Mark's New Flight Student

I'm not one of those parents who thinks their "little one" is the most gifted of all his friends.  Mine is definitely the cutest though.  (He really, really is!)

Marley is seven years old.  I believe his exceptionally good behavior is mostly explained by the "slow learning" tendency he exhibits.  This year marked a milestone on his learning curve.  He opened a door and walked through it.  I know, I know... sounds fairly  advanced, right?  Umm, no.  We are talking about a door that was already ajar by about 6 inches.  For six and a half years, Marley has stood at said door, whined a bit and waited for someone to get up and open it.  It had to be wide enough that he didn't touch it while passing through the opening.  You get the picture?

Did I mention that my "little one" is a Golden Retriever, not an actual kid?

In all fairness, it's not that he was un-trainable.  By four months of age, he sat, stayed, came, laid down and could "drop it" on command.  Totally treat driven, his little brain was a sponge and his larger belly was always on the look out for the opportunity to earn a snack.

Marley never taught himself anything though... Unless you count the time that he learned to wash his face by licking his paws and wiping his face, all cat-like.  Apparently he is happy to take instruction from a 4 month old kitten as well as me.  Interestingly, the kitten offered no treat for skill well learned!

I digress.

While out at the airport recently, Marley tried to follow, as Mark climbed onto the wing of his Bonanza and stepped inside.  There was some whining as he had trouble figuring out how to best get up on the wing and he ended up waiting impatiently for Mark to rejoin him on the ground.

Mark and I apparently had the same question.  How would Marley do as a passenger, in the back seat of the Bonanza? Perhaps it was time to find out.

A short flight from Longmont (KLMO) to Greeley (KGXY) seemed like the right time to test the new flight student.

Boy, was Marley excited!  I gave him a little help climbing onto the wing, then he walked up to the door, passed behind the co-pilot seat and settled quickly on the back seat.  Like any good student, he sat upright, positioned beautifully,dead center to get the best view out of the windscreen and, at a glance, out of either of the side windows.

Im not sure that Marley realized when we took off.  At about 500' AGL he seemed surprised at the new view out the window, for sure.  He spent the next 15 minutes drooling excitedly, with his head between the two front seats... And like a good student, he stared outside about 80% of the time and monitored the instruments (I.E. pilot) the other 20%.



As a mother, I worried a little that he would get suddenly nauseated and not enjoy himself.  As a hungry woman, I simply worried that if he threw up on me, I would not have something else to change into and would have to forfeit breakfast at the Greeley Airport!

My fears were unfounded.  At Greeley he (kind of) gracefully exited the airplane and proceeded to do what any decent dog does.  He marked his territory and laid down for a nap in the shade while we ate inside.

The flight back to Longmont was just as exciting and just as uneventful.

With an introductory flight under his belt/collar, Marley received Mark's endorsement to fly from the back seat again in the near future.

Spiders in the House!

Is it just me, or is anyone else noticing an increase in the spider population

...in their house?!

It seems that not a day is going by before I find another common brown house spider doing laps of my rooms.  At first I wasn't too bothered by it, but they are big (>1"), they move fast and there have been several times where they have crossed the line, pushing me out of my comfort zone.

Episode #1:
I throw back the covers to get out of bed one morning, only to find I am sharing the bed with a light brown/whitish spider of decent size.  Only later did I identify him as a Brown Recluse!

Episode #2:
I was about to jump into the shower when I noticed a large spider run into the bathroom and hide behind the toilet.  It was late and I was tired, I let him be and continued on into the shower.  Grabbing my towel afterwards, I thought I felt a little tickle as I dried my back but nothing fell to the ground when I swatted.  Fast forward half and hour and as I'm drifting off in bed, I feel that tickle again, on my head this time.  I wiped at my hair only only to have a spider run down my forehead, over my eyes and across my mouth.  Yes, I yelled!  As the lamp came on I saw him, sitting happily on my comforter just 4" in front of my head.

These two episodes marked the end of my "live and let live" policy.  I was borderline zero tolerance after this and as such, the cobwebs that had been building for years in my garage began to bother me.  How many spider dreams have I had in the last month?  Too many!

Episode #3:
My foray into the crawlspace after the recent flooding in Boulder to pull out wet carpet and cardboard, also turned up old wood, a bed frame and other trash that came with the house.  It was icky, but had to be done.  If you read my post about drying out the crawlspace you will also know that I had a spider interaction under the house too.  A black widow appeared in front of me after I turned over wet wood and it disappeared back into the darkness about the time I began screaming.

Episode #4:
As I took a call on my cell in the front garden yesterday I watched 3 big brown house spiders dart out from under the ivy near the garage.  Like a gang they ran onto my driveway.  Then 2 zipped into my open garage!  Just seconds later I was unable to locate them and my tolerance ran out.  (It has been a trying week.)

I'm now the proud owner of a Shop Vac.  Many of the cobwebs are gone from the garage and the rest are living on borrowed time.  I don't do things by halves either.  The plan, when the crawlspace chaos is no longer a factor, is to clean out the garage, replace the window, insulate between the studs and drywall it.

I'm just one woman with a lot of other big plans too, but mark my words, that garage will not be a safe environment for spiders looking for cozy, dark corners by spring!


And just in case you are wondering;   The Common Brown House Spider is not dangerous, but the bites from the Black Widow and the Brown Recluse can be.

Black Widow:   Affects from a bite take about 20-60 minutes.  The bite itself is small... maybe double fanged, but the pain at the site is severe.  People can experience mild to severe symptoms including severe muscle cramps, abdominal pain, weakness, tremor.  In more severe cases you might also get nausea, vomiting, dizziness, chest pain and respiratory difficulties.  Life threatening reactions have only been seen in children or the elderly.

Brown Recluse:  The bite may not hurt initially.  Redness, pain and a blister at the site will follow.  Itching and mild to intense pain may occur for 2-8 hours after the bite. Necrosis follows a week or more after the bite and the ulcer may take months to heal.  Some people will have a systemic reaction which includes the breakdown of red blood cells.  Other symptoms include fever, chills, skin rash over the body, joint pain, nausea and vomiting.

What to do after a spider bite?

• Remain calm  (I know!  Easier said than done!)
• Apply cool cloth and/or ice.  (Do not apply a tourniquet.)
• Try to identify the spider or catch it.
• Seek medical attention if you have symptoms that are non-localized.

 Black Widow                                                         Brown Recluse

A Journey of a Thousand Steps...

When people come to me, ready and able to buy real estate... but unsure of the process and nervous of the commitment, I tell them this:

Buying or Selling real estate can be an intimidating process.  My job is to break the process down into a series of small steps. Each step is manageable and none of them is a surprise. We turn a seemingly overwhelming event into a guided, low-stress journey down a well worn path.  Of course it's hard work... but it's also fun and worth it.

Manitou Incline.  Less than a mile, but a 2000' elevation gain.  A series of small steps!
Photo courtesy of Bill Dayton

Learning to fly has been like this, for me.  As the saying goes..."How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time."

Remembering back to Day 1, I thought pre-flighting the plane was overwhelming.  Its called a what?  What is that for again?  What should I checking for?

Then I got INTO the airplane.... Oh dear!  So many instruments, knobs, and levers.  Forget knowing what they do and when to use them, just show me which ones not to touch so the plane doesn't crash!

My instructor, Mark Mantei, applies the same "principle of small bites", to learning to fly, that I do to real estate.  Did he let me take off at my first lesson?  Nooo.  We began with straight and level flight, then shallow turns and other basic maneuvers.   Once I was almost comfortable with something, we added another skill.  Soon, I was learning take-offs and talking on the radio.

Then came landings... they took a bit longer.  There was one day when I watched Mark's face, perplexed, after my less-than-elegant landing and actually asked him what he was thinking.  He replied honestly. "Why doesn't she get it?"

But I did eventually "get it", and like a fledgling, the day came to leave the nest. With a little push, I was on my own.

Solo.  Another step along the road.  An accomplishment for me and an accomplishment for my instructor too.

For the next 8 months, I flew mostly solo.  Sometimes just to play in the sky, other times, to complete student pilot flying requirements.





The small steps were adding up and Mark was under the impression I was almost ready for my check-ride.  Another little push... a little further from the nest.

Ok... it was a big step and required a big push!

Not only was Mark asking me every day, if I had booked my check-ride, but he made sure to ask in front of other people at Air West.  Crap!  Peer pressure!  An old, but effective tool.  Very soon Mark had Larry, Lori, Cody and many more, also asking me when I was going to sit my check-ride.

In all honesty, I recognize that without the support and encouragement of my friends at Air West, I might still be flying solo... a "forever student".  I could not ask for a better team and learning environment.

But mostly, there were two men who were instrumental from start to finish...

Osman, who took one look at my bucket list and arranged my first flying lesson.  He found me an instructor that would understand me and he turned a blind eye to the hole I was putting in our joint bank account.  Osman covered me at work and listened to my aviation ramblings for over a year before I was officially a pilot... then he dared to be my first passenger!
(I only hope I can be as useful when it's his turn to learn to fly.)

And Mark.  The CFI that was able to take me, a girl challenged by math and physics, and turn her into someone who could convince a FAA examiner that she was good enough to have earned a private pilot license.  I swear, no bribery involved!  All it took was 45+ hours of Mark flying with me, hundreds of hours explaining stuff online with me, the patience of a saint and the ears of a seasoned therapist!
(My conclusion... CFI's don't get paid enough and must be in it for the love of teaching and flying.)

Check-ride Part 3

It was "practical examination day".  Sunny, warm, calm.

FAA examiner, Bev Cameron, watched me do a thorough pre-flight inspection.  Nothing escaped her and at various points she asked me what I was looking for and why.  What would I do if I found this or that?  What would it mean for flying that day?

We jumped in and got situated.  Well, I jumped in and Bev, a tad older and shorter than me and with her boat cushion/booster seat in hand, kind of climbed in.  End result... the two of us, snuggly fitted into Cessna 65440 and ready for action!

All pilots know that checklists are important.  Pre-flight inspection lists, pre-start up list, pre-take off lists.  They were never more important than that day.  Failure to reference a checklist was just that... failure!  And Bev was watching everything I did.

I started the engine, checked weather once again, radio'd my intentions and set off to the end of runway 29, in calm winds.  Of course just about the time run-up was complete, 3 or more other aircraft announced their intentions too.  A take-off at runway 11 and two landings... at 11.  Drat!  Best to taxi back to 11 and go with the flow.

First things first... a short field take-off with a 50' obstacle.  Not a problem.  Could have put flaps up a bit earlier, but definitely cleared the imaginary obstacle, tracked the runway, and was safe.  Bev reminded me that a good way to double check the obstacle was cleared, was to quickly look at the altimeter.  Good to remember.... and served as another reminder why I liked Bev.  She added value.

I turned to my first heading, did a clearing turn and began flying the first leg of the cross country I had planned.  It was a bit of a challenge, having another person in the cockpit.  After all, she took up the seat that had traditionally been "my desk".

I was on track, the times were working out nicely and ground speed too. I passed over each visual checkpoint as planned and was able to point out the landmarks and identify them on the chart.  Just one thing not going quite right... I was having trouble getting my VOR right.  Was it me or the VOR having problems?  The more I thought about it the more it bothered me.  Later Bev and I talked about this distraction and how she had wished I had just turned it off instead of going back to it again and again.  The truth was that I didn't need it to navigate right then and should have turned it off.  My other navigation was serving us just fine and we were on track. By the way, Bev asked me what the "other navigation" was called.  Yes, pilotage.

Shortly after this cross country bit, Bev asked me to turn us to the west and prepare myself for the foggles (view limiting device) portion.  "You've got the plane", "I've got the plane", "You've got the plane" was exchanged as she took control while I stowed and un-stowed equipment, then put on the foggles. We did climbs, descents, standard rate turns and recovery from unusual attitudes - which has always been a favorite.  My belly was twisted in knots of anxiety and I know I didn't do as well as the other times I have practiced this.  When the foggles came off, I was able to identify where we were pretty quickly, as asked.  Several small bodies of water and a main road tipped me off that I was between Longmont and Boulder.  We had flown quite a bit further than I thought we had, but I'm guessing it was no accident we were still within the bounds of the chart I had open!

Over a low population density area, Bev asked me to get the airplane ready for slow flight.   This portion went fairly quickly... slow with turns, climbs etc.  Then I got to chose which stalls we did first.  Power-off please!  (I like to work up to the power-on stalls.)  After a couple of nice full power-off stalls it was time for the power-on ones.  For me the hardest part is keeping the airplane straight when pointed at a clear blue sky, with no cloud references.  I think I could have slowed 65440 down a tad more before going to full power and pitching up, but it seemed I kept on heading ok and my recovery wasn't too bad either.  Bev then asked for a power on stall in a turn.  I was honest and told her I had never done these.  I was able to answer questions about stall-spins and recite the checklist for a spin recovery - as memorized from the POH.  Bev asked if she could demonstrate the power-on stall in a  turn, and I gave her control of the aircraft.

I was actually having fun now!  Bev showed me the stall, then I followed her instruction and repeated the maneuver.  I remember at one point, the stall warning going off loudly, the nose pitched up and to the right and Bev asking me "What causes a stall spin?".  I immediately looked at the turn coordinator... "Being uncoordinated" I said, as I jammed a foot harder onto the rudder peddle to correct myself!  She smiled.   I recovered from the imminent stall and cleared my mind, ready for the next instruction.

Just as I prepared for more flying maneuvers, I "lost the engine".  Simulated engine roughness or failure was only a matter of time in a check-ride.  I had practiced this more than once with Mark and Dick and luckily, Colorado is full of fields, just waiting for an emergency landing.   I knew to verbally run through the list of possible causes and how to attempt to restart the plane, but before I could get most of it out, Bev looked at me and said, "Its not any of the common things you are going to check for, and you can't restart the plane".  Ok... so we are going in for an emergency landing then!

I pitched for optimum glide speed and picked the field.  After a quick descent, carb heat on and flaps down, I was on final approach.  About 500' above the field, I was told that I could go around.  (Phew!  I wouldn't be spending my Sunday picking corn husks off this Cessna 152 after all!)  I had full power back and slowly retracted flaps, as I climbed.  We talked about what made a good emergency landing field, why I chose the direction of landing and what to be careful for.  Obstacles, irrigation ditches and deep plowing ruts were obviously not ideal, landing into the wind was.

Steep turns ensued.  No drama, no problem.  I can say from experience that some days steep turns are a cinch and other days I'm struggling to understand why I cant maintain altitude and angle of bank very well at all.  This day was a good one.  We then began S-turns.  I think I got about a half turn completed when Bev said we were done with those too.  And there was no "turns around a point" during my check-ride.

Now half way between Longmont Airport (Vance Brand) and Fort Collin-Loveland Airport, I was asked if I would prefer to do some landings at either one.  Since I was tuned to Fort Collins and could hear plenty of traffic, I took a chance and opted for Longmont... my home turf.  It paid off.  There were maybe two other aircraft in the landing pattern.

I almost forgot to mention;  On the way back to Longmont, I encountered simulated engine roughness!  This time I knew what Bev had spotted. The woman thinks on her feet!  There is a private airstrip near Berthoud and she had seen it out her window.  She had me quickly determine whether or not I should land, where I might land and why.  We talked about the legality of landing on private strips and whether or not my engine roughness was a real emergency.  I concluded, after running through the possible causes, it was not (yet) and would make haste to Longmont airport and land as soon as practicable.   Also on the way back we did some VOR work. I was able to find which radials I was one, for 2 different VOR's and estimate where I was on the chart.  She asked me questions about my bearing and which radial I was on.  She had me demonstrate finding my radial, then turning to the heading that would take me to that VOR.

Once on downwind at Longmont, Bev asked me to pick the place on the runway I would touch down on, then asked for a short field landing, no obstacle.   In talking later, she informed me I was a bit short of my chosen touchdown point...Oops!  We taxi'd back and did a soft field take off, then a soft field landing, before taxiing back to the ramp to park and tie down.

It's a little weird to ask your examiner to help you park, but Im a light-weight and pushing down on the tail to turn the plane, in order to get it into its tie-down spot, is pretty much impossible for me!  Like the rest of my experience with Bev, I found she was very willing to help and again, I was better off for it.

Im sure Im missing stuff, but this how it went for the most part. It took about 1.25 hours in all.
We discussed most of her notes before exiting the airplane. Then it was just a matter of getting back into IACRA and her printing me off a temporary private pilot license to finish up.  (Easier said than done... that site is not exactly intuitive!)

I would like to say I was overcome with emotion... that a great sense of relief flooded over me and I couldn't stop smiling.  But the truth was, that came hours later!  It takes a while to discharge deep seeded anxiety, to fully comprehend that there is now time and brain space for something other than check-ride preparations.

For me, it just felt good to be leaving the airport a bit lighter.  To be able to enjoy food again, to sleep long and deep and enjoy quality time with the people that have long supported me.

A sense of tremendous accomplishment didn't really hit me until the morning I opened my little white envelope from the FAA and found this:

Check-ride Part 2

Surely that's not rain I hear?  What do you mean overcast?

It was tough to wake early, expecting another glorious Colorado morning, anticipating the termination of all this check-ride stress in the very near term... only to find it dark, cold and generally crappy outside!
The oral exam would proceed, no question.  Unfortunately, with visibility of a quarter mile, it was not looking good for the flight portion of my check-ride.

FAA Examiner, Bev Cameron and I met promptly at 8am.  We had the FBO pretty much to ourselves as we set up in a small teaching room and began "the check-ride".

Checking the student pilot:
Firstly, she checked IACRA to make sure I was registered and endorsed.
I presented appropriate ID, then my logbook, for endorsements and student pilot minimum flying requirements.
She looked at the original copy of the written exam certificate, and my medical certificate.
I paid her and we discussed briefly the procedure from this point forward.

Checking the aircraft was airworthy:
We went over the documents required to be in the aircraft fairly quickly.
Then proceeded to open the aircraft log book and review maintenance records and AD compliance for airworthiness.
Bev didn't just want to see me find the latest inspection entries, she asked questions along the lines of how often the inspection is required, who can perform it, where and why it is found under different sections of the log.
(Did you know that the 100 hour inspection, which is required on all planes "for hire" is not a requirement for a check-ride?  I did... and it was asked.)
We looked at my the weight and balance calculations and the applicable performance charts in the POH.

Cross Country prep:
After reviewing the flight plan calculations, route and weather forecast, I was asked questions about my planning and research.

I needed to be able to explain the weather info that I had and how long it was good for.  Including understanding notams and TFRs.
Why this route in particular?  Why these check points?  What could I do if not sure where I was, at any given time?  What would I do if weather appeared to change and how could I get updates en-route?  What were legal weather minimums and what were my personal comfort minimums for flying?

There were multiple questions about different areas and symbols on the sectional chart and we spent considerable time here.  I needed to identify airspace, with particular attention given to Class E (our area). Also military airways and operating areas, what the different methods of navigation were and more.

Safety questions were prominent and most questions were framed around real life scenarios.

Density altitude was big discussion - no surprise, since I got a density altitude question wrong on the written. (She was quick to see if I had studied and improved since learning it was a weakness.)  Honestly... I could still be better with this!  Bev was very good at taking a concept that I had learned but could improve on, and giving me different perspective, to further increase my level of understanding.

She asked me some performance and limitations questions related information found in the POH.  Eg:  If it was 100 degrees outside, the aircraft had full fuel and me as pilot, there was a 50' obstacle at the end of the runway and the runway was 1500' long... could I take off (safely)?  What could I do to improve the situation?

Other questions:
Where do I start?!

We talked extensively about the classes of airspace, minimums for VFR, and communication requirements prior to entering and while flying in different classes of airspace.

Equipment Failure/malfunction:  I was asked what would I do in the event of a complete electrical failure.  No cell phone/text messaging capabilities.  Is it an emergency?  Where should I land?  Where could I land?  How do I communicate with ATC?
Flap failure?
Engine failure on take off?  At what point and under what conditions do I abort and not?

What does the Cessna 152 use for heating, cooling, de-icing?

What equipment do I specifically need for Class B airspace?  What will I be asked to do with it?

Causes, symptoms and action needed with various hypoxia conditions.  She targeted carbon monoxide, low oxygen caused by high altitude flying.
Other pilot safety issues... stress, alcohol, drugs, sleep deprivation, were all touched on too.

There were questions about the limitations and privileges of having a private pilot license, including night flying, carrying passengers and accepting compensation.  She asked me about the various requirements for maintaining currency.

When and who to contact when lost, encountering IFR conditions, or needing help of any kind during flight?

Bev gave me this gem of advice:   

If the controller at the other end of the radio, asks you if you are declaring an emergency, this is your cue to do so.  Once you do declare an emergency, you will be given your very own controller to work with and that person can then assist you to a higher degree. 

We took a couple of bathroom/coffee/snack/weather-checking breaks and there was some chit chat along the way.  Four hours later (a good three of which were exam questions) an exhausted me, walked out of that teaching room, one step closer to a private pilot license.

I am not afraid to admit that a big part of me was relieved that the weather was even crappier by this time, and there was no way we would be doing the flight portion, that day.  The small part of me that was still kind of hoping to have this whole thing over in one day, was taking a second seat to nausea.  (I knew that granola bar was risky!)

It was time to try for that elusive sleep, once again.

Check-ride Part 1

The day had almost arrived.

Two weeks prior, I requested several names from Air West Flight Center and had been advised that as a personality, Bev Cameron would likely be a good fit for me.  I find recommendations are often the best way to go, especially if they come from someone you know and trust.  Thanks Lori!

I also took a little time to see if I could Google Bev, before calling her.  Researching a buyer or seller that I intend to work with in a real estate transaction has become a habit for me, so it makes sense to carry it over into other areas of my life too.  The internet is a fabulous resource and one that should be taken advantage of.  I often dig up information such as the tax payer address (where they really live), job titles, blogs and other things published, charitable contributions, memberships in organizations, notable achievements, prison records, licenses held and so much more.  In the past I have had clients who have dug up even more about the other people involved in a deal. Yes... you would be surprised what is public knowledge - or horrified!

Back to Bev.  

I found her to be local, a very experienced and capable pilot, and a note-worthy teacher.  That's all I need to know!  

From the first phone call, which she immediately picked up, I found Bev to be easy to talk to and a person who was well practiced at this.  She asked me to confirm I had taken and passed, the FAA written test.  Then she asked if my instructor had endorsed me to take the final exam/check-ride.  To which I replied, "My instructor, Mark, has told me it is time.  He doesn't want to see me be a lifetime student pilot."  She laughed and said "I will only sign my students off three 90 day solo endorsements... After that, I tell them to sit the check-ride or find another instructor to keep signing you off."  Okay, so now I knew she thought like Mark, or he thought like an examiner.  That's a good thing. 

(I don't think I mentioned that my third 90 day period was almost up!  No pressure!!)

We chatted a couple of minutes and formulated next steps.  I was to call her two days before the scheduled check-ride to get details of where she wanted me to plan the cross country and to get the weight needed for the weight and balance calculation.

I hung up, thinking "Oh crap, there is no turning back now!"

10 days later, post mock check-ride and other check-ride prep you have already read about, I was back on the phone with Bev.  Again, she was enthusiastic, organized and reassuring.  Just what I needed.

Armed with the weights I needed (passenger and luggage) and the cross country destination, I set to work.

Weight and balance had always intimidated me, yet it's probably one of the most logical and easy calculations out there.  I had prepared a simple sheet, pre-filled in with N65440's weight and balance info, which I found in the aircraft itself and in the airplane logbooks.  Ten minutes later I could tell that we were good to fly... with full fuel and with no fuel.  

No fuel is obviously NEVER the plan, but Mark had taught me to calculate both as some airplanes can indeed come out of limits when fuel tanks are empty.  I knew that N65440 was not one of these airplanes, but the habit was in place, and I think it's a good one, don't you?

An example of my sheet, with weights changed to protect the innocent: 

At the bottom of the sheet I referenced the Pilot Operating Handbook (POH) chapter and page numbers, as a reminder to myself.  This is where the weight and balance limit graphs for this Cessna 152 are.  I had already penciled in the result on the graph, so I could quickly find it and show the examiner.

Next... planning a cross country route to Searle Airport (Ogallala), Nebraska.  

I got lucky when I planned my mock check-ride route.  I had not only seen Searle Airport on the Cheyenne Sectional at this time, I had planned a stop there.  I was already one step ahead in the research about the route and the services offered at Searle and other airports along the way, quite randomly.  

For example, I knew that one of the larger airports along one of the potential routes, was closed (with the runway out of action) so I selected another route, near another of the larger airports.  A decision that had safety in mind and one that gave me more options as far as refueling, repairs, ground transportation and accommodation... should the need arise en-route.

Other advice gleaned  from the mock check-ride included, but were not limited to; 

1.  Angling the climb-out from my home airport, KLMO, slightly north, thus keeping well clear of Denver's Class B airspace, just in case.

2.  Not starting the time and distance calculations en-route, until at top of climb and preferably over an easily identifiable landmark.

3.  From the first landmark, the distance to the second easily identifiable landmark could be something like 10 miles... to make for an easier calculated ground speed (calculator or E6B), once you have the time taken to fly between the two points.
4.  My mock check-ride also reminded me that I would be expected to make basic calculations... time, distance, fuel, while flying.  The E6B is one of my weaknesses...and knowing its a pretty common weakness doesn't change anything!

So... there I was.  Sitting at the kitchen table, weight and balance completed, cross country mostly planned. .
What had I forgotten?  Darn it!  I didn't ask Bev what her fee was!
One call to Bev, one trip to the bank later... and all under control again.

I was just waiting for that 6am alarm to go off the next day, so I could print weather from Duats.com, call the briefer for more weather, TFR and notam advice, make final calculations based on forecasted winds aloft and get myself to the airport in time for coffee, before meeting Bev.

Good to go?  Almost.
One more thing... My undying need to have all the information and documentation in a nice folder, and my check-ride checklist CHECKED!

Sleep was the last logical step.  Easier said than done.

Check-ride Checklist

In my opinion, one can never be too organized. Why risk this Oscar situation?!

Photo by fractalznet

For your organizational pleasure, This is my tailored version of a list that Jeppeson suggested in its Private Pilot Practical Test Standards booklet.

AIRCRAFT

• Aircraft Documents:
• Airworthiness Certificate
• Registration Certificate
• Operating Limitations
• Aircraft Maintenance Records:
• Logbook Record of Airworthiness Inspections and AD Compliance
• Weight and Balance
• Pilot’s Operating Handbook, FAA-Approved Airplane Flight Manual

PERSONAL RECORDS

• Identification—Current Photo/Signature ID issued by a US or Foreign government
• agency.
• Pilot Certificate
• Current Medical Certificate (any class is OK for any checkride)
• IACRA number/login
• Computer Knowledge Test Report (original)
• Pilot Logbook with appropriate Instructor Endorsements
• Examiner’s Fee

PERSONAL EQUIPMENT

• View-Limiting Device
• Current Aeronautical Charts
• Computer and Plotter
• Flight Plan Form
• Weather Briefing Print-out -DUATS
• Current AIM, Airport Facility Directory, and Appropriate publications
• Headset
• Timer/Watch
• Pen/Pencil/Highlighter
• Knee board
• Spare paper
• Pink notebook (plan B)
• Sunglasses
• Flight books
• Snack/Drink

I can honestly say I used it, both for the mock check-ride and the real thing. As pilots we have been trained to follow checklists and not rely on memory. There is a reason for this! Nobody wants to get to the exam only to find they left their foggles at home, or perhaps more of a problem, forgot the examiners fee. Oops!