You guys really didnt have to make a huge deal out of it. I'm the one that probably is. Its my problem and I'm trying to find ways to solve it which is one of the reasons I kindly asked for help. Do I feel fompletely confident taking this checkride? No of course not. I dont feel comfortable flying in instrument conditions doing an ILS and an ILS is what I'm best at.
That's not a problem. If anyone waited until they were confident of performing flawlessly before taking a checkride they'd probably never quite get around to the test. You only have to be reasonably confident that you can (for the most part) stay within the PTS standards, which BTW even allow for stepping outside the specified limits briefly as long as you recognize the exceedence and are correcting back towards the goal condition (and don't exceed the limits often). I have no doubt that you are ready for your checkride if it didn't involve operating a fairly complicated GPS that you're not particularly familiar with.
Now if the DE is willing to cut you some slack because he's aware that the only reason you need to fly a GPS approach on the 89B is that the school's ADFs that you practiced with are inop at this time. Since you will be taking your checkride with the school's examiner, he might just be willing to do that, in which case you're OK. I suspect this may be the reason your CFI is telling you that you're ready.
[/quote] I've only done a couple GPS approaches because we weren't really gonna be tested on that, it was supposed to be an NDB approach (and I've done tons of those with little relief on confusion). I didnt find out until two days ago that I was going to be tested on a GPS approach since all of our ADFs are not functioning. I haven't quite figured out if I'm relieved for not doing the worst available approach IMO or just stressed on a different item now because I'm not sure on just how to program the dang thing. You guys have got to be honest with me as hard as I'm trying to be honest with myself. I understand that I'm still learning and I hope I never stop, but you can't sit there and tell me you weren't just a little apprehensive about any of your checkrides, especialy the first time you were tested on something you didnt quite understand and dont have the time to before a test.[/quote]
You're right, I can't tell you that I wasn't apprehensive going into any of my checkrides (all five of them) because like you I wanted to fly them better than I expected to.
I'm getting quite aggervated at people telling me I'm a screw up and not smart enough to be tested, I hear that enough in the plane.
I don't think anyone is saying that. I'm certainly not of that opinion at all. My
only concern is that you may have found yourself in a position of needing to have some expertise (on the GPS) that I would find tough to acquire overnight. This doesn't in any way imply that you are "stupid", a "screw up", or lacking the smarts to pass an IFR checkride or fly GPS approaches, it just means that mastering the KLN-89B to the extent I'd be comfortable with going into a checkride with an
unknown examiner in the short time you have left. But I'd have no problem at all taking the ride if I had reason to believe that the examiner understood your situation and was OK with it.
And I'm getting even more aggervated that I keep proving that to myself after every flight where I try my hardest to learn something that isnt sinking in. I was supposed to be done with this in December so not only is the frustration of not having the ability to learn quick enough taunting me every flight, even in my sims, including my CFI dropping me like a stray dog I'm seriously running out of money and out of time. I have to battle that with the thought that I can't push myself with these thoughts because I'll set myself up for failure. Its very hard to keep pushing yourself forward and saying it's going to be okay when every time you set foot in the FBO there is a question of "I wonder how smart I'll be today and if my CFI even mentions the word checkride which will at least give me a sense of false hope."
You've gotta go back to the question: "Why would my CFI send me up for a checkride if he/she didn't think I was ready?" This is the part I didn't catch at the beginning of this thread. And I'd bet that at least 80% of the pilots feel like they're not quite ready for the test when they are more than adequately prepared.
Now, no, I dont know this GPS stuff very well which is why I was asking for your help. The downloadable ones seem to only work around the Oshkosh area but for some reason I can't seem to get it to activate/not sure how to tell if it is activated even with the OSH approaches. I will go and find the book online after my flight tonight which will consist of GPS approaches. I'm not sure if that will help either but its worth a try.
OK. I dug out my 89B pilot guide and loaded up the simulator. Here's the basics:
Start by unchecking the "show help" box. The click on the "ENT" (enter) key 3x to get past the initialization screens.
KLN-89 Knobology.
Operating the 89B mostly involves using the two concentric knobs and the "CRSR" (cursor) key. The cursor key toggles between normal and Cursor Mode.
Cursor mode is indicated by the text "*CRSR* in the bottom line on the left side of the display. In Cursor Mode, turning the large knob select different fields on the display for modification. Turning the smaller knob modifies the selected field. Once you start modifying a field the function of the large knob switches from a "field selector" to a character/digit selector in many cases. When that happens you have to hit either the ENT key (to accept the change) or the CLR key (to reject it). You can also hit the CRSR key to abandon the whole modification process.
Normal (non Cursor) mode lets you select a function (group of display pages) with the large knob. The selected function is indicated by a little "dash" at the bottom of the display that sits over one of the 11 function (page) legends just below the display (APT VOR NDB INT USR ACT NAV FPL CAL SET OTH). The selected function and subfunction (subpage) is also indicated by the text in the last line on the left side (where the "*CRSR*" is displayed in Cursor Mode), e.g "NAV 1". The only exception to this is the NAV 4 page which is the moving map page.
There are a few other quirks worth mentioning:
Some fields are "multiple choice" which is indicated by a '>' at the left side of the field.
The only way to change these fields is to press the ">CLR" key when the field is highlighted in Cursor Mode. That's why the '>' character is part of the ">CLR" key legend.
The small knob can be pulled out for an alternate selection method in a few of the functions. When in doubt try that.
There are several "special" function pages that are accessed by pressing one of the keys on the bottom of the GPS (MSG (message), ALT(altitude), NRST(nearest), and D-> (direct to). Many of these keys also activate Cursor Mode. Some of them can be exited by repeat presses of the same key that got you in, but some require you to press ENT or CLR to exit.
I suggest you play with the simulator and try to get a feel for all the above before proceeding.
Flight plans and Approaches
In the 89B there is storage room for several flight plans but plan zero (FPL0) is special. That's the one that the unit uses for navigation. You can enter plans in other slots and when you select one of those other slots you can load it into FPL0 by selecting "Use" or "Use Inverted" and pressing the ENT key. You
cannot load an approach into any slot other than FPL0.
Flight plans are selected like any other standard function. First (with Cursor Mode off) turn the large knob until the "dash" at the bottom of the display is over the "FPL" legend. The lower left text with show something like "FPL 3" or "FPL 0". Turn the small knob to change the flight plan slot (the number on the lower left).
To enter or edit a flight plan using Cursor Mode to select and modify the IDs of each waypoint in the plan. To add an approach or other procedure (SIDs/STARS) you need to access the destination airport on either the APT or ACT page. The ACT page is similar to the APT, VOR, NDB, INT pages except that it only includes the waypoints in the flight plan so this is the preferred choice for loading approaches. Subpage 8 (APT 8 or ACT 8) is where you will find the approaches that can be loaded. Subpage 7 has the arrival and departure procedures. Once you are on APT 8 or ACT 8 and have the destination airport selected (using the large knob) activate Cursor Mode and select an approach with the large knob and press ENT. That will load the approach into FPL 0 (at the end).
To set up an approach you need to create (or load) a flight plan in FPL0. You can start out with nothing in the plan and just add an approach, but the normal method is to enter a plan that has the airport you want to fly an approach at as the last waypoint in the plan.
Flying an approach.
I suggest you just read the section of the pilot guide for this. The explanations there are about as concise as I could make them. Two key items are getting into terminal/Armed/Approach mode and the use of the OBS key/mode for vectors to final and course reversals.
Good luck.
)
And it still took two rides to get it done. 
So, don't think you're stupid by any means. The IR is a b*tch. So, fly some GPS approaches, relax, and kick butt. 
