Passed the private pilot written exam!!!

jdennis1989

jdennis1989

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jdennis1989
Yesterday I finally took the private pilot written exam and passed! My question is how hard is the check ride going to be compared to the test? My instructor told me that the guy he uses for his students doesn't fail people very often and that he views the private pilot certificate as a license to learn. So the biggest thing I was stressing over was the written. Now that I passed that, I am stressed over the check ride(which I will schedule after 1 or 2 more lessons) I have read a few horror stories and have heard from others about it being really easy. Should I be stressed over the check ride more or less than the written?
 
Congrats. Don't focus on what can go wrong on the check ride. Keep a positive attitude and you'll be fine. Good luck.
 
I got a 97% on my written. The oral was considerably more in depth (mine lasted about 2.5 to 3 hours). My flight test was 2.1 on the Hobbs and was also fairly intense. I thought the order of difficulty (from hardest to easiest) was:

Flight - Oral - Written
 
Look at the Private Pilot PTS to get an idea of the various topics the examiner can test you on during your oral-your CFI should also be putting you through one or more mock oral exams. Just remember that unlike the written, the oral is more of a practical (hence the name, practical test) discussion about flying than it is a series of questions and answers. The FAA has been pushing for the exams to be more scenario based than they previously were, so instead of the examiner asking you something like, "Do you pick an odd or even numbered altitude when flying westbound?" he or she might ask, "Why did you pick 8,500 as your cruise altitude for todays flight to ABC?" while looking over your cross country plan. Essentially, scenario based testing test's the same knowlege, but forces the applicant to demonstrate an understanding of the subject rather than spewing off rote answers.
 
Congrats! Check ride is not to bad. Remember you can always take it again.:)
 
Congrats on passing the written!!

To be honest with you my practical test was insanely easy. My examiner was awesome and put me at ease before we even got started with the ground. You will do great. I recommend buying a private pilot oral guide. If you study one of those cover to cover and make sure you have a generally good understanding of sectional charts, you won't have a single problem with the ground portion. The flying portion is the fun part.
WOO FIRST POST
 
Congrats...

in order of difficulty for me was, Oral (hardest/most intense) Flight, written ( I got an 86)

Oral was hardest because I stressed about it the most.
 
My advice is listen to your instructor when it comes to checkride prep. He likely knows what the DPE is going to be like based on prior checkride debriefings. If your instructor says, "old Joe likes to see you _____", then do ______ even if isn't necessarily what's in the AIM. I'm not saying to break any regs but you'll make life easier on yourself if you don't start WWIII over minutia. I didn't get sucked into WWIII but I think I heard distant gunfire once or twice. Listen to your CFI.

In order of difficulty for me, Flying, <big gap>, written, oral. YMMV

jdennis1989 said:
Yesterday I finally took the private pilot written exam and passed! My question is how hard is the check ride going to be compared to the test? My instructor told me that the guy he uses for his students doesn't fail people very often and that he views the private pilot certificate as a license to learn. So the biggest thing I was stressing over was the written. Now that I passed that, I am stressed over the check ride(which I will schedule after 1 or 2 more lessons) I have read a few horror stories and have heard from others about it being really easy. Should I be stressed over the check ride more or less than the written?
Click to expand...
 
The flight portion of the exam should be the least stressful item you have to deal with... your instructor most likely won't even allow you to take the check ride until he's certain you'll pass it.

Congrats!
 
jdennis1989 said:
......I have read a few horror stories and have heard from others about it being really easy. Should I be stressed over the check ride more or less than the written?
Click to expand...

hard to say 'more or less', I was a nervous wreck for all, but I'll say this.........practice the maneuvers as if you actually want to learn how to do them correctly and safely (not just to pass the checkride). as others have said, the PTS will tell you the exact standards in which you have to do them in order to pass. once YOU feel comfortable that you're within standards, the checkride shouldn't be too difficult, ie no surprises.
hard to tell someone not to be stressed out for something, but the most likely outcome is after your checkride you'll be laughing about how over-stressed you were for it.
 
The oral part of the check ride has changed since I took it in 2001. Back then it was basically a free-for-all. The DPE could ask random questions about a wide range of subjects. Some you had to know from memory, others you would look up (know where to look).

Since then the oral has gone more to a scenario based Q&A session. When I took my IR ride a couple years ago the DPE had me plan (in advance) a flight. He then asked a range of questions that covered the flight, threw in changes in weather or communications and then wanted to know how that would impact my conduct of the flight. I suspect that the private oral has gone that direction, as well. The CFIs here can better comment on that.

As to whether the ride (including oral) is more difficult than the written, let me say that they are different. You know what you did to prepare for the written. Study, study, study. For the check ride (including oral) you will fly, fly, fly. Much more fun. Study, too. Know the PTS and what you need to know. And if your CFI has had experience with this DPE before your CFI should be able to prepare you for the oral part. Find out who has used this DPE before and see what they experienced. DPEs don't reinvent the wheel for each applicant. I did that for my IR ride and it was very helpful.

Then, look at Ron's check-ride advice on this board (it's a sticky) and follow it. Remember that as long as you don't hear the DPE say you failed, you haven't. I really enjoyed that final approach (VMC, foggles off) to land at the end of the IR ride. I knew at that point that all I had to do was land that 172 without bending anything and I had it made.

Enjoy.
 
Most DPEs and virtually every instructor seem to treat the private pilot certificate as a "license to learn." The point is to make sure you're safe, not perfect. That's for the ATP certificate.

That's the reality. Now, you're going to play some nasty games with your own head. We all did. That makes it stressful.

So, the answer is, you shouldn't stress about the check ride -- your instructor wouldn't sign you off if he didn't think you would pass (as this reflects poorly on him). But you're going to stress about it anyway.

If it helps, you can read my check ride writeup, though it's a few years old now. One from your DPE would probably be more useful, as they all have quirks of one sort or another.

http://studentpilot.com/interact/forum/showthread.php?41048-I-m-a-private-pilot-now-(really-long)
 
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