Help me study!

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Z06_Mir

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My checkride is two weeks from today. All the requirements are done and at this point I'm just polishing. The flying is pretty well polished though there are always improvements to be made. I'm taking the written on Tuesday and that's been a big struggle for me studying but I'm finally passing practice tests 100% of the time and scores are towards the 80's now. If anyone has little tips on the written I'd appreciate them.. like are the practice tests actually helping? Are they a good representation of the material that will be on the exam? I know they were with my PPL, just wanted to make sure the IFR is the same.

Now onto the scary part... the oral. I'm told my DPE is a stickler for icing - good, I can handle icing questions. But he's also a stickler for weather and planning. I can obviously plan a flight but sometimes I still need the legends to pick up symbols on the en-route or obscure ones on the approach plates... is that bad? What should I really know about weather? I know how to read the weather charts but I'm scared he'll give me some off the wall scenario that I'll have no idea about. My CFI says we're going to do a mock oral a couple days before the ride but I know it still won't be teh same because this DPE does LONG orals like 2+ hours (My PPL was that way too). I'd really hate to bust the ride on the oral portion. Any links or advice you all could give for this would help immensely.. I'm so ready to get this behind me and start building the time for my commercial! Not to mention I love flying IFR especially in busy areas like Phoenix and first trip will probably be to California :D
 
If you score more than a 70 on a written that just means you studied too hard.

- veteran of 6 writtens with the highest score being an 82 (but no fails)
 
DavidWhite said:
If you score more than a 70 on a written that just means you studied too hard.

- veteran of 6 writtens with the highest score being an 82 (but no fails)
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I doubt I'll get higher than an 85. I got an 83% on my PPL... I have no desire to be that person who gets 100% on every exam. If the IFR written goes well I'm going to go back the same day for instrument instructor exam. :yes:
 
Z06_Mir said:
I doubt I'll get higher than an 85. I got an 83% on my PPL... I have no desire to be that person who gets 100% on every exam. If the IFR written goes well I'm going to go back the same day for instrument instructor exam. :yes:
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Keep in mind, the more questions you miss on the written, the more ammo you give the DPE for questions during the oral. They know by the codes what areas you were weak on and will likely dig into those areas on the oral. Get the absolute best score you can on the written.

Good luck!
 
LDJones said:
Keep in mind, the more questions you miss on the written, the more ammo you give the DPE for questions during the oral. They know by the codes what areas you were weak on and will likely dig into those areas on the oral. Get the absolute best score you can on the written.

Good luck!
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Exactly, dont let them smell blood before it even starts...make a list of every possible question/area that makes you nervous..and study them till your blue in the face
 
99% of my issues are ADF/NDB and the questions about how long/how much fuel. The latter is simply because I don't do the calculations on my computer, but I can do them on paper so I should be fine. But I expect to bomb the ADF questions because I just don't get them.

What should I do to prep for the oral? Is there anything other than the weather of the instrument flying handbook that I should look at for weather stuff?
 
I was told that the things you need to have cold on the oral are those things that you will need operationally -- VFR cloud clearance minimums, emergency procedures, lost comms procedures, what to do in case of icing, reporting rules, etc. Everything else you should have an idea of and know where to look up. I wouldn't worry about needing to use the chart legends for less commonly used stuff. The oral is open book, you really can look things up.

The DPE is mainly making sure that you know what you're doing and that you are safe. My CFII told me that once you are signed off for the checkride, you've already passed unless you do something that makes the DPE doubt you.

I'm a little surprised though that you are already signed off before even taking the written... are you in a Part 141 school?
 
Z06_Mir said:
What should I do to prep for the oral? Is there anything other than the weather of the instrument flying handbook that I should look at for weather stuff?
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The best reference that I know of is Aviation Weather Services, AC-0045G. It has WAY more than you will need, but is the definitive reference. I uploaded it to Foreflight before my oral and used it a couple of times during the exam.
 
azure said:
I'm a little surprised though that you are already signed off before even taking the written... are you in a Part 141 school?
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My school is 141, but I'm doing it part 61. I'm not signed off for the ride, it's just scheduled. I'm guessing I'll get the sign off the day before the ride.
 
Unfortunately you cannot know everything you will be asked. There will always be something your DPE will ask you that you do not know. Bottom line treat it just like your PPL oral and you will do fine. As for the written score and what you missed, I do not remember my DPE having that information other than I passed prior to the exam, and do not remember him being much interested in it at the time of the exam. He asked me what I missed and that was it. Prior to the oral, I will be honest the best thing I did was to get a good nights sleep and not worry about it. I did a mock oral with my instructor the week before, and realized I was pretty well prepared. In my career I have taken a huge number of oral examinations the last one being for certification and given some as well , and have learned that there is no way to study for a oral examination. Unlike a written multiple choice examination where no one knows whether you guess the right answer or truly know the material, an oral examination and more so than a essay type examination, will show quite quickly whether you know the material, or not. If your DPE is a good DPE, not only will he be able to tell that quite quickly(and a lot of it has to do with nonverbal communication), but he will make sure that you are in a nonthreatening environment so that you are at your best. A lot of the DPE, and CFI's I have spoken to have told me that once you have been signed off for your checkride, it tells the DPE that your CFI feels you are ready for the certificate, and the DPE is there to confirm that more than anything else. I have gone into my checkrides with that atitude and have come out learning a lot as well. Most of remember, you are not expected to be perfect, but are expected not to make deadly mistakes and if you make a mistake to recognize it and correct it.

Do not fret, you will do well.

Doug
 
Douglas, that was an excellent summary of the things my CFII told me before my checkride... we don't by some chance have the same CFII, do we? :wink2: I agree on all points and tried to say some of the same things. But you said them better!

I was told some while ago, by a different CFII that I no longer train with, that the main reason the DPE needs your missed question codes for the oral is so he can verify that you were given instruction on those areas specifically prior to the checkride. I wondered whether the DPE would zero in on my "weak" areas but he did not. He did ask me how long my currency would last if I passed my checkride on that day, which was one of the areas I missed (and posted about here, a very strange question for which I still contend that none of the allowed answers was correct). When I answered that correctly, he didn't even touch on that area again. The other area in which I missed a question, he did not touch on during the entire oral.
 
Thanks Doug. I know I'm ready and if I wasn't he wouldn't have scheduled the ride. I'm still nervous though, just like I was on my PPL. Luckily I've flown with my DPE before, on my PPL ride and I get a lesson every month or so with him so I'm not too nervous about that. Mostly just the oral because it's so unknown.. again just like my PPL. I'm also a little nervous my airplane is gonna break because it has a track record of it... Every stage in my IFR training right at the stage check SOMETHING has gone wrong. First the spinner plate cracked, then the nosewheel bungee snapped then a fuel waterfall happened... Crossing my fingers for a mechanical free couple of weeks...

I really appreciate the advice from everyone. I need to calm down and realize that I'm ready for it and I can do it. I just feel like this ride is a lot more complex than my PPL, not to mention the airplane is moving much faster than my PPL. I just hope I don't do something really dumb like botch a landing on the ride!
 
Z06_Mir said:
99% of my issues are ADF/NDB and the questions about how long/how much fuel. The latter is simply because I don't do the calculations on my computer, but I can do them on paper so I should be fine. But I expect to bomb the ADF questions because I just don't get them.

What should I do to prep for the oral? Is there anything other than the weather of the instrument flying handbook that I should look at for weather stuff?
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Get ASA's oral exam guide. They're pretty good.
 
I passed it today... with an 87%!

11 days till the ride!
 
Z06_Mir said:
I passed it today... with an 87%!

11 days till the ride!
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Congratulations, it has been a long flight(road just did not seem appropriate) and the landing runway is in sight.

Do not worry I am sure the landing will be perfect.

Doug
 
The oral is now a situational series of questions. Your DPE will have you plan a flight and then he/she will ask questions. In my case a bit over a year ago it was a flight from The Dalles, Oregon (the airport is actually on the Washington side of the river) to my home field. You have to pay attention to the plates for The Dalles as there are obstacles on departure for one of the runways (no, I don't remember which, I don't have the plates in front of me). Remember your lost comms, he wanted to know what I would do on one of the legs if I lost comm. He changed the forecast winds at KOLM and lowered the ceiling. The only approach that was above minimums was the ILS 17, and there was a bit of a tail wind for that one. Would I have made the flight? I said 'no', he said he would. Whatever, he had bunches of hours driving F-4s in a previous life, I do not. :D I think he was looking for judgement on that one.

If you can find someone who has done the ride with the DPE you are using spend some time with them and find out what that DPE concentrates on. I was able to do that, and it helped.

Have fun. It's a stressful ride, but you'll feel SO good when it is done and you have passed.
 
Ghery said:
The oral is now a situational series of questions. Your DPE will have you plan a flight and then he/she will ask questions. In my case a bit over a year ago it was a flight from The Dalles, Oregon (the airport is actually on the Washington side of the river) to my home field. You have to pay attention to the plates for The Dalles as there are obstacles on departure for one of the runways (no, I don't remember which, I don't have the plates in front of me). Remember your lost comms, he wanted to know what I would do on one of the legs if I lost comm. He changed the forecast winds at KOLM and lowered the ceiling. The only approach that was above minimums was the ILS 17, and there was a bit of a tail wind for that one. Would I have made the flight? I said 'no', he said he would. Whatever, he had bunches of hours driving F-4s in a previous life, I do not. :D I think he was looking for judgement on that one.

If you can find someone who has done the ride with the DPE you are using spend some time with them and find out what that DPE concentrates on. I was able to do that, and it helped.

Have fun. It's a stressful ride, but you'll feel SO good when it is done and you have passed.
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I actually took my private ride with him too, and I was one of his first rides with the new "situational" thing back in June. (The new PTS was implemented on June 1st, my ride was the 6th) so I'm fairly familiar with that and not nervous about those parts. There are two other females at my school doing instrument stuff but I'm the first one to get to the ride so I don't know anyone immediately that has taken this one recently with him. He's a good guy, I've flown with him a few times before and I'll fly with him 1 more time before the ride (part 61 FTW!) but he has his picky spots. I keep thinking about things I'm not sure of... like I haven't flown a DME Arc in awhile... I need to brush up on weather... I need to get all the little things in line... I need to make a neat book of my VOR checks etc. Only 8 days away... I hope the ride is short, like under 2 hours. I know the oral is going to be 2 if not more.
 
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