How to pass your checkride...
Jim Bair
FAA Designated Pilot Examiner
(SPE ASEL, SPE & PPE WSCL, SFIE WSCL & ASEL)
262-745-3299Most people feel a bit of stress at the thought of a checkride, a drivers license test, or final exam time in school. The objective of this website is to make you aware of what is involved in a checkride and hopefully make it more fun and less stressful. A checkride can be an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and skills and as a result can be a real confidence builder. Aviation is filled with unknowns and weather and conditions can change, so learning to deal with a bit of stress is part of being a pilot. If you are confident in your knowledge and skills, being tested either by an examiner or real world conditions can be a rewarding experience.
Wouldn't it be nice to know what you're going to be tested on before you show up for a test? There's good news! With a bit of preparation there really aren't any surprises involved in a checkride as the entire thing is laid out in the Practical Test Standard, also known as the PTS. The examiner is required to follow certain guidelines which are all in the PTS. Get a copy of that and you have the checkride in your hands. The PTS is designed to lay out the standards for every possible type of applicant. Some people will be transitioning ultralight pilots, some will be new pilots experiencing their first checkride, some will be transitioning from one type of aircraft to another, and others will be adding an instructor rating. The PTS must cover all of these scenarios so it is difficult to lay out every individual's checkride scenario here. The bottom line is that if you learn how to read and understand the PTS, it will tell you everything you are required to know for your checkride. If you have not looked at a PTS prior to coming for a checkride, your odds of passing the checkride will be greatly diminished. On a positive note, if you have gone through the PTS carefully, you will have a very good idea of the types of questions the examiner will ask and what will be expected of you during the flight.
There is certain paperwork you need to have in order prior to showing up for your checkride. The examiner should help you verify that you have everything in order prior to showing up for the checkride, but if he doesn't, it's still your responsibility. Not having all the necessary signoffs, logbooks, FAA forms, etc., is a waste of everyone's time, so make sure your instructor goes over all this stuff with you. Ask questions. Here is a copy of my checkride appointment checklist that I will use when you initially call to set up an appointment for a checkride. The idea is to avoid having a person travel a great distance and then not be able to do the ride because he is missing some paperwork. Also attached is the pretest briefing checklist I use to ensure all the required endorsements and documentation are available. Your instructor should help you with this, but ultimately, you are the Pilot in Command of your checkride. Knowing how to read the FARs and PTS is part of being a PIC. You are responsible for deciding if the weather is appropriate for conducting the checkride and if all the maneuvers can be safely and legally accomplished.
OK, the paperwork is all checked and done and it's time for the practical test to begin. The oral portion is first. I think this is the most stressful part for most people. "What's he going to ask me?" Everyone feels they can fly, but this answering questions thing can be stressful. Well, let's simplify it a bit and think of some logical things he might ask. First, look in the PTS and you'll find a list of things he's required to ask. Also, think about some real life examples of how a flight is conducted. You are on your way to a Sport Pilot License which allows you to load up your aircraft, take a passenger who trusts you to know what you're doing, and fly a cross country from Maine to California and back with stops at airports, weather to deal with, and lots of decisions to make along the way. If you approach the checkride with this in mind it will make the questions seem much more logical. When you make an appointment with the examiner, you will be given a short cross country to plan that will be approximately 1-2 hours in length. (Hint* You won't fly the entire cross country.) If you print out the following two forms, the Navigation Log and the Weather Log, and fill them out before you arrive, you will demonstrate to the examiner that you have an understanding of flight planning and at least 1/2 your oral is over right there. Yes, I know you'll never plan a cross country in this detail again in your life, unless you're competing in the Nationals or flying around the world, but if you can fill out those forms completely, you will understand why 1/2 your oral is done.
On to the rest of the oral; is there any paperwork you are required to carry with you? Even in your automobile you are required to carry registration and proof of insurance. What do you need in an airplane? How would you get weather information for your route of flight? You want to take a passenger who weighs 350 pounds on this trip. Can you legally do that? How far can you go on a tank of gas? Once out west, the altitudes get pretty high, how much weight can you get airborne with on a nice sunny 90 deg day out by Denver? What if a wind comes up and you want to get the wing down, can you do that? How would you check weather enroute? What if you had to divert? Flight planning wise, how do you read a chart and pick a route? What types of airspace are depicted on charts, what can you fly in, who do you need to make radio contact with and when? (Hint* There will be a strong emphasis on this area in the oral. Here's a link to a great example of why.) How do you enter a traffic pattern at an airport you've never been to? Do these questions seem like things a pilot should know the answer to? If you think in terms of planning a cross country you will have a good start in preparing for the oral and practical.
So, the oral is complete and it's on to the flight test portion of the checkride. By reading the PTS, you know ahead of time that you need to know how to do some basic maneuvers including stalls, slow flight, rectangular patterns, turns around a point, S-turns over a road, and, of course, takeoffs and landings and go-arounds. The PTS also contains the performance standards (allowable altitude, heading, and airspeed deviations) you will be expected to meet. Perfection is not the standard, but there are standards and the PTS is where you'll find them. You have to be able to plan and fly a cross country, and know how to change your mind for whatever reason and divert to another field. You have to be able to demonstrate good judgment, make appropriate decisions as Pilot In Command, and bring your flight to a successful conclusion even if your onboard electronic navigation equipment fails. Pretty standard pilot stuff.
During the checkride you are the PIC and the examiner is merely a passenger who is watching you demonstrate your skills. As an example of this, say the examiner asks you to demonstrate a turn around a point. He will not pick the point for you or tell you the altitude at which to fly your circle or how big to make it. You pick the point, the altitude to fly, the entry heading, etc. You are expected to know how to perform the maneuver as it is described in the PTS. If you choose a point in the middle of an urban area, that would probably not be a display of good judgment. If you chose to enter the maneuver at 100'AGL or 2,000'AGL, that would not demonstrate much knowledge of the PTS. If you have read the PTS and know how to perform the required maneuvers there really won't be any surprises and you will find the checkride to be actually enjoyable. And don't forget, the examiner is your first passenger, not an instructor. Brief him on where to step to avoid damaging the equipment, how to plug in the intercom, fasten the seatbelt, where any controls are, etc., just like you would any other passenger you were taking up.
There are many sources of information for sport pilot training including many on the internet. One of the most complete is a site by Bill Czygan. Bill has done a tremendous job of compiling information to help the transitioning Ultralight Pilot become a Sport Pilot. Be forewarned that it is so complete it may be overwhelming with the amount of information presented and the information you really need may be buried in the amount presented. The good news is that for anyone who doesn't want to spend anything on books or study materials, Bill has compiled a very complete list of free information. Some people will want to know much more than the minimums, and for them, Bill has compiled a really great site. How you get the information is up to you. Some people will want complete self study, others will want a formal ground school. The bottom line is that how you learn the information required to pass the knowledge test, the oral, and the practical test is up to you.
Frequently asked questions.............. (Keep in mind some of the answers are subjective and reflect the opinion of this examiner.)
I have heard rumors that some checkrides can take 2 days? Is this true?
I have heard of some long checkrides, but can't judge the validity of these rumors without more data. For example, if weather becomes a factor, then the ride must be discontinued and resumed at a later time. One 2 day ride I heard about was later revealed to include travel time by the applicant. Another applicant said he spent 3 or 4 hours planning the x/c and 45 minutes performing a preflight. Is this your normal preflight? If it takes a person that long to prepare to fly, it would make me wonder if they really knew what they were doing. The examiner is just looking for you to be able to conduct a flight safely. I look for what a person should realistically do to plan a flight. Don't make the checkride hard, just do what you normally do. I would say the average checkride including pretest paperwork, the oral, a rest break, preflighting the aircraft, the flight test, post flight briefing and filling out the required paperwork should not take more than around 4 hours. An example might be 2 hours or so for pretest briefing, paperwork, and the oral, then 1/2 hour to get the aircraft out and preflight and get in, then an hour flight, and then another 1/2 hour or so to debrief and fill out the temporary airman certificate and paperwork and add in a little time for breaks, unexpected small delays from "everything takes a little longer than planned" and you're right in the 4 hour range.
How should I prepare for the checkride?
You should go over the PTS carefully. It is the written guidance the examiner is required to use to ensure the applicant is given a fair and standardized test. For the oral, I would recommend an oral exam study guide which uses a question and answer format and lists most of the questions an examiner might ask. (*Hint... The people who write the study guides know the questions the examiner will ask because they look at the PTS.) I am not sure if oral exam study guides are available for Sport Pilot yet, but they are available for Private Pilot and the material would be very similar. If you go back up and read again the paragraph about the checkride, you will get a pretty good idea from that the types of questions you will be asked.
Is the oral open book or closed book?
A little of both, in my opinion. If you think about the appropriateness of looking up an answer given a particular situation, that will give you a good feel if it is an open book or closed book type question. For example, if you were given an oral scenario that involved flying along on a cross country and you were asked what the requirements are for entering Class C airspace, do you think it would be appropriate to pull out your FAR/AIM and look up the answer? Personally, I don't think I have ever seen a trike pilot pull out an FAR/AIM in flight, so that might be an example of knowledge you should just know. If you're a BCD Airspace qualified pilot you should certainly be able to recognize those airspaces on a sectional chart and know how to fly into, out of, and through them. Even if you're not a BCD Airspace qualified pilot and have never touched a radio in your life, you should be able to recognize those airspaces on a chart and know how to avoid them. On the other hand, if an instructor applicant is being asked what signoffs are required for a certain situation, there may be many variables here, so I would not expect the applicant to have this memorized. Knowing where to find the information in an expeditious manner and do the appropriate signoff would be very reasonable in this case. Overall, the oral would be considered to be open book as far as I am concerned, however, if an applicant had to look up every question that was asked (and didn't know where to look on top of that) and as a result stretched the oral out to a few hours, that probably would not reflect much knowledge on the applicant's part. Philosophically, common sense will tell you what you should need to know to plan and fly a cross country and what you might look up because it's an item of information you don't use every day. However, you should be able to find that information reasonably expeditiously.
I heard that the FAA has a quota and requires examiners to fail 10% of the applicants. What if an examiner has just passed 9 people and I'm next? Do I automatically fail? Does an examiner really have to fail 10%?
If someone looked at the examiner handbook out of context they could mistakenly get the impression that there is pressure to fail a certain percentage of people, but that isn't true. What it basically says is, "If an examiner has a pass rate above 90%, we'll probably wonder why and ask some questions." Why do you suppose that is? It's because statistically, there's going to be that 10% of people who show up unprepared for the checkride. I believe most examiners want people to be successful and would love to see 100% of the applicants pass on the first try. When I say I want all my applicants to pass their checkride, it does not mean, "Show up, pay me, you pass.", it means I want everyone to be competent and be able to demonstrate their ability to perform to the PTS standard. 100% competency rate = 100% pass rate and I guarantee you that no one in Oklahoma City has any problem with that philosophy. They want everyone to succeed, too. They're actually a nice bunch of guys. Competency is what everyone wants. The FAA inspectors and the pilot examiners are not a bunch of guys in black hats who want 10% to fail, they just know from experience that statistically, that's the way it works. I know that in real life as much as I tell people what to expect and how to prepare, there will be a few who show up unprepared for the checkride. If you come to the checkride prepared to answer the questions from the PTS, and can fly the maneuvers outlined in the PTS to the standards given, it doesn't matter if you are the 10th person in a row to pass the checkride or the 50th, if you perform to the PTS standard, you will pass.
What would the differences be between a Sport Pilot checkride and Private Pilot checkride?
Not that much, really. There are certain things all pilots need to know to operate in our national airspace system and they need to be able to demonstrate they can fly the aircraft reasonably well. Private Pilots are required to demonstrate competency in night flying, some basic instrument work, high altitude flying, and are qualified to operate in all classes of airspace. Sport Pilots have the option of not becoming qualified to operate in Class B, C, or D Airspace, so the details of operating in those areas would not need to be covered for some people. So, it is possible for the person who wants to just fly locally and take some friends for rides to simplify their checkride somewhat.
That said, the SP still has to know how to check weather and NOTAMS prior to flying and how to recognize airspace to avoid. This has become much more important in the post 9/11 world. Sport Pilots who choose to not be qualified in Class B, C, and D Airspace reduce their potential capabilities dramatically, but it is an option for someone who feels they have no need for that capability. Both SPs and PPs need to be able to plan and fly a cross country to another airport without accidentally violating airspace they shouldn't be in, monitor weather along the way, find the destination airport, enter the traffic pattern with other airplanes, and safely land.
What materials should I bring to my checkride?
1. The aircraft logbooks, POH (if there is one), W&B info, A/C operating limitations, etc. All the aircraft stuff. Going over the aircraft paperwork fills some of the squares we need to cover in the oral and lets me know that my little pink body climbing in your airplane won't put the CG out of limits and the airplane is legally airworthy.
2. If you're using UL flight time to count toward your SP, you must bring your UL Org exemption paperwork.
3. Your logbooks with appropriate endorsements and flight time logged. If you know the location of all the appropriate endorsements it will make everything go much smoother and faster. The PTS lists the endorsements.
4. Bring whatever you would bring to plan and fly a cross country. I will tell you when we set up the appointment what x/c destination to plan a flight to, but who knows, I may change my mind the day of the checkride and decide to go somewhere else. (Sometimes the group you're meeting for breakfast will decide to go somewhere else.) Be prepared for that. And, your GPS may not be working, but you still want to do the x/c. Think in those terms and you'll do OK. Have the Navigation Log and Weather Log filled out when you arrive. It will save you time and your oral will be shorter and easier.
5. The checkride appointment checklist and pretest briefing checklist I mentioned above will give you a pretty good feel for what you might want to have handy and will help you understand the paperwork required. Those checklists will be what I use to check that all the required endorsements and paperwork are completed.
Can the oral and flight portions of the test be taken on different days?
Yes. However, typically that would only occur due to weather or equipment problems and the oral must be completed prior to the flight portion of the checkride. The flight portion can even be partially finished and completed later. An example is finding that the ceiling isn't high enough to do stalls and slow flight or the cross country portion. That said, if you as the PIC decide to try to do stalls at 1000' under an 1100' ceiling that would be a violation of an FAR and would be considered a poor display of judgment.
How much does a checkride cost? How do I set up an appointment for a checkride? Do you travel or do I come to you?
A basic Sport Pilot checkride in your aircraft costs $350 payable in cash at the beginning of the checkride. You may use my aircraft (A DTA Voyageur II w/912S) for your WSCL checkride or supply your own if you would be more comfortable. I do not have an ASEL aircraft available for checkrides so you will have to supply the ASEL aircraft for that practical test. To set up an appointment you may call me at 262-745-3299 or email me. Most people come to my field (Bigfoot Airfield 7V3) located in Southeastern Wisconsin) for the checkride, but I will travel. If I come to you there will be additional fees (60 cents/mile of travel + hotel if necessary) for travel expenses. If there are a few people who need a checkride in an area and want to get together to pay my travel expenses that would reduce the cost per person. Realistically there is only time for 2 checkrides per day, so over a weekend we could get 4 checkrides done, weather permitting, of course.
I want to become a Sport Pilot Flight Instructor. I've heard that it's a lot of work.
A flight instructor is expected to be the expert in all aspects of aviation, be able to explain basic aerodynamic theory, our national airspace system, weather, x/c planning, FAA regulations, etc., and demonstrate the ability to set up lesson plans and teach it all to a student. The SFI must know the PTS really well, because that's what his/her student is going to be evaluated with. There are many endorsements that must be entered in the student's logbook that become a permanent record and legal document of that student's training and the instructor must know how to do all the endorsements required. It is pretty much assumed that the instructor candidate can fly, so on this checkride the applicant is evaluated on his/her ability to fly and teach simultaneously from the non-flying seat. The instructor will be expected to build an instructor notebook to organize the materials required to properly document anything from sending a student on a solo cross country to conducting a biennial flight review or conducting a proficiency check for someone who is already a Light Sport Pilot and wants to transition to a different type of light sport aircraft. I would highly recommend instructor applicants download AC61-65E (the How to Do Endorsements bible) and it's supplement that is geared towards Light Sport and become very familiar with them.
The fee for the instructor test is slightly more ($400) due to the added time involved.
How do I get to your place to take my checkride?
Bigfoot airport is about 2 miles west of Walworth, WI. Click here for a flying map to Bigfoot. If you're driving, here's a link to a Mapquest and when you get there copy and paste [w7000-w7189] Beloit Rd into the address and Walworth, WI into the city and state boxes and click on the 7000-7189 list of addresses on the right side of the small map and it will give you a decent sized map of the area to work with.
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This site was last updated 02/11/08
