Instrument Checkride Monday

Jim K

Jim K

Final Approach
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Mar 31, 2019
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Richard Digits
Last minute tips?
Questions their examiner stumped them on?

I was freaking out at this point before my Private ride, but I feel oddly calm about this one. Worst case is I come home and I'm still a VFR pilot. Plus, this time I know how the checkride process works and I know the DPE.

Last minute studying and simulator flying this weekend. Met my CFII this morning to do IACRA. We were going to fly, but he didn't think there was anything left to work on.

Airplane is scheduled, maintenance log & GPS DB checked, scheduled a room with the FBO. Need to go to the bank and get a wad of cash.....
 
like u said, now u know how a checkride works....there really shouldn't be any surprises on the flying portion, u know what to expect. hopefully u even know what approaches they're going to put u thru and maybe you've even flown them before. now it's time to chill and just ride out your last weekend as a VFR guy.
 
Go watch some youtube videos on IFR checkrides. It's a good refresher and puts the information in the format of a conversation, which is how it will take place.
 
Study up on weather. Pull out an approach plate and be able to know every symbol on it.
 
Jim K said:
Last minute tips?
Questions their examiner stumped them on?

I was freaking out at this point before my Private ride, but I feel oddly calm about this one. Worst case is I come home and I'm still a VFR pilot. Plus, this time I know how the checkride process works and I know the DPE.

Last minute studying and simulator flying this weekend. Met my CFII this morning to do IACRA. We were going to fly, but he didn't think there was anything left to work on.

Airplane is scheduled, maintenance log & GPS DB checked, scheduled a room with the FBO. Need to go to the bank and get a wad of cash.....
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Methinks yer CFII probably knows what he’s talkin about. Knowing where to look to find the answer, carries as much weight as the answer itself. Well, ya outta know that less than a thousand and three ain’t VFR:). G’luck. I’m puttin my money on ya make it.
 
Print out the ACS. Review each item one by one. Really no trick questions.
 
Nail it, enjoy it, and use the new rating a lot. Hope to join the crowd this year...
 
Relax, get a good night’s sleep Sunday night, and bring your A-game to the checkride. Good luck!
 
Ryanb said:
that can be one of the hardest parts of any big event like that haha
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Don’t tell him that! If he doesn’t get a good night’s sleep now, it’s only because YOU said it’s hard to do! ;)

it’s kinda like NDB approaches...they’re only hard if somebody tells you they are before you learn ‘em.
 
Good luck. I might PM you on who your DPE is since we're in the same FSDO area. I think the guy that did my PPL retired. Will need one for my instrument hopefully later this year.
 
Always have a chart on your lap, whether it's a 10-9, enroute or app. plate. Other than that, know your stuff and if you don't know, don't beat around the bush. You aren't expected to know every little detail. Lastly, good luck!
 
Thanks for the encouragement guys

I was checking out KSPI, where we're meeting, on Google earth to see if there's runup areas at the runways... and it looks like they caught the AC47 Spooky on the ramp. Kinda cool.
Screenshot_20200829-055927_Earth.jpg

NealRomeoGolf said:
Good luck. I might PM you on who your DPE is
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Myself and another club member use Taft from Taylorville. A couple other guys have used Dow from Quincy. Positive pireps on both.
 
Jim K said:
Thanks for the encouragement guys

I was checking out KSPI, where we're meeting, on Google earth to see if there's runup areas at the runways... and it looks like they caught the AC47 Spooky on the ramp. Kinda cool.
View attachment 89283


Myself and another club member use Taft from Taylorville. A couple other guys have used Dow from Quincy. Positive pireps on both.
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G’mornin. Googled that. I’ve seen videos of those before, didn’t know it had a nickname. Good one. Have a good breakfast, take a snack along. Have fun.
 
First of all, find out what you can about the DPE. When I took my instrument, my instructor told me that the fail rate of students that he was sending was nearly 100 percent. Pilots were failing on one thing, and would have to go back and retest, making their checkride, in a sense, cost double. I was just at the minimum hour requirements, so I asked him if he thought I was ready. He said, "Yes you are." I asked him if he wanted to ride along. He jumped at the chance. I didn't have any problems and passed the checkride without issue. I always wondered if having my instructor in the back made the DPE nervous, knowing that if he failed me for something, there would be a witness that would be able to question his judgement. Shortly after my checkride, my instructor found another DPE to send his students to. After that his students had a much better pass rate with that second DPE.
 
Good luck! I'm in the same boat. But I've been waiting for my date for over 3 weeks now. The DPE called me today and let me know he’s still backed up but hopefully next week.
 
Argh. Sitting in the fbo watching 'pawn stars'. Aced the oral, completed a published hold and an unpublished arc, and the ceiling got too low to do any approaches. 6000' when we took off dropped to 2000 in about 15min. TAF says it will lift around 4...I hope so as i really want to get this done.... and not have to scud run home. DPE lives close and said if the ceiling gets back to 3000 he'll come back and finish me up.
 
Jim K said:
DPE lives close and said if the ceiling gets back to 3000 he'll come back and finish me up.
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Say again? This is an instrument check? I can remember giving an instrument test to somebody when the ceiling was a real honest 200 at our first stop. The applicant was a graduate from a 10-day course and hadn't seen much if any actual. Thanked me profusely a couple months later after he had his hands full diverting one night after a missed approach due to low ceilings. Said the confidence from the flight test helped him keep his cool.
 
dtuuri said:
Say again? This is an instrument check? I can remember giving an instrument test to somebody when the ceiling was a real honest 200 at our first stop.
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My last approach on my instrument check-ride was a night NDB approach in IMC. I could tell because I was peaking from under the foggles and all I could see was snow.
 
Congrats, that's awesome. Please give us a report when you are done celebrating!
 
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