Official Airport Bum!?

Supposed to fly the Seminole this morning for more checkride prep and didn't. Airplane may or may not be broken. I'll just leave it at that and update that later.

Did taxi to the self-serve which was broken (again) and then over to TacAir who said they'd honor self-serve pricing from the truck. And then back to the hangar. So at least it's fueled and ready to go! Haha.

On the funny side, I got my "assignments" from the DPE for the ride and I won't turn this into a "give away his secrets" thing and post all of them, but...

One portion requires an ABQ Sectional. You know, like a real paper one. He wants CFI candidates to teach from paper. I get it. Plus I'm not exactly going to go out of my way to argue and at least I asked.

So I go to grab one at the local pilot store and they're out. This is after the taxi in. We're up to three "fails" on the day and it's not even 10 AM yet! Haha.

I called everyplace in Denver that might have one, and nobody has ABQ. Check with my CFI. Nope, the last guy who rode with this DPE borrowed his ABQ sectional and it didn't come back. Three schools say they don't even bother to stock ABQ anymore. One says it's specifically because everyone is using Foreflight or Garmin. Haha. I know. I know.

So I decide I'd better call "South". Someone further south is bound to have one.

Ding ding ding! We have a winner. Colorado JetCenter at KCOS has piles of the things in stock.

(At least I didn't have to fly to New Mexico with Foreflight to get the dang thing! LOL!)

Hopped in the 182 and instead of a $100 hamburger run, it was an $85 chart run. LOL.

The 747 tanker looks cool on the ramp.

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I have to wait on some folks to figure out if the ride can be done on Monday or not, but right now it's in a little jeopardy. Things breaking on weekends is a total pain in the ass (unless you own a jet, maybe...).

So I'll be at home playing with crayons on this spiffy new paper chart and prepping the rest of my lesson plans and brain box. For a ride that might not happen... but could... but might happen later in the week... or not. That'll help the stress level. Haha. Screw it. Just finish up the stuff and see.

I feel sorry for my CFI. He's had the aircraft over ten years and is not only an A&P but an AI and he maintains it well. He hasn't had this much trouble ever with it in over a decade. These little glitches have got to just drive him nuts. I told him to try not to worry about it, at least it's not one of his students who flies in from out of town. Broken airplane for that is a mess. He looked bummed.

And it does like doing it to me, specifically. Which is both bad for me, but good that it's not totally screwing up his business. Like I told him, "I ain't going anywhere and I'm not paying for a hotel room so life goes on, all I have to do is drive home!"

We'll get 'er done when we get her done.

Another local CFI candidate that I know had similar disasters with aircraft and other stuff too, so it's no greener grass anywhere in sight. He's switched aircraft twice. The rental retracts are just constantly getting the crap kicked out of them for initial Commerical and initial CFI rides. I don't think the possible TAA rule and a change to some sort of retract endorsement can come soon enough.

So I'm both mentally preparing to ride and not to. Ugh.
 
Just don't make your answers to the oral questions as long as your posts! :D

Sorry couldn't resist. Best of luck to ya!
 
mscard88 said:
Just don't make your answers to the oral questions as long as your posts! :D

Sorry couldn't resist. Best of luck to ya!
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Here's the funny or scary part about that...

This particular DPE says, "Here's how I do CFI rides. I give you a scenario, I tell you if we are in the airplane or on the ground, and you start teaching. Don't stop until I say stop. If you stop talking or I have to prompt you, that's not good."

This *could* work in my favor. Haha. My CFI is laughing his ass off at me and thinks so. As well as every CFI I've ever flown with when I mentioned his style is "teach until you drop or I say stop".

I think they're all enjoying giving me **** about this.

I have free reign both to attempt to bore the poor DPE to death and also dig myself a MASSIVE hole. Hahaha.

Please don't say anything stupid. Please don't say anything stupid. Please don't say anything stupid. Will be repeating in my head.

Could be the most fun or the worst checkride ever. Hahaha.
 
Oh and the problem with the aircraft is "solved". Well kinda. It can do the ride anyway.
 
Morning started early with some review of lesson plan, good comments by my CFI, incorporating a few more items tonight. (More ADM, and a couple of comments about not being quite so PA-144-180T specific in discussion section). Good stuff.

Couple of flights. Teaching goes well. A couple of mental errors when I was flying that simply can't happen on the ride, one was an approach that was simply too low, easily fixed the next time around, and another was a bit of a botched setup when I was sent over the top of the airport high and told to descend into the pattern on the other side. Not awful but one always wishes everything was "perfect" on prep day.

Harriers for the Broncos fly-over staged out of KAPA today so we got to watch them depart after lunch. In fact when they were cranking it was so loud we couldn't go back to our airplane because it was deafening outside. Ha.

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IACRA done, logbook totaled up, couple of things to review tonight but it's going to be whatever it is tomorrow. I feel decent but there is always a bit of a feeling of "coin toss" on such a massive day of testing.

I joked that I wouldn't pass an IMSAFE checklist just for Stress tomorrow haha.
 
Try to have as much fun with it as you can, and it doesn't get much more fun than teaching others about what you love. Given the couple 100 posts above, you are well prepared. Good luck. We're all counting on you.
 
Were you in the Seminole I heard this afternoon out at FTG with a 0 and maybe a 3 in the number?
 
Here's what I just posted to FB. Been surprisingly busy since busting earlier today driving around and meeting Karen for dinner and pinging some old instructors to let them know, etc.

"I did NOT pass my initial Certified Flight Instructor checkride. Failed during the oral examination. But... the good news is I think I know exactly why. I was preparing for this in a significantly wrong way. It's a mental error on my part and a fixable one. I'm scheduled to retest November 30th."

Now I don't know if it would be appropriate to get into heavy details lest it become a "gouge" on how this DPE handles rides.

But I'll say this: I prepared wrong.

For folks thinking about the CFI, keep in mind that while it may seem obvious, you don't just go in like it's a typical checkride, lots of information in your head and do a "brain dump" on any topics asked. This is an evaluation of whether or not you can TEACH that information to someone who knows absolutely nothing.

And while the FOI does its best to hide the best ways to do this, it's there if you read between the lines a bit. Or a lot. But ether way, there's formulas and methods that work and then there's "let me tell you everything I know". The latter, definitely doesn't work for most normal folks.

So my prep was goofy and it shows. And then bust was legitimate. I even felt I got enough hints that I should discontinue at one point that if I had taken them, well... doesn't matter. I'm stubborn.

I dug myself a huge hole attempting to teach a system on the Seminole and after some debrief and discussion I completely "get it". And I deserved the bust.

I need to prep myself to think back a long time ago when I was a newbie pilot and how hard even something I now do completely automatically would be without direct teaching and guidance. Saying something like "We are VFR don't forget to look outside" is something you say to a relatively proficient pilot who's falling back into a bad habit. To a newbie you need to concisely and accurately describe the exact steps to a good outside/inside scan and keep the new pilot safe while they're figuring it out.

I'm over there regurgitating facts and figures and the "student's" looking at me and saying, "Yeah, but how?"

So I learned a lot today. Maybe an expensive lesson, but I needed it.

Re-ride is scheduled for Nov 30. And I'll be headed to the office tomorrow to catch up on a couple of weeks of being totally disconnected there.

CFI was apologetic but said he knows with a month off I'll be a little rusty in the Seminole or could be, so we'll plan some more "polish up" flying just before the re-ride. I think he's concerned at how many hours I have now in it and the price, but honestly that's okay. More hours in the twin and the logbook isn't a bad thing to me.

Oh and maybe the Sandel will be working again by then. Haha. It came to life this morning when the avionics shop put pressure on the face in a particular area but it wasn't consistent.

While we are here, let's talk about stress and silly worries. I over-studied the FOI stuff I just couldn't get totally locked in my brain. Guess which part of the ride wasn't as hard as I thought it would be? Yup.

Also, sleep... I am naturally a night owl but the stress and worry would keep me awake to horrible hours. Last night and the night before were 2-3AM fall asleep nights. That didn't help, but it wasn't the cause.

Got quite a bit of work to do on thinking about how to present everything in the PTS to a fifth grader. Essentially that's the goal in a way.

I'm good. I get it. I think the bust was totally fair.
 
Thanks for the update. You're a role model with that great attitude!
 
Nate, sorry to hear this. I don't know who the examiner or the CFI was, but based on your posting style, is it possible you overwhelmed the "pseudo-student" with information?
 
Everskyward said:
Nate, sorry to hear this. I don't know who the examiner or the CFI was, but based on your posting style, is it possible you overwhelmed the "pseudo-student" with information?
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Kinda. But it wasn't just that. But yes it was a factor. I just wasn't really prepared to teach in a consistent way to the correct knowledge level.

Example: Hand me any computer book and I can add that to my knowledge and apply it because I already do that for a living. Hand me a book on say, synthesizing compounds in chemistry and I'll look at you like you've lost your mind.

I essentially handed the examiner a book. Yes. But I also locked up a bit after I realized that's what I was doing and hadn't prepared to teach things to the correct "audience".

I'm too sleepy right now to synthesize that into a better thought. I'll try and explain better later without giving away any of the examiner's scenarios.
 
Sorry to hear this Nate. It is tough to simulate teaching to someone that you know knows more about the subject than you do. It helps if you can practice with someone who doesn't know anything about it. Ideally, if you can try teaching real students with your CFI observing. That way, you get feedback from both the students on what would help them understand better as well from your CFI as to how you could do better.
 
As long as you know how to fix it, it's not so bad. You'll get it done.

John
 
Sounds like you got it figured out. Get em next time.
A bit off topic but the CFI ride to me seems to have the most BS surrounding it some people say their oral was 3 hours and 1.2 on the tach. Other say it was 8 hours one day 4 the next and a 3 hour flight. Some say you have to know the FARs cold others say you just need to know how to look things up.
For me it would be hard to "teach" someone who doesn't need to be taught and knows way more than me. I can bring a PAX and in our talking and flight I can pick up what they understand and find a way to explain things and can see what works and what doesn't. For the checkride I don't know that I could get over the "info dump" tendency while incorporating the FOI stuff. Looking from the outside the ride seemingly does nothing to simulate an actual teaching environment. As an instructor to me it would breaks down to find out how they like to learn and adjust to the student. I feel like on a checkride though i'd start a lesson not get those visual cues and questions that indicate what a students level is at and just get rolling into info dump mode.

I wish the CFI ride was easier in a way not sure how you'd do that though. We can fly to the commercial level and generally have an idea how to teach someone and lord knows you'll definitely learn on the job fast what works and what doesn't but on the checkride its more like what does this DPE or FSDO guy look for how do I play his game so I can get the ticket.
 
You will nail it next time. After all, the unknown is the hardest part. Now you know. You will correct and breeze through.
 
falconkidding said:
Sounds like you got it figured out. Get em next time.
A bit off topic but the CFI ride to me seems to have the most BS surrounding it some people say their oral was 3 hours and 1.2 on the tach. Other say it was 8 hours one day 4 the next and a 3 hour flight. Some say you have to know the FARs cold others say you just need to know how to look things up.
For me it would be hard to "teach" someone who doesn't need to be taught and knows way more than me. I can bring a PAX and in our talking and flight I can pick up what they understand and find a way to explain things and can see what works and what doesn't. For the checkride I don't know that I could get over the "info dump" tendency while incorporating the FOI stuff. Looking from the outside the ride seemingly does nothing to simulate an actual teaching environment. As an instructor to me it would breaks down to find out how they like to learn and adjust to the student. I feel like on a checkride though i'd start a lesson not get those visual cues and questions that indicate what a students level is at and just get rolling into info dump mode.

I wish the CFI ride was easier in a way not sure how you'd do that though. We can fly to the commercial level and generally have an idea how to teach someone and lord knows you'll definitely learn on the job fast what works and what doesn't but on the checkride its more like what does this DPE or FSDO guy look for how do I play his game so I can get the ticket.
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I personally believe the variability in the length of the checkrides has to do with the personality of the examiner and whether they are a DPE or inspector, plus the personality of the applicant and whether they have a tendency to go overboard with answers on every question. There are certain things and subjects that have to be covered, and the longer it takes you to get through each topic the longer the checkride takes.

You are correct in your assessment of the CFI checkride and prep. I do not believe that it does much to prepare an applicant for teaching, you learn that with your first few students.

I disagree with the idea of making the instructor rating checkride easier though. It is easy enough as it is, and we've all seen lackluster instructors that somehow managed to get through the checkride without knowing anything. We already have enough of those guys, we don't need more.
 
I go thru this twice a week at the university. I'm teaching 2nd semester computer science (data structures and algorithms, yes, it's the #2 weed-out course) and every day before I walk into class I remind myself - "they've never seen any of this before. they barely even know how to program".

Another thread here talks about the 50% drop out rate for student pilots...I'm not there yet - started with 35 CS students, I expect 21 to show up for the quiz tonight.

I no longer recommend transferring to Business. "Have you considered majoring in Art History? You can take your trips to Europe as a tax deduction to study at the many museums"

Nate - I'm taking good notes on your travails - I expect to be in the same situation in about 18 months.
 
murphey said:
Nate - I'm taking good notes on your travails - I expect to be in the same situation in about 18 months.
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Murphey, if that is the case, one suggestion I might make is to actually get some ground and maybe a bit of flight instruction from Nate once he passes. He may not be able to sign you off for an initial CFI rating but he will have been through the process recently and have some good information and insights on what the examiners are looking for, particularly in your area. I would also try and find an instructor in your area known for doing instructor ratings, I feel an applicant's odds of passing on the first try are much better than they would be if they just found an average instructor that is willing to work with them.
 
falconkidding said:
Sounds like you got it figured out. Get em next time.
A bit off topic but the CFI ride to me seems to have the most BS surrounding it some people say their oral was 3 hours and 1.2 on the tach. Other say it was 8 hours one day 4 the next and a 3 hour flight. Some say you have to know the FARs cold others say you just need to know how to look things up.
For me it would be hard to "teach" someone who doesn't need to be taught and knows way more than me. I can bring a PAX and in our talking and flight I can pick up what they understand and find a way to explain things and can see what works and what doesn't. For the checkride I don't know that I could get over the "info dump" tendency while incorporating the FOI stuff. Looking from the outside the ride seemingly does nothing to simulate an actual teaching environment. As an instructor to me it would breaks down to find out how they like to learn and adjust to the student. I feel like on a checkride though i'd start a lesson not get those visual cues and questions that indicate what a students level is at and just get rolling into info dump mode.

I wish the CFI ride was easier in a way not sure how you'd do that though. We can fly to the commercial level and generally have an idea how to teach someone and lord knows you'll definitely learn on the job fast what works and what doesn't but on the checkride its more like what does this DPE or FSDO guy look for how do I play his game so I can get the ticket.
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A good DPE or Inspector will make the ride feel like an actual teaching environment. Of course they have to cover what's in the PTS so it's not going to be perfect but my examiner did a good job. I think he was playing a commercial student and I was going through the Arrow's systems. I worded something a little "off" and he said I don't understand, can you explain that to me again. During the flight, he made some errors on purpose and I would give him advice on how to correct it. Overall, it was a tough and thorough ride but fair. I'm not sure I wold make the ride easier. We are responsible for signing off and training future pilots. I better know what I'm doing and how to teach it.
 
So denverpilot, how are we doing? Been a while since you have posted here. Don't over think it, give it another shot and you will ace it. I didn't pass my drivers exam the first time , can you imagine? Don't know what I was doing, the second time was easy as pie. Over thinking is not good. We are counting on you buddy. You are doing what I should have done 20 years ago!
 
Vern B said:
So denverpilot, how are we doing? Been a while since you have posted here. Don't over think it, give it another shot and you will ace it. I didn't pass my drivers exam the first time , can you imagine? Don't know what I was doing, the second time was easy as pie. Over thinking is not good. We are counting on you buddy. You are doing what I should have done 20 years ago!
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Just studying and doing some of that w-word stuff. Going to work. That reminds me, I need to go reboot something.

And freaking out a little. Or a lot. Depending on the day. Ha.
 
I've read Kerschner for two days straight.

And I put all the stuff in the crock pot for beef stew overnight.

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I honestly have no freaking clue how this is going to go.

Well I know how the beef stew will go, actually.
 
We flew Friday, nothing bad, and worked on oral stuff. Meeting tomorrow to hit the weather window for another flight and some more work. Tomorrow or Tuesday or Wednesday could suck on weather but right now tomorrow and Wednesday look meh but flyable. The cold finally got here.

Steep turns were "cute" when they should have been the easiest thing. Kept going UP during the first two and then realized... oh... this has taken so damned long the temperatures dropped 40+F since we were doing this before. Turbos work well in the cold. Hah.
 
PS: So even though I'm whining about it, getting the change of season in there actually adds to the knowledge base about this airplane.
 
Awesome. Congratulations. Come to California - my flight review expires today! :)
 
Congrats!!!
 
So here's the checkride summary and I'll try not to give away too much in the way of "gouge" on the DPE since I think these guys and gals like to have a few secrets up their sleeves and I don't think it's right. Let's just say that the PTS is your friend... if it's in there, it's going to be tested. The "how" of that testing is somewhat up to the examiner (this one likes scenarios and simulations of him being a student and you teaching -- and he's got some good ones). But if it's there, it's fair game, and nothing was missed.

The disclaimer over with...

I went in knowing this time I HAD to teach. I've also learned a lot about my teaching style and let's just say I still have some work to do. There are "okay" ways to teach things and there's "brilliant" ways to teach things and I'm nowhere near the "brilliant" end of that scale yet.

Denver FSDO sends a lot of initial CFI rides out to DPEs. It's a load issue and even the DPEs who are certified to do initials are hammered. Some have other flying jobs, some just have massive workloads, it's really typical right now through a combination of FSDO, DPE schedule, aircraft and candidate schedule, etc, to see people applying for the initial CFI rides a month in advance. Obviously once you're assigned a DPE if you fail a ride or do a discontinuance, their schedule may be as hammered as it was the day you told them you were assigned and in my case with a little of the continuing bad luck on scheduling -- it was a month between ride and failure and re-ride. Normally that'd just be "bad" or at least a big "bummer" ... it's hard to stay as focused as you need to be for an initial CFI ride for a month. But...

In my case I had prepped wrong the first time and I needed to re-focus on teaching, not spewing all the studied information.

I spent a lot of time practicing. To myself walking around my house, a little in the mirror, didn't get enough time with other candidates and people who'd be willing to listen and critique but I highly recommend that. I even contacted a different CFI I knew has a pile of CFI candidates all working together at what they jokingly call "mental health" sessions where they grill each other at the whiteboard but holiday schedule and timing never worked out to do one of these. I still may contact him about sitting in one one or two of these, as I want to see different styles and methods. Teaching is HARD for some of us and it's right up there with some of the hardest things I've ever attempted for me. But not insurmountable. If you haven't taught, get practice. Start early. Both my CFI and my DPE like and have dogs like I do and they have both joked at different times that dogs LOVE to be talked to. Teach an entire lesson plan to your dog. Teach them all to your dog. The dog will sit and listen intently for the return of a pat on the head and an occasional treat. For hours. And you get a face to look at while you're doing it. Maybe even record the sessions and listen to them critically afterward for content, speed, simplicity of explanation, building block order, you get the idea. Teach!

Ride starts. Had already gotten quite a bit of credit the last time around but right off the bat I could tell things "felt" better. But...

Two things: I completely avoided caffeine for 48 hours prior after seeing my nervousness and heart rate spike and not come down last time. But I did have two cups of coffee at breakfast. That was STILL too much.

I've still got the natural problem of the "self-taught engineer head". During the final critique and evaluation at the end the DPE said, "I have some comments about style. There is a lot of information to study for the CFI certificate and I can tell you know it well. Your mind and demeanor moves quickly and for you this is going to be a detriment you are going to have to work on. I can see you thinking of many things and jumping around to cover all of these things when teaching a topic and you're going to have to work on managing that. For you, "Less is more." Simplify, be direct and concise, especially on the ground. In the air this is better but still needs some work and effort on your part. Guide the student but they need to think and absorb and analyze what's happening and their own performance and some people need quiet for that at times. Remember once that engine starts, they're 90% saturated already. Everything must be clear, concise, and direct in the aircraft."

Those of you who know me in person know I can go for hours and hours about airplanes and I love that "aviation geek sync up" between two fast thinking folks on any aviation topic. That's great -- and fun -- but students need LESS and they need MORE foundation and building from known to unknown. Repitition. Relate the last lesson directly to this lesson. Have a plan for that to relate to the next lesson.

Obviously there's some wonderful syllabus and lesson planning stuff "out there" and I've got some work to do on this. It won't be easy for me.

Meanwhile back at the checkride...

Various scenarios and topics. I won't go into detail too heavily but a sample might be, "I'm your student arriving for my third lesson in the Seminole, I'm a private pilot, I have never flown a complex or multi-engine aircraft other than the previous two flights. Today we'll assume I've read the chapter on single engine operations and you've confirmed I did my homework, now please do the ground introduction to your lesson plan for teaching our first engine failure and tell the student how today will proceed... begin."

This.. is harder than it sounds. You need to build this in a way that leans on the previous lesson, builds on what they know, and then adds knowledge. And doesn't waste their time going off into the weeds of the next lesson, or details they don't need yet.

I managed to get through all of these scenarios and a number of scattered in "I'm not your student for a moment - I'm the examiner, and I have a question for you..." moments as well.

Regs, FOI, SYSTEMS (did I mention SYSTEMS?), Procedures, all need to flow logically from what they know to what they don't know. Systems: Don't screw around. Can you draw a SIMPLE diagram of any system and the base/core operation and then ADD to that drawing more details after the student understands the basics? Oh and let me tell you, my drawing skills suck. I practiced that. A LOT. Diagrams for everything.

Okay -- now we mention that while DPEs aren't really there to teach, mine is known for it. I drew the lucky straw on my assignment from the FSDO. He's going to make you fully teach any particular topic but when you're finished and you met at least the standard of competency -- he's going to say, "Something for your consideration..." and then proceed to show maybe a better teaching technique that doesn't change the work you did, but expands YOUR brain a bit on technique. It's freaking awesome and I've heard the horror stories of the stoic "didn't say a word, said I passed, signed paperwork and we all went home" examiners. Yes, you might get one. Like I said... I got lucky. My methods are crude but workable on some topics. His methods are honed over 30 years+. Some of them were so damned simple and direct I just slapped myself mentally for even doing it "the hard way". Frankly I took notes and was more than a little impressed.

Lunch break. Back at the oral stuff. I can tell both by nobody saying "this is over" and my own feel for this that things are going much better than last time. The effort to teach is paying off. But there's a few moments of total brain fart. One was ...

"Why does not banking into the operating engine raise Vmc?"

This one is so obvious that it's a "gimme" but I locked solid for a second. I tried a few words and things and then suggested I'd take a moment to look at some notes... and then the light bulb...

"Because the rudder is blanked by the vertical stabilizer... here let me show you with the model airplane..." (And a pencil for the relative wind helps also which was a little trick I picked up from another deiscussion of better technique with him earlier. Sure your finger and moving them can simulate airflow but what do they see in their textbook? An arrow pointing at the airplane in a drawing. What is lying right here on the table that looks like an arrow?"

Think I might hit the post limit so ...

Continued...
 
Oral completed. DPE says to take as much time as needed to regroup and organize and then we'll go fly.

I ask about preflight and we had a rather lengthy discussion about it in the oral and how to teach it and how to make sure you're teaching but also looking yourself because guess who is PIC when the accident happens and someone didn't check something. We talked a number of times about stealthy operations where you're teaching but you're also letting the student be "future PIC" but silently making sure that everything is being done correctly. You want them confident that they're becoming PIC. But you also need to trust but verify. A bit of conversation about instructors that disappear at pre-flight especially with students too inexperienced to handle it all, and showing up, saying "look good?" and blasting off without having looked at anything themselves at all. DPEs pet peeve and a good one really. Don't do it. Be there. The student is paying you. Teach.

DPE says for reasons of time, the instruction will start at the run up area, taxi us over there safely and he will become the student there today.

Taxi out. I will leave out a small error that wasn't unsafe but was very embarrassing and maybe could have been a bust if it affected safety but nerves are a bad thing and I'll leave it at that. Worked it out and got to teaching. Okay grab your checklist and let's do a run up. I've got a copy of the checklist here so I will follow along. This is your third time in this airplane so I'll observe and you should be able to do this.

DPE says, "Okay I'm going to fly the takeoff as the student and I want you to show me how you'd simulate an engine failure below 40 knots and then follow through and make sure the student takes the correct action. After that, you'll give a quick critique if necessary and allow the student to continue the takeoff from that point assuming you deem it safe, etc."

Because of traffic and other considerations I decided messing with fuel controls would not be a good idea for this, so I elected to do the "stuck rudder pedal" technique for this and had my left foot ready to casually "catch" the left rudder pedal and hold it for a loss of directional control.

Anyway, all good.

Departure, practice area, steep turns (right was decent, left got a bit squirrelly but managed to salvage it) ... after they were successfully completed DPE demoed a cool trick using the VSI in steep turns that I'm not going to share. It's too nifty and I want to use it -- so go flying with me sometime if you want to learn it. :)

Power on/off stalls, Vmc demo, you name it, we're doing it. Wandering around east of KFLY.

Notable: This was the first really cold flight in the Seminole. We did have to use the Janitrol and it's only the second time I've done that. Works pretty well in this airplane. Outside temp at 11,000 was -18C.

Guess what else happened because of that? Hey ... first time ever, this silly airplane is climbing and pretty well on a single engine! This messed with my head a little and my altitude planning to string maneuvers together. Not a big deal, just fly back down to whatever altitude we want -- but majority of time was in the hot summer for the Commercial so seeing UP on the VSI and Altimeter was nice. Even in turns! Whoa. Haha. Also needed some power adjustments for things I had memorized. Flew faster and climbed better than usual. Nice.

I'm not going to get into every detail but suffice it to say I really enjoyed the flight portion. Another interesting demo by the DPE was after I did the book standard Vmc demo that every book has and every DPE everywhere will pass, he says, let me show you a simulation you need to do with students and how this is really going to happen in the real world for them and you eventually.

He sets up for the Vmc demo by creating a simulated takeoff from an altitude. You get 200' to climb and then you have an engine failure with both of them blasting away at full takeoff power. Now the usual, directional control, pitch for blue line and simultaneously get power off the operating engine, we're at 200' AGL we are LANDING, cut the operational engine and pitch for blue line, about one second later, here comes 200' of altitude loss and our simulated runway... FLARE NOW... say BANG... you're back on the runway. Total demo is done in only a few seconds. It really shows and allows you to drill the student on reasonable speed on the controls and accuracy, while also showing them that a checklist that says "we will land the airplane" isn't going to be the same in a 4000 lb twin as they can get away with in a single that'll float after a throttle cut as long as they pitched to best glide. It's coming down QUICK and here's the runway... bang... were we wings level? Did we flare? What attitude did we hit the runway in? Good? Bad?

Fun demo and thought provoking for students. Me likey.

Alright anyway, back to the airport, single engine approach demo while teaching it, etc... etc... had a slight brain fart here that reminded me to keep my damned flashlight handy if it's getting dark.

Messing around trying to finish off the approach and landing checklists which I had done from flows, but needed confirmed, and bobbling for the flashlight, I nearly went too far past extended centerline on the parallel runways (big no no) and damn near caught it too late. I looked up and fixed it just in time and scowled and grumbled at myself appropriately. I didn't hear the words that it was over but I thought I was about to. Huge no no. Fly the plane.

Single engine landing after that was a touch high and a touch fast (huh cold out... look how well this thing flies on one engine!) but my god those three blades are an incredible speed brake. Slapped throttles to idle and prepped for the harder flare and planted it centerline and just barely past the 1000' marker, my called out point. Yay!

Anyway... both the hardest ride I've ever done and soooo much easier when you prep to teach. Still a bear. And with a DPE who likes to show "additional skills and techniques" it's more fun than the strong silent type -- but be prepared for anything in that regard. Like I said, anytime I can learn something new to make me better at anything I enjoy it more. He made me teach and demo to the standard first but then the tidbits and ideas afterward were delicious. I almost felt bad when we would just move on after a particular maneuver.

So... congratulations and photos and all that fun (and IACRA) on the ground and an admonition...

"Who manipulates the flaps when you're teaching?"
"The student."
"And in a Piper who gets out first and might need to step on the flap disembarking?"
"The instructor."
"For your consideration, I highly recommend you trust, but verify, that the flap handle truly is locked before you get out. I know you younger guys may simply step over the flap, but your instructor and I had a good friend who was seriously injured for life, by not checking the flap handle was truly locked up by a student when he stepped on the flap getting out and it gave way under him. He's no longer with us, but it was a life changing injury for him. Trust but verify that flap handle on your way out the door, please."

Always teaching. Really got the lucky straw draw from the FSDO on DPE for my initial. Great day. Started at the alarm clock at 06:30, we convened since it was a re-ride with some credit given at 10:00, small lunch break sandwiches brought in by my CFI to the office, and flew until 17:00ish. Long day. But so cool.
 
Oh and the usual checkride write up disclaimer. Any omissions above, as always are my own. There's stuff we did that wasn't mentioned. This one is a bugger with a LOT of stuff to cover and there's no way I'm typing it ALL up! It's too long already.

But hopefully it gives the flavor of what you're up against on your CFI initial. Teach teach teach, come up with clearer and better ways to teach, and teach some more.
 
Congratulations, on your new ticket and another great write up! How extensive do you think the single engine part will be, and are you going for the CFI II eventually?
 
Wow! Congrats and isn't it a wonderful feeling when hard work pays off.

One suggestion. Print the write up. Re-read it once a year.
 
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Congrats. My DPE did the same thing to me about the flap in a Piper (since that's what I own) and making sure it's secure before you step on it.
 
denverpilot said:
Unless it's in a multi, I'm not (yet) your guy for that! Haha.
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Well, now that you're a CFI, you need to work on your sales skills! Your response should have been..."sure, let's get that multi add-on. It will reset the FR clock. " :)
 
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