Checkride (Re)scheduled!

ebykowsky

ebykowsky

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So I just got off the phone with the DPE down in SC, and I got him to give me the flight portion of the exam for the other half of the $300 check I paid to my original DPE here in PIT! My schedule is as follows (next week):
23:14 Land at KCUB on the death tube from KPIT on Wednesday night
08:30 Wake up the next morning
10:00 1 hr review checkride with local flight school I've never flown with before
12:00 Take plane on 30 minute flight down to KOGB from KFDW
13:00 Do Checkride (only flight portion) Note to self: DO NOT FAIL!!!
14:30 Depart KOGB
15:00 Land in KFDW

Unfortunately, this is the only day the DPE will be around for the 2 weeks I'll be in town, so there won't be any "go work on this and then come back"--it's one or done. For what little it's worth, though, weather.com is forecasting CAVU with 6kt winds! Let's hope there's some merit to that forecast!!!
 
You can do it, evidentally failure is not an option.
 
Good luck! That's a pretty busy day but hopefully at the end you'll have a new piece of paper in your wallet that will soon turn into a piece of plastic!
 
Thanks for all the support guys!!! I'm planning on going in with the attitude of, "If I don't do well, it's not the end of the world. It's just a couple more hours of flying I have to do and a few more days I have to wait." I'm also really happy that I'll be able to do the practice with an instructor I've never met before, and that I can get it in so close to exam time--I'll be really fresh!
 
Is your DPE Carroll Joye? If it is you should have no problems. He did mine in October and put me at ease right away. He made it way less stressful than I thought it would be. Made the whole experience really pleasant. Great guy. KOGB is a nice little field too. If you have the time, grab the crew car and go to Dukes BBQ for a quick bite!
 
The stage check before my checkride was way more stressful and much harder than my actual checkride. My DPE was a sweet older lady who, despite her grandma-like demeanor, knew her shtuff.


Edit: What I was getting at is don't worry, duder! You're gonna do great. Tell the people checking you out at the new school that it's your checkride so they take you through a practice one.
 
Oh and watch out for a runway incursion at KOGB. I almost blew through the intersecting runway while taxiing even though we had just talked about runway incursions during the oral. First time I had been to an uncontrolled field with multiple runways. My checkride was almost over before it began.
 
wrighthenry said:
Is your DPE Carroll Joye? If it is you should have no problems. He did mine in October and put me at ease right away. He made it way less stressful than I thought it would be. Made the whole experience really pleasant. Great guy. KOGB is a nice little field too. If you have the time, grab the crew car and go to Dukes BBQ for a quick bite!
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Yep that's him! Seemed really nice over the phone. Is he fairly forgiving?
 
wrighthenry said:
Oh and watch out for a runway incursion at KOGB. I almost blew through the intersecting runway while taxiing even though we had just talked about runway incursions during the oral. First time I had been to an uncontrolled field with multiple runways. My checkride was almost over before it began.
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Oh and please let me know how to deal with this... do I have to stop before the runway and announce? I would think no call is necessary since it is uncontrolled.
 
You must LOOK. It's good practice to announce. It's also good practice to verbalize that both finals are clear.

Radios are not required at all at nontowered fields.

Stopping pointed straight ahead in a Cessna isn't going to cut it. You can't see at least one (and probably both) final like that. I'd suggest a sharp S turn short of the hold short line, good enough to get a solid view of both finals.
 
OK thanks, so essentially just be really really conscious of the other runway.
 
I'd also suggest some last-minute run-throughs and pattern practice with a local instructor, considering you're going to another field.
 
Yeah, as I said earlier, I'll be doing a full checkride that morning with the instructor to polish up. It won't be at the same field, but it will still be an uncontrolled (or whatever they're calling it these days) field.
 
He wants you to stop at the intersecting runway, look for traffic, AND announce on ctaf your intentions to cross the runway.

He's not looking to bust you for one mistake on your ride. He's looking to see if you are a safe, conscientious pilot. I know on a couple of my maneuvers I didn't feel like I did them really well but apparently they were ok with him. If you make a mistake let him know you know you made the mistake. I did bust my altitude on my first steep turn. I recognized that and told him I lost too much altitude. He told me "the sun was in your eyes. Do it again."
 
Talk him through EVERYTHING you're doing. He can't read your mind and will love to hear all the safe things you're thinking about.
 
Yeah, I'm gonna talk a lot. Here are some of the things I'm afraid I'll forget:
Using the checklist (everything boils back to this)
Carb heat in stalls, pattern, low rpm times--I normally fly a direct inject.
Starting the stopwatch--I always forget this
Clearing turns--I do these before the first maneuver, but I need to do it before each.
Positive exchange of controls--not second nature because switching was fairly casual with my instructor.

Also, should I ask for sterile cockpit in the pattern?
 
ebykowsky said:
Yeah, I'm gonna talk a lot. Here are some of the things I'm afraid I'll forget:
Using the checklist (everything boils back to this)
Carb heat in stalls, pattern, low rpm times--I normally fly a direct inject.
Starting the stopwatch--I always forget this
Clearing turns--I do these before the first maneuver, but I need to do it before each.
Positive exchange of controls--not second nature because switching was fairly casual with my instructor.

Also, should I ask for sterile cockpit in the pattern?
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Just relax and don't do anything dangerous. They don't want to fail you. Perform the maneuvers to the PTS, that is the important thing. You won't need to be perfect.
 
Yes, always ask for a sterile cockpit and don't be afraid to tell the DPE to wait if he says something at a bad time. Tell him to test his brakes and look for traffic as well. Anything you would do with a passenger.

What do you need a stopwatch for as a private pilot applicant? You won't be doing timed approaches or 1 min holds.
 
MAKG1 said:
What do you need a stopwatch for as a private pilot applicant? You won't be doing timed approaches or 1 min holds.
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Using dead reckoning to find waypoints on your cross country, or even if you're using other navigation, to check your groundspeed vs what you planned for. I definitely had to remember to time the first waypoint before the DPE diverted me off the planned course.
 
dukeblue219 said:
Using dead reckoning to find waypoints on your cross country, or even if you're using other navigation, to check your groundspeed vs what you planned for. I definitely had to remember to time the first waypoint before the DPE diverted me off the planned course.
Click to expand...

OK. I always used absolute time, as it tends to cancel the errors when you have them too closely spaced (like just about every student does).
 
Alright, check ride will not happen Thursday. It has been re-re-rescheduled (yes that's the third reschedule) for Friday morning. Will this ever end? I'd better pass or I may never get my ticket.
 
All this will just motivate you to get it over with...you will be ready for the checkride.
 
The flight part of my IR checkride was re-re-re-re-rescheduled until I finally got it done. You will too.
 
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