What should I bookmark in the FAR/AIM?

livitup

livitup

Pre-takeoff checklist
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livitup
Thinking ahead to my oral, I want to be prepared and know my reference materials. My instructor suggested that I start putting Post-It flags on the pages of the FAR/AIM that I might want to refer to during my oral exam.

I'm not sure what I really need to know by heart, vs. what the examiner would not care if I look it up. So far I have:

  • 91.113 (right of way rules)
  • 91.119 (minimum altitudes)
  • 91.155 (weather minimums)
  • 91.205 (minimum equipment for day/night VFR and IFR)
  • 91.209 (aircraft lighting)
  • 91.211 (supplemental oxygen)
  • 91.213 (inop equipment)

Any that I am missing? Any that I should for sure have memorized vs. what I am allowed to look up during the oral?

Thanks!
 
livitup said:
Thinking ahead to my oral, I want to be prepared and know my reference materials. My instructor suggested that I start putting Post-It flags on the pages of the FAR/AIM that I might want to refer to during my oral exam.

I'm not sure what I really need to know by heart, vs. what the examiner would not care if I look it up. So far I have:

  • 91.113 (right of way rules)
  • 91.119 (minimum altitudes)
  • 91.155 (weather minimums)
  • 91.205 (minimum equipment for day/night VFR and IFR)
  • 91.209 (aircraft lighting)
  • 91.211 (supplemental oxygen)
  • 91.213 (inop equipment)

Any that I am missing? Any that I should for sure have memorized vs. what I am allowed to look up during the oral?

Thanks!
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The way I look at it, I memorize everything that could happen in an "oh ****" moment in the cockpit where it would be too late to pull out the regs (so for example the right of way, weather minimums and inop equipment in your list above), while bookmarking items that are solely used for preflight planning when you have all the time to look it up (oxygen, altitudes etc).
 
Just know if you need to look in 61 (refers to the pilot/crew) or 91 (refers to the plane/skies) and check the headings/TOC when doing the oral. I've had 6 check rides and never marked anything with tabs. You aren't going to be required to find it in 10 seconds or less. Anything that goes into flying the plane, you should have memorized.


This is on point:

Ateaist said:
The way I look at it, I memorize everything that could happen in an "oh ****" moment in the cockpit where it would be too late to pull out the regs (so for example the right of way, weather minimums and inop equipment in your list above), while bookmarking items that are solely used for preflight planning when you have all the time to look it up (oxygen, altitudes etc).
Click to expand...
 
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Personally, I think you are going a bit overboard.....

Learn the basics and pertinent FAR / AIM rules and review them before the oral... New PP students usually are up to speed on the rules since a new pilot is absorbing all data and it will be fresh in your mind.. Us old guys knew it all then once too... Knowing where to look for answers to a DPE's questions is admirable...But.... Most DPE's are human too and should not throw you bizarre questions.....

Your instructor should know what is usually asked and will coach you..IMHO..
 
You need to know "real world" information that is relevant to you and the situations that you will be in. It's not a speed test, it is a comprehension test.
If you don't know the answer, where can you find it? That's it.
 
livitup said:
Any that I am missing? Any that I should for sure have memorized vs. what I am allowed to look up during the oral?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Memorize anything that you need to know immediately in the air. If you have to look up best glide for your aircraft or engine out procedures, that won't look good!

Also, bookmark these:

61.23
61.57
61.102
91.103
91.125 through 91.135
91.151
91.155
91.159
91.205
91.207
91.211
91.215
91.411
91.519
91.413
830.5
 
The oral part tends to be the same for the same examiner. Look up a student who had the oral from the examiner you'll be using. Does the examiner emphasize airspace, emergency procedures, weather, etc?
 
I'd say you should have anything you need in the cockpit memorized--not just in a panic moment. VFR cruising altitudes, when what lights are required to be on, etc. Anything you need to use regularly. Most of it will probably already be memorized, but some won't be. Stuff like what you need to report to the NTSB and how long after the incident you need to report it can definitely be looked up.
 
It'll make you feel better book-marking certain areas. I did, but didn't need to ...

The DPE **DID** appreciate me bookmarking the AC logs for transponder check, annual, etc.
 
danhagan said:
The DPE **DID** appreciate me bookmarking the AC logs for transponder check, annual, etc.
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Do this do this do this do this do this! It really helps make everything run smoother. My DPE mentioned that he's not favorably impressed with anyone who hasn't done this, and it's one of the first impressions he gets of applicants. You want to go in on top of everything--that'll help immensely.
 
Wait a minute, I am just not catching on. You mean you could bring a FAR/AIM into the oral part?

In 2003 when I did the oral, none of the question were designed to be looked up, and I was told I didn't need to bring anything. The only question I had no clue as to the correct answer was "How far should you stay away from a thunderstorm."

"As far as I can," was my reply and that worked.
 
If your instructor has referred students to the DPE you're using and debriefed them afterward, he should be able to tell you what to expect.

I was told that the DPE I used for my Private/Airplane would expect me to know the things I'd need in the cockpit, but would only expect that for anything else I'd know which chapter in the FAR/AIM to check. And that was at the resolution of "Part 61" or "Part 91," not more detail than that.
 
During the oral, you don’t have to answer from memory anything you’d have time to look up in reality. You never need to memorize and know everything. Categorize material as:

a. Things you must memorize (i.e. emergency procedures, radio calls, airspace, etc).
b. Things you must know or have reasonable understanding of (i.e. interpreting weather codes, non-critical regs).
c. Things you must know about but can look up and will have time to look up on the ground.

(Thanks to Mark Bourdeaux for this categorization.) So if the examiner asks you about currency, it’s OK to open the FAR book to 61.56 and 61.57 and explain them to him. But make sure you know where the answer is without reading the whole FAR/AIM cover-to-cover. On the other hand, for stuff you’d have to know RIGHT NOW (e.g., best glide speed for engine failure, etc.), you’d best not stumble or stutter – know that stuff cold. Also, remember that the examiner may use the areas your knowledge test report says you missed as focus points in the oral, so study them extra thoroughly.

So, in terms of bookmarking, check the list in the book of what FAR's and AIM sections are applicable to your ride. Think about which of the items on that list you would need to know without looking up, memorize them, and bookmark all the rest. And keep in mind that inop equipment issues are dealt with on the ground before takeoff where you have all the time in the world to look them up.
 
Remember, the oral exam is more scenario based now.

The examiner might start with, "Say we're going to plan and execute a flight from the airport we are at now and head to Podunk. We will cross over airports big and small. Start at the beginning, then walk me through the flight."

As you go along, he will interject questions like, "We're crossing this fading magenta line, what does that mean? Oh, it's an airspace marker? Which one? What are the limits horizontal and vertical? During the day, can we be this close to a cloud? Who are we talking to on the radio?" etc. etc.

Essentially, he's testing you on all the items on your bookmark list, but in a way that is more application of the knowledge than robotic memorization.
 
An iPad or equivalent with the FAR loaded with a search capability is a great help.....
 
A heavly tabbed far/aim sets a good tone for a checkride IMO

From a 2011 FAR/AIM

Flight Review
61.56 page 61

Private Pilot
61.102 page 93

Commercial Pilot
61.121 page 100

Right of Way
91.115 page 167

Air Speed
91.117 page 168

Minimum Safe Altitudes
91.126 page 169

Weather Mins
91.151 Page 178

Special VFR Mins
91.161 Page 179

Cruse Alt
91.159 page 179

Minimum Equipment
91.203 page 187

o2
91.211 page 191

Maintenance
91.401 page 203

NTSB 830
49CFR page 493

Nav Aids
Section 1 Page 519

Airport Lighting
Chapter 2 page 563

Air Space
Chapter 3 page 597

Saftey, NOTAMS, TAFS, PIREPS, SIGMETS, Prog Charts
Chapter 7 page 831

IMSAFE, Medical, Hypoxia
Chapter 8 page 921

Terminal charts, sectionals, WACs
Chapter 9 page 929


Have fun
 
I always like throwing in Special VFR 91.157. This can be handy though they probably wont ask it on a pvt checkride.
 
PW_Plack said:
If your instructor has referred students to the DPE you're using and debriefed them afterward, he should be able to tell you what to expect..
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The DPE allowed my instructor to sit in on the oral. So he heard first-hand the questions.
 
This isn't specific to the FAR/AIM, but I will say that on my PPL oral, I ready room downed the thing after stumbling pretty epic-ly on the VFR sectional. I was like 18 and just an idiot, so probably not something that most students would bone away, but I sure did. Poor guy probably had to clean my drool off his desk after we parted ways. Never made that mistake again, and flew with the same guy (part 141 school, small group of examiners) for my practical and wooed him with a no instrument simulated engine out landing. I think I blacked out during that, and woke up when we were on the runway. To this day, I don't know how he had the balls to let an idiot student with 20 hrs or whatever do that with no reference of any kind to airspeed or VSI. I guess he was just that good that he already knew if I was going to kill us via his sense of sound or maybe smell :)

OK end random tangent. Lesson learned: know your charts fairly cold. The DPE is going to try and throw you off on some random symbol like a Y chromosome sign over a hashtag surrounded by concentric magenta rings with an asterisk to its upper right.......those things won't get you a refly, but not knowing the basics cold will.
 
Sorry for not coming back to this sooner...

I'm surprised that some people recommended against doing this. I agree with 93K, having the potentially relevant sections tabbed out in advance "sets the tone" for a great oral. It tells the examiner that I've taken the time to scope these things out. And even more important, it works really well for my brain... Knowing that I've got these things tabbed out means I can stop worrying about them. Without having done prep work like this, it would affect my ability to retain the knowledge I really do need to have memorized.

Thanks a ton to those who provided suggestions on what to tab... I'll do it, and report back after the oral (still several months off).
 
PW_Plack said:
If your instructor has referred students to the DPE you're using and debriefed them afterward, he should be able to tell you what to expect.

I was told that the DPE I used for my Private/Airplane would expect me to know the things I'd need in the cockpit, but would only expect that for anything else I'd know which chapter in the FAR/AIM to check. And that was at the resolution of "Part 61" or "Part 91," not more detail than that.
Click to expand...

tinerj said:
The DPE allowed my instructor to sit in on the oral. So he heard first-hand the questions.
Click to expand...

The DPE for my PP ride even invited my CFI to sit in the back during the ride. Poor guy had to sit back there and keep his mouth shut. I think I scored some points with the DPE when she asked if it was OK and I handed her an Excel spreadsheet printout with just that situation already calculated for W&B. Don't know what inspired me to do that the night before, but it sure didn't hurt. Oh, and using a 172 with a 180 hp engine so we had payload to spare didn't hurt, either. :D
 
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