Private Checkride

txnightster

txnightster

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Jul 4, 2011
Messages
108
Location
Dallas, TX
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Display name:
Bill D.
Well, I passed the checkride for my private license. My temp. license is burning a hole in my pocket!

Thanks to everyone here for all the tips and support.

It was a wonderful morning to go flying and my examiner was lots of fun.

Bill D.
 
Congrats! I passed mine last weekend and took my first flight with a passenger yesterday. That was awesome- now you can go back to flying for fun!
 
txnightster said:
Well, I passed the checkride for my private license. My temp. license is burning a hole in my pocket!

Thanks to everyone here for all the tips and support.

It was a wonderful morning to go flying and my examiner was lots of fun.

Bill D.
Click to expand...


Bill -

Just two questions:

1. How long were you smiling (or are you still)?

2. What are your plans for your very first flight?
 
My examiner was a great guy and he flies with Southwest Airlines as a Captain. It was nice to see how much he still enjoys flying.

The oral portion felt more like a conversation as he touched on many different areas. I didn't realize it but we spent about 1 1/2 hrs talking about flying.

The most fun part was the flying. We left KADS and headed east on my planned cross country trip. After the second checkpoint he diverted me around and we did some VOR work and then knocked out the air maneuvers and the simulated engine out. With the maneuvers out of the way we found a small airport and did the required landings. I was a little long on my short field landing but within regs.

With everything out of the way we headed back to ADS and shook hands. After the flight we did a little debrief and the required paperwork.

Everything went very smooth and my instructors are to be commended.

That's my story!

Kim, I did have a big smile on my face but I was ready for a nap :).
It's funny but I felt a bigger sense of relief after passing my written test.

The first flight will probably be one afternoon this week. My wife is excited but nervous, we are both adventurous so we are ready to hit the skies. We travel about every other weekend and most of our trips are 200-400 miles. We hope we can fly a few of these trips to get some good use of my ticket.

So, now that the learning can begin it's time to earn the instrument rating.

If anybody is still reading this: How many of you did a portion of your IR in an approved simulator? My instructor is really encouraging me to start in the sim and then we will move into the plane. Any thoughts?

Bill D.
 
txnightster said:
If anybody is still reading this: How many of you did a portion of your IR in an approved simulator? My instructor is really encouraging me to start in the sim and then we will move into the plane. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Firstly, congratulations. You have completed quite a great accomplishment.

In the collegiate program I instruct in, we start all instrument students in the simulator to introduce instrument procedures (approaches, holds, etc) for 26 hours. The following semester, they fly the airplane and finish another 26 hours in the simulator working on partial panel approaches and scenario based abnormals. I don't think you'll need 26 hours in the sim, that is just how our program is set up, but I think the sim time is very valuable. We can discuss all of the procedures in the briefing, fly them in the sim, pause as needed to discuss, and build a solid foundation of instrument flying and procedures. The sim work is by no means a requirement but can certainly help if you prefer that environment to learn the initial procedures.
 
txnightster said:
My examiner was a great guy and he flies with Southwest Airlines as a Captain. It was nice to see how much he still enjoys flying.

The oral portion felt more like a conversation as he touched on many different areas. I didn't realize it but we spent about 1 1/2 hrs talking about flying.

The most fun part was the flying. We left KADS and headed east on my planned cross country trip. After the second checkpoint he diverted me around and we did some VOR work and then knocked out the air maneuvers and the simulated engine out. With the maneuvers out of the way we found a small airport and did the required landings. I was a little long on my short field landing but within regs.

With everything out of the way we headed back to ADS and shook hands. After the flight we did a little debrief and the required paperwork.

Everything went very smooth and my instructors are to be commended.

That's my story!

Kim, I did have a big smile on my face but I was ready for a nap :).
It's funny but I felt a bigger sense of relief after passing my written test.

The first flight will probably be one afternoon this week. My wife is excited but nervous, we are both adventurous so we are ready to hit the skies. We travel about every other weekend and most of our trips are 200-400 miles. We hope we can fly a few of these trips to get some good use of my ticket.

So, now that the learning can begin it's time to earn the instrument rating.

If anybody is still reading this: How many of you did a portion of your IR in an approved simulator? My instructor is really encouraging me to start in the sim and then we will move into the plane. Any thoughts?

Bill D.
Click to expand...


I am just starting my instrument training, but I have my own plane, so I plan on minimizing simulator time since it will cost more than flying my plane.

If you don't have your own plane, do as much simulator time as you can. ALSO, there are a few things like simulated instrument failures that they can teach you more thoroughly in a simulator, so everyone should have SOME simulator time IMHO.

Congratulations, and make it up to Jones Field Bonham some time. That's where I hangar and fly out of.
 
Congratulations on your checkride! Go forth and enjoy your privileges and (slowly and carefully) expand your envelope.
 
Thanks for all the congratulations. I have booked a little bit of sim time and i'm looking forward to getting started. My instructor has described how time in the sim will help me develop my scan and learn the systems as ya'll described.

I have been reading thru some of the instrument literature and it all seems interesting.
 
txnightster said:
My examiner was a great guy and he flies with Southwest Airlines as a Captain. It was nice to see how much he still enjoys flying.

The oral portion felt more like a conversation as he touched on many different areas. I didn't realize it but we spent about 1 1/2 hrs talking about flying.

The most fun part was the flying. We left KADS and headed east on my planned cross country trip. After the second checkpoint he diverted me around and we did some VOR work and then knocked out the air maneuvers and the simulated engine out. With the maneuvers out of the way we found a small airport and did the required landings. I was a little long on my short field landing but within regs.

With everything out of the way we headed back to ADS and shook hands. After the flight we did a little debrief and the required paperwork.

Everything went very smooth and my instructors are to be commended.

That's my story!

Kim, I did have a big smile on my face but I was ready for a nap :).
It's funny but I felt a bigger sense of relief after passing my written test.

The first flight will probably be one afternoon this week. My wife is excited but nervous, we are both adventurous so we are ready to hit the skies. We travel about every other weekend and most of our trips are 200-400 miles. We hope we can fly a few of these trips to get some good use of my ticket.

So, now that the learning can begin it's time to earn the instrument rating.

If anybody is still reading this: How many of you did a portion of your IR in an approved simulator? My instructor is really encouraging me to start in the sim and then we will move into the plane. Any thoughts?

Bill D.
Click to expand...

Ask your wife to take pictures. It will be one of your most memorable flights, your first flight as a private pilot!
 
txnightster said:
Well, I passed the checkride for my private license. My temp. license is burning a hole in my pocket!

Thanks to everyone here for all the tips and support.

It was a wonderful morning to go flying and my examiner was lots of fun.

Bill D.
Click to expand...

Congrats! Your examiner was fun? Mine sure wasn't, he kept grilling me until I screwed up, over and over, making me think there is NO WAY I'm passing this, then shook my hand and congratulated me after it was over. Most stressful 3 hours of my life!
 
Many congratulations, Airman. Though many will claim aircraft are not all that useful, you'll find yours will come in handy for 200nm trips. Mine helps me see friends and family far more often than I would without.
 
txnightster said:
Well, I passed the checkride for my private license. My temp. license is burning a hole in my pocket!

Thanks to everyone here for all the tips and support.

It was a wonderful morning to go flying and my examiner was lots of fun.

Bill D.
Click to expand...

Congratulations!!!!:)
 
Yea, my examiner was really enjoyable to be around. He had some fun showing me different things in the plane and telling stories. The maneuvers went really smooth and he told me afterwards that after 700 checkrides he can tell in the first 5 minutes of flying whether or not the candidate will pass.

My first passenger flight is Saturday morning. There is another student at the hangar that I have become friends with and we are going for a lunch run to Stephenville. I'm excited to log some cross country time and happy to let him pay his share :)

My friend hasn't solo'd or been on a CC trip so it will be a new experience for both of us.
 
txnightster said:
Yea, my examiner was really enjoyable to be around. He had some fun showing me different things in the plane and telling stories. The maneuvers went really smooth and he told me afterwards that after 700 checkrides he can tell in the first 5 minutes of flying whether or not the candidate will pass.

My first passenger flight is Saturday morning. There is another student at the hangar that I have become friends with and we are going for a lunch run to Stephenville. I'm excited to log some cross country time and happy to let him pay his share :)

My friend hasn't solo'd or been on a CC trip so it will be a new experience for both of us.
Click to expand...

What happened to the wife being your first flight / passenger?
 
txnightster said:
So, now that the learning can begin it's time to earn the instrument rating.

If anybody is still reading this: How many of you did a portion of your IR in an approved simulator? My instructor is really encouraging me to start in the sim and then we will move into the plane. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

I started IR immediately after PPL at 67 hours ... wish I hadn't, still need to complete and am at 400 hours now. I own my own business and it's been a beast. Flying was for recreation and brain recovery. IR training felt too much like being at work. My area has few if any IMC days that would be flyable. Have all pre-reqs completed except long XC and have to do the written, but am in no hurry. It will help your flying skills a ton, but I'd add flights that were not training flights in the mix. I wanted to purchase my own AC (and did) ... focused attention on that and am glad that I did. Have done some ACRO training as well (basic) that was a blast. If you live in an area that you'll need it, then get on with it ... if not, what's the rush?
 
Fly for fun and enjoy your PPL till you have the 50 required hours x/c for the IR. Then start thinking about it. The IR training does feel like work at times but its a challenge I have really enjoyed. When you have some fun time under your belt, and want some extra challenge (and airplane utility) then go for the IR.
 
dell30rb said:
Fly for fun and enjoy your PPL till you have the 50 required hours x/c for the IR. Then start thinking about it. The IR training does feel like work at times but its a challenge I have really enjoyed. When you have some fun time under your belt, and want some extra challenge (and airplane utility) then go for the IR.
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Sorry if I should know this, but do my XC hours from pre-pilot cert count towards that 50 total? I had a fair amount, I think.
 
txnightster said:
Yea, my examiner was really enjoyable to be around. He had some fun showing me different things in the plane and telling stories. The maneuvers went really smooth and he told me afterwards that after 700 checkrides he can tell in the first 5 minutes of flying whether or not the candidate will pass.

My first passenger flight is Saturday morning. There is another student at the hangar that I have become friends with and we are going for a lunch run to Stephenville. I'm excited to log some cross country time and happy to let him pay his share :)

My friend hasn't solo'd or been on a CC trip so it will be a new experience for both of us.
Click to expand...


Expect a slight crosswind when going to KSEP since the runway is 14-32 and the winds lately have been favoring more north and south.

If the wind is 12-15kts or more crosswind from the north, and you're landing RWY14, put your landing aimpoint even with the terminal (about 500ft beyond the threshold) and land beyond the terminal. You have plenty of runway for that.

The terminal and hangar buildings are close enough to the runway that the wind will do a mechanical turbulance thing and push you downward if you're not expecting it. You can be doing a perfect crab-to-forward-slip approach, gliding down the rails, when it will catch you and make you sink faster than you planned.

Scared me the first time, but now I know to watch for it.


And going to Hard8 for lunch makes the W&B calculations easy... what you burned in fuel getting there is replaced by the large quatity of BBQ you've eaten and are carrying home. You'll enjoy it!!!!
 
Dan and Ren, good advice and thanks for taking the time to share it. I do plan on getting a little enjoyment out of my ticket as I move forward.

I'm hoping to move right along thru my ratings so I can fly with a few friends that have larger aircraft (King Air 90, Cessna 206, Navajo). For insurance reasons I will need an instrument rating, multi and commercial. At that point I will be able to fly their planes as PIC and do a little more traveling for business.

I don't have any plans to earn a living in aviation but I might work on getting a Sport CFI and do demo rides or ferrying of planes for the school where I have taken my training. Their address is ussportaircraft.com if you would like to see their operation.
 
Kim, my wife is traveling for work until Saturday night. I just can't wait until Sunday for my first passenger!
 
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txnightster said:
Kim, my wife traveling for work until Saturday night. I just can't wait until Sunday for my first passenger!
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Well then that explains it. Hope she isn't mad. Wives can get mad. Since you changed your plans, please have your first passenger take photos (including the cheesy one of you outside the plane). Trust me, years from now, you'll look back on that photo of you.
 
Nah, she isn't mad. She may be a little relieved :) She has been asking who will be my first victim! There will be photos and lots of BBQ.
 
After two weeks of the weather not cooperating I was finally able to take my wife up for our first flight together. My expectations were a short sightseeing trip but she felt comfortable so I logged 1.7 of CC.

I was glad that we waited for a calm day because she had a great time and now the discussion of short weekend trips has started. All the studying was well worth it!
 
Good on ya to have her interest and support!

When the time is right, you might ask if she would be interested in "pinch hitter" training. You can say this not only supplies the increased knowledge of what you're doing, but also is a safety item if something goes wrong and you need her help as an impromptu co-pilot.
 
Good advice on the pinch hitter training. I'm going to ease into that as we progress. I let her make a radio call yesterday and that was a big thrill for her.

She did ask a couple of funny questions.
Wife: "Why is everyone so quiet on the radios, is it because they can here everything you say?"
Me: "What do you mean?"
Wife:" Can't the other planes hear our conversation?"
Me: "No babe, you have to push this little button to talk to other people."
Wife: "that makes me feel better, I didn't want them to here me if i get scared"

I don't think she is ready to move into the left seat :)
 
Here are two pictures from the flight.
 

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What a cute picture, and her smile looks genuine like she is actually enjoying the flight.

Very cool.
 
Hey there's some girl in the middle of that second shot. We can't see the airplane! ;)

(Okay I'll admit I have a photo of my wife smiling in her pink headset that comes up as her custom ringtone on my iPhone...) :)
 
Here's a picture off of her fancy camera. I think it came out great.
 

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