Exceeding solo limitations during the checkride

rk

rk

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Rafi
Say your CFI has a put a 10sm visibility restriction in your solo endorsement. You go to the checkride and ATIS is reporting 6sm. Can you still legally fly with the DPE?

(And let's set aside the discussion about whether one SHOULD do this or not, I know that the answer is no for the vast majority of the cases)
 
I think the student is always the PIC during the Checkride?

However, it's common for students to divert to a new airport during the checkride for which they don't have any solo endorsement. So I am not sure to what extent the solo limitations apply during the checkride.
 
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Get an endorsement without the limit. Problem solved.

if he’s willing to sign you off for a check ride, there shouldn’t be limits to the endorsement IMO.
 
Rafi Kamal said:
(And let's set aside the discussion about whether one SHOULD do this or not, I know that the answer is no for the vast majority of the cases)
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The only reason the answer would be no for the vast majority of cases is that the instructor failed to teach proper ADM.
 
Rafi Kamal said:
I think the student is always the PIC during the Checkride?
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Yes. The DPE is there to not only see that you can handle the maneuvers required but also access your judgement skills.
 
WTF to the CFI who did that endorsement.

And even if they did, they should have rescinded it when they signed you off the checkride.

Nope, you cannot fly solo until the vis is 10 miles, but you can take your checkride and then fly in 1 mile vis in the proper airspace
 
rhkennerly said:
you are not flying solo. The DPE is an instructor with the authority to take control of the airplane and end the check ride. Clearly, you are not the PIC.
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If the DPE takes control, you've already failed the check ride. You are the PIC until that point.....
 
My PPL was very clear in letting me know I was the PIC.
 
The hypothetical is confusing. I can certainly understand no XC solo in less than 10m vis. Or only pattern work in 3m vis or less. (for me, 3 miles vis constitutes an emergency anyway).

Instead of visibility, let's use as an example "no solo in crosswinds greater than 30 degrees at 10kts; no winds greater than 15kts" That's a fairly common kind of restraint for new solo pilots.

The answer is still the same. It doesn't apply for the checkride, since the DPE is a pilot, an instructor, and an examiner with authority to terminate the flight, cancel your checkride, and take control of the airplane.

I imagine instructors write all kinds of restrictions in log books and forget to remove them.
 
And you're not solo when another person (in this case, the DPE) is in the plane with you.
 
Salty said:
if he’s willing to sign you off for a check ride, there shouldn’t be limits to the endorsement IMO.
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Exactly.

When on your checkride, you're flying under the authorization of the checkride endorsement, not the solo endorsement. That checkride endorsement should have no such limitations. If the CFI feels he needs to put limits on the checkride endorsement, you're not truly ready for the checkride and I doubt any DPE would accept it.

At the checkride, the CFI is saying "This pilot is ready to assume PIC responsibilities." It's your judgement from that point forward.

The only type of limitation I can see might be when you're flying a rental aircraft and the rental agreement might have some sort of weather restriction. But not your logbook endorsement for the ride.
 
rhkennerly said:
The answer is still the same. It doesn't apply for the checkride, since the DPE is a pilot, an instructor, and an examiner with authority to terminate the flight, cancel your checkride, and take control of the airplane.
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That's not why it doesn't apply.
Half Fast said:
When on your checkride, you're flying under the authorization of the checkride endorsement, not the solo endorsement.
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That is.

But if the applicant has to fly to where the check ride will begin, he must have the proper endorsements.
 
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Half Fast said:
When on your checkride, you're flying under the authorization of the checkride endorsement, not the solo endorsement.
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Yulp! Seems absurd to imagine the CFI could place limitations on the applicant that the DPE had to abide by. That's why I asked who is the PIC? That's who makes the decisions concerning the flight ...
 
Lindberg said:
But if the applicant has to fly to where the checked check ride will begin, he must have the proper endorsements.
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Good point. There could be wind, ceiling, and visibility limitations that might prevent the student from getting to the checkride location. Plus the student must consider the return flight if he doesn't pass the checkride and look at the forecast later in the day.

When I was scheduled for my PPL ride, I was supposed to fly from X04 (Apopka) to KLAL (Lakeland) to meet the DPE. Winds were too high at X04 for the LSA I was flying, so I called the DPE and we discussed it. Thinking the winds might calm down late in the day, the DPE agreed to drive over to X04 and see if conditions improved while we did the oral. That made for a loooong oral, and finally that evening we decided it wasn't happening so we discontinued and did the flight portion a few weeks later.
 
I'll answer by way of a question.

Is your checkride a solo flight?

No. So solo limitations do not apply. You are the PIC on your checkride.
 
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