Preparing for my IFR oral and checkride.

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hammertime

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hammertime
i have passed my written and have my required time. i am looking for suggestions from fairly new IFR pilots having been through the new practical test standards for study material or tapes or web based for the oral and checkride. also, if anyone would like to sell any material, i would be open to that also. Thank you in advance.
 
My oral was pretty much an intense peppering of my preflight planning. Explain the route, explain the weather, explain the options for diversion, lost comms, etc... Show that the airplane is legal, show that the pilot is legal and current, etc...

The checkride itself was a pretty much straightforward run through the PTS (now ACS) requirements. Takeoff (airport had an ODP with a hold), fly the hold, fly an approach, go missed, fly another, go missed, do some "simulated" vectors, "lose" the gyros, do some unusual attidues and a no-gyro approach, shake hands, get picture taken, lose certificate, become a temporary airman. Good luck.

Martha King had a pretty good checkride video, it seemed typical.
 
I bought the KING oral test prep video program and found it well worth the investment. They walk and talk through an actual oral with a DPE and it has since been upgraded for the new ACS standards.
 
This is before the new ACS but this guy makes some great points. I've watched it a couple times. I like hearing him talk. If I was closer to Colorado I'd look him up

Instrument revealed


My oral was, walk me through the flight, planning, fuel, etc then asking questions based on scenarios I might encounter in the flight. Know things like a 0/0 takeoff is legal part 91, but why it's not smart etc. Situations like that he focused on.
 
I'll just throw this out there, but some of my IFR oral was actually a rehash of PPL stuff leading into the flight planning, hypotheticals, and weather. Like he wanted to make sure I hadn't just crammed specifically for IFR stuff but that I knew stuff pertaining to every aspect of the flight.

So just be aware that could happen. He asked me some of the pre-flight acronyms and such. Things I wasn't expecting.
 
flyingron said:
The checkride itself was a pretty much straightforward run through the PTS (now ACS) requirements. Takeoff (airport had an ODP with a hold), fly the hold, fly an approach, go missed, fly another, go missed, do some "simulated" vectors, "lose" the gyros, do some unusual attidues and a no-gyro approach, shake hands, get picture taken, lose certificate, become a temporary airman. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Same for me. I felt the actually flying part of the IFR ride was much easier than the PPL ride. It's shorter, there's less to remember, and it's mostly streamlined into the confines of a congruent flight vs. the skatter shot nature of the PPL ride.

Only thing you forgot (or maybe weren't tested on) was an arc. As we approached 20 miles off Baltimore's VOR, he asked me what I should turn to in order to start a 20 DME arc. I told him and then he said let's go home. That was it and we never actually flew it.
 
I actually had a DME in the aircraft but I think the examiner overlooked it. They aren't supposed to do DME arcs if you don't have them (even if you have an IFR GPS).
 
Most of my oral was on weather/icing and emergency procedures in the event of Nav/Com failures. A lot of discussion on icing since we live in the north country and actual IFR for several months a year will involve icing to some degree, at least knowing whether or not to expect it.

He stressed that in a real emergency, you do what you have to do to survive. If that means the panel is dead and you are using your IPad GPS to fly the approach, then that is what you have to do. We discussed quite a bit how having the technology in the airplane can be a blessing for situational awareness, and having multiple backups is great. If the GTN fails, use the 496, if the 496 fails, use the IPad, if the Ipad fails, use the cell phone, etc. He was basically making me think outside of the box, if this device is dead, your solid IFR what are you going to do? But I also had to demonstrate a VOR only approach during the ride too, to show that I had not become completely dependent on the magenta lines. Not a big deal as I started instrument training 15 years ago and still know how to do an NDB approach if necessary, and if I had access to a plane that still has an ADF.
 
Thank you for all your responses!! please keep em coming!!
 
tree96 said:
This is before the new ACS but this guy makes some great points. I've watched it a couple times. I like hearing him talk. If I was closer to Colorado I'd look him up

Instrument revealed


My oral was, walk me through the flight, planning, fuel, etc then asking questions based on scenarios I might encounter in the flight. Know things like a 0/0 takeoff is legal part 91, but why it's not smart etc. Situations like that he focused on.
Click to expand...

I was going to suggest this. I really like his discussion about the ODPs.

There is also one on U-Tube that a female DPE did at Lewis University that is also pretty good.
 
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