PPL Checkride?

[marcoseddi]

Hi Guys,

Quite possibility doing my check-ride in a week. Wanted to get any advice the week before, from recent checkride guys or anyone with any advice, feedback, CFI's.

What numbers in the FAR/Aim am I suppose to know where to find stuff and identify the number like , 43 is for maintenance ...

 

[dmspilot]

You don't have to memorize regulation numbers, though any pilot ought to know the general contents of parts 61 and 91.

I suggest downloading the latest private pilot PTS from the FAA website and studying the material relevant to each task. It doesn't say you have to explain the regulation numbering system, but you will have questions on regulations; what is the duration of a medical certificate (AoA I, Task A, Elem. 1b) for example.

 

[david0tey]

Be able to explain the DC SFRA. I almost failed because I didn't know anything about it even though I never flew near it during my training.

 

[jpower]

There's always Captain Levy’s Checkride Advice.

People always seem to freak out about the oral. Just go in with the mindset that you're going to chat with someone about flying for a few hours. How often do you get to do that without them getting bored??

Specifically, hit it off well. Make sure to tab the maintenance records wit sticky notes, because that will make what is almost certainly the beginning of your checkride go a whole lot smoother and make a great first impression. First impressions, both good and bad, are hard to shake off, so may as well make it good.

 

[MultiMediaWill]

I took everyone's advice about "make sure you know all the PTS" well thats BS. My examiner covered maybe 20% of all the PTS oral section could have asked.

 

[DaytonaLynn]

Have your CFI do a mock oral and flight two days a head, then relax the day before and dont think about it.

Fly the check ride as much as you can this week in your mind. But not the day before, just clear your day and do something different.

You will be fine!
Best of luck

 

[JB1842]

Every DPE has their little areas that they hit on or are particular about. Make sure to ask your CFI what they are. Pass, then come on out to Wisconsin and fly with me!

 

[dukeblue219]

I took everyone's advice about "make sure you know all the PTS" well thats BS. My examiner covered maybe 20% of all the PTS oral section could have asked.

... that's how any examination works. You need to know most of the material so you can answer the 20% that is actually tested.

 

[dmspilot]

I took everyone's advice about "make sure you know all the PTS" well thats BS. My examiner covered maybe 20% of all the PTS oral section could have asked.

Well that's a terrible attitude. If you only knew 20% of the PTS, and the examiner asked you about a different 20%, what would you have done?

 

[JasonM]

Right on! Good luck with your check ride. I figure i'm another month out based on the strong T-storms we have been getting and forecast. I'm looking forward to hearing about it when you pass it this week.

 

[flyboy595]

The only FAR's i knew by number were 91.213 and 91.205.

 

[poadeleted20]

What numbers in the FAR/Aim am I suppose to know where to find stuff and identify the number like , 43 is for maintenance ...

If you have an ASA FAR/AIM book, there is a list in the book by certificate rating of FAR's and AIM sections with which you should be familiar. Beyond that...

1. Relax and enjoy it. Nationwide, about 90% of applicants pass on the first try, so look around and see if you think you’re as good as 9 out of 10 other students. Also, your instructor must maintain a pass rate of at least 80% to get his ticket renewed, so he’s not going to send you up unless he’s pretty darn sure you’ll pass – otherwise, he has to find four other people to pass to make up for you, and that’s not always easy.

2. Go over with your instructor the logbooks of the aircraft you're going to use the day BEFORE the checkride to make sure it's all in order (annual, transponder checks, ELT ops and battery, 100-hour if rented, etc.). If the airplane's paper busts, so do you. Run a sample W&B, too – get the examiner’s weight when you make the appointment. If you weigh 200, and so does the examiner, don’t show up with a C-152 with full tanks and a 350 lb available cabin load – examiners can’t waive max gross weight limits.

3. Relax.

4. Rest up and get a good night's sleep the night before. Don't stay up "cramming."

5. Relax.

6. Read carefully the ENTIRE PTS including all the introductory material. Use the checklist in the front to make sure you take all the stuff you need -- papers and equipment. And the examiner’s fee UP FRONT (too much chance a disgruntled applicant will refuse to pay afterward) in the form demanded by the examiner is a “required document” from a practical, if not FAA, standpoint.

7. Relax.

8. You’re going to make a big mistake somewhere. The examiner knows this will happen, and it doesn’t have to end the ride. What’s important is not whether you make a mistake, but how you deal with it – whether you recover and move on without letting it destroy your flying. Figure out where you are now, how to get to where you want to be, and then do what it takes to get there. That will save your checkride today and your butt later on.

9. Relax.

10. You're going to make some minor mistakes. Correct them yourself in a timely manner "so the outcome of the maneuver is never seriously in doubt" and you'll be OK. If you start to go high on your first steep turn and start a correction as you approach 100 feet high but top out at 110 high while making a smooth correction back to the requested altitude, don't sweat -- nail the next one and you'll pass with "flying colors" (a naval term, actually). If you see the maneuver will exceed parameters and not be smoothly recoverable, tell the examiner and knock it off before you go outside those parameters, and then re-initiate. That shows great sense, if not great skill, and judgement is the most critical item on the checkride.

11. Relax.

12. During the oral, you don’t have to answer from memory anything you’d have time to look up in reality. You never need to memorize and know everything. Categorize material as:

a. Things you must memorize (i.e. emergency procedures, radio calls, airspace, etc).
b. Things you must know or have reasonable understanding of (i.e. interpreting weather codes, non-critical regs).
c. Things you must know about but can look up and will have time to look up on the ground.

(Thanks to Mark Bourdeaux for this categorization.) So if the examiner asks you about currency, it’s OK to open the FAR book to 61.56 and 61.57 and explain them to him. But make sure you know where the answer is without reading the whole FAR/AIM cover-to-cover. On the other hand, for stuff you’d have to know RIGHT NOW (e.g., best glide speed for engine failure, etc.), you’d best not stumble or stutter – know that stuff cold. Also, remember that the examiner will use the areas your knowledge test report says you missed as focus points in the oral, so study them extra thoroughly.

13. Relax.

14. Avoid this conversation:
Examiner - Q: Do you have a pencil?
Applicant - A: I have a #2, a mechanical, a red one...
Examiner - Q: Do you have a pencil?
Applicant - A: I also have an assortment of pens, and some highlighters...
Examiner - Q: Do you have a pencil?
Applicant - A: Yes.
Examiner - Thank you.
One of the hardest things to do when you’re nervous and pumped up is to shut up and answer the question. I've watched people talk themselves into a corner by incorrectly answering a question that was never asked, or by adding an incorrect appendix to the correct answer to the question that was. If the examiner wants more, he'll tell you.

15. Relax

16. Some questions are meant simply to test your knowledge, not your skill, even if they sound otherwise. If the examiner asks how far below the cloud deck you are, he is checking to see if you know the answer is “at least 500 feet,” not how good your depth perception is. He can’t tell any better than you can, and the only way to be sure is to climb up and see when you hit the bases, which for sure he won’t let you do.

17. Relax

18. It’s a test of your flying skill, not your knowledge of PTS minutiae. Make sure you know which maneuver the examiner wants done, and confirm the details if necessary – before you start the maneuver. Does s/he want stalls taken all the way to the break or just to the buffet or “first sign of impending stall”? Is that “spot landing” s/he asked for the “power-off 180-degree accuracy approach and landing” no more than 400 feet beyond the spot or the “short-field approach and landing” which allows use of power but no more than 200 feet beyond the spot?

19. Relax

20. Remember the first rule of Italian driving: "What's behind me is not important." Don't worry about how you did the last maneuver or question. If you didn't do it well enough, the examiner must notify you and terminate the checkride. If you are on the next one, forget the last one because it was good enough to pass. Focus on doing that next maneuver or answering the next question the best you can, because while it can still determine whether you pass or fail, the last one can’t anymore. If you get back to the office and he hasn't said you failed, smile to your friends as you walk in because you just passed.

21. Relax and enjoy your new license.


Ron Levy, ATP, CFI, Veteran of 11 license/rating checkrides, including 4 with FAA inspectors

 

[C182P]

I took everyone's advice about "make sure you know all the PTS" well thats BS. My examiner covered maybe 20% of all the PTS oral section could have asked.

Yes, but on the next oral given, _which_ 20% will the questions come from?

A hint to that: every DPE is different, and even with the same DPE, every oral is different. Your DPE is going to test you and if you seem to be doing well, s/he is going to move on, either to a different subject or to the airplane. If your answers aren't solid, your DPE is going to ask the same questions in different ways (trying to gauge if it's the question that's shaky, or the candidate), and/or going to spend more time questioning additional content. There are great reasons to know 100% of the PTS and one of them is so that you can quickly make the DPE believe that time is being wasted with the oral.

 

[ScottK]

If you have an ASA FAR/AIM book, there is a list in the book by certificate rating of FAR's and AIM sections with which you should be familiar. Beyond that...


14. Avoid this conversation:
Examiner - Q: Do you have a pencil?
Applicant - A: I have a #2, a mechanical, a red one...
Examiner - Q: Do you have a pencil?
Applicant - A: I also have an assortment of pens, and some highlighters...
Examiner - Q: Do you have a pencil?
Applicant - A: Yes.
Examiner - Thank you.
One of the hardest things to do when you’re nervous and pumped up is to shut up and answer the question. I've watched people talk themselves into a corner by incorrectly answering a question that was never asked, or by adding an incorrect appendix to the correct answer to the question that was. If the examiner wants more, he'll tell you.

I had to work hard to avoid this one. Think I only did it once during my oral exam. DPE gave me this odd look and I realized what I was doing.

 

[Texastaildragger]

Wear breathable clothing .You will be sweating(nerves) & remember you are ready or your CFI wouldn't let you go.......Remember clearing turns....

 

[eetrojan]

Is that “spot landing” s/he asked for the “power-off 180-degree accuracy approach and landing” no more than 200 feet beyond the spot or the “short-field approach and landing” which allows use of power but no more than 100 feet beyond the spot?

Hi Ron, I can only find a "within 200 feet" requirement in the PTS section on doing a "Short-Field Approach and Landing." (Section IV, Task F, Objective 9, p.47). Where's the 100 foot one? Thanks!

 

[poadeleted20]

Hi Ron, I can only find a "within 200 feet" requirement in the PTS section on doing a "Short-Field Approach and Landing." (Section IV, Task F, Objective 9, p.47). Where's the 100 foot one? Thanks!

Sorry -- I was giving you the commercial standard. PP is 400/200, CP is 200/100.