don't forget ARROW!

[scit106]

I landed at Clow (1C5) to meet Grant for lunch, and as I am climbing out of the plane, I am confronted with a shiny card that says FAA in big blue letters. "Hi, I'm from the FAA. Can I see your pilot's license?" I handed over my pilot's license, dug out my medical, and the airworthiness and registration certs. He took down a few notes, we exchanged a few remarks, and he was on his way. I've heard some people with thousands of hours say they had never been ramp checked before, and here I am with 150 getting ramp checked. It was handled just fine: polite, courteous, etc. Sitting in the restaurant, we then watched him check a few other planes as they came in.

the interesting bit of the story is, as I was preflighting the airplane, I happened to realize that I didn't know where the POH was. I called a few people and fortunately found it, but imagine if I hadn't realized that I didn't know where it was and I was ramp checked... that would have been real bad...
Moral of the story: Make sure you have your documents, and know exactly where they are should you be ramp checked.

 

[skyflyer8]

I was ramp checked yesterday for the first time ever, in the last place I'd expect, right here at Brennand Airport (79C) - one of the tiniest airports in WI, privately-owned, public-use, and generally very quiet.

The FAA guy spent a few hours here ramp checking everyone who pulled a plane outside or landed.

 

[ScottM]

I landed at Clow (1C5) to meet Grant for lunch, and as I am climbing out of the plane, I am confronted with a shiny card that says FAA in big blue letters. "Hi, I'm from the FAA. Can I see your pilot's license?"

I would have responded that I don't have a pilot's LICENSE and waited to see the look on his face.

Glad I was running a bit late and did not get to stop at Clow today for lunch.

 

[AdamZ]

I would have responded that I don't have a pilot's LICENSE and waited to see the look on his face.

Glad I was running a bit late and did not get to stop at Clow today for lunch.

Ok that right there was funny Scott.

 

[EdFred]

Scott beat me to it.

 

[wsuffa]

I was ramp checked yesterday for the first time ever, in the last place I'd expect, right here at Brennand Airport (79C) - one of the tiniest airports in WI, privately-owned, public-use, and generally very quiet.

The FAA guy spent a few hours here ramp checking everyone who pulled a plane outside or landed.

Wonder if this (and the Clow ramp check) is a knee-jerk to the Congressional heat on Southwest Airlines.....

 

[poadeleted20]

I would have responded that I don't have a pilot's LICENSE and waited to see the look on his face.

Glad I was running a bit late and did not get to stop at Clow today for lunch.

Yeah -- with an answer like that to get the ball rolling, it would have been a real interesting ramp check to watch.

 

[poadeleted20]

Wonder if this (and the Clow ramp check) is a knee-jerk to the Congressional heat on Southwest Airlines.....

No, just normal square-filling by the FSDO Inspectors -- they have to do so many a month and fill out a report showing whether or not they met their goal on this and a bunch of other performance metrics designed to show if they're doing their job.

 

[Baron 55]

Yeah, we have a couple in our area [inspectors, I mean] who will "dress down" on a Saturday or Sunday [day off for them] and fool around on the ramp as if they are just fooling around. Sidle up to you as you get out to put on the tiedown chains. "So, how's the turbulence up there today, I'm trying to decide whether to go." Or whatever. Then they ramp check you. Regulars at the airport are on to them, though it isn't a big deal anyhow. Once I asked one of them whether he didn't have anything better to do on his day off [I said it jokingly], and he said, nope, every now and then he'd catch someone with a "problem" and it made his day. Once I was hired to train a salesman at an FBO for his multi so he could demo twins to clients [they sold Beech]. I climbed into a brand-new Baron, 3.6 hr. on the Hobbs, fresh from Wichita, and found no registration. We didn't go on that first lesson. The sales dept. was a bit ticked off at me. They got hold of a reg' later that day, and we made the flight. When we landed at the end of the lesson, we got ramp checked. The salesman-multi-student was pretty impressed.

 

[scit106]

I would have responded that I don't have a pilot's LICENSE and waited to see the look on his face.

indeed, it crossed my mind, but i decided i would rather like to keep my certificate.