I passed!

etsisk

etsisk

En-Route
Joined
Sep 20, 2005
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Chapel Hill, NC
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iYiYi
I passed my checkride this afternoon!

Woo-hoo!

More later, but I'm just too tired to think any more...
 
CONGRATS Tom, now on to somereal fun,"Flying For Yourself"
Dave G
 
Hot dog!!! Way to go, Tom. It will take ages to wipe that grin off your face.
 
Congrats CAPTAIN! You did say you wouldn't tell us when the checkride was until it was over. I hope it went smooth for you.
 
Good news Tom. So now you can stop calling yourself a Student Pilot...

I'll call later.
 
hooray!!!!!!:yes: :yes: :yes: Oh no, he's on the loose and on his own!!!!!:hairraise: :hairraise: :hairraise:
 
Good job, Tom. So who was more intimidating--your first FTO during your rookie cop year or your DE during your first checkride?

-JD
 
Stories! We want stories! :D

--Kath
 
Wow! I wasn't even aware that your checkride was coming up!

CONGRATULATIONS!!

You sir, are now teh win!
 
Ok, now that I've had some sleep . . .

When I went last week to do the checkride, we realized that my long xc was not quite long enough (something no man likes to hear!). So yesterday I set out to correct that - flew another xc up to virginny and parts east and back. When I got back, beaten up and sweating (dang pilot side vent doesn't work!) with a slightly sore noggin from hitting the ceiling (darned turbulence! Oh, remember to actually TIGHTEN your seatbelt!), I had a message on my cell from the DPE. She had a checkride spot open up, right then-ish, and did I want to get this done?

Well, I was some kind of tired - only got 5 hours sleep the night before, and hadn't even looked at the PTS's for a couple of days... I called her back and told her I was going to go get some lunch and cool down and would then re-assess the situation. I didn't want expedience to steamroller over common sense (the little of it I have). I realized that while, generally speaking, being conservative in this stuff is the best way to go, sometimes ya just gotta go for it. I called her back and said let's do it! (gulp!)

I flew to KBUY from KHBI and met her. We'd already done the oral, so all that was necessary was the practical part of it. Started off with a short-field takeoff (musta worked - we took off!) and went straight into the xc part of it. She diverted me to a leeetle closed airport she wanted to take a look at, so I did a circle around it (but she wouldn't let that count as a turn around a point, dang it!), then we went off and did some slow flight stuff, and power on and off stalls, and hood work and unusual attitudes, etc. She killed the power and I picked a spot, but I was no shining star as far as that went - I started to head into the farmers field waay too high, but then finally got it together and we got into position to land and she said, "ok, let's go" which was my signal to recover. Then after a turn around a barn we headed back to the airport for a soft-field landing. In the middle of which she pulled the power on me again and we did a simulated engine out landing. She liked my forward slip!!
biggrin.gif
AND I remembered to limit flaps to 30* (POH says to avoid slips with full flaps due to a tendency to develop a "nose down attitude"
eek.gif
). Soft-field take off and short field landing and that was that. There were other things involved - maneuvers and VOR stuff - but I was so tired that I don't remember what came when, to be honest with y'all - but we did all kinds of stuff. I was actually having fun - and thanked her for that, as it was pretty much up to her as to the tone of the thing.

It was great, and afterwards I had to SCOOT back to HBI if I wanted to get there before dark. And I most certainly DID want to get there before dark! (did I mention that I'm a chicken-heart?
rolleyes.gif
) I got there about 10 minutes before all dat light went 'way! But you know, St. Exupery was right about the airport beacon, calling us home - the lights of the runway spread out like gold in front of us . . .

All told it was a good experience. And I'm glad it's over!!!!!!
 
SkyHog said:
Wow! I wasn't even aware that your checkride was coming up!

CONGRATULATIONS!!

You sir, are now teh win!
Click to expand...
Yeah, I was seriously keeping it under wraps!!! I mean, ya never know, right? Like it wasn't enough pressure all by itself! :D
 
CowboyPilot said:
Good job, Tom. So who was more intimidating--your first FTO during your rookie cop year or your DE during your first checkride? -JD
Click to expand...
Neither! It was that shaved-headed, mean-looking S.O.B. in charge of all the practical training in the academy!! He actually turned out to be a really neat guy, once he had us in our place! I'll never forget the story he told after we finished the pepper spray "training" (if you can call getting yer face burned off "training" - it feels like bobbing for french fries!). He had gone home after getting sprayed and he took a shower - of course the water then ran the dried OC spray back down into his eyes. Right after that, his mother called the house and when his young daughter answered the phone, asked to speak to him. The conversation went like this:
His Mother: Let me speak to your father.
His Daughter: He can't come to the phone. He's lying on the bed naked, crying.
His Mother (in that Serious Mother Voice): Put him on the phone. Now.

heheheheh.
 
etsisk said:
Neither! It was that shaved-headed, mean-looking S.O.B. in charge of all the practical training in the academy!! He actually turned out to be a really neat guy, once he had us in our place! I'll never forget the story he told after we finished the pepper spray "training" (if you can call getting yer face burned off "training" - it feels like bobbing for french fries!). He had gone home after getting sprayed and he took a shower - of course the water then ran the dried OC spray back down into his eyes. Right after that, his mother called the house and when his young daughter answered the phone, asked to speak to him. The conversation went like this:
His Mother: Let me speak to your father.
His Daughter: He can't come to the phone. He's lying on the bed naked, crying.
His Mother (in that Serious Mother Voice): Put him on the phone. Now.

heheheheh.
Click to expand...
"Bobbing for french fries!" Boy, THAT nails it better than anything I've ever heard.

One of our recruits at FLETC got a double dose and as we headed for the showers, trying like hell not to touch our faces, this guy just HAD to rub his face and got that stuff on his hands--and then with the help of the water and a little soap (which can cause it to stick AND spread, you know), proceeded to smear that oleocapsicum14% right down to the crack of his hiney, his reproductive genitalia, his bellybutton and up to his nipples before the sensation, thanks to the water, "revived" itself.

Poor SOB was screaming and hopping and we were laughing until we were cyring. Imagine a bunch of tough old U.S. Marshal recruits nekkid as jaybirds in the showers laughing and hugging the walls and crying while one of our number IS doing a number trying to get that dose off!

Hell, makes a checkride seem like a walk in the park, don't it?

Good job, man. I know it's been a long obstacle ridden journey that we've talked about for over a year. Glad to hear it's under you and behind you and now your first few solo endeavors will be scaring the crap out of you. Then you'll settle down and there's nothing better.

Congrats, my friend.

-JD
 
Yay, Tom!!!:goofy: So glad it worked out!

Kaye
 
etsisk said:
I passed my checkride this afternoon!

Woo-hoo!

More later, but I'm just too tired to think any more...
Click to expand...

Tom, I know life's dealt you a lot of ups and downs lately, and I'm very happy for your "UP" day! You should be damned proud!
 
Thanks, everyone - I really appreciate the good thoughts and congratulations. Y'all have made it a lot easier than it certainly could have been - plus I've learned a lot hanging around the boards! (ok, some of it HAS been of the "uh oh, don't do dat!" variety, but still . . . :D )
 
As Bill and Ted would say, "MOST EXCELLENT!"

Congrats, Tom. Never stop learning.
 

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BBBBBBBBBBBbooyaa!

Congrats Tom. That is great! :D
 
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