Now that I'm back in school mode, I'm hoping that I can be more regular with my writing. Unfortunately, being back at school means that I'll also be flying less often than I was over the summer due to my football and class schedule. Thankfully, I have some things up my sleeve from the past that I haven't written about yet to hold me over until I can fly again.
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With that said, back to my previous post about my checkride. Everything went (almost) according to plan! I ended up passing and receiving my license. My examiner (Gail - one of the best in the Chicagoland area - email me for details) was fair and thorough in her examination, which I was very happy with.The ground portion of the exam was everything I had expected. My instructor gave me a packet that the flight school routinely uses for checkrides which contained almost all of the questions that I was asked by Gail.
The only question I really wasn't sure of was "How often are TAF (Terminal Area Forecasts) reports issued/valid for/when are they effective." For those not familiar with a TAF, it's a forecast broken down by blocks of hours (weather dependent) that shows the winds, cloud cover, visibility, precipitation (if any), amongst other weather phenomena. I knew how long they were valid for (24 hours), but wasn't sure about how many times they were issued per day or when they went into effect. An example (plain on the left and decoded on the right) can be seen below.
During the flight portion of my checkride, Gail ran through everything outlined in the Practical Test Standards (PTS) set by the FAA. Here, I had one slip up as well, which was thankfully forgiven.
For the checkride, one is required to perform a short field landing, as well as a soft field (grass, gravel, etc) landing. Gail had me head to the Joliet airport (JOT) which I had been to before, but I was surprised by the choice as it was a hot day and the runway was relatively short - 2900 ft. Thankfully, the winds were light and straight down the concrete runway.
First, she had me come in for a short field landing, where you're not allowed to land more than 200 ft beyond an examiner-specified point. On the approach, I came in a bit high and landed right at, if not a little past the 200 ft limit. Thinking I was going to get failed on the spot, I was relived when she told me that it would count as my soft field landing instead since the touchdown itself was so smooth. We then performed a short field takeoff and came around for another attempt at the short field landing, which I executed to perfection this time.
After heading back to Lewis (LOT), I knew I wasn't out of the woods yet and that any mistake I made could result in a failed checkride. I checked and double checked everything as I came in for the final landing of the day - nailed it.
I had this feeling on the taxi back to parking that I had passed, but I had to hear those magic words from her first. As I parked the plane precisely on the yellow T and shut down the engine, she said, "Jim, this is a no-brainer decision for me. Congratulations."
I was ecstatic - but she also asked me, "Is there anything you would have done differently or could have done better?" I, of course, wasn't perfect and said that I could have had better control of bank on my steep turns, amongst a couple other little things (I'm a perfectionist).
What made the moment even more special for me was seeing my parents on the ramp as I parked the plane. For most, if not all, of my training, they have both had a very hands off approach, only coming to the airport once before this occasion and just letting me go about my business by myself. Having them there to share in my joy made the moment that much better.
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It was finally done! I had finally earned and achieved my Private Pilot License, which will last with me forever. With this newly acquired freedom, I couldn't wait to take my family and friends flying and show them the unique and jaw-dropping perspective that I am privileged to see every time I go up. In my next post, I'll talk about the couple flights that occurred after getting my license, as well as what I plan to do with my license in the future.
SPECIAL SHOUT OUT: My instructors and mentors throughout the process of earning my license: CFI's Art, Hal, James, and Joe! Thank you for all you did, and continue to do, in making me the pilot I am today.
