SixPapaCharlie
May the force be with you
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Sixer
I am wordy so get ready...
Couple things in hindsight. Looking at the check ride / Oral from a distance here is what I think.
I did really well on the written (93) and I knocked the oral out of the park. I was WAY over prepared for it and the DPE knew it. After the oral he said "After 20 minutes of talking to you I could tell you are going to pass this"
The reason I state that is because I know my strengths and weaknesses and was very concerned that stress was going to cause me to fail the flying portion. I panic easily and when I do I mess everything up.
But the DPE already had it in his head that this was going to be a good flight. It was mine to lose.
Please chime in and let me know if you agree but I think my check ride may have been unlike most others. Lots of interaction and instruction from the examiner.
Last thing the DPE said to me after the oral:
"Now look when we fly, I am not there to help you or give you any advice. You are going to do all the maneuvers on your own and I am a silent observer"
Let's begin.
We get in the 1964 Cessna 172. Stress Level: 5
Examiner "Do you want a cookie? I got two"
Me: "No think you I had a snickers for lunch. I couldn't eat another bite."
Go through my startup checklist, no concerns.
Contact Denton Ground and request Taxi to run-up area.
Wind is out of the north but he sends me to 18
I ask the examiner why.
"He thinks you are going to do maintenance. Tell him you want to taxi to take off. Common mistake. no biggie"
Taxi to 36
Examiner says "Stop riding the brakes" Gives me tips on Taxiing properly Stress Level: 6
DPE: "Ok, Show me a soft field takeoff"
Me "Ok, I am taking pressure off the wheel and will taxi out to the runway..."
DPE: "Don't teach it to me! just do it!" Stress Level: 7
I do the best soft field takeoff of my life, start my stopwatch and head to First Waypoint (Sanger TX). Stress Level: 3
I have my kneeboard and am looking at where I am going and he says "what is your first waypoint?"
Me: "Sanger"
DPE: "Where are you now"
Me: "We are about half way there"
DPE: "Where are you"
ME: "I dont understand"
DPE: "Where is your map?"
I feel so stupid as I pull my sectional out of my seat pocket and put it where it should have been after the run up Stress Level: 10 (Oh my god I am blowing this)
I get my map out and he says now where are you?
I show him power lines on the map, a lake and a highway and show him out the window (we were nowhere near the first way point) and he says "That's good enough for me" Stress Level: 3
DPE: "Oh No! The entire state of Oklahoma was destroyed by a tornado"
Me: "That always happens"
We laugh
Now I knew this guy liked to divert to Bowie and there was a VOR there he had consistently diverted students to Bowie so I was ready for that.
DPE: "Ok, take me to Bowi... Wait, You know what? Where is Decatur?"
Me: "South west of here"
DPE: "Ok how far?"
I put a thumb on Denton and finger on Gainesville and state this is about 28 miles, move my hand from where we are to decatur and tell him that is a bit less so maybe 22 miles he tells me to head that way and asks me how long and how much fuel to get there.
I tell him that we are going 100 mph so it is roughly a 15 minute flight and at 7GPH probably a gallon, gallon and a half.
DPE: "That sounds good let's go do some maneuvers" Surprisingly, Stress Level too low to register. I'm feeling good
DPE: "Aera is clear give me a steep turn"
Me: "No, I am going to do some clearing turns"
DPE: "Ok, do what you are used to doing"
I do steep turn to the left and one to the right ant they are as good as any I have done. Maybe gained 20-30 feet but well within standards.
DPE: "Ok, Slow it down"
I tell him We do slow flight at 1800 RPM and trim for 65 mph So I do that.
Here is where everything kind of changed.
DPE: "My airplane"
Me: "You mean you have the flight controls?" Stress level climbing (Why did I say that? shut up. Why is he taking the controls?)
DPE: "I have the flight controls"
Me: "you have the flight controls" (Oh I think I am failing!! why is he flying?)
DPE: "I am sorry to tell you but we can fly a lot slower than this. I bet we can slow it down to 55"
We do slow flight at 55 and he goes into CFI mode. I am used to 10 degrees of bank or less and sort of baby it around in slow flight but he shows me that all the ailerons are doing is creating drag. He shows me he can turn in slow flight with just the rudder then asks me to do it, 180 degrees.
I do it and all is well.
DPE: "Show me a power off stall"
I do it and it is fine
Positive exchange of controls once again as he demonstrates several different ways to stall and recover losing less altitude and explaining that PTS does not have a minimum alt loss for recovering from a stall but the earth does and on final, of you stall, you should be able to recover having lost almost no altitude. He demonstrates that for me as well.
Positive exchange of controls and then he lets me fly a bit just taking a breather.
then gets on to me "Son, you have got to release the death grip on that yoke. It is causing you to make small unnecessary inputs. For the remainder of the flight, you get to fly with 3 fingers"
I comply
He has me do a power on stall next.
I said that we do those at 1900 RPM and he jumps in and says, "no we will do full power and go ahead and add in 15 degrees of bank." Stress Level: 7
I do it and he stops and tells me to recover as soon as the plane indicates to me it is about to stall.
I tell him it is starting to buffet and I recover
DPE: "Excellent you are doing a great job!" Stress level: 0
Then I say "I am sorry but I don't know how you can expect anyone to fly a plane with out a death grip"
He got a good laugh out of that so I felt better.
Foggles, unusual attitudes were next and uneventful. Stress Level: who cares?
I didn't expect this but he says "I think you are about to lose your engine" and he is pointing out the window. I am not sure what is happening but he keeps pointing.
DPE: "What does that look like? Looks kind of like an airport doesn't it? Between you and me I will never pull the engine unless we are near an airport in case it dies for real."
I never imagined in a million years I would have gotten that heads up.
We are at about 2000 feet and right over the south end of the runway and as luck would have it, my engine "dies".
Me: "A, Airspeed Best Glide pitch to 75. B, Best place to land. We have identified the field. C, Checklist we are too low to pull it out so skipping it.
I tell him I cant make it from here so I am going to to a circle to the right and no flaps until I have the runway made. I had planned for 2 months that I was going to take advantage of the Engine out portion to incorporate a slip. I am good at slips and it gives me an opportunity to share my knowledge.
I state "We are lining up nicely but a bit high and The good news is I can slip it. Also since we don't add flaps until we are certain we have the runway made, I can slip now since this plane requires no flaps for slipping"
DPE: "Outstanding"
I nail it and he let me get surprisingly low to the ground (maybe < 20 feet) before calling for a go around.
There is one hanger at this grass strip and he says to do turns around a point using that hanger.
No issue there.
Then he says to line up for a short field landing on the grass strip.
One mistake I made here was normally we do our short field landings and plant it on the 1000 ft markers.
I told him I will set it down by that road 1/8 down the runway.
He asks why and explains that this is not a 5000 foot runway that we are practicing on but a real short field. Put it down as close as you can to the edge. (duh) oh well
I line up for it and this time I was in the flare before he called for the go around. We were low enough that he says "this runway has a hill in the middle of it. And The peak of that hill was at eye level.
DPE: "Go around"
DPE: "Take me back to Denton and when we get there, do a zero flap landing and set it on the 1000 ft markers"
I was a little worried about that. I have never done a precision landing with no flaps. We were about 15 miles away so I thought and thought and thought about how to pull it off and came up with a pretty good plan.
It was quiet in the plane for a few minutes and...
DPE: "Oh, and um.. Full Stop"
I almost teared up.
For whatever reason, he took over the radio all the way back.
I decided to fly an extended downwind and come in 1 white 3 red and pitch for the threshold.
I did that and overshot the hell out of the 1000 ft markers.
Me: "Oh man, I screwed that up."
DPE: "Oh, did you? I wasn't looking. And Congratulations."
In review things I noticed. Using my strengths reinforced his perception that this was going to be a good ride. I am very good with the radio. After almost all of my communications, he would just say "Excellent!" and give me a thumbs up.
I did bust altitude pretty good once and he told me to do another maneuver and I said "I am over altitude should I start the next on here or go back down" He firmly said "If this was my check ride, I would go back"
Writing this has helped me a LOT. In my mind the whole thing lasted 15 minutes and was very sloppy. I actually told my wife that I felt like was giving me a pass. In writing this I realize we flew a lot and there was some sloppy flying in parts. He commented that I am over controlling and often a little uncoordinated but all in all, I did 90+ % of it within PTS standards and was never unsafe.
We landed and he did tell me the only thing I did blatantly wrong was not doing a passenger briefing. He told me he wants me to work on loosening my death grip, stop over controlling, and work on not flying uncoordinated.
Got back to his office, and CFI gives me a big hug. Wife surprised me by showing up. I didn't tell anyone I was taking the ride but just before boarding, sent here a text saying "wish me luck" so she high tailed it to the airport with gifts for me that she had been hiding for this moment.
DPE to my Wife: "This is the best kind of check ride. I love the ones where the student shows up and you just know they have got it"
He was very complementary to me and stated a few times that I did outstanding. In my head I really thought he was being nice and felt like I was so sloppy but after reading this monster of a post I realize it is because I busted altitude and did a couple little things sloppy but that was a small percentage of the whole ride.
CFI: "Okay, Fly Me back to Gainesville"
ME: "No. First passenger is reserved for mom. You can fly me home."
We get in the plane
CFI: "How about we do a normal takeoff?"
Me: "That sounds nice you will have to show me what that looks like it has been awhile."
We get up...
CFI: "Man, it is starting to get bumpy"
Me: "Don't worry. You will get used to that in time"
Couple things in hindsight. Looking at the check ride / Oral from a distance here is what I think.
I did really well on the written (93) and I knocked the oral out of the park. I was WAY over prepared for it and the DPE knew it. After the oral he said "After 20 minutes of talking to you I could tell you are going to pass this"
The reason I state that is because I know my strengths and weaknesses and was very concerned that stress was going to cause me to fail the flying portion. I panic easily and when I do I mess everything up.
But the DPE already had it in his head that this was going to be a good flight. It was mine to lose.
Please chime in and let me know if you agree but I think my check ride may have been unlike most others. Lots of interaction and instruction from the examiner.
Last thing the DPE said to me after the oral:
"Now look when we fly, I am not there to help you or give you any advice. You are going to do all the maneuvers on your own and I am a silent observer"
Let's begin.
We get in the 1964 Cessna 172. Stress Level: 5
Examiner "Do you want a cookie? I got two"
Me: "No think you I had a snickers for lunch. I couldn't eat another bite."
Go through my startup checklist, no concerns.
Contact Denton Ground and request Taxi to run-up area.
Wind is out of the north but he sends me to 18
I ask the examiner why.
"He thinks you are going to do maintenance. Tell him you want to taxi to take off. Common mistake. no biggie"
Taxi to 36
Examiner says "Stop riding the brakes" Gives me tips on Taxiing properly Stress Level: 6
DPE: "Ok, Show me a soft field takeoff"
Me "Ok, I am taking pressure off the wheel and will taxi out to the runway..."
DPE: "Don't teach it to me! just do it!" Stress Level: 7
I do the best soft field takeoff of my life, start my stopwatch and head to First Waypoint (Sanger TX). Stress Level: 3
I have my kneeboard and am looking at where I am going and he says "what is your first waypoint?"
Me: "Sanger"
DPE: "Where are you now"
Me: "We are about half way there"
DPE: "Where are you"
ME: "I dont understand"
DPE: "Where is your map?"
I feel so stupid as I pull my sectional out of my seat pocket and put it where it should have been after the run up Stress Level: 10 (Oh my god I am blowing this)
I get my map out and he says now where are you?
I show him power lines on the map, a lake and a highway and show him out the window (we were nowhere near the first way point) and he says "That's good enough for me" Stress Level: 3
DPE: "Oh No! The entire state of Oklahoma was destroyed by a tornado"
Me: "That always happens"
We laugh
Now I knew this guy liked to divert to Bowie and there was a VOR there he had consistently diverted students to Bowie so I was ready for that.
DPE: "Ok, take me to Bowi... Wait, You know what? Where is Decatur?"
Me: "South west of here"
DPE: "Ok how far?"
I put a thumb on Denton and finger on Gainesville and state this is about 28 miles, move my hand from where we are to decatur and tell him that is a bit less so maybe 22 miles he tells me to head that way and asks me how long and how much fuel to get there.
I tell him that we are going 100 mph so it is roughly a 15 minute flight and at 7GPH probably a gallon, gallon and a half.
DPE: "That sounds good let's go do some maneuvers" Surprisingly, Stress Level too low to register. I'm feeling good
DPE: "Aera is clear give me a steep turn"
Me: "No, I am going to do some clearing turns"
DPE: "Ok, do what you are used to doing"
I do steep turn to the left and one to the right ant they are as good as any I have done. Maybe gained 20-30 feet but well within standards.
DPE: "Ok, Slow it down"
I tell him We do slow flight at 1800 RPM and trim for 65 mph So I do that.
Here is where everything kind of changed.
DPE: "My airplane"
Me: "You mean you have the flight controls?" Stress level climbing (Why did I say that? shut up. Why is he taking the controls?)
DPE: "I have the flight controls"
Me: "you have the flight controls" (Oh I think I am failing!! why is he flying?)
DPE: "I am sorry to tell you but we can fly a lot slower than this. I bet we can slow it down to 55"
We do slow flight at 55 and he goes into CFI mode. I am used to 10 degrees of bank or less and sort of baby it around in slow flight but he shows me that all the ailerons are doing is creating drag. He shows me he can turn in slow flight with just the rudder then asks me to do it, 180 degrees.
I do it and all is well.
DPE: "Show me a power off stall"
I do it and it is fine
Positive exchange of controls once again as he demonstrates several different ways to stall and recover losing less altitude and explaining that PTS does not have a minimum alt loss for recovering from a stall but the earth does and on final, of you stall, you should be able to recover having lost almost no altitude. He demonstrates that for me as well.
Positive exchange of controls and then he lets me fly a bit just taking a breather.
then gets on to me "Son, you have got to release the death grip on that yoke. It is causing you to make small unnecessary inputs. For the remainder of the flight, you get to fly with 3 fingers"
I comply
He has me do a power on stall next.
I said that we do those at 1900 RPM and he jumps in and says, "no we will do full power and go ahead and add in 15 degrees of bank." Stress Level: 7
I do it and he stops and tells me to recover as soon as the plane indicates to me it is about to stall.
I tell him it is starting to buffet and I recover
DPE: "Excellent you are doing a great job!" Stress level: 0
Then I say "I am sorry but I don't know how you can expect anyone to fly a plane with out a death grip"
He got a good laugh out of that so I felt better.
Foggles, unusual attitudes were next and uneventful. Stress Level: who cares?
I didn't expect this but he says "I think you are about to lose your engine" and he is pointing out the window. I am not sure what is happening but he keeps pointing.
DPE: "What does that look like? Looks kind of like an airport doesn't it? Between you and me I will never pull the engine unless we are near an airport in case it dies for real."
I never imagined in a million years I would have gotten that heads up.
We are at about 2000 feet and right over the south end of the runway and as luck would have it, my engine "dies".
Me: "A, Airspeed Best Glide pitch to 75. B, Best place to land. We have identified the field. C, Checklist we are too low to pull it out so skipping it.
I tell him I cant make it from here so I am going to to a circle to the right and no flaps until I have the runway made. I had planned for 2 months that I was going to take advantage of the Engine out portion to incorporate a slip. I am good at slips and it gives me an opportunity to share my knowledge.
I state "We are lining up nicely but a bit high and The good news is I can slip it. Also since we don't add flaps until we are certain we have the runway made, I can slip now since this plane requires no flaps for slipping"
DPE: "Outstanding"
I nail it and he let me get surprisingly low to the ground (maybe < 20 feet) before calling for a go around.
There is one hanger at this grass strip and he says to do turns around a point using that hanger.
No issue there.
Then he says to line up for a short field landing on the grass strip.
One mistake I made here was normally we do our short field landings and plant it on the 1000 ft markers.
I told him I will set it down by that road 1/8 down the runway.
He asks why and explains that this is not a 5000 foot runway that we are practicing on but a real short field. Put it down as close as you can to the edge. (duh) oh well
I line up for it and this time I was in the flare before he called for the go around. We were low enough that he says "this runway has a hill in the middle of it. And The peak of that hill was at eye level.
DPE: "Go around"
DPE: "Take me back to Denton and when we get there, do a zero flap landing and set it on the 1000 ft markers"
I was a little worried about that. I have never done a precision landing with no flaps. We were about 15 miles away so I thought and thought and thought about how to pull it off and came up with a pretty good plan.
It was quiet in the plane for a few minutes and...
DPE: "Oh, and um.. Full Stop"
I almost teared up.
For whatever reason, he took over the radio all the way back.
I decided to fly an extended downwind and come in 1 white 3 red and pitch for the threshold.
I did that and overshot the hell out of the 1000 ft markers.
Me: "Oh man, I screwed that up."
DPE: "Oh, did you? I wasn't looking. And Congratulations."
In review things I noticed. Using my strengths reinforced his perception that this was going to be a good ride. I am very good with the radio. After almost all of my communications, he would just say "Excellent!" and give me a thumbs up.
I did bust altitude pretty good once and he told me to do another maneuver and I said "I am over altitude should I start the next on here or go back down" He firmly said "If this was my check ride, I would go back"
Writing this has helped me a LOT. In my mind the whole thing lasted 15 minutes and was very sloppy. I actually told my wife that I felt like was giving me a pass. In writing this I realize we flew a lot and there was some sloppy flying in parts. He commented that I am over controlling and often a little uncoordinated but all in all, I did 90+ % of it within PTS standards and was never unsafe.
We landed and he did tell me the only thing I did blatantly wrong was not doing a passenger briefing. He told me he wants me to work on loosening my death grip, stop over controlling, and work on not flying uncoordinated.
Got back to his office, and CFI gives me a big hug. Wife surprised me by showing up. I didn't tell anyone I was taking the ride but just before boarding, sent here a text saying "wish me luck" so she high tailed it to the airport with gifts for me that she had been hiding for this moment.
DPE to my Wife: "This is the best kind of check ride. I love the ones where the student shows up and you just know they have got it"
He was very complementary to me and stated a few times that I did outstanding. In my head I really thought he was being nice and felt like I was so sloppy but after reading this monster of a post I realize it is because I busted altitude and did a couple little things sloppy but that was a small percentage of the whole ride.
CFI: "Okay, Fly Me back to Gainesville"
ME: "No. First passenger is reserved for mom. You can fly me home."
We get in the plane
CFI: "How about we do a normal takeoff?"
Me: "That sounds nice you will have to show me what that looks like it has been awhile."
We get up...
CFI: "Man, it is starting to get bumpy"
Me: "Don't worry. You will get used to that in time"
Congrats!
Big Congrats! Well done. Sounds like a great DPE, too. A great write up for those on the way there. I believe this is how most successful check rides go. Student isn't perfect, but the "outcome of the maneuver is never in doubt", and the DPE teaches you something along the way.
