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.