mjburian
Cleared for Takeoff
I took my checkride on Monday and passed!
From my write-up about the day:
After a weekend filled with strong storms, this morning I had my private pilot checkride scheduled. I woke up early to get a pre-flight briefing and to finish the flight plan that would be used for the test. Weather didn't look like it was going to cooperate at first, but things started clearing up just in time for my dad to fly to Timmerman and pick me up. I met him there and he flew me up to Fond du Lac (he asked if I wanted to fly, but I had a lot on my mind and preferred to just "go for a ride" on the way up there).
When we walked into the FBO at Fond du Lac airport, Jim Cotter was already there... so we got started a little bit earlier than we initially discussed (I sort of wished I would have had some time to review before the test started). Anyway, we started out by doing a records check. He had to verify that I was qualified to take the test and that the airplane was legal to be flown. It didn't surprise me when all of that checked out.
Next, we started the oral exam. He had told me when I made the appointment that I should plan on at least 5 hours for the entire test and had also mentioned that the flight portion of the test would likely be about 1.5 hours. Since the records check took about 30 minutes, that left 3 hours for the oral exam (yikes!).
The entire oral exam took about 2 hours and contained a mix of things. He started out with relatively simple questions regarding requirements for the airplane and for the pilot taking a flight both inside and outside of the country. Then, we talked about a few of the systems on the airplane (during which I learned that the avionics master switch is also a circuit breaker). Next, we reviewed my flight plan for our cross country to Rochester, MN. While we had the sectional chart out, he asked me a few questions about airspace and markings on the chart (ie, what does the RP mean under this airport? Answer: Right traffic at the runways mentioned). Finally, he asked me a few questions about aeromedical factors (ie, hyperventilation, hypoxia, etc).
I had feared this portion of the test since the day I realized I would have to take it. I had pictured a drill sergeant barking out questions and "buzzing" me after I paused to think of the answer. This couldn't have been further from what actually transpired. The "exam" was more of a conversation, during which (multiple times) he was reminded of a story from his past. It was actually a lot of fun, rather than the stressful experience I assumed it would be. And, I learned a fair amount of trivia as well.
At some point, he said something like "OK, let's see what we're going to do next" and we walked out of the room. He wanted to check the weather (and verify that I know how to check it) before we started the flight portion of the test. He was mainly concerned about answering 3 questions:
Should we go fly?
If we go fly and weather moves in on us, where are our "outs"?
Will weather be getting better or worse as the day wears on? (he was concerned about our flight back to East Troy)
We determined that weather looked OK for our flight, and it should continue to get better throughout the day. So, we went out to the plane. I did a thorough pre-flight, making sure to carry the checklist with me so that he could see I was referencing it. The only pre-flight item I didn't check was the stall horn, but he was satisfied to hear it had been tested earlier in the day. After the pre-flight, we got into the plane and I ran the IM SAFE checklist out loud (again, so he knew I was considering it). Then, I gave him a passenger briefing using the SAFETY checklist. We then did the Before Starting the Engine and Starting the Engine checklists and taxied over to the run-up area (I tested the brakes immediately after we started taxiing). At the run-up area, I ran through the Before Takeoff checklist and made a radio call to let everyone know I was taxiing for takeoff.
Winds were light and from the southwest, so we used runway 27 for all of our takeoffs and landings. We started out with a normal takeoff and turned on course for the cross country I had planned. The plan was to climb to 4500 feet, but he asked me to level off at 2500 feet (we weren't actually going on the trip, and not climbing all the way would save us some time). I found my first checkpoint without any real issues and marked the time. Then, after we reached the second checkpoint I ran a time, speed and distance calculation to tell him our actual groundspeed. I pointed out the third checkpoint in the distance and explained that once we reached it, I would turn a bit more westerly to fly into the DELLS VOR (we were maneuvering around a Military Operations Area). He was satisfied that I was proficient in my navigation skills and asked me to break off the cross country in order to do some air work.
He requested a few steep turns, but I knew I had to clear the area first. So, I did my clearing turns and then started my left turn. As I passed through 30 degrees of bank, I added some power (to keep my airspeed up) and continued rolling until I was banked 45 degrees. We made a 360 degree turn to the left and then immediately rolled into a steep turn to the right. I knew from my previous practice that I tend to climb in a steep turn to the right, so I was careful to not use too much back pressure. So far, so good.
Next up was slow flight, but not before first clearing the area again. After the clearing turns, I transitioned into slow flight... first with no flaps at about 60 knots and then with full flaps at around 40 knots. We did a few turns with minimum bank (because we were so close to our stall speed already) and he was satisfied that I could control the plane in slow flight without gaining or losing altitude.
After slow flight, he asked me to do a stall series -- first a power off stall and then a power on stall. I did some clearing turns, and then went right into a power off stall. Recovery was done properly and in a timely manner and we went right into a power on stall. He reminded me to keep the ball centered as we climbed and slowed... then finally we reached the stall and I recovered once again.
With those things done, he asked me to put on the foggles (after a positive exchange of the controls) to do some instrument work. He did a few clearing turns as I was putting the foggles on and set the plane up for a constant speed climb. He asked me to continue that climb and then we did a few climbing turns. Then I leveled off and did a few more turns to assigned headings. Finally, he requested a descent... during which we did a few more turns. He then took the airplane back and asked me to take the foggles off and put them away.
His next question for me was "Where is Fond du Lac airport?"... and I became worried. I had just been "under the hood" for 10-15 minutes during which time we made a number of turns in various directions. I was initially worried that I wouldn't know where the airport was... but then I remembered that there is a *giant* lake (Lake Winnebago) that I could use to find my way. Fond du Lac airport is about 3 miles southwest of the southwestern shore of the lake. I pointed in the right direction and he was satisfied that I could find my way back.
Then, he gave me a choice of which ground reference maneuver I wanted to do. Since the rectangular course would be evaluated in the traffic pattern, he gave me the option of either doing Turns About a Point or S Turns Across a Road. Being given the option, I chose the one that seemed easier to me -- Turns About a Point. I picked out a point and did some clearing turns. Then I approached the point and started my turn. The first time around, he made a joke along the lines of "It's not Easter, so don't let this get egg-shaped" (referring to the tendency of the plane to get blown downwind and instead of making a "circle" around the point the ground path becomes more "oblong"). We did two complete turns around the point and he seemed satisfied with my performance on the maneuver.
With all of the air work completed, he asked me to head back to the airport and do a normal landing. He also explained that he wanted all landings to be done with full flaps. I listened to the weather (ASOS) to make sure runway 27 was still the preferred runway and made all of the necessary radio calls. I entered on the 45 to downwind for 27 and flew a pretty good pattern. Unfortunately, I was a little bit high on my approach but I adjusted and made a pretty good landing.
We taxied back and he asked for a short field takeoff. I reviewed the checklist and did things just as I was supposed to... flew a pattern and made a short field landing, touching down "on the numbers." During the taxi back, he explained that the next takeoff and landing would be a simulated soft field. I briefed him on the procedures before we took the runway, and made sure to clear the area and take the runway without stopping the plane (so as to not get "stuck" in an actual soft field). The takeoff, pattern and landing went well... but he suggested that I keep a *lot* more power in during the flare than I was taught to use. I was taught to keep a "little" power in... and he was saying that he has rarely made a soft field landing without being at full power.
We taxied back again and he said we were going to do a "fun" takeoff... basically, he had a different technique to depart a short field. It was similar to the soft field technique (keeping a little back pressure on the yoke), but it didn't use flaps. He said he would talk me through it (and I got the feeling that I wasn't being "graded" on this takeoff). Somehow, his technique got us off the ground in a shorter distance than the recommended short field technique. We flew a pattern and did a forward slip to a landing (with no flaps, since the airplane is placarded against slips with flaps extended). Since we didn't have any flaps, we flew an extended final approach... using power to adjust the glide path (also, because of no flaps the approach was "flatter").
I taxied back and he didn't say anything. So I asked "What's next?" He answered, "Why don't we head back to the ramp?" At this point I was a little confused, because he hadn't told me I failed yet... and everything I've heard about the checkride is "if you aren't told when you failed a maneuver, you passed." I was pretty excited (and a little nervous) during the taxi to the ramp, but I figured as long as I didn't put it in the ditch, I might be OK.
After we parked and shut down, he asked "Well, what do you think?" I answered with something along the lines of "I am really satisfied with my performance. There are things that I could have done better, but overall I'm pretty happy. What do *you* think?!" And then he said it... "I think you're going to walk out of here today with a pilot's license." Then he shook my hand and said congratulations.
From my write-up about the day:
After a weekend filled with strong storms, this morning I had my private pilot checkride scheduled. I woke up early to get a pre-flight briefing and to finish the flight plan that would be used for the test. Weather didn't look like it was going to cooperate at first, but things started clearing up just in time for my dad to fly to Timmerman and pick me up. I met him there and he flew me up to Fond du Lac (he asked if I wanted to fly, but I had a lot on my mind and preferred to just "go for a ride" on the way up there).
When we walked into the FBO at Fond du Lac airport, Jim Cotter was already there... so we got started a little bit earlier than we initially discussed (I sort of wished I would have had some time to review before the test started). Anyway, we started out by doing a records check. He had to verify that I was qualified to take the test and that the airplane was legal to be flown. It didn't surprise me when all of that checked out.
Next, we started the oral exam. He had told me when I made the appointment that I should plan on at least 5 hours for the entire test and had also mentioned that the flight portion of the test would likely be about 1.5 hours. Since the records check took about 30 minutes, that left 3 hours for the oral exam (yikes!).
The entire oral exam took about 2 hours and contained a mix of things. He started out with relatively simple questions regarding requirements for the airplane and for the pilot taking a flight both inside and outside of the country. Then, we talked about a few of the systems on the airplane (during which I learned that the avionics master switch is also a circuit breaker). Next, we reviewed my flight plan for our cross country to Rochester, MN. While we had the sectional chart out, he asked me a few questions about airspace and markings on the chart (ie, what does the RP mean under this airport? Answer: Right traffic at the runways mentioned). Finally, he asked me a few questions about aeromedical factors (ie, hyperventilation, hypoxia, etc).
I had feared this portion of the test since the day I realized I would have to take it. I had pictured a drill sergeant barking out questions and "buzzing" me after I paused to think of the answer. This couldn't have been further from what actually transpired. The "exam" was more of a conversation, during which (multiple times) he was reminded of a story from his past. It was actually a lot of fun, rather than the stressful experience I assumed it would be. And, I learned a fair amount of trivia as well.
At some point, he said something like "OK, let's see what we're going to do next" and we walked out of the room. He wanted to check the weather (and verify that I know how to check it) before we started the flight portion of the test. He was mainly concerned about answering 3 questions:
Should we go fly?
If we go fly and weather moves in on us, where are our "outs"?
Will weather be getting better or worse as the day wears on? (he was concerned about our flight back to East Troy)
We determined that weather looked OK for our flight, and it should continue to get better throughout the day. So, we went out to the plane. I did a thorough pre-flight, making sure to carry the checklist with me so that he could see I was referencing it. The only pre-flight item I didn't check was the stall horn, but he was satisfied to hear it had been tested earlier in the day. After the pre-flight, we got into the plane and I ran the IM SAFE checklist out loud (again, so he knew I was considering it). Then, I gave him a passenger briefing using the SAFETY checklist. We then did the Before Starting the Engine and Starting the Engine checklists and taxied over to the run-up area (I tested the brakes immediately after we started taxiing). At the run-up area, I ran through the Before Takeoff checklist and made a radio call to let everyone know I was taxiing for takeoff.
Winds were light and from the southwest, so we used runway 27 for all of our takeoffs and landings. We started out with a normal takeoff and turned on course for the cross country I had planned. The plan was to climb to 4500 feet, but he asked me to level off at 2500 feet (we weren't actually going on the trip, and not climbing all the way would save us some time). I found my first checkpoint without any real issues and marked the time. Then, after we reached the second checkpoint I ran a time, speed and distance calculation to tell him our actual groundspeed. I pointed out the third checkpoint in the distance and explained that once we reached it, I would turn a bit more westerly to fly into the DELLS VOR (we were maneuvering around a Military Operations Area). He was satisfied that I was proficient in my navigation skills and asked me to break off the cross country in order to do some air work.
He requested a few steep turns, but I knew I had to clear the area first. So, I did my clearing turns and then started my left turn. As I passed through 30 degrees of bank, I added some power (to keep my airspeed up) and continued rolling until I was banked 45 degrees. We made a 360 degree turn to the left and then immediately rolled into a steep turn to the right. I knew from my previous practice that I tend to climb in a steep turn to the right, so I was careful to not use too much back pressure. So far, so good.
Next up was slow flight, but not before first clearing the area again. After the clearing turns, I transitioned into slow flight... first with no flaps at about 60 knots and then with full flaps at around 40 knots. We did a few turns with minimum bank (because we were so close to our stall speed already) and he was satisfied that I could control the plane in slow flight without gaining or losing altitude.
After slow flight, he asked me to do a stall series -- first a power off stall and then a power on stall. I did some clearing turns, and then went right into a power off stall. Recovery was done properly and in a timely manner and we went right into a power on stall. He reminded me to keep the ball centered as we climbed and slowed... then finally we reached the stall and I recovered once again.
With those things done, he asked me to put on the foggles (after a positive exchange of the controls) to do some instrument work. He did a few clearing turns as I was putting the foggles on and set the plane up for a constant speed climb. He asked me to continue that climb and then we did a few climbing turns. Then I leveled off and did a few more turns to assigned headings. Finally, he requested a descent... during which we did a few more turns. He then took the airplane back and asked me to take the foggles off and put them away.
His next question for me was "Where is Fond du Lac airport?"... and I became worried. I had just been "under the hood" for 10-15 minutes during which time we made a number of turns in various directions. I was initially worried that I wouldn't know where the airport was... but then I remembered that there is a *giant* lake (Lake Winnebago) that I could use to find my way. Fond du Lac airport is about 3 miles southwest of the southwestern shore of the lake. I pointed in the right direction and he was satisfied that I could find my way back.
Then, he gave me a choice of which ground reference maneuver I wanted to do. Since the rectangular course would be evaluated in the traffic pattern, he gave me the option of either doing Turns About a Point or S Turns Across a Road. Being given the option, I chose the one that seemed easier to me -- Turns About a Point. I picked out a point and did some clearing turns. Then I approached the point and started my turn. The first time around, he made a joke along the lines of "It's not Easter, so don't let this get egg-shaped" (referring to the tendency of the plane to get blown downwind and instead of making a "circle" around the point the ground path becomes more "oblong"). We did two complete turns around the point and he seemed satisfied with my performance on the maneuver.
With all of the air work completed, he asked me to head back to the airport and do a normal landing. He also explained that he wanted all landings to be done with full flaps. I listened to the weather (ASOS) to make sure runway 27 was still the preferred runway and made all of the necessary radio calls. I entered on the 45 to downwind for 27 and flew a pretty good pattern. Unfortunately, I was a little bit high on my approach but I adjusted and made a pretty good landing.
We taxied back and he asked for a short field takeoff. I reviewed the checklist and did things just as I was supposed to... flew a pattern and made a short field landing, touching down "on the numbers." During the taxi back, he explained that the next takeoff and landing would be a simulated soft field. I briefed him on the procedures before we took the runway, and made sure to clear the area and take the runway without stopping the plane (so as to not get "stuck" in an actual soft field). The takeoff, pattern and landing went well... but he suggested that I keep a *lot* more power in during the flare than I was taught to use. I was taught to keep a "little" power in... and he was saying that he has rarely made a soft field landing without being at full power.
We taxied back again and he said we were going to do a "fun" takeoff... basically, he had a different technique to depart a short field. It was similar to the soft field technique (keeping a little back pressure on the yoke), but it didn't use flaps. He said he would talk me through it (and I got the feeling that I wasn't being "graded" on this takeoff). Somehow, his technique got us off the ground in a shorter distance than the recommended short field technique. We flew a pattern and did a forward slip to a landing (with no flaps, since the airplane is placarded against slips with flaps extended). Since we didn't have any flaps, we flew an extended final approach... using power to adjust the glide path (also, because of no flaps the approach was "flatter").
I taxied back and he didn't say anything. So I asked "What's next?" He answered, "Why don't we head back to the ramp?" At this point I was a little confused, because he hadn't told me I failed yet... and everything I've heard about the checkride is "if you aren't told when you failed a maneuver, you passed." I was pretty excited (and a little nervous) during the taxi to the ramp, but I figured as long as I didn't put it in the ditch, I might be OK.
After we parked and shut down, he asked "Well, what do you think?" I answered with something along the lines of "I am really satisfied with my performance. There are things that I could have done better, but overall I'm pretty happy. What do *you* think?!" And then he said it... "I think you're going to walk out of here today with a pilot's license." Then he shook my hand and said congratulations.
It's one of the better airport restaurants out there. Not exactly a Final Approach or Pilot Pete's, but the food is good. Ya gotta love the menu too.
