Checkride next Saturday

[gprellwitz]

Well, I just booked the plane and the DE for my IA checkride next Saturday. Today was good. I got up and managed to get a few tenths of actual. Unfortunately Chicago approach wasn't able to give me the second approach I wanted at KDPA. He complained that he needed to slow down five planes behind me that were filed into KDPA. Heck, I was in a Skyhawk doing better than 125KT on the ILS. Can't keep the speed up too much more than that! Give me a Hawker and then we can talk!

He got snippy with me after I questioned whether it might be possible to do one more approach, but he apologized a moment later. And yes, I used the infamous "double click" to acknowledge his apology. Figure he didn't need me cluttering his precious frequency!

One more flight tomorrow, including some time to look at and tab the maintenance logs, then I'm set. I've got two things that always trip me up that I need to watch on the checkride. First, REMEMBER TO START THE TIME! So many of my approaches are GPS or ILS that it isn't ingrained in me the way it needs to be. The other thing is to avoid an inadvertant busting of the MDA or DH.

Wish me luck!

 

[ScottM]

Tha tis cool Grant. It looked like a great day for actual. BTW DPA can be pretty busy when considering practice approaches. I try to head out to RFD for those on actual day. They seem to be able to handle it a little bit better than the guy in Chicago.

I even offer to do the ASR for them if they have someone that needs the practice.

 

[gprellwitz]

Tha tis cool Grant. It looked like a great day for actual. BTW DPA can be pretty busy when considering practice approaches. I try to head out to RFD for those on actual day. They seem to be able to handle it a little bit better than the guy in Chicago.

I even offer to do the ASR for them if they have someone that needs the practice.

Yeah, I like RFD, but I know that my DE tends to do the approaches at DPA, so I want some of them under my belt. I find that the DPA tower guys are usually pretty accomodating. It's Chicago Approach that tends to get uptight there. They probably have a few planes heading into ORD from that direction or something!

 

[Dave Krall CFII]

. He complained that he needed to slow down five planes behind me that were filed into KDPA. Heck, I was in a Skyhawk doing better than 125KT on the ILS. Can't keep the speed up too much more than that! Give me a Hawker and then we can talk!

He got snippy with me after I questioned whether it might be possible to do one more approach, but he apologized a moment later. And yes, I used the infamous "double click" to acknowledge his apology. Figure he didn't need me cluttering his precious frequency!

!

In a Skyhawk, I often was annoyed with that kind of stuff from ATC and just told them we'd fly the entire appoach flat out (red-line/yellow arc/VA limited of course). Asked a FSDO guy about it and he said it was fine too. Fun to practice them too.

If you're doing a practice series, they usually forget somewhere along the line and have to be reminded that it's a Cessna they're tracking.

 

[AdamZ]

Grant just enjoy the flight. I actually found myself much more relaxed on the IR ride than the PP ride. I think being much more relaxed help me do pretty well.

 

[SCCutler]

Kick butt. Like Commander Adama said, you'll enjoy it.

 

[Diana]

Wish me luck!

Good luck Grant! Let us know how it goes.

My instrument checkride turned out OK, but I wish I would have known about Ron Levy's pre-checkride advice, especially this part... "Do you have a pencil?"

 

[gprellwitz]

Good luck Grant! Let us know how it goes.

My instrument checkride turned out OK, but I wish I would have known about Ron Levy's pre-checkride advice, especially this part... "Do you have a pencil?"

Pencil, or writing implement? I generally use a pen because if has better contrast and the point isn't going to break off. Am I missing something here?

 

[poadeleted20]

Pencil, or writing implement? I generally use a pen because if has better contrast and the point isn't going to break off. Am I missing something here?

Yes, you are, and it is particularly applicable to your response above. The piece of advice to which Diana was referring was not about what you write with, but rather how you answer questions, -- see item 12, below:

Captain Levy’s Checkride Advice​

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 weight 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 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.

9. Relax.

10. 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 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.

11. Relax.

12. 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.

13. Relax

14. 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.

15. Relax

16. 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.

17. Relax and enjoy your new license.


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

 

[gprellwitz]

Yes, you are, and it is particularly applicable to your response above.

Yup! Actually, the "don't answer questions that haven't been asked" is something that's been mentioned generally before checkrides. I'm somewhat lucky because this DE is the same one who gave me my private ticket, so I've flown with her before and feel somewhat comfortable with her. That helps with points 3, 5, 7, 9, and maybe a few others as well!

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.

Well, I'm the first instrument signoff she's ever done, so... OTOH, I only did the last few rides with her, and we have an internal phase check before being signed off and I passed that.

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 weight 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.

Did that yesterday. And my DE says she's going with 170# and sticking with it! In a Hawk, I know we have no problems. I'll have the numbers printed out, though, just to cover the bases.

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

I won't be cramming, but I hope to go for a short flight the night before just to make the numbers onthe 8710 come out right. (I estimated a 2 hour flight yesterday and it was only 1.2 hours). NBD if we don't go; we'll just resign the 8710 with amended numbers.

including 4 with FAA inspectors

Now that's impressive

 

[bstratt]

Yeah, I like RFD, but I know that my DE tends to do the approaches at DPA, so I want some of them under my belt. I find that the DPA tower guys are usually pretty accomodating. It's Chicago Approach that tends to get uptight there. They probably have a few planes heading into ORD from that direction or something!

KDPA approaches are usually coordinated with Chicago approach - that's why I usually fly my approaches at Aurora, then DeKalb, then either RFD or DPA. RFD is tremendously accomodating! The difference between RFD and Chicago approach is night and day.

Grant, one of these days we have to meet!

 

[gprellwitz]

KDPA approaches are usually coordinated with Chicago approach - that's why I usually fly my approaches at Aurora, then DeKalb, then either RFD or DPA. RFD is tremendously accomodating! The difference between RFD and Chicago approach is night and day.

Grant, one of these days we have to meet!

I know what you mean about Rockford vs. Chicago Approach. Sometimes Chicago approach is not bad, but rarely can I say that they are good.

Are you going to be at the Poplar Grove event next Sunday? Maybe we can meet up there!

 

[bstratt]

I know what you mean about Rockford vs. Chicago Approach. Sometimes Chicago approach is not bad, but rarely can I say that they are good.

Are you going to be at the Poplar Grove event next Sunday? Maybe we can meet up there!

What Poplar Grove event?? I'm flying Saturday with a friend who has always been scared to death of flying. In his words "It's time I conquered my fears". I'm going to start him off with a lot of talking, then let him handle the controls for a while, then probably Janesville for lunch, and back. Don't think my wife will let me fly two days in a row!!

 

[gprellwitz]

What Poplar Grove event?? I'm flying Saturday with a friend who has always been scared to death of flying. In his words "It's time I conquered my fears". I'm going to start him off with a lot of talking, then let him handle the controls for a while, then probably Janesville for lunch, and back. Don't think my wife will let me fly two days in a row!!

See http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8603.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

First, REMEMBER TO START THE TIME! So many of my approaches are GPS or ILS that it isn't ingrained in me the way it needs to be. The other thing is to avoid an inadvertant busting of the MDA or DH.

1. 5 T's, every time anything changes or you hit any fix or whatever. I program the approach time into a countdown timer when I brief the approach so that I don't have to scan the timer as much - It'll beep like mad.

2. Watch stepdowns too, I busted my ride on that.

 

[bstratt]

See http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8603.

Hmmm, I'll have to check with my friend if he can switch to Sunday.

 

[Terry]

Grant:

Way to Go!

I am sure you will do well!

Terry

 

[EHITCH]

Grant, I'm sure you'll do well. But, uh, be sure to avoid the lakefront and Gary airspace on Saturday, will ya? Might be some F/A 18s zooming around ........
Can't wait to see your new 'ticket' (do they call it that for IR) on Sunday - are you riding with Gail?
Elizabeth

 

[gprellwitz]

Grant, I'm sure you'll do well. But, uh, be sure to avoid the lakefront and Gary airspace on Saturday, will ya? Might be some F/A 18s zooming around ........
Can't wait to see your new 'ticket' (do they call it that for IR) on Sunday - are you riding with Gail?
Elizabeth

Well, I seem to recall that they sometimes go into a hold over the JOT VOR. Unfortunately, I'll be under the hood, so unable to see them! (For those not in the Chicago area, this weekend is the Chicago Air & Water Show.)

The "ticket" will be a piece of paper. Hopefully, white!

No, I'm going with Leslie Heninger, not Gail. Leslie is a fixture at Clow.

 

[bstratt]

See http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8603.

By the time I checked with the friend one of my partners booked for Sunday so I'm stuck with Saturday - have fun.

 

[gprellwitz]

Thanks! We'll be heading up to Lake Lawn (Delevan, WI) on Saturday for dinner. Maybe we can meet up there?

 

[bstratt]

Thanks! We'll be heading up to Lake Lawn (Delevan, WI) on Saturday for dinner. Maybe we can meet up there?

Never gone there for dinner, just the champagne brunch on Sunday morning (which my wife loves as she gets to drink my champagne as well). Let's try and schedule something for around the end of September when I have some free time.

 

[Dave Krall CFII]

Whoa! Saturday tomorrow already. Hope you haven't gotten too comfortable, because these IFR checkrides are almost impossible to pass.

Better start cramming now and through the entire night, there's no substitute for 3 or 4 pots of strong black coffee. Memorizing all the FARs and approach plates for your region forwards AND backwards might help impress the examiner -they're usually out to get you so be ready to argue alot.

Best of luck too, it's about the only way to get through one of these flying, living nightmares successfully.

Well, I just booked the plane and the DE for my IA checkride next Saturday. Today was good. I got up and managed to get a few tenths of actual. Unfortunately Chicago approach wasn't able to give me the second approach I wanted at KDPA. He complained that he needed to slow down five planes behind me that were filed into KDPA. Heck, I was in a Skyhawk doing better than 125KT on the ILS. Can't keep the speed up too much more than that! Give me a Hawker and then we can talk!

He got snippy with me after I questioned whether it might be possible to do one more approach, but he apologized a moment later. And yes, I used the infamous "double click" to acknowledge his apology. Figure he didn't need me cluttering his precious frequency!

One more flight tomorrow, including some time to look at and tab the maintenance logs, then I'm set. I've got two things that always trip me up that I need to watch on the checkride. First, REMEMBER TO START THE TIME! So many of my approaches are GPS or ILS that it isn't ingrained in me the way it needs to be. The other thing is to avoid an inadvertant busting of the MDA or DH.

Wish me luck!

 

[gprellwitz]

Whoa! Saturday tomorrow already. Hope you haven't gotten too comfortable, because these IFR checkrides are almost impossible to pass.

Better start cramming now and through the entire night, there's no substitute for 3 or 4 pots of strong black coffee. Memorizing all the FARs and approach plates for your region forwards AND backwards might help impress the examiner -they're usually out to get you so be ready to argue alot.

Best of luck too, it's about the only way to get through one of these flying, living nightmares successfully.

Thanks Dave, I always need one of those confidence boosters!

Actually, looks like we might have some actual tomorrow AM . I wouldn't be adverse to that, but getting Chicago Approach on board with it can be tricky, as I noted above. But the DE can always pull out the "checkride" card to hopefully get a little more cooperation from them! I'm thinking, though, that she may elect to do an approach at KARR in place of one or both of the expected ones at KDPA, so I'll probably review those plates tonight.

 

[gprellwitz]

Okay, my way of relaxing. After doing a short (1 hr) flight in actual myself, I got in back of a DA-40 while a couple of instructors fly to Rockford. Coming back in to 1C5 the visibility was right at the mins. Hit some level 2 rain, too. Now off to bed!

 

[gprellwitz]

Well, I did very well on the oral portion, despite being nervous and tongue-tied. Got a dicontinuance, because I didn't feel comfortable launching into OVC005 to 007. After a couple of hours it went to unreported with 011OVC nearby, but that would have been a little dicey still, given the density of air traffic around ORD. So, I've rescheduled the practical portion for NEXT Saturday!

 

[SCCutler]

Oy Vey! These needles and pins are getting a little painful on the backside.

You'll still do great; you just get to "stew" a little longer!

 

[spiderweb]

Congratulations, Grant! Really, you have covered what many feel is the hardest part of this practical examination!

 

[gprellwitz]

Well, I just postponed my checkride. I was scheduled for this AM, but it looks like convective activity will be coming through just about when I'd be doing the approaches. Not a happy situation. I'm now shooting for Monday morning. I have to consciously avoid "checkride-itis", the desire to go fly the checkride no matter what the weather.

 

[woodstock]

good luck Grant - I'm just seeing this. sorry about the crappy wx.

 

[gprellwitz]

good luck Grant - I'm just seeing this. sorry about the crappy wx.

Thanks. Peeves me a bit, because the storm split just about where we are around Joliet, making it flyable. Just a light rain here.

 

[ScottM]

good luck Grant - I'm just seeing this. sorry about the crappy wx.

That stinks another cancelation. I wish you well on Monday. At least I was not planning to fly on Monday. I am not sure the WX Gods are made at you or me. Both times of your checkride I also wanted to fly and the WX stunk around here. But that is Illinois, bad wx a lot of the time.

 

[gprellwitz]

That stinks another cancelation. I wish you well on Monday. At least I was not planning to fly on Monday. I am not sure the WX Gods are made at you or me. Both times of your checkride I also wanted to fly and the WX stunk around here. But that is Illinois, bad wx a lot of the time.

Yeah, why do you think I want the instrument rating!

At least I'm not beating myself up about cancelling. Even when I looked at the radar at 10:00, when I was scheduled to fly, I was saying it didn't look good. I don't mess with ice or thunderstorms. Unfortunately, what do we get a lot of here in the midwest?

 

[ScottM]

Yeah, why do you think I want the instrument rating!

At least I'm not beating myself up about cancelling.

I know what you mean about the pressure of the ride. I did get a little antsy when it was time for my ride. I had it scheduled, my mom had just been diagnosed with cancer, I was trying to get the ride in before her surgery as I was going to take off some significant time from work to help her recuperate.

Me and the DE just could not get a time that would work and it looked like my ride was to be cancelled for a few months. When I mentioned "too bad we can't do this at night". She said there was no reason we couldn't except that unless someone had a lot of night experience she did not like to give the ride. I had done almost all of my instrument training at night. So we scheduled it and it went great.

We had bad WX over at Kenosha where she wanted to go. We then headed to Rockford and I fly the ILS1, LOC-BC19, then the manuvers holds, etc, on the way back to C81 where I did the GPS-A partial panel.

I am sure on Monday yours will go well too!

 

[gprellwitz]

Ugh. My DE is feeling borderline, so we rescheduled for Wednesday, presuming the plane is available.

Scott, Sorry about your mother. Status?

BTW, who was your DE? I know about three female DEs in the Chicago area, so I might know her.

 

[ScottM]

Ugh. My DE is feeling borderline, so we rescheduled for Wednesday, presuming the plane is available.

Figured you would when I was driving in today. Better luck on Wednesday

Scott, Sorry about your mother. Status?

Well she was cured, my story above was from almost three years ago. But this last Christmass she had a recurence. She has been under going Chemo and Radiation. They have stopped for now as her tumor is only showing back ground radiation. They did not use the cured word again but are hoping for the best. We will see in three months.

BTW, who was your DE? I know about three female DEs in the Chicago area, so I might know her.

Gail LaPook

 

[bstratt]

Good luck Grant. I was up yesterday for my BFR and entered the clag at 1,000 AGL, flew the GPS 7 approach into Rochelle and didn't see the runway lights until just about at minimums (between 500 -600 ft AGL). Turned around there and refiled back to DPA. Shot the ILS 2L and broke out about 1,200 AGL. There were a few planes scud running but you'd never get me to try that with those ceilings.

 

[gprellwitz]

Gail LaPook

I know Gail from the 99's. Small world!

 

[gprellwitz]

Good luck Grant. I was up yesterday for my BFR and entered the clag at 1,000 AGL, flew the GPS 7 approach into Rochelle and didn't see the runway lights until just about at minimums (between 500 -600 ft AGL). Turned around there and refiled back to DPA. Shot the ILS 2L and broke out about 1,200 AGL. There were a few planes scud running but you'd never get me to try that with those ceilings.

Thanks. Yeah, my personal mins are 1000' AGL and 2 mi vis. That's dual pilot in the flatlands.

 

[ScottM]

Grant hurry up please, I am planning to fly Saturday to Indiana and the sooner you do your checkride the faster we will have good weather again. There is no way that once you have your IFR rating that you will see bad wx again for a while.