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?
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.
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.
 |
It was time to try for that elusive sleep, once again.
No comments:
Post a Comment