Write-Up
So, my checkride started at 10am. I got there a little earlier and did a some weather checking and wind calculations for the cross-country. Barry, the examiner, arrived, greeted me and then talked to our manager for a bit about the new helicopter they have on the line. Then, we went downstairs to the classroom and made sure IACRA was complete/correct.
The oral was conversational and began with him talking about "certain things" we need to have in an airplane to make it legal to fly (ARROW). Then, we spoke about required inspections and I had to go upstairs to get the maintenance records which were nicely tabbed for all of the inspections (I forgot to grab them earlier). Barry was more familiar with these than I was since I've only looked at them twice and he does numerous checkrides with this particular school. We spoke about commercial operations and the responsibility of the pilot, privileges, etc. Then, there were some questions involving the airplane itself - airspeeds, fuel/fuel requirements, weights.
Next we discussed various emergencies - What to do if you lose oil pressure, high oil temperature, causes of these. We talked about losing the alternator (ammeter at 0), how to check if it's dead. What to do. We also talked about required equipment and got into a talk about an MEL - where to get one. Do we have one? Who would typically use them? What do you do with inoperative equipment?
Then we talked about my cross country to Elmira (KELM). I elected to go around the bottom of the lake for my "passenger's" sake. I told him I didn't want to deal with Canada if they needed to stop. I knew I could make the trip non-stop and would likely have overflown Canada to do that. So, he asked about flight plans over Canada and then flotation gear as Lake Erie could come into play. We also spoke about oxygen requirements and different airspaces and weather requirements, etc. - SVFR (night, who to call), landing at a G airport with visibility less than 3 - what about this other airport (E to surface)?, prohibited, restricted, MOA.
We went over the weight and balance and the effects of a forward/aft CG, overweight, and other typical weight issues. Then, Would you fly in light turbulence? Moderate? A convective sigmet?
After all this (I may have forgotten some specifics), we talked for a bit about how I got into aviation. We had similar stories. He asked about college. I graduated from Michigan State in May and he remarked about me being well-prepared and what he notices about various applicants/ages. Just general talk and what I wanted to do with aviation, etc. Then, he asked me to get the plane, preflight it and pick him up on the ramp.
On to the flying portion. . .
I preflighted and picked him up on the ramp. I advised him to check the brakes and made sure his seat belt was on and everything. He didn't do anything funny for me to notice. We talked a little bit about the clouds - 2300 BKN but it was scattered and there were enough holes. I did the run-up and we departed from 24 (soft-field technique) and turned left to the SE. My first checkpoint was Milan, a smaller town on US 23 that was very easy to find and about 5 minutes away. He asked if we were on time/course. I said yes. I did forget to check my watch on take-off but it seemed like the estimated 5 minutes.
He was happy and instructed me to turn right and climb around the clouds. The tops were around 3500 msl so we climbed to 4500 and did the maneuvers. We started with steep turns (perfect on the left, some corrections but within tolerance to the right). I told him they were always a little tough for me. The commercial training and reading Stick and Rudder finally helped me get everything to click. Next was a chandelle (pick a direction) I went left. I wasn't aggressive enough holding backpressure so I had to hold it for a second after the turn was pretty much complete to get it. No complaints from Barry and a general instruction to hold the yoke hard back and then resume cruise. Then we did a lazy eight that he was happy with. Not completely perfect but I am particular about maneuvers and this is my favorite one. Somewhere in there we did slow flight, full dirty, that led to a power off stall and then a power on stall when we were clean.
Then he talked about how I was having an engine failure while he pulled back the throttle and to talk him through it and then perform a steep spiral around a tower. We dodged some clouds on the way down and I spotted the tower below us and that was that.
Now that we were low, it was very hot and I was instructed to do my eights on pylons (east/west as the wind was somewhat southerly). I chose a silo at a farm and then the next one was a group of trees. I talked my way through it with my corrections and what was happening. After this, we were conveniently located right over the lake that my instructor uses for the initial call.
So, I got the ATIS and we proceeded in for a right downwind to a soft field touch and go. Then, there was the power off 180. I turned in, dropped the gear and proceeded in for a little bit of a rounded base. I was right where I wanted to be and pulled full flaps (love the manual flaps), and then performed a little slip to lose some more altitude. It's so much easier to be high than low. We landed at the end of the 1000 ft. markers and rolled to the end where we taxied back to the ramp to drop him off. He congratulated me and told me he liked my use of flaps and the slip to get us right where we wanted to be. Again, he said I was well-prepared and was happy with the ride as he didn't have to do much besides tell me what maneuvers to do.
I parked the plane, pushed it back into the hangar and met him back at the terminal to finish up the paperwork and print my new temporary certificate that says I am a Commercial Pilot!
All in all, it was pretty easy and a very fun rating like everyone said. Barry is an awesome guy and he said he's going to bring down one of his aerobatic planes for a day for anyone interested (Me!).
I think I got most everything in here. Feel free to ask any questions and it may jog my memory.
Now on to some more training. CFI and maybe some multi and definitely more tailwheel (just a few hours in a champ in FL).
