JB1842
En-Route
So about two weeks ago, my instructor called me and said he scheduled the DPE for me this past Thursday. I was surprised, but expecting it. I was worried about the oral, because I took the written over a year ago, and didn't study too much since then. A few days before the oral, another instructor gave me a practice oral and really grilled me. It was worth it. I knew a few days before the checkride, we would only be doing the oral on Thursday due to the weather, 20 knots gusting to 40 and 500 foot ceilings. Thursday came around, and I showed up at the school an hour early. Knocked out the flight plan, weight/balance, and got all the logs/paperwork in order. My instructor said that this DPE takes 3 hours (!), but most of it is him telling stories. The DPE came in, and we went at it. He really had a way of putting you at ease. One of the first things he said was, "You are already a pilot. My job is to make sure you are safe and proficient, and to make sure that your flight instructor is doing his job." So we start. It was good. I felt prepared. I only had to look up a few answers, and he helped talk me through some parts I had trouble with. His approach was more to teach you and help you understand the knowledge than looking for you weakness. I started to understand why he takes 3 hours. So we finished and I went to find my instructor. He had this look on his face like something was wrong. I told him I passed, and he said I did the fastest oral from this DPE he has ever seen, it took 1.3 hours. He thought I failed it at first.
So yesterday I took the flight portion. I was the second out of 3 for the day (all checkrides this past week were delayed). I re-did my flight plan while he took another student up (he passed, good for him). When they came back, I did my pre-flight. When he was done with the other student, he told me let's go. He said he saw me do the pre-flight while he was with the other student, so he told me to tell him what the pre-flight involved. I explained and told him what I did. He was happy and got in the plane while I went to grab my instructor (he had to hand prop the plane, it's a Cub). I explained to the DPE how the seatbelt worked and about sterile cockpit while taxiing, take-off and in the pattern. I also asked him to work the carb heat for me. He was good with all that. We took off and started south. My first checkpoint was 7 miles from the airport. We hit it, and he gave me a diversion to another airport. I turned to the proper heading and he gave me the engine out. Found a field, and down we went. Got to a few hundred feet and he said take us up to 1000, find a spot, and do a turn around a point. All good, and he told to go to 3000 and set up for slow flight. Slow flight was good and we went right into stalls. Steep turns next, then back towards the airport. First landing was soft-field. I was high and fast (and knew we would do at least one go around) so I decided to a go around. Next attempt I put in a forward slip (was going to have to do one anyway) and landed, taxied back and did a soft-field take off. Stayed in the pattern, and did a short-field landing. I touched down within 5 feet of the reference point. Then a short-field take-off and he told me to land and taxi back to the hangar. I shut the plane down and we got out. Told me to find the intructor. Still wasn't sure if I passed, but since he didn't tell me I failed anything, I was feeling ok. We went in and debriefed with the main instructor (who also owns the flight school). I passed, and have the tailwheel endorsement, too. Big breath of fresh air. He gave me some pointers and tips on how things could have been done differently/better. He also gave instructions to the instructor on what to emphasize in training. I guess there were a few things that both me and the other guy (forgetting to ask him to turn carb heat back off was the big one) goofed on and wanted to make sure the school knew those so things that they could teach them better. The flight lasted .9 hours, and now I'm just waiting for the plastic card in the mail. Think I will spend the next few months enjoying flying and will upgrade to private in the spring. More to learn!
So yesterday I took the flight portion. I was the second out of 3 for the day (all checkrides this past week were delayed). I re-did my flight plan while he took another student up (he passed, good for him). When they came back, I did my pre-flight. When he was done with the other student, he told me let's go. He said he saw me do the pre-flight while he was with the other student, so he told me to tell him what the pre-flight involved. I explained and told him what I did. He was happy and got in the plane while I went to grab my instructor (he had to hand prop the plane, it's a Cub). I explained to the DPE how the seatbelt worked and about sterile cockpit while taxiing, take-off and in the pattern. I also asked him to work the carb heat for me. He was good with all that. We took off and started south. My first checkpoint was 7 miles from the airport. We hit it, and he gave me a diversion to another airport. I turned to the proper heading and he gave me the engine out. Found a field, and down we went. Got to a few hundred feet and he said take us up to 1000, find a spot, and do a turn around a point. All good, and he told to go to 3000 and set up for slow flight. Slow flight was good and we went right into stalls. Steep turns next, then back towards the airport. First landing was soft-field. I was high and fast (and knew we would do at least one go around) so I decided to a go around. Next attempt I put in a forward slip (was going to have to do one anyway) and landed, taxied back and did a soft-field take off. Stayed in the pattern, and did a short-field landing. I touched down within 5 feet of the reference point. Then a short-field take-off and he told me to land and taxi back to the hangar. I shut the plane down and we got out. Told me to find the intructor. Still wasn't sure if I passed, but since he didn't tell me I failed anything, I was feeling ok. We went in and debriefed with the main instructor (who also owns the flight school). I passed, and have the tailwheel endorsement, too. Big breath of fresh air. He gave me some pointers and tips on how things could have been done differently/better. He also gave instructions to the instructor on what to emphasize in training. I guess there were a few things that both me and the other guy (forgetting to ask him to turn carb heat back off was the big one) goofed on and wanted to make sure the school knew those so things that they could teach them better. The flight lasted .9 hours, and now I'm just waiting for the plastic card in the mail. Think I will spend the next few months enjoying flying and will upgrade to private in the spring. More to learn!
