Checkride PP-ASEL
RUSSELL B. ROSLEWSKI
>The Oral:
> As expected, my oral was fairly brief. I had a perfect 100 on my written
>so the DE just quizzed me quickly to try and pinpoint a weak area. We
>breezed through airspace (Lots of questions about what Class A-G meant,
>vis/cloud clearance reqs day and night, etc) and systems. A bit of stuff on
>aeromedical factors. All pretty much the same as the written. I got
>bogged down in weather - they really do expect you to be able to read those
>abbreviated briefings and know what S+BS or RW mean. Also some WX maps.
>Spent the longest there as it was my weakest area. Big surprise on the
There's a surprise to me- I had my checkride about 2 weeks ago and he didn't
even touch on weather reports, briefings, charts and such. This was
probably good for me, as this is MY weakest area, too.
>XC planning - one destination (no return), 6 checkpts (he specified this),
>30 minutes for the XC, AND 15 minutes to get a WX briefing, AND 15 more to
>do the W&B (which I had done in advance since I knew his weight). He
>did not check my math in detail, just enough to be sure it made sense.
>All told, maybe 3 hrs tops including him telling jokes, breaking for a
>coke, etc.
Hmm. My examiner only gave me 30 min for planning, WX briefing, W&B,
takeoff and landing distances, etc. (Of course, I actually went a little
over, but he didn't say anything.)
> We did go through the paperwork - he wanted to see the airframe and
>powerplant logs to check the annual, the 100 hr, and the ELT.
Basically, he checked the maintenance logs while I was planning the XC. Too
bad, because I had all the important stuff (annual, ELT batteries, etc.)
marked with sticky tabs. Oh well.
> Today we were scheduled for 8 AM. CAVU, winds 6-8 kts, but forecast to
>get worse. He decided we were going to do the short-field technique first.
>(GOOD CALL) First takeoff OK, landing (standard) not so hot but safe.
>Short field takeoff OK - and the landing looked good until short final when
>a gust destabilized me. I opted for a go-around. Second one was pretty
>good. And then I thought I flunked. He started in on me about how I was
>taxiing too slow, taking too long to get ready on takeoff, hurry up - etc.
Yep, you've got to watch out for tricks like this. He's trying to get you
to rush (or rather, to see if you will NOT start rushing). Just one of the
many tricks DE's have up their sleeve.
Anyway, I guess the jist of it is that every examiner's different. Some
consider certain things really important, while others sweep the same things
under the rug. I guess that's why you've just got to know everything!
Congrats, and good luck on the XC!
Russ
PP-ASEL
(Sorry no cool .sig file- I'll have to make one up one of these days :-})
Michael Masterov
Date: 5/17/94
TT: 77.6 hrs
First Flight: 12/16/93
Solo: 2/11/94, at 27.9 hrs
The checkride was originally scheduled for 5/14/94, but was postponed to
5/16 and then 5/17 for WX.
The Oral:
As expected, my oral was fairly brief. I had a perfect 100 on my written
so the DE just quizzed me quickly to try and pinpoint a weak area. We
breezed through airspace (Lots of questions about what Class A-G meant,
vis/cloud clearance reqs day and night, etc) and systems. A bit of stuff on
aeromedical factors. All pretty much the same as the written. I got
bogged down in weather - they really do expect you to be able to read those
abbreviated briefings and know what S+BS or RW mean. Also some WX maps.
Spent the longest there as it was my weakest area. Big surprise on the
XC planning - one destination (no return), 6 checkpts (he specified this),
30 minutes for the XC, AND 15 minutes to get a WX briefing, AND 15 more to
do the W&B (which I had done in advance since I knew his weight). He
did not check my math in detail, just enough to be sure it made sense.
All told, maybe 3 hrs tops including him telling jokes, breaking for a
coke, etc.
We did go through the paperwork - he wanted to see the airframe and
powerplant logs to check the annual, the 100 hr, and the ELT.
Important note: my solo endorsement had run out and my CFI just
endorsed the student pilot license to renew it. Not good enough - he
wanted it done in my logbook. Sort of a bummer as my CFI was not there.
But in the end it did not matter - he wanted 3000 ft ceilings and 5 nm
vis, and we didn't have it due to thunderstorms and such...
The second time I came out to the airport early to fly a bit solo.
CAVU weather, winds 10 gusting 15. I flew and had no problems. He
called and said "Well, can you do a short field approach in this?"
I replied "Well, if you want me to come in at 52kts and 40 deg flaps like
the book says - no way. But..." Cancelled.
Today we were scheduled for 8 AM. CAVU, winds 6-8 kts, but forecast to
get worse. He decided we were going to do the short-field technique first.
(GOOD CALL) First takeoff OK, landing (standard) not so hot but safe.
Short field takeoff OK - and the landing looked good until short final when
a gust destabilized me. I opted for a go-around. Second one was pretty
good. And then I thought I flunked. He started in on me about how I was
taxiing too slow, taking too long to get ready on takeoff, hurry up - etc.
And on my takeoff I TOTALLY missed my checklist and started the takeoff
roll with carb heat still on and flaps still down! Realized I had done
something wrong when I saw that the power and speed were not coming up, and
was able to correct and take off - but I was really shaken.
We climbed under the hood and did some turns and unusual attitudes - he
told me I was a bit slow on the throttle but generally OK. Then we flew
to the first XC checkpoint and he asked for a diversion. The MCA and
steep power turns were conventional; the stalls were not. We did a
power-off imminent stall from a bank, a power-on imminent stall from a
climbing turn, and a full stall from a climb. The power-on stalls were all
at reduced power. After practicing full stalls at no power and at full
power, these were cake.
The engine out was conventional - but he had me terminate at about 1000
AGL - just as I turned downwind. We did one turn about a point and one
complete S-turn; I don't think I ever exceeded 30 degrees of bank.
Then he had me enter the pattern on the upwind leg to check rectangular
course and land soft field.
Now, throughout this checkride I was pretty sure I had already busted.
This guy had a reputation for continuing the checkride and then flunking
you and retesting the parts you failed later (for $110 in addition to his
regular $180 examination fee) so I was entirely relaxed for the landing.
I told him on downwind that since the winds had picked up and there was
light turbulence, I was going to reduce the flap setting and increase
the approach speed. I was going to do this one the way I felt it ought
to be done in these conditions, not the way the manual said. We went into
ground effect right over the threshold and touched down smooth as silk
(and with about a 6 kt crosswind, too). He turned to me and said "That
was the best landing I've ever seen. You should do them all like that."
So I said "Well, I was relaxed. I figure I already busted so it didn't
matter." And then I got the good news.
Next week I am planning a XC to visit my folks - Indiana to New Jersey
(about 550 nm). I've even been lucky enough to find a non-pilot passenger
to share the costs (and if anyone is interested, I have room for one
more, two if they are light). If anyone is interested, I will post how
that goes.
Michael Masterov, (newly minted) PP-ASEL
Andrew Boyd
<mast...@furnace.ecn.purdue.edu> wrote about his ppl checkride:
congrats!
>Next week I am planning a XC to visit my folks - Indiana to New Jersey
>(about 550 nm).
suggestion: buy, beg, borrow or steal a portable gps for the flight.
bring extra batteries.
It's a wonderful feeling, not being lost.
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