CAX failure - I want to puke

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Lazypilot306@reddit

Did he see the airplane outside or just in the mfd???

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Lazypilot306@reddit

Lol… so he saw the indication on the MFD but didn’t see the plane outside??? Thats suspect.

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zikax@reddit

Same thing happened to me with the power off 180 but decided to continue

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He had me start with landings, and I elected to continue as well; thought I had gotten past the PO180 when I was doing the rest of the flight but clearly wasn’t operating at 100%. Working on that confidence and I’ll be ready to go back. I KNOW I can do it

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makgross@reddit

100 long on a PO180 isn’t much — it’s half a centerline stripe. You might have had that slide if it was the only thing.

But loss of SA is very serious. You got busted for the “examiner must intervene for safety of flight” problem.

Don’t blame it on the examiner. A commercial pilot does not fly with blinders on. That would probably have busted any checkride, including private pilot. You were not “focusing too much outside the plane.” Your scan was ineffective.

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XxMSKKVIXXVIxX@reddit (OP)

I’m not blaming the examiner at all; it’s 100% my fault. I wouldn’t even argue that my scan was ineffective - it was nearly absent. As stated, I’m beating myself up about it because of the errors I made. I’m not even arguing that it’s not a fair result. Just venting into the abyss

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makgross@reddit

You weren’t scanning at all during clearing turns? That’s what they are for.

Well, I’ll guess that’s not going to happen again. That would make this lesson expensive, but worth it.

Scanning in turns becomes even more important with faster airplanes, and with special purpose ops, especially when approaching an airport. Things happen really fast when you just released a glider or dumped your meat bombs, and have to get on the ground NOW for your next load.

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CoolStage5238@reddit

Lmao you said meat bombs and loads in the same sentence. Bravo sir

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XxMSKKVIXXVIxX@reddit (OP)

What I think happened was that when I initially looked at the MFD before starting the clearing turns had to have been one of the spans of a couple seconds where we weren’t picking up their ADS, and since I was zoomed out to 10NM I must have mentally just omitted it. Bad mistake that I’ve never made in 300+ hours, and I’m struggling myself to understand how I didn’t catch it

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Silent_Sandwich_4626@reddit

It happens man. The best thing to do is learn from it. I busted my IFR ride 10 years ago for loading the wrong approach. That was my lesson in how complacency sneaks up on you. And it still does from time to time, even at airlines, that’s why there’s 2 of us up front. This guy would probably tell me I’m an idiot for not triple checking the airport in the GPS when I briefed the approach, because “that’s what the briefing is for” 🙄. Don’t beat yourself up, learn from it and keep pressing on. We’ve all made boneheaded mistakes before flying and had those “never again” moments. Anyone who says they have not is a liar and probably dangerous.

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trimix4work@reddit

You are being a complete jerk

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NewProtection804@reddit

Where did you take this checkride?

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XxMSKKVIXXVIxX@reddit (OP)

Southeast Illinois

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dreamniner@reddit

I failed my commercial for far worse. The lazy 8s weren’t even close to standards. I was just having a terrible day, trying to rush through the ride and get my certificate so I can move on. Didn’t happen as I had planned. But I got over it and got some of the best jobs ever! You’ll be totally fine

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Masterofnonn@reddit

2.3 hour long oral for cpl check ride? Mine was 30 mins. That really sucks

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nolaflygirl@reddit

Maybe OP didn't score high on the written, hence longer oral to ascertain if he learned what he missed.

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Ok_Designer7625@reddit

I got a 91% on my written and still had a 2.0 oral, I think it really depends on who’s doing it and to what extent they want to go into with certain topics.

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Swarley02@reddit

97% on written, 3 hr oral. Definitely depends on DPE

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nolaflygirl@reddit

Could be. I scored high 90s too but oral was no longer than an hr. I was also well-prepared & he could see that right away.

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nolaflygirl@reddit

Yikes! I scored high 90s so DPE went over what I missed & covered a few other areas to ensure I knew my stuff. Maybe an hr oral. Then we headed to the plane for checkride. The weather was awful -- gusty winds, strong xwinds, & just barely VFR minimums. Could be why he didn't linger w/ oral. Also bc he could tell right away that I was well-prepared.

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Small-Letterhead2046@reddit

Mine was so short that it doesn't stand out in my mind... a non event.

Going over some area charts etc.

Then again, I had my MIFR before I did my Commercial. Just thought of that now.

The Commercial course and test, as compared to the MIFR, is a joke.

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Flat_Skin_7284@reddit

DPE was not doing a proper job if the ground lasted 30minutes. Myself as a DPE will say it is impossible. That DPE should have their DPE status revoked

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LeagueResponsible985@reddit

Mine was like 2.5 hours. My DPE played stump the chump. He kept asking questions in each area until I said I don’t know. I was very prepared and played this game for 2.5 hours.

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Skynet_lives@reddit

When did CAX become short for the commercial checkride? That’s the code for the commercial written.

I get that people of different generations have their own slang. But we are all in a field where standard phraseology is very very important.

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Dalibongo@reddit

This comment is so Reddit coded

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Mammoth_Courage3282@reddit

Well said.

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ChiefDaddyJ@reddit

Pretty sure that’s the identifier for the commercial written exam

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Mountain-Captain-396@reddit

Exactly, is the code for the written, not the license.

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XxMSKKVIXXVIxX@reddit (OP)

You’re correct - I mis-typed it but a lot of people use it as Commercial Exam at my school. Technically it’s CPL check ride

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nolaflygirl@reddit

I'm SO glad u asked that question bc I was wondering too & googled it. When I took mine yrs ago, we didn't use abbreviations like now w/ sm; we just said " Commercial written", etc.; texting/sm wasn't around yet. So CA would stand for "Commercial Airplane". What's the "X"..."Exam"?

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10FourGudBuddy@reddit

I was also pretty confused until the power off 180s were mentioned.

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cbph@reddit

💯

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Mammoth_Courage3282@reddit

ATP HERE. Many of us fail a checkride. For me it was multiple-engine where I feathered the wrong prop. like you I was distracted. Bottom line practice the 180s and the DPE will ask you to do that again. You’ll pass and years from now you will look on it back on it with some amusement.

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Small-Letterhead2046@reddit

Hang in there my friend.

Life goes on and so will you if you want to.

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LeagueResponsible985@reddit

Welcome to the club.

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Illustrious-Cow5908@reddit

Yeah i feel that my screw up was forgetting to activate the dang approach. 1000$ button cause multi engine

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Mid_Atlantic_Lad@reddit

My instructor (small Korean military woman) knew I struggle with procedures, so she beat it into my head with her clipboard, and a lot of swearing, so thankfully I remembered.

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Small-Letterhead2046@reddit

Hilarious!

Was she at least hot?

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Illustrious-Cow5908@reddit

Lmao. Yeah switching from a 6 pack and 430 to a g1000, i changed procedure on that flight only not sure why and thats what got me mixed up.

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MarionberryChemical9@reddit

Don’t stress, I failed my CFI on forgetting my landing checklist. I was so engrossed in nailing the checkride that a simple thing slipped my mind

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Capital-Cricket-1010@reddit

dpe sounds like a fuck stick

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Skynet_lives@reddit

Dude blew his PO180 and forgot to look at ADSB in. What did you expect the DPE to do?

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Capital-Cricket-1010@reddit

lot of dpes out there let a lot of shit slide. same with AMEs. was this guy seriously so unsafe he could not possibly receive a commercial license? No, the dpe was just a hardo. pays a lot to do your homework on examiners and doctors

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BezosBussy69@reddit

Idk why you're getting downtown this is completely true.

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XxMSKKVIXXVIxX@reddit (OP)

Worst part was after he handed my NOD he told me he didn’t expect those errors and that I’m “pretty darn fantastic to fly with and have amazing aircraft control”. Like apparently not MF

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Cascadeflyer61@reddit

Because you fly well! You made some mistakes, apply yourself and you will a a great next check ride.

The biggest threat for you is if you keep second guessing yourself and obsess about small mistakes in the next check ride. One step at a time, keep thinking big picture, inside and outside of aircraft, Mentally chair fly the entire ride, then take your time and do it right!!

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BezosBussy69@reddit

2.3 hour oral? On the commercial? Mine was like an hour. And honestly 100 feet out of standard on the power off 180, if the rest of the ride was good I wouldn't fail you for that. Did he tell you you failed, or did you assume it?

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XxMSKKVIXXVIxX@reddit (OP)

He told me it was unsat. And yea the oral was super long, but surface level. He had me recalculate some legs of my XC with different winds, my W&B if we weren’t taking one of the passengers. And he’s a big story teller

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BezosBussy69@reddit

So you had two good maneuvers and then he unsat you for being half a runway stripe off? I'm sorry but whoever your DPE is should probably not be giving rides. Minutia is not what check rides are about at all. You don't fail PPLs for being 120 feet off altitude momentarily and you don't fail a CPL for half a runway stripe on power off 180. If the maneuver throughout was unsafe and didn't demonstrate your knowledge of energy management then that's one thing. But if the only thing was 100 feet, well fuck that guy.

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XxMSKKVIXXVIxX@reddit (OP)

Everything on my flight besides that and the clearing turn was fine. Didn’t get to do easy stuff like stalls or emergency descent, but now I’m stressed about the PO180

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disneyDaf@reddit

Failed on my PO180 because I didn’t drop the gear. I was so focused on making the runway and keeping the aircraft as clean as I could, I didn’t hear the gear warning horn blasting in my ears. He called to go-around and I knew immediately I failed. It sucked but I learned a heck of a lesson. The object of learning is to learn, as long as you did that, it wasn’t a compete bust.

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AnnualWhole4457@reddit

I failed my commercial initial on the P180. Felt like a big deal at the time. Moving into my next airline now realizing it really wasn't. Just don't lie about it when you get to that stage in your career.

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XxMSKKVIXXVIxX@reddit (OP)

Only reason I’m stressed is because we only get 2 for the whole time we are in the program at my school, or they remove us from the direct career for completing the program. They make conditional decisions, as one guy just failed his 3rd on his CFI, but I can’t risk the chance of that. Going to re-train and get it behind me

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FlyGuyBruce@reddit

Understandable and relatable. FWIW, same exact thing happened to me. You’re going to be fine in the long run, not sure what your career goals are but I am a regional captain and have recently received a CJO from United (via hitting my hours with the Aviate program). In interviews just take full accountability for what happened, learn from it, and move on, and don’t let this become a trend. Be sure to remember the feeling of failing and use it as motivation to make sure you never feel this way again. Blue skies ahead!

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XxMSKKVIXXVIxX@reddit (OP)

I’m absolutely framing it and putting it above my desk at home. This is a bad feeling, but one that can be channeled for good outcomes. Thanks for your words of encouragement

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bhalter80@reddit

If you went 100ft long why not slip more or just pull the nose up and bleed off speed faster. You probably knew well before you went 100 past you you were in the wrong position

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XxMSKKVIXXVIxX@reddit (OP)

Honestly I think I just got too in my head. If I would have flown it like I flew my EOC or any other landing lesson, I would be holding a cert right now. It had been so long since I missed a power-off

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Legitimate-Watch-670@reddit

and have NEVER been that close to traffic.

*That you know of.

I've heard a lot of guys say they don't need an adsb receiver because they just look outside for traffic. Looking outside is great, but some traffic is incredibly hard to spot. I've had many times if seeing traffic on adsb, knowing exactly where they are, but being completely unable to ever spot them.

Gotta use all the tools you have for maximum SA!

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XxMSKKVIXXVIxX@reddit (OP)

That’s a fair point… I don’t know what I don’t know. I am pretty good at finding traffic, and have always been safe, but of course, you can never be too safe out in the wild Wild West of hobby fliers with no radio / nav / ADSB

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cazzipropri@reddit

Almost everyone fails the PO180. Yes botching a check ride sucks, but don't beat yourself up more than it serves any useful purpose.

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harshtruthsdelivered@reddit

Almost everyone?

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cazzipropri@reddit

Many

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MoreSpoiler@reddit

That’s a long oral.

Also quit looking inside for traffic it’s a nasty habit, ADSB has some major flaws and should not be trusted to that extent

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Sad-Umpire6000@reddit

A mile and a half same direction isn’t always that easy to spot, and certainly isn’t a hazard.

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theshawnch@reddit

Not being aware of traffic 1.5 miles away at a similar altitude during maneuvers is absolutely a hazard.

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makgross@reddit

Loss of awareness is a massive hazard.

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hondaridr58@reddit

It was a bad day, you're not a bad pilot.

Rub some dirt on it, shake it off and get back out there.

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XxMSKKVIXXVIxX@reddit (OP)

In addition: oral started at 0600 and the airport is 2 hrs from mine so I had to leave at 0400, woke up at 0145 after being on an afternoon training schedule the past 3 months. I didn’t have much working in my favor, but still not an excuse

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10FourGudBuddy@reddit

You couldn’t fly there?

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Swimming_Way_7372@reddit

CAX is the written test. Get back in the book and you'll do great next time.

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tuanortsafern@reddit

I’m not sure that traffic going in the same direction +300 feet and a mile away is a hazard, but just something to note. If you didn’t notice on your ads-b (which not every plane has) then you just need a better cross check, but certainly not something that is outright dangerous.

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Dependent-Place-4795@reddit

Welcome to the club. It’s not a hard checkride bust to explain if it’s your only dislike.

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enoyes767@reddit

Don’t beat yourself up too much about the power off, super common failure and easy to explain to future employers.

The other mistakes aren’t crazy either, and coming off of failing a portion of the ride, your mind wasn’t 100%.

Get that retraining, get the new endorsement, and go get that cert!

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rFlyingTower@reddit

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

Just as the title reads. I took my check ride on 08/29 and it didn’t go great. Oral was solid. 2.3 hours, and I knocked it out of the park. I went into the flight feeling confident. The DPE had me start with landings, and my normal and soft-field were textbook perfect. Then he gave me the p/o180. I have been practicing in windy and bumpy conditions, and the day was beautiful. I floated about 100’ outside of standards and knew I got an NOD right there. I asked to continue with the flight. Everything had been going absolutely beautifully until I was doing clearing turns to set up for a power-off stall. I was focused to much outside the plane, and didn’t see traffic about 1.5nm away with same direction of travel and +300 on my MFD that was popping on and off the screen every few seconds. he had me break off and head right back in and wouldn’t let me continue.

I’m just beating myself up for not having a great day. I haven’t missed a P/o 180 in months, and have NEVER been that close to traffic. First failure and I hate this feeling

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