DPE wait times...?

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StraightnLevel

Line Up and Wait
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StraightnLevel
What have you guys been seeing for scheduling waits for a DPE checkride (PPL)? I've heard of some really long lead times (90-120 days) anecdotally in the Houston area.

Is it better elsewhere, or is this just the way it is?
 
Up in the panhandle there may be a DPE or two with some availability. In the SAT area I know one DPE that stopped his waitlist when it was 50 people deep. Once he cleared that backlog over about four months, he will only schedule someone if they can take the checkride within two weeks.
 
MauleSkinner said:
TCABM ‘s post sounds like at least some DPEs are trying to fix it.
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I have no doubt there are folks trying to, but from the numbers of frustrated folks complaining, it appears to be an ongoing struggle. On the other hand, I don’t feel tremendous sympathy for folks griping about the cost. If I jumped through the hoops to be a DPE it would cost me several thousand dollars for every day sacrificed from my primary job to give checkrides. Obviously, it’s not realistic to make that back as a DPE, so I agree no one is likely getting rich off of it. It sounds like an interesting retirement gig, maybe. The FAA and Congress have successfully screwed up a system that used to work fairly well.
 
YakDrvr said:
I have no doubt there are folks trying to, but from the numbers of frustrated folks complaining, it appears to be an ongoing struggle.
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Well, from a very basic point of view, each of us only has so many days left. Every single delay we incur is time that we can never get back, so schedule management is incredibly valuable.

YakDrvr said:
On the other hand, I don’t feel tremendous sympathy for folks griping about the cost.
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I didn't start this thread to complain about cost. I fully agree that people with valuable skills and abilities should be compensated.

The question I was asking is what other people are seeing for DPE lead times. This is a specific question that is distinct from what the issue being raised in the other thread.
 
StraightnLevel said:
Well, from a very basic point of view, each of us only has so many days left. Every single delay we incur is time that we can never get back, so schedule management is incredibly valuable….
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DPEs are a finite resource, of which the FAA makes a publicly available list of them. Nothing prevents you from reaching out directly to anyone on that list. Maybe look for a guy in Bulverde.

FAA-Designee Management System

The Designee Management System, DMS, web-based tool, designed to standardize the management of designees.
designee.faa.gov designee.faa.gov
 
We are out of everything.
AMEs
DPEs
DMEs
FAA medical officers
Qualified ASIs at the FSDO.
A&P-IAs
A&Ps
I've never seen it this bad and I've been aviation not quite 50 years.
 
bbchien said:
We are out of everything.
AMEs
DPEs
DMEs
FAA medical officers
Qualified ASIs at the FSDO.
A&P-IAs
A&Ps
I've never seen it this bad and I've been aviation not quite 50 years.
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Don’t forget about qualified pilots. ;)
 
Lachlan said:
...he said ironically, as he never runs out of patients. :smilewinkgrin:
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Nothing ironic about it, especially considering he has clients, not patients. The fewer AMEs, the more each AME has to handle. Nothing prevents anyone from submitting on MedXpress.

But we both know Bruce limit’s his practice to the hardest of the hard; the quantity of those cases is increasing for various reasons while the number of AMEs the FAA will designate as Senior AMEs is shrinking because there’s not enough staff to oversee the Senior AMEs nor to process the cases needing review.

The canary in the coal mine has stopped making noise; difficult case revenue airmen will get weeded out simply because there’s not enough qualified AMEs to process and oversee their applications.

End result is effectively shutting those with problems out of the system by not initially certifying them at the class 3 level, the. Ny not doing timely initial certs at the Class 2 and 1 levels, leaving just those already in the system as the relevant population. That’ll be critical mass and those who can hide their problem will because WOM will be don’t disclose anything that *might* be disqualifying.

And that, is how overall safety ends up being compromised at a systemic level.

Personally, I’m glad Bruce has enough work that he has to simply consult the ‘hard’ initial cases and not sponsor them as well. That means revenue aviators are at least using the system as designed.
 
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bbchien said:
We are out of everything.
AMEs
DPEs
DMEs
FAA medical officers
Qualified ASIs at the FSDO.
A&P-IAs
A&Ps
I've never seen it this bad and I've been aviation not quite 50 years.
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Worry not. Soon we’ll also be out of 100ll and parts for our old airplanes, so the other shortages will become moot.
 
bbchien said:
We are out of everything.
AMEs
DPEs
DMEs
FAA medical officers
Qualified ASIs at the FSDO.
A&P-IAs
A&Ps
I've never seen it this bad and I've been aviation not quite 50 years.
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I’m out of excuses why I can’t go to OSH. I ain’t no theisen when it comes to excuses…… :)
 
I sincerely empathize. My colleagues and myself truly do our best to service the need. I would recommend looking outside your district for resources... sometimes there's availability right around the corner.
 
When I was ready for the CFI checkride in 2018, there were two DPEs in the San Jose FSDO region doing CFI rides. One was backed up for a couple months, and the other was known as a bully and had an inordinately high fail rate but was available quickly. (Note: He’s no longer a DPE. Supposedly he received a notification during a checkride that his status was revoked - finally. He was universally hated.)

So I scheduled with the available DPE, then had to reschedule. In the meantime, my CFI found out that a DPE in Fresno (different district) had gotten authorization for doing CFI checkrides, so we scheduled with him. The original DPE emailed me asking when I wanted to schedule with him. I made the mistake of telling him I was going to Fresno; should’ve just gone radio silent. This was just before out-of-district was good to go across the board.

So he emails my CFI and me, and in a rather angry tone tells us it’s a violation of policy and the FAA will absolutely not allow checkrides out of district, blahblahblah.

My CFI sent an email to the FSDO lead (or whatever his title is) ASI, and CCed the DPE who was against it, asking if it was allowable for me to go to Fresno. The ASI’s almost immediate response? “Fine with me”. No punctuation, no greeting.
 
Ryan F. said:
I sincerely empathize. My colleagues and myself truly do our best to service the need. I would recommend looking outside your district for resources... sometimes there's availability right around the corner.
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Thanks for the response! I'm not trying to be critical, just hoping to get some pireps on the current state of things so that I can plan accordingly and perhaps find the path of least resistance.

Our area (Houston) has a lot of activity, so it's not surprising that the schedule can be challenging. I heard a bit of a horror story from another student last weekend who had waited a very long time for his checkride, so I thought I'd ask a around a bit to see what approach is likely to get the best results.
 
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