Passed my private pilot check ride today.

Posted by AviationgeekN172@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 49 comments

Here are a few notes I’d take into consideration.

Don’t be afraid to reschedule your check ride if you do not feel ready.
Overstudying is a must.
Even though you think you may know what the local dpe is going to ask you (from other checkride student debriefs) the questions and scenarios will most likely not be the same.
Don’t be afraid to discontinue at any moment, Especially if you feel burnt out after the oral.
Study the acs front to back.
Having a good written score does not necessarily mean you’ll be good on the oral portion. Be sure to actually dig into theory on every topic.
Do more vor tracking.
Dress to impress on the day of your checkride.

The end :)

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2 is the biggest. #9 is don’t cram the night before. Play some video games, watch a movie, take a bath, do whatever it is that relaxes you. Then go to sleep at a decent hour and get good rest.

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Wish that worked for me. I am not a nervous person at all. This was my strategy to 'get a good nights sleep'. I never have a problem sleeping. Well night before my check ride could not sleep. At all. Maybe got 2 hours. Was so nervous entire time got dry mouth in the plane twice. Had to drink some water.

In the end passed the ground and air portion. All good. But my brain/body just did not operate as normal.

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Substantial_Cold9886@reddit

Same here! I laid in bed the entire night and did not sleep a single minute. I called the dpe at 7am to reschedule!

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throwaway5757_@reddit

It gets easier with each checkride. I was the same way with my private. I was semi nervous for my cfi ride, but by the time it came around for it I was so prepared I had no doubt I’d pass

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dinanm3atl@reddit

Lucky for me it’s for sheer enjoyment. Save time on driving myself and family somewhere. But I have heard the same. Each one is easier mentally.

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throwaway5757_@reddit

Why is my text so large

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SeXySnEk7@reddit

Using the # at the beginning of a line makes text big- if you type # hello it becomes

hello

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Thick_Comedian_6707@reddit

I can’t believe you’re licensed to fly. I’m just kidding. I can’t get my printer to print black and white when only Cyan is low.

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TheOrdinaryBegonia@reddit

That’s not your fault. Blame Epson / Canon / HP / etc.

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backflipbail@reddit

Brother

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Thick_Comedian_6707@reddit

You said it man.

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OddContext9585@reddit

This comment here is funny asf I can imagine uou typing this 😂

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AviationgeekN172@reddit (OP)

My eyes hurt lol

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i_farding@reddit

Nah cramming the night before is the best. I get none to a few hours of sleep before a checkride regardless.

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FantasticNail4565@reddit

Congratulations that’s a great feeling ! Fly safe

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Organic-Talk-3759@reddit

Congratulations!!

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jbayse@reddit

7: “Do more VOR tracking”

It’s funny you mention that because on my check ride, when going over my chosen XC route, I explained that I had backed up one of my points with a radial from a VOR because the terrain and landmarks were pretty sparse in the region. My 70 year old DPE looks up at me and says well that sucks because all navigational facilities in the area are down today, including GPS and VOR. Obviously they weren’t and he was just making it a worst case scenario, but I was very surprised he not only didn’t let me use VOR’s but never even tested me on them. Straight up dead reckoning and using the sectional literally the entire checkride lol. And this was this year too.

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AviationgeekN172@reddit (OP)

Wow it was complete opposite for me lol I didn’t have a vor radial in my xc but he made me deviate & tune into the vor frequency

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Squinty_the_artist@reddit

Lol that damn VOR tracking. Somehow I can figure it out on approaches but draw the squiggliest lines trying to track one for navigation. Congrats on your license!

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jarditti@reddit

Congrats! What strategy did you use to study the ACS?

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rickmaz@reddit

Congrats!

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Thick_Comedian_6707@reddit

For only having one checkride under your belt. Those are some gol durn astute observations. I was always told the higher your written the Less bad the oral is and that has just NOT been my experience despite hearing it all the time. The DPE is a fickle and subjective nut to crack. Some vary wildly depending even on what time of day they’re scheduled.

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alaskadesertrat@reddit

My most recent one was at grumpy DPE o'clock.

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adnegferdyyyt@reddit

Congrats man! I just passed this weekend on my 2nd attempt and I really wish that I overprepared more for the ground portion on my first attempt

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proxitechnl@reddit

Congrats, very nice tips thanks 👍🏼

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VirvekRBX@reddit

Congratulations!

I was 30 minutes late to my pvt checkride and still passed with a miracle. Pretty much said “if you hadn’t flown as you did today I would have failed you”

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AviationgeekN172@reddit (OP)

Thanks! And that sounds like a pretty patient dpe lol

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Creative-Grocery2581@reddit

Congratulations

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TheRauk@reddit

Share on your #4 discontinuance, thanks

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AviationgeekN172@reddit (OP)

A mixture of gusty conditions and being exhausted. I discontinued

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TheRauk@reddit

You discontinued mid flight?

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AviationgeekN172@reddit (OP)

No once I completed my preflight

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HighAltitudeStunt102@reddit

Congrats!

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jking615@reddit

I've had to cancel three, two for weather at this point, every single time I cancel it's another month and a half to two months of waiting. I have now been waiting for 4 months for a check ride.

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AviationgeekN172@reddit (OP)

Yeah it happens, I would definitely keep staying proficient with your flying and studying. I’m sure you have been. Good luck !

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SlinkyNormal@reddit

Congratulations! I passed mine yesterday. I strongly agree with being overprepared and dressed to impress. I put together a binder with copies of all pertinent information, navlogs, w&b etc... and got 4 compliments from the examiner. I believe that made a huge difference!

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AviationgeekN172@reddit (OP)

Nice, Definitely does make a difference!

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Rexrollo150@reddit

Congratulations Pilot!

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AviationgeekN172@reddit (OP)

Thank you!

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makgross@reddit

Most of that advice is spot on.

Except #8. Don’t wear a tie unless your school requires it. Same with epaulets. Dress comfortably for the conditions you will be flying in, even if it looks ratty. No one cares unless you smell bad.

If it’s summer and 100 deg, wear shorts. In winter, wear a comfortable sweater or layers, as appropriate.

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AviationgeekN172@reddit (OP)

Agree 👍🏽 maybe not that Boujee lol

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ashtranscends@reddit

Congratulations! 👏🏼

Love these. I attribute #2 as the reason my checkride was actually fun and relaxing.

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AviationgeekN172@reddit (OP)

Thank you :)

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AviationgeekN172@reddit (OP)

Thanks!

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jay-ff@reddit

Hey me too :) (over in the old world though)

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rFlyingTower@reddit

This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:

Here are a few notes I’d take into consideration.

Don’t be afraid to reschedule your check ride if you do not feel ready.
Overstudying is a must.
Even though you think you may know what the local dpe is going to ask you (from other checkride student debriefs) the questions and scenarios will most likely not be the same.
Don’t be afraid to discontinue at any moment, Especially if you feel burnt out after the oral.
Study the acs front to back.
Having a good written score does not necessarily mean you’ll be good on the oral portion. Be sure to actually dig into theory on every topic.
Do more vor tracking.
Dress to impress on the day of your checkride.

The end :)

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