PPL Checkride Experience?

denverpilot said:
Not allowed anymore.

My multi CFI used to ride along and be quiet mostly as ballast. The Seminole W&B gets way forward when only the front two seats are occupied. It flies better with someone in the back and landings are easier.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Well, my PP ride was in 2001, so there's been plenty of time for the rules to change.

The Arrow I used to fly had the same problem. When I had two up front I had to put a heavy concrete block in the luggage area (and strap it down) to bring the CG back behind the forward limit.
 
denverpilot said:
Not allowed anymore.

My multi CFI used to ride along and be quiet mostly as ballast. The Seminole W&B gets way forward when only the front two seats are occupied. It flies better with someone in the back and landings are easier.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Well, my PP ride was in 2001, so there's been plenty of time for the rules to change.

The Arrow I used to fly had the same problem. When I had two up front I had to put a heavy concrete block in the luggage area (and strap it down) to bring the CG back behind the forward limit.
 
What'd you say there Ghery? ;)

Did you fly for the Sopranos?

had to put a heavy concrete block on the dead body in the luggage area (and strap it down) to bring the CG back behind the forward limit.
 
Last edited:
I recently had the worst ASE PPL checkride experience. Because of weather, I had 2 months of a waiting period. On my checkride day, it got cancelled due to fog. Another 2 months to wait due to back log, or get another examiner. So me and my instructor decided to get a different DPE. 3 weeks later, the day of the checkride arrives and weather is perfect. I meet the examiner in the morning and to my horror I could not understand him AT ALL. He was Japanese, which I should have understood when he emailed me asking to "collect" my error on my application.

He got really upset that I rounded up the fuel consumption on my flight plan, did not like the altitude I chose to fly (even though there is no FAA regulation in regards to odd/even altitudes), and in general seemed like he was more interested in smoking his cigarettes than actually being there. I have no idea why he failed me, as nor me or my instructor could understand what he was saying. When I asked him if he could repeat himself he got really frustrated and "took a bleak" to go smoke. Im so upset about this. He charged me $700 and I got nothing. Not even an explanation as to why I failed. The official explanation on the notice of disapproval is "National Airspace is unsatisfactory." We never even discussed airspace ?!?!? I passed the written with a grade of 100%, 2 mock checkrides, and couldn't get through the oral part ? Does not make sense. My instructor was fuming.

Bottom line is, it appears that I have no recourse, lost a day at work, and $700 on nothing. Really upsetting. This system does not seem efficient nor safe for that matter.
 
You are right. I did not know it was a in the FAR. However, I still chose the right altitude which was odd plus 500. He was bent out of shape that I chose 7500' and did not like my explanation of " I like to have options and the higher I am the more options and time I have to go through checklists if something goes wrong." So still does not really help me understand what went wrong. :-/
 
HanSolo said:
Bottom line is, it appears that I have no recourse, lost a day at work, and $700 on nothing. Really upsetting. This system does not seem efficient nor safe for that matter.
Click to expand...

Did your CFI witness all this? Sounds very unprofessional. I'd report it to the FSDO (FAA) that the DPE is under.
 
mscard88 said:
Did your CFI witness all this? Sounds very unprofessional. I'd report it to the FSDO (FAA) that the DPE is under.
Click to expand...
^^^ That.

Don't take DPE's word for granted. He must follow rules. Oh sorry, he must "fowwow wuwes". Also, English proficiency should be proven on the DPE's side as well as yours.
Talk to your CFI, wead the wettew of discontinuance and involve the FSDO if necessary.
Bad performance from government employees is not acceptable. Especially for such outrageous double price, yikes.
Good luck and let us know what comes out of it.
 
mscard88 said:
Did your CFI witness all this? Sounds very unprofessional. I'd report it to the FSDO (FAA) that the DPE is under.
Click to expand...
Yes, my CFI was there and was visibly upset too. He did not understand what he was saying when he failed me either. Will keep you guys updated. Thanks for the support.
 
Then again - if you argued to him that there is no FAR for VFR flight altitudes and you can fly wherever you want, that might be a reason to fail you. $700 is daytime robbery though, did he at least provide the lube?
 
mtuomi said:
Then again - if you argued to him that there is no FAR for VFR flight altitudes and you can fly wherever you want, that might be a reason to fail you. $700 is daytime robbery though, did he at least provide the lube?
Click to expand...
I did not. I knew that odd North East etc... Just did not know it was in the FAR. I thought it would be in the AIM. Did not argue about it though, matter of fact I only mentioned it here. When he asked me "why so high?" My answer was as stated above. He said 5500 would have been more than enough. He was irritated when he saw that I rounded up fuel consumption and made me look up in the performance charts the exact fuel flow amounts and said something along the lines of " you need to know exactly because in the summer fuel flow is less than in winter." Which is true, but my instructor taught me to always round up for increased margin of safety. No lube, I came out limping :)
 
And, to add just a bit to the discussion, if you miss something bad enough that you get a fail on that, decide if you can finish the ride, or would rather just end it for the day. There is no penalty for either option, unless you decide to continue and keep messing things up. I bungled VOR navigation under the hood late in my checkride, enough for a fail, even though I had great situational awareness at that moment, then the pressure somehow seemed to be off, and I nailed the remainder of it smooth. The redo will be only the one (hopefully) thing you fail. Showing that you are being actively PIC will impress your DPE. Treat he/she respectfully, and how you would treat/inform a passenger, and you should be good. The worst obstacle for any private pilot candidate is themselves. Have fun!
 
texashikergal02 said:
And, to add just a bit to the discussion, if you miss something bad enough that you get a fail on that, decide if you can finish the ride, or would rather just end it for the day. There is no penalty for either option, unless you decide to continue and keep messing things up. I bungled VOR navigation under the hood late in my checkride, enough for a fail, even though I had great situational awareness at that moment, then the pressure somehow seemed to be off, and I nailed the remainder of it smooth. The redo will be only the one (hopefully) thing you fail. Showing that you are being actively PIC will impress your DPE. Treat he/she respectfully, and how you would treat/inform a passenger, and you should be good. The worst obstacle for any private pilot candidate is themselves. Have fun!
Click to expand...
Can you do the flying part if you bust the oral? I figured the continue option started after the flight portion. I'd start fresh with another DPE on this one, sounds like a lose lose situation. Fly to one if you have to, I think they sometimes will discount if you come to them(I think mine did).
 
HanSolo said:
I did not. I knew that odd North East etc... Just did not know it was in the FAR. I thought it would be in the AIM. Did not argue about it though, matter of fact I only mentioned it here. When he asked me "why so high?" My answer was as stated above. He said 5500 would have been more than enough. He was irritated when he saw that I rounded up fuel consumption and made me look up in the performance charts the exact fuel flow amounts and said something along the lines of " you need to know exactly because in the summer fuel flow is less than in winter." Which is true, but my instructor taught me to always round up for increased margin of safety. No lube, I came out limping :)
Click to expand...
Not that I'd want to go back to this guy, but did he specify if there was any fee for a retake? I had one guy quote me $700 but also said if you require a retake there would be no charge. I thought it wasn't a terrible deal since he would be travelling 120 miles to me, but I went with a different guy who charged me $300. I had to fly an hour to that guy though so the total cost was comparable.
 
exncsurfer said:
Not that I'd want to go back to this guy, but did he specify if there was any fee for a retake? I had one guy quote me $700 but also said if you require a retake there would be no charge. I thought it wasn't a terrible deal since he would be travelling 120 miles to me, but I went with a different guy who charged me $300. I had to fly an hour to that guy though so the total cost was comparable.
Click to expand...

No, he did not specify any fee for retake. I had a DPE who did my mock checkride call me and assure me that this was a freak incident and asked me to complain to FSDO. I did not take it with him because of bad weather and he was really back logged. This time I will definitely wait. One of the things I noticed last night was, he told my instructor all his other students calculated 24 gallons for the same flight and I got 30 gallons which was way to much. What he didn't bother looking at or asking is that I got 23gph but added 6 for VFR day requirements (which was clearly written on my Nav log) and 1 gallon for taxi and run-up. So technically I got the same fuel consumption.

Here is what he sent my instructor:

Hi xxxx,
Thank you for mail and as soon as I find out your e-mail I call you and left message on your phone.
Anyhow, regarding performance questions, I agree with you as CFI from your comments. But it was more complicated his answers from my questions. For examples chose the wrong 4 choice mode c required and estimated fuel more than 30 gallons etc., I were assess Area of Operation I, Task F Knowledge of PA.I.K2 and Skill of PA.I.F.S2

I’m happy stop by next week for discussion.
 
exncsurfer said:
Can you do the flying part if you bust the oral? I figured the continue option started after the flight portion.
Click to expand...

That's my understanding as well, the DPE has the discretion of not continuing the checkride to the flight portion if he thinks the oral isn't passable. I think I read that in the PTS/ACS...
 
@HanSolo -- At least you have a "buddy" in that other DPE. That relationship should be retained and nurtured. He will continue to be a valuable FAA knowledge and experience/wisdom source through out your flying career.

So keep him properly fed (hamburgers) and watered (whiskey/beer during hangar flying sessions) so you can count him as a friend for a long time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top