9 members · 7 posts · Checkrides
What examiners actually look for, what busts people, and how to walk in calm. Run by a DPE, which means the answers here come from the right side of the cockpit.
No test questions and no gouge sheets. Discussing the standards is fine, trading a specific examiner's scenario is not, and it will get you removed.
Wendell Pike (pinned)
I will answer anything about the standards and nothing about a specific ride. If you came here for a gouge sheet you have the wrong group; a gouge sheet is how you pass a test you do not understand, and I will meet you eventually.
Rosa Iglesias
private ride done, and the alternate question came up exactly like wendell said it would. i had three reasons: fuel, weather trend, and it had a maintenance shop if something went wrong. he did not care about the reasons, he cared that i had them ready
Dana Kowalski
Instructor side of checkride prep. The single best hour you can spend before a ride is a mock oral with an instructor who is not yours. Your own CFI has taught you the answers in their words and will accept them back. A stranger will find the three things you can only say one way.
Wendell Pike
Private checkride, from the right seat. The oral is not a quiz, it is me finding the edge of what you know and then watching what you do at that edge. The correct answer at the edge is "I do not know, here is where I would look." Applicants who guess fail. Applicants who look it up pass.
Rosa Iglesias
how far out should i start worrying about the written? im nowhere near the practical but everyone says get the written done early and nobody says why
Nate Adeyemi
For anyone in interview prep rather than checkride prep, the overlap is bigger than I expected. Both are somebody deciding whether they would put their name next to yours. Answer honestly, notice your own mistakes out loud, and do not perform.
Wendell Pike
The three things that end a practical test, ranked by how often I see them. One, the applicant does not notice a deviation. Two, the applicant cannot explain a decision they made on their own flight plan. Three, the applicant keeps flying an approach that has already gone wrong. None of these are hand skills.