PE or DPE for PPL checkride?

The DPE I used is a 737 Captain for Delta. He's also a Citation Captain for a charter company.

I had to reschedule my checkride for weather and for the new date I picked he said he could probably do it but he was the standby captain for a charter and there was maybe a 20% chance he'd have to pick up a human heart and fly it back to Logan. I figured that was a really good excuse!

He's one of these guys that just lives and breathes aviation. Great guy. He charged $400 for the checkride which is pretty standard around here.
 
azblackbird said:
Hiring a freelance designated pilot examiner (DPE) whom you pay cash to, or trying to schedule a real FAA guy (PE) from an FSDO who is free and can conduct your checkride. Which would be preferred?
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Depends on how much you like to sweat (haha). I've done CFI ride with an FAA Inspector and another with a DPE. I though both went fine. There was nothing wrong with the FAA guy for my initial. I would use either. I do my renewals with a check-ride with a DPE. That way I reset my FR and IPC with my CFI renewal. Though I don't think it's a wide-spread issue, some DPEs can abuse their situation. One of my instrument students told me of a DPE in an upper Midwest state would "guarantee" your pass if you paid him to teach the check-ride beforehand, then would have your CFI sign you off, then get paid again to do the check-ride.
 
MassPilot said:
The DPE I used is a 737 Captain for Delta. He's also a Citation Captain for a charter company.

I had to reschedule my checkride for weather and for the new date I picked he said he could probably do it but he was the standby captain for a charter and there was maybe a 20% chance he'd have to pick up a human heart and fly it back to Logan. I figured that was a really good excuse!

He's one of these guys that just lives and breathes aviation. Great guy. He charged $400 for the checkride which is pretty standard around here.
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Veteran airline pilots are good DPEs in my experience.
 
flyingron said:
I didn't use either. I was at a part 141 school with examining authority so I went up with their chief pilot (the one authorized).

As pointed out, the FAA has been shedding actual doing work for as long as I have been flying. The FAA employees tend to limit themselves to initial CFI rides, medical flight checks, and 709's. They direct you to the local monopoly of politically connected DPEs approved. It's a corrupt system, but that's the way it is.

You won't tend to get an inspector to do any inspecting work these days either. You'll be directed to a DER.

It's a bad scene. The FAA tells you to go use a private entity so they don't have to do work, but they won't set up a system of fair and open private enterprise for the creation of those entities.
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You sound like you have a grudge against the FAA. Why so bitter?
 
SbestCFII said:
Veteran airline pilots are good DPEs in my experience.
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The DPE for my checkride was an airline captain. Great guy. And the funniest part? It had been a long time since he'd done a checkride at this particular school. In the meantime, they had acquired some "new" planes. I pull out the logs for the plane and his eyes got big... Turned out that the plane we were flying was his first plane. He had bought it brand new in the late 90's.
 
SbestCFII said:
One of my instrument students told me of a DPE in an upper Midwest state would "guarantee" your pass if you paid him to teach the check-ride beforehand, then would have your CFI sign you off, then get paid again to do the check-ride.
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Pay to play is what got a DE revoked in Las Vegas a few years back and a lot of pilots getting letters that they could either schedule a 709 ride or earn a new rating before a certain date, or their tickets would also be revoked.
 
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