Taking my IFR Check ride tomorrow and I'm a little nervous!!

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Melissa2983298

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Melissa
Hi everyone!

I think I need a little bit of encouragement here! I'm supposed to take my IFR checkride tomorrow, and I'm getting the 'pre-checkride' nerves! What was your checkride like and do you have any tips? :)

Thank you!
 
Relax ,if you've done the pre planning you will be fine.
 
It was the hardest thing I ever did my entire life. The oral lasted 5 hours and the flight portion went on for another 4. only kidding.. While it was very challenging, it was not as bad as I thought it would be. It will be better than you think. Good luck!
 
Checkride for me was pretty basic actually, but fun.

Did an ILS as the first approach to the published miss and held, then cancelled radar services and did an RNAV approach LNAV (not LPV). Just as I was about to touch down the DPE said he saw an elephant on the runway, go around..lol.

Headed back and did a VOR circle to land.

Had a couple unusual attitudes thrown in as well, one on the climbout from takeoff before the ILS and another right after the RNAV go-around.

The second unusual attitude was done at around 1000 ft and I recovered pretty low, but made it.

One of the things that was hardest for me was NOT blowing through MDA/DA. The tolerance is +100/-0 and I'd always start to round out the descent about 50 ft ahead of the MDA and not fast enough, so I'd always bust through.

My trick was to level out at the +100 and slowly..VERY slowly inch down to the MDA, minding the power the whole way down. Never busted another one.

On the LNAV approach I was a bit too high at the step down fixes, so I had to increase my descent rate to catch up.

As others said, stay ahead of the plane, know which approaches might be thrown your way and either practice them ahead of time or be sure you know everything about them. Including ODP's if they apply. Always be asking, what can I do next? The easiest part of the flight should be the approach if you've set everything up and positioned yourself accordingly. At that point you should only need to hit a few buttons to go missed and enjoy the flight!

The circle to land (although many people told me it would be difficult) was actually the easiest to do. Just gotta be mindful of power and bank angle.

Good luck, update us when you pass so we can all give you a virtual pat on the back!
 
Read the PTS and review the "Special Emphasis Areas". Make sure your 100% solid on those.

Be up to speed on critical IFR reg items such as Lost Comms (note: Don't file only to the destination airport, include a waypoint that gets you on the approach), What items do you need to see in order to descend to the runway environment, what 3 items do you need to actually land, and others.

Know your stuff on airframe icing. What equipment does your aircraft have to combat ice? How do you know your tailplane is iced up?

Is your airplane equipped with an IFR certified GPS? Know how that works behind the scenes; What is needed for the unit to switch from Enroute to Terminal; What is needed to switch from Enroute to Approach; How does your unit indicate what RNAV minima to use?

Go through the FAR/AIM and put a tab on all sections that you feel you need to reference should you suffer a brain blank.



But above all.... relax.... be calm, and enjoy the experience.

The really good DPE's are ones that are willing to share wisdom and experience in addition to determining you meat the standards.
 
A tip/trick that works for both the check ride and doing approaches for real.

If the examiner is vectoring you toward the final approach course and you start feeling yourself getting behind the aircraft, or don't have the GPS/radio/cdi/other items setup like you want..... ask for "delay vectors". This might make him happier than you getting rushed and having one of the juggled chainsaws chop your arm off.

You'll get vectored off the course and back around, giving you about 5-10 minutes or so to catch your breath, get back and head of the airplane, and be ready for the approach.
 
A tip that has worked for all my rides -- go to the gym.
Work out (or swim/run) extra hard, remembering that a strong mind needs a strong and healthy body. Go for a nice brisk walk to top it off.
That takes care of your nerves, and gets extra circulation to the noggin.
 
Don't be nervous. If your CFII signed you off he/she feels that you are competent and prepared.
If you passed your written, you are definitely not incompetent.
If the DPE is as cool and nice as mine was, you are in for a fun-filled day.

Treat it as yet another instrument flight like you did with your CFIIs, this time it is just a different person.

You have proven to your school that you can fly on instruments and follow procedures safely and competently. Now you just need to show it to another human.

Good luck and enjoy it!!
 
Make sure you have easy access to approach plates at all airports that your examiner may have you use. The hardest part of the checkride for me was having three approaches at airports within 15 miles of each other. It gives you very little time to brief and prepare.

Visualize hold entries well ahead of time. Draw it if necessary.

Verbally announce altitude remaining as you are approaching MDA/DA. i/e 500 to go, 200 to go, etc.

Good luck, we're all counting on you.
 
Relax...I know it is easier said then done. The most terrifying is not knowing what to expect...I do not and not knowing as far as what is required PST wise, but just nerves going through the process and what to expect from your DPE.

I can tell ya I stressed about the unknowns more than the skills themselves. In the end, if you are prepared it will be MUCH easier than you think it will be!
 
And if you fly the approach inverted, just remember your needles are going to move opposite of what you're used to.
 
I was nervous too, but turned out to be much ado about nothing. You've trained for it and you're prepared. It'll go well.
 
I passed my check ride today. You've got this. The training and preparation paid off.
 
JasonM said:
It was the hardest thing I ever did my entire life. The oral lasted 5 hours and the flight portion went on for another 4. only kidding.. While it was very challenging, it was not as bad as I thought it would be. It will be better than you think. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Holy Shiite! That's the longest instrument checkride, by far, that I've ever heard of. You could do the whole PTS three times in 4 hours.
 
Probably too late as your ride is today but I have heard it said, 'what is the worst that could happen?' (we'll presume you won't crash)
The worst is you will fail, then retake the part you failed.
And this happens a lot, you won't be the first, it is not the end of the world.
Everyone who passes gets "-IA" on their certificate, it's not like you will get "-IA but had to retake circling approaches" on your certificate if you fail that part the first attempt.
Have fun with it!
 
I'm sure you're doing great, can't wait for the update.
 
I'm coming up on mine as well and this thread is stressing me out! :p

Good luck! :D
 
Well I guess seeing as it is now tomorrow I hope you had the opportunity to have fun, and show off all of the new found "useless" knowledge you have. :goofy:
 
Hi everyone!

Thank you VERY much for all of your great words and encouragement! To kind of make a long story short, there were some mechanical issues with the plane this morning, and we had to push the checkride to Monday! :( BUT I will definitely let everyone know how it goes!

Congrats on passing your checride Fuz16! Good luck on your FreqFlyJr!! You'll do great!

Thanks again! You are all amazing!
 
I've taken 5 check rides so far and the instrument check rides were the easiest. (I took heli and FW, no I didn't fail one).
 
Same question here: did you at least get the oral out of the way so that you can focus on flying today?

Sorry to hear about the mechanical issues but heck, that's the downside of using school planes.

Good luck today! Gorgeous day to fly.
 
Melissa2983298 said:
Hi everyone!

Thank you VERY much for all of your great words and encouragement! To kind of make a long story short, there were some mechanical issues with the plane this morning, and we had to push the checkride to Monday! :( BUT I will definitely let everyone know how it goes!

Congrats on passing your checride Fuz16! Good luck on your FreqFlyJr!! You'll do great!

Thanks again! You are all amazing!
Click to expand...

I hate it when that happens, but it's all part of aviation. There are more things to break when IFR. The one that ****ed me off the most was having to scrub a flight because the clock was inop.
 
Melissa2983298 said:
Hi everyone!

Thank you VERY much for all of your great words and encouragement! To kind of make a long story short, there were some mechanical issues with the plane this morning, and we had to push the checkride to Monday! :( BUT I will definitely let everyone know how it goes!

Congrats on passing your checride Fuz16! Good luck on your FreqFlyJr!! You'll do great!

Thanks again! You are all amazing!
Click to expand...
Bummer. Good luck on monday though!

Something I haven't heard other people state here that my dpe crammed in my head was this:
"We are not looking to fail you, and we are not looking for perfection. We are looking that you TRY to CONSISTENTLY meet the expectations (PTS)." Yes there are a few things that are going to be instant retest, but if you bust your altitude or heading call it out, get back on track and keep going. If you make it to your last approach and he says 'full stop' without the dpe saying 'retest' then barring any really bad mess ups (gear up, land on taxiway, not get cleared to land, etc.) You'll be good.
 
farmerbrake said:
Bummer. Good luck on monday though!

Something I haven't heard other people state here that my dpe crammed in my head was this:
"We are not looking to fail you, and we are not looking for perfection. We are looking that you TRY to CONSISTENTLY meet the expectations (PTS)." Yes there are a few things that are going to be instant retest, but if you bust your altitude or heading call it out, get back on track and keep going. If you make it to your last approach and he says 'full stop' without the dpe saying 'retest' then barring any really bad mess ups (gear up, land on taxiway, not get cleared to land, etc.) You'll be good.
Click to expand...

This is what my PPL DPE told me before we even started. She said something along the lines of: "Number one, the PTS is not looking for perfection. Number two, no pilot is perfect, especially on check-ride day."

Went off without a hitch!

I'm looking forward for an update on your checkride, OP!
 
Hope it went well. Was on vacation when the thread started.

And if it didn't go well, always remember the penalty of screwing up a checkride isn't that bad... It just means you have to go fly more. ;)
 
I PMed her. Hopefully she is just out celebrating. Or has a daytime job like many of us. Though many of the many still have access to them Ynterwebs from work and waste a lot of valuable company time surfing pilot forums. LOL
 
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