checkride nightmare

J

jetstreamcessna

Filing Flight Plan
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Mar 20, 2014
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piper
Hi,

First of all id like to introduce myself, I am 24 years old and i am at the final phase of my ppl flight training. So i passed the stage checks, written etc and today i had my checkride. I go into the FBO and i was greated by three guys from the FAA, 1 was my examiner and the other two where giving him a checkride on how he examines, talk about making me more nervous. So we proceeded with the oral portion and i got 90 percent of the questions right and even answered some bonus IFR questions. The winds were gusting to 25 knots so obviously we would need to fly another date. The guy told me that he needs to talk to my examiner so i exited the room for about 20 minutes and i can hear what sounded like scolding to my examiner. The examiner forgot to ask me anything related to airspace and that one question where do pilots tend to get into a spin which is obviously from base to final. I get called back in and my examiner informs me that he almost got fired for forgetting these critical questions he tells me my oral was above average but the guy watching him thinks it was weak and the examiners performance is unsatisfactory. so i dont fail but i get a letter of discontinuance and i have to repeat the Oral portion again and the flight portion with three guys from the FAA. Honestly i think this bull**** i should be able to appeal something like this now i have to solo again to practice because i have three eyes watching me and the examiner is going to be way more critical now even though my oral was above pts standards. I dont know what to do i have to wait a weak to take the checkride and i really dont feel comfortable doing the flight portion with three guys from the FAA. I informed my instructor and he told me that guy has been giving the FBO a hard time. now i have to spend 300 dollars for a dual flight, do a whole lot of flight planning again and redo the oral, its just not fair. Any help/ suggestions? is there any way i can appeal this? sorry for the bad grammar i wrote this extremely fast and i am angry lol.
 
Welcome to the forum,remember your dealing with the government. If you decide to take on the FAA the ride probably won't go well.
 
your absolutely right, i plan on being a pilot for a living so i will do no such thing, i just think your first checkride should not be with three guys from the FAA i guess its just bad luck
 
Use a different DPE.
 
thanks for the replies, I will request a new DPE and hopefully join the rest of you as licensed pilot. I am just gonna solo and make sure everything is beyond pts.
 
What plane are you training in that would hold 4 adults? Be sure to do an accurate weight and balance and have the plane full of fuel, odds are you'll leave one on the ramp lol.
 
Henning said:
What plane are you training in that would hold 4 adults? Be sure to do an accurate weight and balance and have the plane full of fuel, odds are you'll leave one on the ramp lol.
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Not to mention it will change how the plane handles.
 
Doesn't the POH for 172s and Cherokees specify the back seat has to be empty for stalls/steep turns/etc?
 
If you choose to do it with another DPE, you will have to start over. If you're able to do it with (2 or 3?) of the FAA folks that were there, you would probably just continue where you left off (that's the reason for the 'discontinuance').
 
kevmor99 said:
If you choose to do it with another DPE, you will have to start over. If you're able to do it with (2 or 3?) of the FAA folks that were there, you would probably just continue where you left off (that's the reason for the 'discontinuance').
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They already told him he'd have to do the oral over.
 
cowman said:
Doesn't the POH for 172s and Cherokees specify the back seat has to be empty for stalls/steep turns/etc?
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Not that I've seen, some will have utility category if the weight/CG is in a certain envelope, but that would be more for things like spins.
 
i asked the examiner privately if i would have to repeat the oral questions i got right and he said yes, this does not make sense but i am not worried i already know them. And my biggest fear is that the airplane will handle differently, one of them was slightly overweight and me and the examiner's combined weight is 366 so i don't see the calculations in the utility category at all. I have cooled down a bit but i was frustrated because this caused me so much inconvenience due to the examiner's mistakes even though i thought he was an excellent examiner, he made me laugh and put me at ease from the moment i met him, the guy that is watching him is who i am worried about.
 
Henning said:
What plane are you training in that would hold 4 adults? Be sure to do an accurate weight and balance and have the plane full of fuel, odds are you'll leave one on the ramp lol.
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Candidate, examiner and three FAA dudes. He WILL leave one on the ramp for anything smaller than a Cherokee 6. He will probably leave another for any 172, except perhaps for an Air Plains 172N.
 
At the beginning of my last checkride the DPE told me that the FAA has been dropping in on more practical exams like this lately.

He mentioned to me that it was my check ride, I could discontinue it for whatever reason at any time. He advised me that if the FAA showed up and I felt uncomfortable, that it was my option to continue or cancel.

They didn't show up and I passed, so I didn't have to worry about that.

Sorry you had the bad experience. I know you probably already paid the DPE $300-600 or more. It might make sense to just take your letter of discontinuance and take the checkride with some other DPE. It is actually bad that he didn't ask you a single question about airspace or anything on base/final stalls. IIRC base/final stalls are a special emphasis area on the private pilot PTS.
 
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MAKG1 said:
Candidate, examiner and three FAA dudes. He WILL leave one on the ramp for anything smaller than a Cherokee 6. He will probably leave another for any 172, except perhaps for an Air Plains 172N.
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I think it's candidate, examiner, and 2 from FAA.
 
Henning said:
What plane are you training in that would hold 4 adults? Be sure to do an accurate weight and balance and have the plane full of fuel, odds are you'll leave one on the ramp lol.
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:thumbsup:
Full Fuel for safety since that FBO in your "Cross Country" charges wayyy to much for 100LL!!
 
Normal part of the process. Go back and finish up. If you are not confident that you can pass with the FAA watching, you need more training before the check ride.
 
Go with another DPE and Beg/Borrow/Barter for any additional $$$ needed to get it done! Take a solo flight just for fun to help you visualize what things will be like once this latest hurdle has been passed! Good luck!!!

Remember things do not have to work our for you, to work out FOR YOU!
Checkride with 2 Extra ball busters, with 25mph gusts= No bueno!!!!!
 
Owad1971 said:
Go with another DPE and Beg/Borrow/Barter for any additional $$$ needed to get it done! Take a solo flight just for fun to help you visualize what things will be like once this latest hurdle has been passed! Good luck!!!

Remember things do not have to work our for you, to work out FOR YOU!
Checkride with 2 Extra ball busters, with 25mph gusts= No bueno!!!!!
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I dont think it will cost me extra to take the exam again, if it did i would not pay, it was more of an internal issue i was well prepared, but yea i guess its gonna feel so much better!!
 
I kind feel like since the DPE got pink slipped, the OP is entitled to his money back and to use another examiner. Why does the OP need to spend another $300 for a dual lesson?
 
I feel for you, but you just need to roll with it. Don't let it rattle you. Especially if you're going to be flying for a living (but even if you don't) you'll have plenty of opportunities to deal with frustration and bureaucratic baloney that ends up costing YOU money. Best to adopt an attitude now that allows you to deal with it without stressing you out and affecting your performance.

I had an FAA guy show up for my check ride -- he was going to ride along to check out my DPE. I told him and the DPE that he might go flying that day, but it wouldn't be in the back seat of my 172! He did stick around for the oral, but not the practical. And that was just fine with me.
 
Brad Z said:
I kind feel like since the DPE got pink slipped, the OP is entitled to his money back and to use another examiner. Why does the OP need to spend another $300 for a dual lesson?
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dude your from alexandria, i took my checkride in manassas (Khef)
 
What does it say on your discontinuance? Does it say retest everything or just the items missed? It should show the areas of operation completed and remaining. If it is just the flight, go with a different DPE. Or stick with the same guy and just finish up.
 
Brad Z said:
I kind feel like since the DPE got pink slipped, the OP is entitled to his money back and to use another examiner. Why does the OP need to spend another $300 for a dual lesson?
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I agree. Money back if you want to go with another DPE. You were issued a discontinuance because the DPE failed to do his job correctly in the eyes of the FAA inspector.

If you liked the original DPE and he wants to finish your checkride at no extra charge, do that. Maybe he didn't really screw up that bad and the FAA was just giving him hell for no good reason.
 
This is really f'ed up! I would be super mad as well. this was a dpe not a free FAA checkride? How the hell could he pass you and then go back on it totally bad form, want to prove a point call you in ask you a few questions on the missed you nail them and move on but to start all over thats beat! And he wouldnt even say you would just do missed stuff he said all over again everything, thats beat! seems kind of odd that they will for sure be there for your next ride, i mean couldnt they watch his other heck rides why specifically yours? like are they going to check back up on yours specifically?
Back to, once you pass how can you go back on it. But truth with flying alot of inconvenient things happen lots of wasted money so i guess just get used to it! Im sure you'll pass just goingto make you jump through hoops first.
 
I don't recall ever doing a checkride without some prior knowledge of who I was getting into the airplane with. I think it is a good idea to ask around & find out if the proposed examiner has any kind of history before signing on with one. The bad apples usually are well-known. Unless denied an option I would completely avoid either someone you can't get the skinny on, or an FAA examiner.
 
OP:

I'm curious, where are you based out of? My local DPE just got the visit as well from what I hear...
 
As to having a third person in the aircraft, it's my understanding that the examinee is the PIC. He should have the authority to limit passengers to just the examiner for whatever reason or for no reason. Can anyone show me in the FAR where this isn't true?
 
Old Geek said:
...the examinee is the PIC. He should have the authority to limit passengers to just the examiner for whatever reason...
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Is there some FAR I have missed that requires a four-seat airplane for a checkride? Find another flight school that will rent you a 152, and show up in that for your checkride.

If the FAA wants to bloat the costs of your checkride to conduct a check on the DPE, it ought to pick up the tab. But beyond that, it's not fair to any student to introduce extraordinary stress for both the examinee and the examiner. Talk about failing the FAA's I'M SAFE checklist!
 
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F this examiner and his henchmen. Get another DPE and knock it out. Once you get your ticket, spread the word. I know you said the original DPE was a good examiner but it was his negligence that caused you this mess and extra money.
 
Yeah, wow, that's crazy bull****. Nothing about this is okay. Obviously nothing you can do now but I'd definitely make a formal complaint into the FAA. At least make sure that the FAA doesn't think this was okay with you. Heh, if it was me I'd probably bill them for my time as well and come up with a "newly enforced" club rule that prohibits "passengers" on training flights. :p

Best of luck on your next ride, hopefully this can be considered a free practice run.
 
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