so much from preparing for the ride that I still use today and am thankful for the process. John's post above me is right on, the check ride is only really to check that you are a safe pilot. I certainly did not want to get the ticket if I was not safe so that helped me relax a bit.

Best advice I got before the check ride is, the DPE knows way more than you do about flying airplanes so just answer the questions he or she asks the best you know how but expect them to push and push and push. This advice helped because it calmed me down because I went in to the ride, OK with not knowing as much as the person sitting across the table from me or sitting in the right seat during the flying. My experience was that I studied so hard that I felt prepared but you can't know everything. On my oral I still remember the questions I got wrong,( one was about what would you do if you turned the key to check the magneto's and saw one was not working. I answered well I don't think we would go flying but apparently there are some ways to remedy the situation before taxing back to the ramp that I was not really taught but that the DPE knew of). This is a great example of what I mean because I just did not know this before the ride.

Keep on preparing and working to learn all you can. The check ride certainly made me a better pilot.
 
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Thank you so much for all of this. I've been flying my buttox off these last few days (2.3 hours just yesterday, which is a lot for me). So what I'm taking from this is:

1 - Relax
2 - Do what the DPE says
3 - Make like this is just another lesson

I will report back with the results!
 
I think you figured it out. What's the worst that happens...you have to fly more. :)
 
ChrisK said:
Thank you so much for all of this. I've been flying my buttox off these last few days (2.3 hours just yesterday, which is a lot for me). So what I'm taking from this is:

1 - Relax
2 - Do what the DPE says
3 - Make like this is just another lesson

I will report back with the results!
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:popcorn:
 
My oral went swimmingly. The DPE even told my instructor that he was impressed with my knowledge and preparation. I prepared two different plans for the cross country - one that used DR and pilotage with VOR-backed visual checkpoints, while the other was just "direct to" 3 different VOR stations that were almost if not exactly along my route. I wonder if he picked this route on purpose with that in mind, but he seemed thrilled that I was able to preplan the ability to conduct operations when lost against a second radio navigation based route.

The rest of the checkride was discontinued due to 13G20 direct crosswind. I figure I would have busted had I said I wanted to go =)
 
Ron Levy said:
OK, it's Tuesday afternoon -- how't it go?
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He probably forgot about your advice #14 and is still talking. :D

Seriously, that is great advice. I used it two years ago for my IR checkride. I wish I had it for my PPL checkride back in 2005. The examiner paused the oral portion as he could see I was nervous, and spent an hour showing me his hand-made turkey calls. (This was Rowan County, NC (KRUQ) after all.)
 
nddons said:
He probably forgot about your advice #14 and is still talking. :D
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I told a couple of stories, including the keratoconus / cornea transplant one. My wife said that might have been stupid, but what the heck, I'm not looking to get a job as a pilot!

Seriously, there were a couple of times I wanted to talk myself into a corner there and just didn't thinking of that advice.

Couple of things that I missed on the oral were "can a pilot change a landing light without involving a mechanic" (the answer is yes, but I said I probably wouldn't, and the examiner said he probably wouldn't either; I did remember that pilots could do certain maintenance and offered to look up precisely what that means), and I forgot that little number next to airports on the sectional that indicates longest runway length (I looked it up on the legend). Can't think of anything else I came close to flubbing.
 
ChrisK said:
I told a couple of stories, including the keratoconus / cornea transplant one. My wife said that might have been stupid, but what the heck, I'm not looking to get a job as a pilot!

Seriously, there were a couple of times I wanted to talk myself into a corner there and just didn't thinking of that advice.

Couple of things that I missed on the oral were "can a pilot change a landing light without involving a mechanic" (the answer is yes, but I said I probably wouldn't, and the examiner said he probably wouldn't either; I did remember that pilots could do certain maintenance and offered to look up precisely what that means), and I forgot that little number next to airports on the sectional that indicates longest runway length (I looked it up on the legend). Can't think of anything else I came close to flubbing.
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Well done! You're more than half way there. I felt the flying was not much different than flying with my instructor.

However, at one point the DPE wanted me to do Vso stall. I wanted to ask "What the hell is a Vso stall?" but instead just sat there looking stupid. Then he clarified it was a power off stall in landing configuration, and then suggested that I think of the "o" in Vso as meaning "out", as in hang the flaps and gear "out" (i.e. landing configuration.") Once I knew what he wanted, I did that stall well.

I've never forgotten that little lesson.
 
ChrisK said:
My oral went swimmingly.
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That's a good start.

The rest of the checkride was discontinued due to 13G20 direct crosswind. I figure I would have busted had I said I wanted to go =)
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Good headwork! You'll start the completion ride with the examiner thinking well of you before you even get in the plane.
 
I told a CFI this weekend how weak I am in several areas and how scary it is to just "get" your cert. I told him I understood what they meant by it is a license to learn. He said I was a good pilot though. I am my own worst critic but I am slowly changing from "oh crap" mode to "well, that is obviously an issue so let's hire a CFI and work on it until you get better" or "let's go back to the books and learn."
 
So today I took advantage of a nice 10ktish xwind at a nearby airport (BJJ - I know some folks on the forum are based there, so here's my shout out!). I practiced slow flight, slips, soft and short field t/o's and landings, and did the first couple of checkpoints of my planned XC (damn it is a neat feeling when you are dead on your checkpoint for both time and the VOR radial). My steep turn was pretty good, slow flight was a piece of cake, my short field landings were damn spot on, and my crosswind landings really weren't bad especially given the magnitude of the crosswind for my little 152. I did a commendable job staying on course and correcting in the pattern for the wind, which since it wasn't gusting that much there was virtually no challenge in it.

One thing I noticed is that I don't like practicing stalls solo. I think there are a couple of reasons for this. First off, I don't have a problem with stall recovery. I've never been dinged for it by my instructors, and when asked to explain the theory I do a good job. Secondly, I just don't feel comfortable putting myself in a situation on purpose where I might go brain dead and spin the aircraft (especially departure / power on stalls). Mentally I know that's the same kind of crazy think that used to plague me when I first started doing slips. It is just another maneuver, and a perfectly safe maneuver when executed correctly.

Is this lack of confidence normal? I guess, like with the slip issue I used to have, it will go away with time, and I'm sure won't impact the remainder of my checkride.
 
ChrisK said:
So today I took advantage of a nice 10ktish xwind at a nearby airport (BJJ - I know some folks on the forum are based there, so here's my shout out!). I practiced slow flight, slips, soft and short field t/o's and landings, and did the first couple of checkpoints of my planned XC (damn it is a neat feeling when you are dead on your checkpoint for both time and the VOR radial). My steep turn was pretty good, slow flight was a piece of cake, my short field landings were damn spot on, and my crosswind landings really weren't bad especially given the magnitude of the crosswind for my little 152. I did a commendable job staying on course and correcting in the pattern for the wind, which since it wasn't gusting that much there was virtually no challenge in it.

One thing I noticed is that I don't like practicing stalls solo. I think there are a couple of reasons for this. First off, I don't have a problem with stall recovery. I've never been dinged for it by my instructors, and when asked to explain the theory I do a good job. Secondly, I just don't feel comfortable putting myself in a situation on purpose where I might go brain dead and spin the aircraft (especially departure / power on stalls). Mentally I know that's the same kind of crazy think that used to plague me when I first started doing slips. It is just another maneuver, and a perfectly safe maneuver when executed correctly.

Is this lack of confidence normal? I guess, like with the slip issue I used to have, it will go away with time, and I'm sure won't impact the remainder of my checkride.
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I've never done stalls alone but I should, on my recent checkout in an aircraft the CFI was not happy with my recovery at all so it sounds like I've forgotten how to do them.
 
I don't mind approach stalls at all... I'll do them solo any time. Departure stalls, though, used to really freak me out. Even with the instructor on board. In a Cherokee it's no big deal at all, but the 172 makes you actually work to keep it from tucking into a spin. Scared the crap out of me.

Then a few days before my check ride we did departure stalls for about half an hour solid. No pause. Stall, recover, go right into anothwr stall. We did the bloody things until I had to stop before I got air sick. By that time I'd finally gotten good at them, and was no longer afraid to do them. I'd still not pick them as my afternoon entertainment, but I'd do them solo now.

When I mentioned that here, I was surprised by the number of people who said they'd never do them solo.
 
I actually like doing stalls solo. But first time I've done it, a little voice in my head saying "I may spin OMG OMG OMG" was pretty damn loud. So, I wouldn't attempt a stall until I reached 7500 AGL. I still remember my CFI's smile when he heard it. But it went through ok. I got more confidence, able to demonstrate stalls and not feel like I will spin or something.

And, guess what DPE did not check during my ride? Stalls...
 
I'll just keep bumping this thread with updates. /sigh

Set up with the DPE to finish my checkride today. Went out to the airport and got the maintenance records for the aircraft. The DPE called me at the time we were supposed to meet questioning some dark clouds, but I missed his call as I was fueling the aircraft. Called him about 15 minutes later and assured him that there was nothing on radar and it looked fine.

About 30 minutes after that he shows up and we review the maintenance records quickly. I had everything tabbed for quick inspection, so that took all of about 45 seconds. Shortly after this, he takes a couple more phone calls, and I go wait inside the aircraft (which is chocked next to the pumps).

While he is finishing up his call, looks at me from outside the plane and says "so you all ready to go?" I confirm that I am, and he mentions that I might want to consider unobstructing the left main. GRR. I get out and remove the chock and towbar...

Eventually, he hops in. I do a pretty clean start (this particular aircraft has to be run hot for a couple of minutes after starting or it will quit - usually fine by the time we get to the run-up pad). I mention that I will be taxiing with a bit higher RPMs and might ride the brakes a tad down the hill (our runway has a valley and a hill smack in the middle of the 2300' length - maybe it is 1210' average! ;)).

So we taxi back to the pad and I start my run-up. Left mag is rough, so I lean it out and run it hot for about 30 seconds. After this exercise, it is running a lot rougher than it was before. Fine, lean it out and run it hot for about 90 seconds. Still running like total crap. DPE said I can continue or I can stop here and also mentioned that I did everything exactly the way he would in terms of fixing the fouled plug. I said it would be irresponsible continuing on one set of mags, and we reset for tomorrow at 5 Eastern. The one good thing is that the DPE said he has failed people on the taxi out and run-up, so at least I passed that part :mad2:

I scheduled a different aircraft (one that tends to spin during fully developed departure stalls). I have not tabbed the maintenance records, so I anticipate the log inspection will take a little longer. Wrote up the fouled plug and tied it down. Talked to the IA / owner. I have a feeling that he's going to pull the plugs and clean them manually, which really won't last that long.

My instructor was rather ticked, and said he'd show up tomorrow to let me borrow his ViBANs, so maybe it isn't a total loss.
 
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ChrisK said:
One thing I noticed is that I don't like practicing stalls solo. I think there are a couple of reasons for this. First off, I don't have a problem with stall recovery. I've never been dinged for it by my instructors, and when asked to explain the theory I do a good job. Secondly, I just don't feel comfortable putting myself in a situation on purpose where I might go brain dead and spin the aircraft (especially departure / power on stalls). Mentally I know that's the same kind of crazy think that used to plague me when I first started doing slips. It is just another maneuver, and a perfectly safe maneuver when executed correctly.

Is this lack of confidence normal? I guess, like with the slip issue I used to have, it will go away with time, and I'm sure won't impact the remainder of my checkride.
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I guess it's normal (I think full stalls and recoveries are a blast, but I'm not normal). But it should pass quickly, IF you go ahead and play around with slow flight and stalls on your own. Doing stall demo/recoveries "by the book" is good, but just flying as slow as you can, on the edge, and seeing how to maneuver well at such speeds is even better. It can be surprising what even a newbie pilot can do when the stall horn is sounding. The airplane doesn't know or care that this scares you- it's just a warning that you're getting close, and the wing, although not at its most efficient, will still fly when you are entering that airspeed/A of A zone.

Also, don't forget that the check ride is not really about air work... it's about demonstrating your ability to command the flight. Don't get too focused on stalls and all the other stuff; just make sure you can show the examiner that you have the big picture in focus. Just go up there and show that you can continue doing all the stuff you're already doing, and you're willing to keep learning, and you should do OK. :thumbsup:
 
Power-on stalls used to be awesome to me, but then after watching a video on spins, I started to get worried about them. I would be scared to do them. I became reluctant to perform and this showed, because now my power-on stalls looked like crap. The thing is, if you have the proper training, know what to do in a spin, and are confident in your abilities, you should not be afraid anymore.

I forgot who posted about power-on stalls.
 
Hate power on stalls. The pitch up is so uncomfortable and it takes so long to develop that I always get impatient and just want to be done with it. Power off stalls are fun to me but I've never gone out to practice them since my check ride on my own. Probably something I should consider doing sometime soon.

To the OP- no brainier call on the return to the ramp. I would imagine that had you taken the active and took off with a malfunctioning magneto the DPE would probably not be happy and I'd bet he'd be looking for ways to fail you. Hope the new plane works better and you have your PPL later this afternoon!
 
Hmm, coming from an era where demonstrating a spin recovery was a requirement I find the spin phobia of you youngsters to be mind boggling... It's just ANOTHER maneuver fer cripes sake... Jeez, if you are that fearful go take an hour of aerobatics with an instructor in a Citabria, or whatever... After that you will swagger across the ramp wearing dark sunglasses and gaudy coveralls with sponsor logos, to take your check ride...

And WingsIwant, better get your spouse/kids involved in the airport social scene or resistance on the home front will put a stop to your spending time and money at the airport...

ChrisK, you are doing great.. Keep it up...

And a few words about my PP checkride in the late 50's... At my field there were two FBO doing training... I picked one... When I got to the checkride it turned out the DPE was the guy at the other school... There was personal animosity between the two groups... So, whenever the DPE called for a maneuver I would get about half way through demonstrating and the DPE would take the controls growling, "Yeah, I can see you flew with Ward. Let me show you how it is supposed to be done." Out of the hour and 20 minutes flight I spent maybe 30 minutes actually holding the controls... Now the difference was that I was confident in my ability to fly having been flying my father's J3 Cub since I was 10 years old (downright cocky in fact - life has made me more humble since)... And I was used to being in charge of difficult people and I understood the dynamics of the situation...
BTW, the check ride was in a C-120, a flaming 85 horses with no flaps and a Narco radio, called the coffee grinder, with three crystals for transmit channels... The work under the hood was flown with needle/ball/airspeed and a whiskey compass...
 
Dr. O said:
Hmm, coming from an era where demonstrating a spin recovery was a requirement I find the spin phobia of you youngsters to be mind boggling... It's just ANOTHER maneuver fer cripes sake...
Click to expand...

It wasn't required for me, but I agree. Tim's comment that he wouldn't do it without an aerobatic aircraft and a parachute shocked me. They're utterly tame in a Utility-category loaded Skyhawk.

Now if Tim had said he wouldn't do it in a DA-20 where the composites had sat out in the Denver high-UV sun for ten or more years, and the thing had already had the snot spun out of it, like one of the CFIs here who's concerned about the long-term structural issues of the composites... that I can see. Or at least understand the concerns.

In some ways I feel bad for the newbies who have no avenue to even see a spin... it takes a lot of the irrational fear of them away to see them and do them.
 
My final phase check instructor had me recover from dipping wings several times (I guess that's technically an incipient spin). I can't emphasize enough how that helped quiet the spin fear. You have a lot more time to react in a 172 than you might think.
 
I find most people get themselves into trouble by taking too long to demonstrate the stall. They eeeeaaaaasseee back on the yoke for so long while the plane mushes along and they get the inevitable wing dip.

If they'd slow up as much as possible BEFORE pulling the power (landing stall) or adding power (departure stall) and then aggressively pull back to get the stall over with, they'd get a lot less wing dipping and heading excursions.

Get in & get out as fast as you can. Less time to hork something up on the checkride.

Now, to stand on the other side of the fence, it would be good practice to mush along in that semi-stalled descent while working the rudders to keep the wings level. Teaches how effective they can be. Not a maneuver for the checkride, but a skill to have nonetheless.
 
I've been holding my tounge for awhile here about the OP...

Could someone please explain how "the base leg could be in a front to the point of climbing with the power off"?

What does that mean, what super local weather phenomenon could cause that, how would you then land when climbing on base and why on earth would anyone go do a practice checkride in those freakish weather conditions?

I've been flying for a little while and I've never seen that or even heard of it.
 
My checkride prep flight with an alternate instructor finished up as a front was moving through. The instructor made a comment during one of our last power off approaches that i was gaining lots of altitude during the base leg despite the fact that i was slightly above speed with my nose pointed down, and said that the front had moved to our location while we were on the base leg and had brought with it some surprise updrafts.

I didn't spell all of that out because explaining that one snarky comment at such length is tedious, I'm lazy, and the explanation was pretty off topic :)

Edit - as to why we would practice in those conditions, I find it best to take advantage of instructor time to help expand my envelope a bit, and the conditions were not really that bad - they were just awkward. Besides, we terminated just after that event.

My home airport often has some freak wind on 21 approach anyway (so said the DPE).
 
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Captain said:
I've been holding my tounge for awhile here about the OP...

Could someone please explain how "the base leg could be in a front to the point of climbing with the power off"?

What does that mean, what super local weather phenomenon could cause that, how would you then land when climbing on base and why on earth would anyone go do a practice checkride in those freakish weather conditions?

I've been flying for a little while and I've never seen that or even heard of it.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what that quote means, but I took my IR check ride when winds were 15G20 and at times I was climbing even with the nose 10 degrees low. Didn't bust an altitude, and passed the ride, but it was not one of my better days.
 
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