Check Ride Prep

deac523

deac523

Filing Flight Plan
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deac523
After almost 2 years, over 90 hours and too much money (I don't really want to know how much) I am almost done.

I'm in the process of preparing for my check ride and it is an exciting time. Went up yesterday and went through the maneuvers. Need to brush up a few things, but I'm just about ready.

Hopefully I'll be able to schedule my check ride in a couple of weeks and finally reach my goal -- though about 1 year later than expected.

Not too bad for an old guy ;)
 
Congratulations and good luck. You may want to check out Ron Levy's advise on the check ride. I believe it is now a sticky.
 
Good luck and just be comfortable in the airplane. The more relaxed you are the better you will do....to a certain extent.:goofy:
 
It'll be worth it!

I took 18 mos., paying for lessons as I could afford them.

Just remember, your CFI (if he's worth a hoot) is not going to send you for your checkride unless he has good reason to believe you'll pass. It's more a demo of acquired skills than a test.

Keep us posted on the outcome.
 
Good Luck!

A fellow gave me what I thought was very good advice the morning of my checkride. Basically put:

Your CFI has signed the log book stating you have the knowledge and practical experience to take this test.

So, in essence you already have the required knowledge and have demonstrated the skill necessary to have a PP certificate.

Your job during the practical is to keep it.

Perry
 
psellars said:
So, in essence you already have the required knowledge and have demonstrated the skill necessary to have a PP certificate.

Your job during the practical is to keep it.

Perry
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And all this time I thought it was to avoid killing yourself and the DE!

On one checkride after a rather excruciating 1.3 hours of virtually everything in the PTS (and rather gusty winds as well), the DE had me doing some run-on landings in the grass next to the runway. Finally he said, "Ok, take us back to the ramp.". I looked over to him and said "Does that mean that I pass if I don't kill us between here and there?". He laughed and said "That's what it means!". I didn't kill us, and very shortly thereafter he exchanged a white temporary for my certificate...
 
Odd, how when the DPE/DE says, "take us back to ____" we have to ask if we passed.

The definition of "old guy" seems to have changed over the times. It used to be someone with 30yrs in the company... now it's seems to be anyone over 30. LOL!
 
They say I'm ready
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I say I'm ready
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So, I guess I'm ready
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Check-ride next.

Went up for my last check ride prep today. Winds were tough but I did OK (except that blasted power on stall -- I could not keep heading). CFI finally tried it. He was able to handle it but said it was too much to expect me to handle at this stage. He said there should be no problem on a calmer day and I agree. Bottom line, I have the endorsement for the check ride.

So, I have some paper work to complete while the school aranges an appointment for me with the DE. It's possible this could happen this week
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I might want to go up one more time with my CFI for a bit of confidence building, but I wouldn't be too concerned if I didn't.


So --- what a journey. Even with some difficult times, I enjoyed every bit of it.

Hopefully, by the end of the week I will be a truly certificated pilot. :goofy:
 
deac523 said:
Went up for my last check ride prep today. Winds were tough but I did OK (except that blasted power on stall -- I could not keep heading). CFI finally tried it. He was able to handle it but said it was too much to expect me to handle at this stage. He said there should be no problem on a calmer day and I agree.
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I don't see how wind can affect heading control on a power-on stall, and if you think your instructor thinks it can, that suggests somebody doesn't fully understand yaw control in stalls.

In stalls/slow flight, you and the cloud you're looking at out the front of the plane are both floating along in the same airmass. It doesn't matter how fast that airmass is moving across the ground -- you and the cloud are being carried along together, and you should be using rudder control to keep the nose from drifting left or right with respect to that cloud. Even if you're using peripheral vision to see the ground visible to either side as part of your means to see whether the nose is yawing left or right, the ground is far enough to the side that wind drift over the ground does not create a significant angular movement.

Note that lack of yaw control in slow flight/stalls could bite you on the practical test, since it's a big spin avoidance factor, and spin avoidance is a high interest item on the PPL test. If you're having trouble visualizing what I'm talking about, let me know, and I'll try to find a video cam I can take up to film and post a demo.
 
Ron Levy said:
I don't see how wind can affect heading control on a power-on stall, and if you think your instructor thinks it can, that suggests somebody doesn't fully understand yaw control in stalls.

In stalls/slow flight, you and the cloud you're looking at out the front of the plane are both floating along in the same airmass. It doesn't matter how fast that airmass is moving across the ground -- you and the cloud are being carried along together, and you should be using rudder control to keep the nose from drifting left or right with respect to that cloud. Even if you're using peripheral vision to see the ground visible to either side as part of your means to see whether the nose is yawing left or right, the ground is far enough to the side that wind drift over the ground does not create a significant angular movement.

Note that lack of yaw control in slow flight/stalls could bite you on the practical test, since it's a big spin avoidance factor, and spin avoidance is a high interest item on the PPL test. If you're having trouble visualizing what I'm talking about, let me know, and I'll try to find a video cam I can take up to film and post a demo.
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Ron,
I know what you are saying. I was doing fine keeping control with rudder input up until the last second. Just before the break my heading drifted about 15 degrees to the left. This happened several times, each time the CFI told me to abort the attempt.

I'm thinking the CFI may have been trying not to undermine me -- he knows I have difficulty with this maneuver but he also knows that I can perform it correctly most of the time. I think I could have handled the yaw problem given the chance, but I deferred to my CFIs experience.

He had no problem at all performing the stall, so I really think he was just letting me off the hook. I had already indicated that I wanted to go up with him one last time before the check ride, so I suspect he will get me "polished" then.

Thanks for your input.
 
deac523 said:
I know what you are saying. I was doing fine keeping control with rudder input up until the last second. Just before the break my heading drifted about 15 degrees to the left. This happened several times, each time the CFI told me to abort the attempt.
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I hope you understand that this difficulty is totally unrelated to wind, because your post to which I responded suggested you thought there was such a connection. It's really important to proper performance of the maneuver that you understand what is causing that loss of yaw control just before the stall break so you can fix the underlying problem.

I'm thinking the CFI may have been trying not to undermine me -- he knows I have difficulty with this maneuver but he also knows that I can perform it correctly most of the time. I think I could have handled the yaw problem given the chance, but I deferred to my CFIs experience.
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My standard for signoffs is a bit stricter than "most of the time." I figure that the trainee will always do worse on the practical test than with me, since there is a higher level of tension known as "checkitis" when flying with the examiner. If there's one maneuver with which my trainee is having particular trouble (especially if the trainee is evincing any apprehension about it), we'll work on it until s/he has it down cold to the point the examiner doesn't see any of that apprehension about that particular maneuver (which is always a red flag to them).

He had no problem at all performing the stall, so I really think he was just letting me off the hook. I had already indicated that I wanted to go up with him one last time before the check ride, so I suspect he will get me "polished" then.
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Make sure you have this nailed down tight before you let him out of the plane, not just one (perhaps) lucky try at it -- then go ace the checkride.
 
I gotta say -- I appreciate your input on this -- it was bothering me that he did it so easily while I had so much difficulty.

I will take your advice about the next time up -- we ain't leaving until I can nail the power on stall.
 
deac523 said:
I gotta say -- I appreciate your input on this -- it was bothering me that he did it so easily while I had so much difficulty.
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That was bothering me, too.

I will take your advice about the next time up -- we ain't leaving until I can nail the power on stall.
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Too bad I didn't see this earlier -- I was up at FRG this weekend -- coulda shown you what I was talking about.
 
Ron Levy said:
That was bothering me, too.

Too bad I didn't see this earlier -- I was up at FRG this weekend -- coulda shown you what I was talking about.
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That would have been great -- we could have borrowed one of the B-17s :)
 
Scheduled

I just heard that my check ride is scheduled for September 17 at 9 AM. I now have 11 days to obsess, fret, ruminate, anticipate, -- oh, and study.

I will definitely fly at least twice between now and then -- once on my own to practice simple things (landings, ground reference, etc.) and once on the weekend before with the CFI to go through the check ride maneuvers (especially those power on stalls).

Now, all I need is a bit of atmospheric cooperation -- clear skies and light winds for 9/17/2007
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Re: Scheduled

deac523 said:
I just heard that my check ride is scheduled for September 17 at 9 AM. I now have 11 days to obsess, fret, ruminate, anticipate, -- oh, and study.
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...and relax!

I will definitely fly at least twice between now and then -- once on my own to practice simple things (landings, ground reference, etc.) and once on the weekend before with the CFI to go through the check ride maneuvers (especially those power on stalls).
Click to expand...
Good plan.

Now, all I need is a bit of atmospheric cooperation -- clear skies and light winds for 9/17/2007
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Can't help you there.
 
jdwatson said:
Odd, how when the DPE/DE says, "take us back to ____" we have to ask if we passed.

The definition of "old guy" seems to have changed over the times. It used to be someone with 30yrs in the company... now it's seems to be anyone over 30. LOL!
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Definition of OLD GUY: Someone 30 years OLDER then me! Middle age - 10 years older. Youngster: 30 years younger than me. Most of you guys are middle age!
 
I'll send up a few prayers for those atmospheric conditions you've requested...

I've only been at this since March but altogether I've logged close to 70 hours. My checkride is scheduled for 10:00 Sept 17 and my examiner has me planning a X-Country from 1B9 (Mansfield, MA) to FRG.

Good luck! I hope by Monday evening we are both able to celebrate the accomplishment!
 
jcb8282 said:
I'll send up a few prayers for those atmospheric conditions you've requested...

I've only been at this since March but altogether I've logged close to 70 hours. My checkride is scheduled for 10:00 Sept 17 and my examiner has me planning a X-Country from 1B9 (Mansfield, MA) to FRG.

Good luck! I hope by Monday evening we are both able to celebrate the accomplishment!
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Jim,
Thanks -- and good luck.

My XC is ISP to PSF (Pittsfield MA), so we would pass each other along the way if they let us fly the whole thing -- but they don't do that.
 
Best of luck to you, and I'll advise you only to relax, think aloud (show what you know, even if you know you just goofed), and use the checklist. Those three things help a lot, in my experience. :)
 
The last dual

Well, I went up with the CFI this evening. Went through all of the maneuvers. I was not at my best by any means. Had trouble remembering what to do when. In fairness, I did work today and went up late afternoon when I am never really at my best.

However, I handled the power on stalls very well. Also did very well on the soft field / short field landings and takeoffs. Steep turns, slow flight, ground reference, emergency procedures all worked well. Did have a bit of an issue with unusual attitued that I marked up to being unprepared, mentally. I talked myself trhough the procedure and had CFI set me up again and did OK.

CFI says I will do good. I also think I will pass, The check ride is in the morning -- when I'm at my best.

Looking forward to Monday at 9 AM
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Good luck and thanks for keeping us updated.

I don't think there is a better source of excellent information on any board than Ron Levy.
 
jdwatson said:
Odd, how when the DPE/DE says, "take us back to ____" we have to ask if we passed.
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Well, you haven't passed yet, in reality. Yes, you've done all the requested maneuvers to his satisfaction.... except one. "Take me back to ...." A serious lack of judgment on the way back..... even on the ground, a runway incursion while taxiing to the FBO will make your slip quite pink. It ain't over until its over; fly the plane all the way to the chocks.

But your are right that the heavy lifting is done when you hear "Take me back..."

-Skip
 
Re: Scheduled

deac523 said:
I just heard that my check ride is scheduled for September 17 at 9 AM. I now have 11 days to obsess, fret, ruminate, anticipate, -- oh, and study.

I will definitely fly at least twice between now and then -- once on my own to practice simple things (landings, ground reference, etc.) and once on the weekend before with the CFI to go through the check ride maneuvers (especially those power on stalls).

Now, all I need is a bit of atmospheric cooperation -- clear skies and light winds for 9/17/2007
biggrin.gif
Click to expand...

Best of luck! Who's your DPE?

Regards,
Jason
 
deac523 said:
Ron,
I was doing fine keeping control with rudder input up until the last second. Just before the break my heading drifted about 15 degrees to the left.
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I see you have worked it out, but I wanted to include my input for the benefit of anyone else having this problem.

In a power-on stall, there will always be a significant amount of rudder needed at the point just before the stall.

I would estimate that a full one third of the total rudder needed will be in the last couple seconds in that last 3 - 5 knots before the stall.

The rudder input is not a continous steady regulated increase as the speed slows. It is a steady input until that area just before the stall. As the wing begins to 'burble', the flow of air over the rudder is significantly reduced, and a much larger rudder deflection is necessary to maintain a true straight line.
 
nosehair's point is well taken -- as you slow, you are increasing p-factor as AOA increases as well as decreasing rudder effectiveness as airflow over the rudder decreases. That means ever-increasing rudder is needed right up to the stall. However, when you do stall, you'll need to reduce rudder during the recovery as you lower the nose (decreasing AOA and p-factor yaw).
 
And, don't accept a piece of gum when he acts like he's all relaxed on the way back.

Also, some examiners love to ramble when you're entering the traffic area. That would be a more than reasonable time to remind him about the "sterile cockpit" rule you went over on the preflight passenger brief.

You did do a passenger brief, right? :)
 
Thanks for all the advice, encouragement and good wishes.

I'm going into this thing tomorrow with the idea that the DPE really wants me to succeed; he's not trying to trip me up. If I screw up, I plan to admit it and recover. I expect that he will accept that and not count it against me. But, I don't plan to screw up :)

I'm going to spend the remainder of today (after Mass) getting ready for tomorrow; flight plan for XC, marking sections in FARs, AIM and POH that I expect I will need to refer to, "chair flying" the check ride.

Then, tonight I'll go out drinking with all my friends until 6 AM :cheerswine: (Only kidding)
 
deac523 said:
I'm going into this thing tomorrow with the idea that the DPE really wants me to succeed; he's not trying to trip me up. If I screw up, I plan to admit it and recover. I expect that he will accept that and not count it against me. But, I don't plan to screw up :)
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Remember that you're only evaluated on a completed maneuver. If along the way you're going to be out of limits on altitude and heading or on speeds, simply say you're aborting and will set up to do the maneuver again. He'll respect that just as much as a choice to go around on a approach & landing attempt.

You won't slide on every attempt that way but one or two, certainly. If you did it too many times, he may recommend returning for more training. But, I more than doubt that's necessary for ya. It sounds like you've put a lot into it.

Best of luck and enjoy the ride!
 
"N-DEAC523 hold short"

"Hold short, N-DEAC523"

Just got a call from the school. DPE needs to tend to something as insignificant as his son's aching wisdom tooth in the AM
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So, I'm delayed until the PM -- maybe noon -- I won't know until tomorrow, but I'm assured this will happen on 9/17 -- my duaghter's birthday
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So are you going to take her for an airplane ride for her birthday? I cannot wait to share this love affair we call aviation with my daughter!
 
AWACSEng said:
So are you going to take her for an airplane ride for her birthday? I cannot wait to share this love affair we call aviation with my daughter!
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Unfortunately, she has work then school on her birthday -- so we have to wait for another day. I'm hoping sometime the following weekend (weather permitting).
 
Well, good luck anyway and I'm sure she will be thrilled to go fly with dad.
 
I hope you got your flight in and all went well! I met my DPE at 0940 this AM and we started going over paperwork. At 1055, we emerged from the conference room and headed for the plane. Although I was not as satisfied with my performance as I'd have liked to have been, she was, so the end result was a Temporary Airman Certificate. I'm not going to complain!

Good luck with your ride...
Jim
 
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