I never fail anything...until today

FLYGUYRY

FLYGUYRY

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Ryan_M
Failed my instrument written by one yes ONE friggin question. I feel like an idiot, no idea how that happened I was getting mid 80's on all practice exams (exams for pilots and the Sportys iPad app). Only thing I can think is that because I had a miserable day at work before the test I wasn't able to focus as much as I needed and I paid the price.


grrrrrrrrr

there goes my career as an airline pilot!

kidding....hopefully :(
 
The two friends I watched getting the IR both failed the check ride. Each was a Phd geneticist, one was chair of my department. Don't dwell on the past, move forward and get it done.
 
FLYGUYRY said:
Failed my instrument written by one yes ONE friggin question. I feel like an idiot, no idea how that happened I was getting mid 80's on all practice exams (exams for pilots and the Sportys iPad app). Only thing I can think is that because I had a miserable day at work before the test I wasn't able to focus as much as I needed and I paid the price.


grrrrrrrrr

there goes my career as an airline pilot!

kidding....hopefully :(
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I was always told that you will usually get 10-15 points below what you score on the practice tests. I was getting 90-95 on my ppl practice exams and when I went in for the actual test I made a 85. The nervousness of taking a test will always degrade your thinking ability significantly.
 
FLYGUYRY said:
Failed my instrument written by one yes ONE friggin question. I feel like an idiot, no idea how that happened I was getting mid 80's on all practice exams (exams for pilots and the Sportys iPad app). Only thing I can think is that because I had a miserable day at work before the test I wasn't able to focus as much as I needed and I paid the price.
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What questions did you miss?
Exams4Pilots is woefully out of date for IR (and CP).
 
I did Shepard and passed... you essentially are just studying the test.
 
mtuomi said:
What questions did you miss?
Exams4Pilots is woefully out of date for IR (and CP).
Click to expand...


There were quite a few questions on GPS topics that I had never seen before, in (no joke) probably 20 practice exams on the Sportys app. I think I missed quite a few of those because of the way the questions were phrased.

I hear a lot of good things about Shepard I think I'll just do that for a few weeks and then try again.

Mostly just upset because now a failure goes in my permanent record, I'm just not the type of person who normally fails things so hit me pretty hard. But like steingar said, no point looking back. Just gotta nail it next time.
 
FLYGUYRY said:
There were quite a few questions on GPS topics that I had never seen before, in (no joke) probably 20 practice exams on the Sportys app. I think I missed quite a few of those because of the way the questions were phrased.

I hear a lot of good things about Shepard I think I'll just do that for a few weeks and then try again.

Mostly just upset because now a failure goes in my permanent record, I'm just not the type of person who normally fails things so hit me pretty hard. But like steingar said, no point looking back. Just gotta nail it next time.
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None of those have the complete set of questions available - knowing the material is the best way to study. The apps are ok to remember some of the trick questions. But they've changed a lot of the questions to be close, but not quite, as what they were before - and I'm sure this catches people who just try to cram the material from question banks.

I don't think anyone cares if you fail a written once, just don't turn that into a habit. I think you need to re-evaluate the way you study if you miss questions because you've never seen them before in practice exams. 20 Practice exams sounds like a lot and I don't know if they really help with the IR material. You really need to understand the IF handbook and Instrument Procedures book.
 
mtuomi said:
None of those have the complete set of questions available - knowing the material is the best way to study. The apps are ok to remember some of the trick questions. But they've changed a lot of the questions to be close, but not quite, as what they were before - and I'm sure this catches people who just try to cram the material from question banks.

I don't think anyone cares if you fail a written once, just don't turn that into a habit. I think you need to re-evaluate the way you study if you miss questions because you've never seen them before in practice exams. 20 Practice exams sounds like a lot and I don't know if they really help with the IR material. You really need to understand the IF handbook and Instrument Procedures book.
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Yeah I agree, really nobody to blame but myself. I do think that my instructor relied too much on me getting all the necessary material from my college ground class, which quite honestly was a joke. We spent one class going over the entire instrument procedures book which was assigned reading in-between two classes. Instead we wasted god only knows how much time having each person in the class brief an approach chart in front of the class.

I definitely should have asked for some extra ground time from my instructor, honestly feel like it was all kind of rushed because he scheduled my check ride right at the end of the semester (I work full time, I go to school full time, was in both instrument and commercial ground school, and try to fly 3x a week). I almost told him to push the check ride back but I thought I would be able to crush it all out since I am used to being slightly overwhelmed. First time my confidence has bit me in the rear! But at least I will learn something from it. I just bought Sheppard Air so I'm going to crush that out and go over instrument procedures/instrument flying material with my instructor and then go crush this thing in a couple weeks.
 
Just make sure if they refer you to a chart or approach plate the answer is in there somewhere. When I took the test I bet I spent 10 min looking at the dumb approach plate for the answer. Grrrr knew it was there somewhere.
 
saracelica said:
Just make sure if they refer you to a chart or approach plate the answer is in there somewhere. When I took the test I bet I spent 10 min looking at the dumb approach plate for the answer. Grrrr knew it was there somewhere.
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Oh that was the other thing that really got on my nerves, one of the approach plate questions the bloody image was so bad I could barely read it, same with one of the weather maps.
 
I know you don't want to hear this but you failed by 32 points. . . it was not 'one' question. I would conclude you need more training or more study. I'm not trying to be a a-hole - but you should be scoring in the 90's on this test. . . .
 
comanchepilot said:
I know you don't want to hear this but you failed by 32 points. . . it was not 'one' question. I would conclude you need more training or more study. I'm not trying to be a a-hole - but you should be scoring in the 90's on this test. . . .
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There is an element of luck as well with these tests. There's always the possibility to get a few "WTF" questions that aren't about something anyone really studies for (such as the classic "what's the height of the tropopause over the Pacific in this weather map no-one uses anymore"). Knowing the material enough, you'll score easily in the 80's.
Key point is - no-one fails because they got unlucky with the questions, but someone might get a 80 and then 90 right after that, depending on which questions you'll get.
 
comanchepilot said:
I know you don't want to hear this but you failed by 32 points. . . it was not 'one' question. I would conclude you need more training or more study. I'm not trying to be a a-hole - but you should be scoring in the 90's on this test. . . .
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road to hell is paved with good intentions.....
 
FLYGUYRY said:
Yeah I agree, really nobody to blame but myself. I do think that my instructor relied too much on me getting all the necessary material from my college ground class, which quite honestly was a joke. We spent one class going over the entire instrument procedures book which was assigned reading in-between two classes. Instead we wasted god only knows how much time having each person in the class brief an approach chart in front of the class.

I definitely should have asked for some extra ground time from my instructor, honestly feel like it was all kind of rushed because he scheduled my check ride right at the end of the semester (I work full time, I go to school full time, was in both instrument and commercial ground school, and try to fly 3x a week). I almost told him to push the check ride back but I thought I would be able to crush it all out since I am used to being slightly overwhelmed. First time my confidence has bit me in the rear! But at least I will learn something from it. I just bought Sheppard Air so I'm going to crush that out and go over instrument procedures/instrument flying material with my instructor and then go crush this thing in a couple weeks.
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The advice you'll get here will mostly go to the "tough love"-category. But WTH is that. Round-robin approach briefings? :D And that at a college ground class? That's just bad. Really bad. What a massive waste of money to pay for that crap.

Whatever you do, do NOT try to get through the commercial written that way...
 
mtuomi said:
The advice you'll get here will mostly go to the "tough love"-category. But WTH is that. Round-robin approach briefings? :D And that at a college ground class? That's just bad. Really bad. What a massive waste of money to pay for that crap.

Whatever you do, do NOT try to get through the commercial written that way...
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Oh I fully expected that, I can take criticism. Like I said I have nobody to blame but myself, I should have spoke up and said I wasn't quite ready but again..lessons learned.

Yeah the school is kind of a joke, they have good intentions but the resources (mostly personnel) just aren't there. I already have my degree so the only reason I'm going back to "school" is because it's the only way I can use my GI Bill. I'm glad I'm not the only one (outside of the class) who thought that was pointless. I get it, we need to know HOW to brief an approach and those of us going to the airlines are going to have to brief one in an interview, but the amount of time wasted on that makes me shudder.
 
comanchepilot said:
I know you don't want to hear this but you failed by 32 points. . . it was not 'one' question. I would conclude you need more training or more study. I'm not trying to be a a-hole - but you should be scoring in the 90's on this test. . . .
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That's true and that's certainly one way to look at it. I'm not making excuses but, if we are all going to be honest here most of us know some of those questions are useless and knowing the answer has absolutely no bearing on the type of instrument pilot you will be. But yes I should have known my stuff good enough to pass I get it, at the same time had I simply answered ONE more question right this thread would read a lot different ;)
 
FLYGUYRY said:
....Mostly just upset because now a failure goes in my permanent record, I'm just not the type of person who normally fails things so hit me pretty hard. But like steingar said, no point looking back. Just gotta nail it next time.
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What permanent record..?? The same one from grade school..??

I failed my instrument and my ATP rides on the first try. I have even been fired from a job, or two. Move on and move up.
 
+1 for SheppardAir.

The memory aid sheet is worth the price alone.... I was able,to recreate it on to a blank sheet before I started answering questions. A big majority of the questions I got were on this memorized sheet.
 
FLYGUYRY said:
Failed my instrument written by one yes ONE friggin question. I feel like an idiot, no idea how that happened I was getting mid 80's on all practice exams (exams for pilots and the Sportys iPad app). Only thing I can think is that because I had a miserable day at work before the test I wasn't able to focus as much as I needed and I paid the price.


grrrrrrrrr

there goes my career as an airline pilot!

kidding....hopefully :(
Click to expand...

Meh, it's a written, no one cares.

That said if this is really your first failure in life, you need to push your self harder, ride the edge a little harder.
 
****ing up and failing are two different things.

But if medocracy is all you desire, guess you could pull it off never failing.


"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
 
James331 said:
****ing up and failing are two different things.

But if medocracy is all you desire, guess you could pull it off never failing.


"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
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I agree with you James. I was being sarcastic and just messing with you. You really should pay more attention to the nonverbal cues present while I'm posting.
 
James331 said:
Meh, it's a written, no one cares.

That said if this is really your first failure in life, you need to push your self harder, ride the edge a little harder.
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Trust me my life has been anything but mediocre ;)

anyways of course I have failed things before, I guess what I mean is I never fail anything important that I set my mind to (at least in my adult life)

But I suppose it's not as big a deal as failing a ride.
 
Are you racing to check off the boxes? Or are you taking time to smell the rosebuds of knowledge? Which kind of pilot would you want flying you places, one who took shortcuts to the left seat or one trained through deliberate practice? I hope the "lessons" learned here are you want to be the latter and to shuck the former when it comes to piloting. As they say, "Becoming an expert is a marathon, not a sprint." When you launch into serious IFR conditions, do you want to be less than an expert?

dtuuri
 
It's a great thing to be humbled once in a while.
Stand tall, try hard and you'll achieve your goals.
 
FLYGUYRY said:
Oh that was the other thing that really got on my nerves, one of the approach plate questions the bloody image was so bad I could barely read it, same with one of the weather maps.
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There used to be a question about an MSA on an approach plate that was very clearly readable EXCEPT for that particular MSA, which was completely illegible. I never understood the point to that question, always thought it was devised by a sadist. Fortunately, by the time I took the written, the plate had been corrected. (And yes, I got that question.)

That said, I agree with Comanchepilot. Missing one, two, or even five questions is not a big deal, but a sub-70 score is not because you missed one or two questions. It pretty much means that you don't know the material. Buckle down and study!
 
Yes the test has annoying and poorly worded questions and virtually everyone misses a few because of them, but let's be frank here if you got a sub 70 score you just don't know the material well enough. It doesn't make you a bad person, just go learn the material better and take the test again. No big deal.
 
I was getting in the high 80s on the IFR practice tests and got an 87 on the real one. I got a question about currency in an FTD (where unusual attitude recovery is required) and had simply not come across that in my studies. I am sure there are lots of obscure ones like that on the test. On my private test I got one about which office to contact in the event of a drunk driving arrest which was the same level of obscurity (I don't drink anyway).

Missing a couple like this happens to everyone but missing enough to get 68 just means you were not ready to take the test. A few years from now you won't care and neither will anyone else.
 
Of those who used and recommend Sheppard Air, how long ago was that? Took the IR Knowledge two weeks ago after using King course and their practice tests and did well but only because I was compelled not to study just for the exam. Most questions were NOT replicates of those in practice exams from King, which I suspect run quite parallel to Sheppard. The exam was revamped earlier this year - suspect Sheppard, King, Sporty, etc are still lagging behind trying to replicate the exam.
 
I just used Sheppard Air for Fundamentals of Instructing and Flight Instructor - Airplane within the last month. Got 96 and 100 respectively.

That was preceded, however, by reading the Aviation Instructor's Handbook cover-to-cover a couple times and taking extensive notes.
 
Sorry to say, but with all the tools out there failing a written is hard to do.

Truly if you want the IR you will need to put a significant amount of effort into it. Getting 80's on practice writtens isn't close imo.

Sorry to be the teller of hard truth.
Good luck.
 
If you are headed to the airlines, this is the test you want to score high on because you know the material. An airline interview hits IFR principals, rules, and procedures hard, because that's what you WILL-NOT get in a 121 training program. You are expected to know it on day one.
 
Sheppard Air. Study hard for a week. Retake. I scored a 98. You will easily pass it if you follow their instructions. Go and get the other study guides as well amd save a few bucks if you plan on a career.
 
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