it's like I've never flown before....

eman1200

eman1200

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Mar 10, 2013
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Oakland, CA
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Bro do you even lift
Started the pre-checkride practice (the 3 hour req) and for lack of better terminology, I sucked at all the maneuvers. F- on steep turns, C+ on the rest. I'm trying to look at the positives...basically that I was introduced to steep turns like 3 months ago and haven't done them since. Oh well, I guess that's why they call it practice, but it was a little discouraging.
 
Prepping for your checkride is nothing more than flying every day possible for as long as you can afford / stomach and pounding out landings and maneuvers. Don't sweat it - just push through as much as you can and fly as often as possible. It'll come back together quickly enough.

And - i'm going to get blasted for saying this - your standards are probably a lot tighter than PTS standards =)
 
I'm right there with ya eman, and I went up last night and MAYBE graded myself a 'C' on my steep turns, totally fubar'd a soft-field landing, but then had some good moments on a short-field landing, stalls, and an emergency landing. Keeping advice from the forum to "Trim, Trim, and then Trim" helped stabilize some of my approaches. To end the day, my CFI cut power when I was overflying the airport getting ready to descend to the southwest and prepare to enter the 45 left downwind for 28. I was able to nail 75 kts, turn left, create somewhat of a downwind leg and then make the hairpin/teardrop turn back and nail my landing on 28... (YESSSSSS!!)

In the end, give yourself credit for the positives and work on the negatives. Even a "somewhat" bad day of flying is better than work, right? We won't talk about the "real" bad days of flying that we'd all like to avoid...

Best of luck!
 
ChrisK said:
.....And - i'm going to get blasted for saying this - your standards are probably a lot tighter than PTS standards =)
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no blasting here.......I'm shooting for tolerances within 'a couple of feet', not +-100 feet. not that I hit those #'s, but that's what I'm shooting for.
 
PBristolJr said:
What defines an F- on steep turns?
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not even making a full 360 degree turn. I'll be honest, I actually wasn't feeling great yesterday when we went out, and when we finally got to steep turns, I let the nose drop, then really started feeling the load, and quit the maneuver. I said let's hit these again next time when I'm 100%
 
Some days are diamonds, some days are coal.

After a 3 month layoff give your self a couple of flights to get back in the saddle. The fact that you were critical of your performance tells me you are on your way to becoming a good aviator. :D
 
My advice is to keep fighting through even when the maneuver is (in your mind) starting to go badly. The test standards are more generous than what we mentally give ourselves. If you feel the nose dropping, fix it. If you're about to turn more than 360 degrees, stop turning, etc...

If you're like me, you'll over practice your "weak" points. I 100% nailed the maneuvers I was most concerned with on the practical and proceeded to screw up a couple that had always seemed easy. :mad2: And the screw up was only when judged by my standards. I still passed. :)

eman1200 said:
not even making a full 360 degree turn. I'll be honest, I actually wasn't feeling great yesterday when we went out, and when we finally got to steep turns, I let the nose drop, then really started feeling the load, and quit the maneuver. I said let's hit these again next time when I'm 100%
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Don't sweat it. Your cfi won't send you for your check ride if he's not sure you will pass. I had the same problems right before my check ride. I even blew my first steep turn during the test but luckily the DPE noticed "the sun was in my eyes" so I got another shot!
 
I felt like that yesterday. Just the threat of a possible solo must have sent me over the edge. I couldn't do anything right and I was simply doing pattern work and landings/ go arounds. The wind picked up and switched directions twice so I eventually figured I wasn't going to solo but I could never pull it together. And just the day before I nailed everything like I'd been flying my whole life.
 
What I learned on my checkride was that my CFI was right. :) What you feel the most comfortable with is probably what you'll screw up. But, the good news is - unless you scare the beejezus out of the DPE or even worse, he feels like he has to take control you'll probably be alright provided you are doing well overall.

In my case, I had never had a problem with slow flight - could transition to it easily with any power/flap setting and stick the altitude. I'd trim it up and sputter along at 50kts or so with my hands off the yoke. I completely butchered it during my checkride - was so bad starting it off that my DPE actually asked me if I knew what controlled altitude. I was a couple hundred feet off in my transition and thought if there was an opportunity to call it - this was it. But, the ride was going really well and a few minutes prior he had just gone out of his way to commend me on my handling of the diversion. So, hang in there. The PPL checkride is not about finesse flying or perfection. It's about good decision making, situational awareness and safety.

Have your mind right, a good nights sleep, don't hurry yourself the morning/day of your ride and you'll be fine.
 
eman1200 said:
Started the pre-checkride practice (the 3 hour req) and for lack of better terminology, I sucked at all the maneuvers. F- on steep turns, C+ on the rest. I'm trying to look at the positives...basically that I was introduced to steep turns like 3 months ago and haven't done them since. Oh well, I guess that's why they call it practice, but it was a little discouraging.
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This is exactly something that has been bothering me lately. Every time I learn a new maneuver (for example steep turns), I spend the day doing them.. do them terrible at first.. then by the end of the flight I am confident in my ability. During the next flight we move onto something new and don't really revisit the previous stuff. Some things are done every time (like clearing turns) but the more specific stuff is not repeated. I am worried that I am just going to forget how to do everything...
 
joeparrilla said:
This is exactly something that has been bothering me lately. Every time I learn a new maneuver (for example steep turns), I spend the day doing them.. do them terrible at first.. then by the end of the flight I am confident in my ability. During the next flight we move onto something new and don't really revisit the previous stuff. Some things are done every time (like clearing turns) but the more specific stuff is not repeated. I am worried that I am just going to forget how to do everything...
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This is why the CFI has you spend practice time at the end. My "review" flights before the test occurred mid-August at 3pm here in the desert. Pretty much all the maneuvers were horrible due to heat, thermals and highwind. On test day, it was a morning exam and overcast ... all altitudes were dead on.

The previous statement about blowing something easy is true. DPE almost got me with a distraction on first takeoff during rotation (short field) asking how I was going to announce CTAF, Open flight plan and contact nearby Class C and attain flight following. Instead of telling him to standby, I began answering ... then realized I still had flaps deployed and cleaned it up FAST!
 
danhagan said:
DPE almost got me with a distraction on first takeoff...
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Same here. I swear the DPE had talked to the ground controller before the ride as she was hammering me on my taxi out. Even my DPE said, "She's very inquisitive...". Anyway, I did my ride at a class D airport just south and outside of the DFW class B - but a fairly busy airport with a lot of taxiway construction and such going on. Anyway, as I was taxiing she asked me to tell her when I was ready for my clearance. I responded to her that I'll get back with her once I finish my run-up. My DPE immediately said, "Nicely done".

They'll very casually try to distract you many times. I'd answer when I felt comfortable but several times I asked him to stand-by. As a part of my passenger briefing I mentioned 'sterile cockpit' and that the only communication I want to hear during takeoff and landing is if you see something that is going to jeopardize our safety (another plane, etc...).

They love that stuff.
 
OP aren't you the same guy who was crying about not being able to flair and land? If that's you, then you sure are full of can't instead of can.

A member here or somewhere has a signature that says " whether you think you can or cannot do a thing, you're right."

I'm just giving you a kick in the ass because you sound like a whiny little *****. Now go out and fly! And hold your altitude in those turns! ;)
 
PBristolJr said:
What defines an F- on steep turns?
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Frankly, if you didn't stall or put yourself into an "unusual attitude," it's not an F-.

We all have bad days. And when you're new at something, the rust forms really fast.
 
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I was told that the flight right before the checkride will be the worst ever. Boy was my cfi right and I'm glad I got that flight out of the way. Checkride was good. You will do fine. Just relax and do what you have been doing. You will do great.
 
txflyer said:
OP aren't you the same guy who was crying about not being able to flair and land? If that's you, then you sure are full of can't instead of can.

A member here or somewhere has a signature that says " whether you think you can or cannot do a thing, you're right."

I'm just giving you a kick in the ass because you sound like a whiny little *****. Now go out and fly! And hold your altitude in those turns! ;)
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I don't hate you for this feedback, cause it sounds like something that I would say, except 1) I never said I "can't", I just said I sucked at it yesterday, and 2) I DID mention that it had been about 3 months since the last time I did those maneuvers, and the point of my post was that it was like starting all over again.
 
eman1200 said:
I don't hate you for this feedback, cause it sounds like something that I would say, except 1) I never said I "can't", I just said I sucked at it yesterday, and 2) I DID mention that it had been about 3 months since the last time I did those maneuvers, and the point of my post was that it was like starting all over again.
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Hate, anger, being ****ed off, that's good. :yes:

You can use that. It makes you feel alive and want to do something about it right?

Now go fly and quit making excuses.
 
I made a thread very similar to this during my 3 hour "prep" period. I passed my checkride 3 days later. Don't sweat it.
 
You're just knocking off the rust. Hang in there. I need to work on slow flight before my check ride. Haven't practiced that for some time.
 
e5epa9ap.jpg

We know you can do it.
 
LOL.

so, quick update I guess since this was revived...

been practicing all the maneuvers (pre checkride req) and made pretty good progress on the steep turns. still need a little more work but what I like to see is the quicker progress at something as opposed to the slooow progess you may see early on in your training. 1st return to steep turns sucked, 2nd was 'ok', 3rd was pretty good. I'm willing to bet the 4th will be to PTS.

got the written out of the way, lesson scheduled for tomorrow, where I'm sure we'll discuss scheduling the checkride WOOT!
 
Well, for whatever it's worth, just before my checkride, I was dreading steep turns. During practice I routinely lost or gained more than 200 feet. I was sure they were going to be my downfall during the checkride. To my surprise, my DPE asked me to do those first, and I nailed them. Maybe I just got lucky, but what a relief. The rest of the checkride seemed like a breeze. I guess the point is, don't sweat this stuff too much. When it comes time for the checkride, you'll probably do much better than you think you will.
 
I did the same thing the week before my checkride. Almost cancelled over it. My instructor told me take two days off, do not even think about flying or planes and get my mind somewhere else. After that I went in for a practice ride and nailed every maneuver. Sometimes you get yourself too wound up and need to take a break, I think it's a analysis paralysis situation.
 
I concur with taking a break.

I had trouble with steep turns, did some other things, didn't fly for over a week due to weather. Returned and took a practice check ride... and flew steep turns like I'd never even had trouble with them.
 
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