Checkride Prep

Unfortunately, I haven't had time to write while the process was going on - won't waste my time explaining why, but I'd like to take you through the process of preparing for my checkride after the mock checkride with my instructor.

The next step, as mentioned in my previous post, involved taking a mock checkride with the head instructor at the flight school I fly out of. The ground portion, consisting of several questions on airspace, weather, aircraft systems, and other subjects such as aerodynamics, took about 2 hours and I passed with flying colors.

Next came the flight portion, also known as the practical test, where my skills in actually piloting the bird were tested. I was put through a series of maneuvers - steep turns, S-turns about a line, turns around a point, power on (takeoff) and power off (landing) stalls - as well as different landings (short and soft field).

The maneuvers went  relatively well and I passed that portion. However, a speed bump was hit during the process. In the manual written by the FAA for the actual checkride, stalls are able to be performed with either level wings or (essentially) 10 degrees of bank, the latter of which is obviously a bit tougher. On the mock checkride, I was asked to do a power on stall with 10 degrees of bank, which I had not previously practiced - my instructor and I had only done wings level stalls. Having never done this before, this meant that I would be practicing them with my instructor before the checkride.

Other than the stalls and a few other minor errors (not referencing the airport diagram after landing, missing a step in an emergency procedure, to name a couple), the ride went well and I was told by the instructor that I passed! On to the next...

In the stall practice with my regular instructor a week before the checkride, things didn't go as well as they previously had. For whatever reason, I was having trouble getting the hang of the power on stalls that day and nearly entered a spin (can be fatal) once or twice, but was able to recover on my own. After about 7 stalls, I finally had some of my confidence back, but it wasn't at the level that it had been at previously. As a result, I knew I'd have to go up another time before the checkride to make sure I was 100% confident in what I was doing, because you only get one chance at acing the maneuvers.

During the week between that flight and the checkride, I spent ample amounts of time preparing for the ground portion of the checkride - preparing my flight plan, knowing the all of the aircraft systems, etc - making sure that I wouldn't miss a beat when the time came.

The day before the checkride, I went up with my instructor once more and totally aced my stalls - felt totally comfortable and confident doing them. We also practiced ground reference maneuvers (S-turns, turns about a point) and emergency procedures as well - very confident there, too. I was finally 100% ready for my checkride!

In the next post, more to come on how the ride went!

Last Leg

Whether flying, driving, sailing - if there are stops or points as you go through your journey, the time spent traveling between stops can be considered a 'leg.' Believe it or not, the same can apply to my flight training 'journey.'

If one were to analyze my journey through this process of acquiring my pilot's license, it could easily be broken up into different legs:

1. Training at the end of last summer (2014)
2. Training over winter break
3. Training over spring break (almost too short to even be considered a leg...)
4. Training during this summer (2015)

If we were to analyze even further, the training this summer could be broken down even further:

1. Completing my required training hours
2. Checkride prep/checkride

After exactly a month of being home from school, and mainly flying one or two days per week because of work, that first sub-leg of the fourth leg of my journey is complete. From here on out, it's all about prepping for my checkride with a Designated Pilot Examiner, or DPE. 

This prep will involve hours upon hours of study at home for the oral exam, as well as a small amount with my instructor to make sure I know everything. In terms of flights, I have two flights left at the very least; one with my instructor to put me through all the standard maneuvers/procedures, and if I pass that then I head on to the phase check flight (basically a mock checkride) with the head instructor. 

Then if I pass the mock checkride, I'll be able to go up with the DPE for my official checkride. 

It'll be a stressful process for sure, but one that I can't wait to finish - I know it'll be very rewarding in the end...

**update**

'Passed' the ground with my instructor...on to the mock checkride with the head instructor!

Stay tuned