Prog Check for CFI Initial finally scheduled

PHXAvi8tor

PHXAvi8tor

Pre-takeoff checklist
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PHXAvi8tor
Wow, I cannot believe it. I ran into the assistant chief flight instructor yesterday and he asked me if I could come in this Friday for my CFI Initial Prog Check.

The Prog Check is also known as the "Stage Check" and is the final school checkout flight before you are sent to the FSDO for the checkride.

I've been waiting since Wednesday to know when the Prog Check would be scheduled. I've been training for 10 months to get to this point.

Now that I'm here, I don't feel ready!

Isn't that weird?

I do not think I can review all the material in four days for my 5-hour oral exam. It would be like cramming hard for a final exam. And, when I was in college, cramming for a final exam often did little good and sometimes it made things worse.

I tell you, ever since I completed training last Wednesday, the flight school has treated me much better. It's almost like I won initiation into the fraternity, and folks seem a lot more friendly to me over there.

But, my confidence level in being able to pass the oral exam Friday sure isn't there right now.

How did you prepare for a Prog Check? Right now, I just want to go on a four-day vacation somewhere, come back, and see what happens Friday.
 
When I was in college, my buddy and I would always schedule the last hour and a half before midterms and finals together. We'd hit the dining hall, get a good meal in us, and then head back to play the Atari 2600 for the rest of the time (mid 90's). Nothing like an hour of Frogger to get you relaxed and alert for a test! :D Other things I've done are watch funny movies, read a Calvin and Hobbes book, and go hit on a girl (once - just wanted to see what would happen).

From what other folks have said (not having a CFI m'self :)) it sounds like some good sleep and casual review is probably best. You're not going to know everything - you can't. Just like an interview, you need to show that you know how to do the job, not the exact answer to each and every question that could come up. Sounds like you could actually use a vacation - why not go get out of town for a day, or go do a movie marathon? You can watch the whole Firefly series in a day if you work at it. :) Do you have any place in your area that serves food at the movies? Or one of those bar-n-video arcade places? Whatever you do, going into the oral rested and relaxed is the best thing you can do for yourself.

--Cedric
 
As Ive posted before, you will never feel ready. Like Chip, I had to just trust that my instructor wasnt delusional. have fun!
 
Thanks everyone. All good advice. I'll take it.

Will let you know Saturday morning how it turned out.
 
Every time I think I'm ready, my CFI asks another question... "Why do we pump the throttle in the R182?" But, there is no mention of an accelerator pump in the POH!!! :hairraise:

Thank you, World Wide Web! :D
 
In ours a couple shots of prime usually works good, leave throttle full idle, starts and purrs like a dream.

Cowlings due in February...ugh
 
Ben you already know the stuff. Have a few beers Friday night, go to bed early, and you'll do fine. Just get the checkride scheduled before someone else breaks the plane again!!
Don't let the change in the wind sway you from running away from that place with all their primary students once you get your new ticket!
 
AndyJ said:
Ben you already know the stuff. Have a few beers Friday night, go to bed early, and you'll do fine. Just get the checkride scheduled before someone else breaks the plane again!!
Don't let the change in the wind sway you from running away from that place with all their primary students once you get your new ticket!
Click to expand...

Andy,

Thanks!

Oh, by the way, my instructor called me tonight and said he's signing the 8710 tonight. It will be ready for me to pick up tomorrow morning, just before the Prog Check.

What a wonderful surprise.

The 8710 form was the last piece of paper requiring an instructor signature that I needed before I could do the FAA checkride.

That means tomorrow's Prog Check is but a mere dress rehearsal for the checkride, and I can have fun with it!
 
Here is the latest update on my quest for the CFI Initial (I cross-posted this over in the "red" forum. Hope that was OK):

Made it through the ground portion of my Prog Check today for the CFI Initial.

Got rained out on the flight portion, so will have to do that next week.

(Why does it always rain on checkride days?!
confused.gif
)

Had a couple of rough spots in the prog check, but nothing that can't be fixed in time for the flight next week.

Biggest issue was simply having confidence in my ability to teach. I kept relying too much on my lesson plans, but as soon as I shoved the lesson plans aside and simply used them as a checklist to ensure I covered everything, the teaching went much better.

So, I have to work on raising my ground-teaching confidence level. (I am very confident in my ability to teach in the air while flying. But, get me on the ground and my meticulous mind is my worst enemy. It wants to double-check everything before I actually blurt out the knowledge that's already in my head. In other words, I'm overcomplicating stuff and that messes up the effectiveness of the teaching.)

Nothing that can't be fixed between now and middle of next week.

Only other minor bump was that my lesson plan on Stability needs a bit of polishing so that it is more organized and flows more logically. If anyone has any good lesson plans on this topic, I'd sure love to compare them to mine!

Got all endorsements finalized yesterday. Theoretically, I could take the checkride any time I want. But, I think the prog check exercise is good, so I'll continue with the flight portion before scheduling the checkride.
 
cherokeeflyboy said:
Ben take a look at Jedi Nein's. I tried to copy/paste but the format made it hard to read. It can be found at:
http://pages.prodigy.net/jedinein/cfi/ground/stability.html
Click to expand...


Hey, those look almost like mine, but much simpler.

The Check Airman's recommendation this afternoon to me: Simplify your lesson plan on Stability. Just use dot points.

Sean's do that.

I'm going to print this out, and compare it more closely to my own and make some adjustments.

Thanks!
 
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