PPL Write up (kinda long)

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Kll365

Filing Flight Plan
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Kll365
Never posted anything on here before but I passed my PPL checkride a couple days ago and thought I’d share my experience on here. My private training was extremely messy and I’ve flown with multiple schools and instructors until I found a good one out here in Arizona. The DPE I took the exam with was also the owner of the school.

Started off with the oral exam which I felt like I was extremely over prepared for. I had taken mock checkride a with multiple instructors and they had always said my ground knowledge was closer to the commercial level. I could tell the DPE was impressed by this and it set the tone for the first half of the checkride. A list of the topics I was asked about:
-Basic regs (currency, AVIATES, 91.205/91.213)
- Fuel injected systems
-Hydraulic system
-Exhaust system and hypoxia awareness
- supplemental oxygen
- Ran through basic elements of the sectional and requirements for airspaces
Special use airspace (Can we fly into a restricted area/MOA?)
-Aircraft performance and density altitude
-He had me discuss effects of CG on our weight and balance and this is wheee we got more in depth into the cross country I planned.

Everything he asked seemed fair and straight forward. No tricks or surprises. I was shocked at how nice the guy was and he was constantly trying to make the experience extremely relaxed.

Now things kinda changed once I got to the flying portion. Winds picked up over 10 knots and there was a little bit of a crosswind component. Forecasts were light and variable all week so this threw me off a bit. He insisted we started with some landings first before the weather got even worse. He asked if I wanted to discontinue for another day but I’ve always been confident with my crosswind landings so I opted in to fly.

We started with a short field takeoff into a forward slip. Then a touch and go into a soft field takeoff into a soft field landing. Honestly had 2 of my best landings considering the crosswind and the DPE was saucing me up about it. Things were going great so far.

Started my cross country and then a simulated diversion as soon as we entered the practice area. The DPE told me every maneuver in what order we would be doing on the ground which I really appreciated. Started with a power on stall which was solid. Then I started a steep turn. I’ve never had a big problem with steep turns but nerves got the best of me and I ascended 110 feet immediately into the turn. I called this out and added more bank to descend which caused me to almost blow below the 100 ft threshold. I then panicked and rolled out almost 15 degrees past my reference point. It was one of the worst steep turns I’d ever done. He said “that one was rough buddy, can I see one in the other direction?”. I took a second to calm myself and entered the next one which wasn’t the prettiest either. He said “you got a little slow there, let’s see how the rest of this goes”. Entered slow flight did some turns and climbs/descents. Then straight into a power off stall. He then pulled my power. Went through my ABC’s and he told me to recover when I got close to the ground. I asked him before hand if he would ask me to recover or would he expect me to do it above 500 AGL. Didn’t wanna bust on something as dumb as that. We then went into turns around a point. Every maneuver after the steep turns was clean and right on point. He then asked me to take us back to the home airport for a short field landing.

I felt like I failed due to the steep turns but he hadn’t said anything yet so I figured there was still a chance to pass if I greased the short field. Came in and had one of the worst landings I’ve ever had. Bounced in the 500 footers, didn’t hold my crosswind correction and got blown to the side of the runway. The bounce was within the 200 foot limit but I truly felt I failed right then and there. I uttered with zero confidence “max simulated braking” lol I put my head down for a second because I was so disappointed in myself but then I remembered to always keep flying the plane no matter what. I got on the brakes and he took the controls to exit the runway. We were holding short of the taxiway waiting for an insane amount of traffic to get moved around. Even though I was rethinking every life decision I’ve ever made and how I was going to explain to everyone that I had failed I tried to seem like I was in good spirits and talk a little to the DPE while we were waiting. He still hadn’t said I passed or failed after about 10 minutes of holding short. We then taxied in front of the FBO and shook my hand and congratulated me on becoming a pilot. I was in absolute shock. I felt like I didn’t deserve it. I did some of my worst flying to date. Everyone at the school congratulated me but I couldn’t help but feel like I was a fraud. I felt like the DPE bailed me out because I went to his school. It made feel sick to my stomach. I thought to myself I would of rather taken the failure. The only thing I can think of that saved me was my performance on the oral, the first couple landings I buttered, and my ADM while in the air. He complimented me on how I was always ahead of the plane. We talked about the steep turns and staying on top of your crosswind correction until touchdown. He gave props to my CFI and then he dipped.

I’ve heard of people having very forgiving DPE’s but the whole experience just didn’t sit well with me. I feel like any other DPE would’ve failed me on those steep turns let alone the ugly short field landing. Is this something anyone else has experienced? I’m excited to go into instrument next but I’m having a hard time getting it in my head that I deserve to be a licensed pilot. Should probably just get over myself but I thought I’d share it with you guys! Thanks for reading and safe flying to ya!
 
It is a license to Learn. He deemed you compentent and knowlegable enough to make good decisions and learn from your mistakes. Enjoy your accomplishment proudly, and keep learning to be better.
 
Take the win & get better…always work at getting better. There is a lot of latitude in check rides. The dpe has to figure in wind, traffic, & atmospheric conditions Into any “faults” he might find. Just the fact that you had the confidence to tackle the x-wind after he offered to postpone made you points. You presented as a prepared & accomplished candidate, always a strong point in any dpe evaluation, with a good command of the aircraft. There is no”perfect” check ride.

when I did my ppl check ride I’d planned to start the X/C at a particular, nearby, low dam. However, while not noted on the sectional, there were 5 weir-like dams over a 5 mile area. I confessed i’d screwed up. My Dpe asked me how I’d recover. I pulled out my E6B, worked an estimated off course recovery calc, & and she said, “very good!“ that was the last I heard of it. Passed.
 
david.h said:
It is a license to Learn. He deemed you compentent and knowlegable enough to make good decisions and learn from your mistakes. Enjoy your accomplishment proudly, and keep learning to be better.
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Will do! Thank you for the feedback I needed that
 
rhkennerly said:
Take the win & get better…always work at getting better. There is a lot of latitude in check rides. The dpe has to figure in wind, traffic, & atmospheric conditions Into any “faults” he might find. Just the fact that you had the confidence to tackle the x-wind after he offered to postpone made you points. You presented as a prepared & accomplished candidate, always a strong point in any dpe evaluation, with a good command of the aircraft. There is no”perfect” check ride.

when I did my ppl check ride I’d planned to start the X/C at a particular, nearby, low dam. However, while not noted on the sectional, there were 5 weir-like dams over a 5 mile area. I confessed i’d screwed up. My Dpe asked me how I’d recover. I pulled out my E6B, worked an estimated off course recovery calc, & and she said, “very good!“ that was the last I heard of it. Passed.
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You’re right. I’m starting to think seeking perfection will always let me down in an industry like this. Thanks for sharing
 
To others who are about to take a checkride, remember, the examiner must inform you that you failed at the moment you failed. If the examiner doesn't say anything, you are still good.
 
My DPE for private was very black and white.

Either I met the standards or I didn’t.

I failed my first attempt, took some more training and passed the next day.

I am a flight instructor now and I don’t always meet the standards when demonstrating maneuvers.

I learn from every flight.
 
Gilbert Buettner said:
To others who are about to take a checkride, remember, the examiner must inform you that you failed at the moment you failed. If the examiner doesn't say anything, you are still good.
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This ^^^ until the flag gets thrown you are still in the game and should concentrate on what's ahead in the exam and not what's already done.

I tested nearly twenty years ago and remember nearly busting the altitude loss limit when flying behind the power curve because I was a bit slow to get enough power in. We disscussed it after the DPE told me I was a pilot. For the most part everything else went very well for me but like most students I was pretty on edge for the first part of the flight test. My DPE had a great way to make it a fun, relaxing, and exciting flight. Once I got into the groove most everything went very well.

Most DPE's are smart, more than fair, and realize that no applicant is perfect and will be plenty nervous. As long as you are within the standards required you get to be called a pilot at the end of the ride. You did that ... congrats pilot!
 
You started with an a+ and did good for a bit and then acknowledged your mistake and tried to fix it. (No Macho attitude) sounds like good piloting to me.

Whereas I forgot the gd fuel pump switch (piper warrior) on my first takeoff. Failed before I even started...continued passed everything else. Practiced turning on the switch with cfi and retested with one takeoff and then got my certificate. That was an expensive mistake.
 
I felt a bit similar after my PPL then I stepped up my game for instrument and beyond. One thing is sometimes the CFI’s hold your hand a little too much and you might be doing what you are told instead of knowing a maneuver by name.

Going into my PPL checkride, I didn’t think the checkride was going to be as serious as it is. Now I prepare and organize my notes and checkrides make me nervous. Just keep on going, practice procedures on flight in IMC, inadvertent VFR into IMC, especially at night, that’s one that can get you.

I do think most DPE’s realize that PPL is a ticket to the show, you still have to buy your food and drinks once inside, if they don’t let you inside then might be a lot less people showing up. If I failed my PPL, not sure if I would have continued, it’s the lack in confidence by the DPE that might have stopped me from continuing. But the confidence from the DPE and knowing there is room for improvement is what drove me straight into instrument training and beyond.
 
To reiterate: license to learn. You ARE going to continue to make mistakes or perform less than perfect stick & rudder skills.

Some flights are less than perfect. Others you’ll have made a mistake where you question who the heck taught you and tested you and whether you deserve to handle a flying machine. Get used to it. Learn from it. Fix it. Get better.

If you truly suck and are putting yourself in danger, then quit. But I suspect if you’re as introspective as it seems, you’ll be fine. Just don’t let it become a negative thing.
 
I took my ride on July 20th of this year. Same thing, aced the oral but then took off at 4:00pm in 112 degree Central California heat. Busted my steep turns bad, terrible thermals that afternoon and my short field landing was a carrier landing as it felt I dropped that thing from 15 feet of the runway with the stall horn screaming. I was certain He was going to fail me but he didn’t.

We went inside for a debriefed and he talked about the fact that in conditions like that nearly nobody is perfect but to learn from every flight. The fact is, I probably wouldn’t chose to fly in those conditions as I fly for fun and leisure and it was everything but that.

Speaking of learning, I just completed a flight yesterday that was my 33-35 hour since my ride. When I touched down I went to pull my flaps, turn off fuel pump and lean out to realize my mixtrue was at about 75%. My heart skipped a beat, I messed up. Even with that checklist strapped to my right leg.

Lesson learned until the next one.

Paul
 
I have more than 1300 hours and have yet to make a perfect flight. A while back I had to demonstrate a steep spiral for a commercial student. I don’t think I had done one since my CFI checkride and cautioned my student that it might not be perfect, but it turned out ok. Practice more, the learning never stops.
 
Remember the main reason for the Practical test isn't to test you. It is to validate that the instructor did his job. Of course that means evaluating that your instructor taught you everything you need to know and that you can perform to the standards.
You noticed your less that stellar performance areas, that is just a sign of a good pilot.
I don't know what the conversation was after the short field landing was but I would guess it was similar to the steep turns in that you told the examiner something like "than wasn't great", before he even said anything. Your description sounds like, while not a great landing it did meet the acs standards, obviously the DPE thought it did.

Examiners evaluate a lot of pilots (and instructors), they can tell pretty quickly how you are likely to do. A great oral is a great start. The examiner knowing the instructor and or flight school, may know that it is very unlikely that you didn't get the training you needed. He may also know how what kind of standard you had to meet for your instructor to recommend you for the check ride.
When you go for a check ride you instructor has already certified meet the qualification to be a private pilots. The DPE is just validating that certification.

The examiner I use most of the time says in 25 years of check rides he has never seen a perfect check ride.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
 
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