DPE didn't tell me I failed immediately, what should I do?
Posted by Sickchimp33326@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 83 comments
I busted my commercial checkride for landings yesterday. This one was a lot different than PPL and IR. The oral was weird; we did the normal process of validating my logbook and the aircraft, paid the DPE, and started going through a bunch of scenarios. He would give me a question, and I would start to answer, and I honestly felt like I couldn't talk for more than 10 seconds before he would interrupt (This was explaining scenarios, not rote questions). At the end of it, he basically was just teaching a ground and wouldn't let me give anything. Oral was about 1.5, then took a break and went on the flight.
The first half went well, simulated XC, but he made me climb up to 7500 instead of my planned 5500, and he basically told me not to worry about TOC, then vectored me off to start maneuvers. We did steep turns, slow flight, power off, power on, and accelerated stalls. He complained about my power on stall and how I wasn’t breaking critical AOA aggressively enough (I was taught to avoid minimal altitude loss and build airspeed to climb), which he then asked for controls to demo one and showed me one with an 800' loss. (We didn't discuss this any further)
Then engine out, he told me we had a rough-running engine and asked what I would do, I said I would climb in case of an engine failure and start towards the nearest airport. He told me I should always just save the engine and told me to simulate a shutdown. We did an emergency descent into an "off-field landing," and he told me what field to set up for which I just felt like he was forcing me into decisions. Once we recovered, he told me to climb to 1900' which was our pivotal altitude, and told me that the 5KT headwind wouldn't affect us and to start my 8s on pylons to a barn right off my left wing, which after rolling out, he gave me a house off my right side and told me to recover after about 30 degrees in the right turn. Then we did a lazy eight, which again he gave me a 90-degree point and told me to start right away.
We went back for pattern and entered midfield behind one other aircraft and did short and soft field landings, which I admit were very firm, and I was expecting the notice when we cleared the taxiway on both. He asked me if those were my regular landings and kind of chuckled about it and I told him that they were bad in my opinion and how I could've fixed them and that I was just really nervous. He told me not to worry and we would keep going and do the power off 180, and then we'd be done.
In the downwind for the PO180, he told me, "If this is good, then we won't worry about the other, but if not, you'll need more training." I got out a little bit further than I wanted to which I verbalized was because of the other traffic that was slow on final but brought in some momentum and flap boosted in ground effect and landing +50... and he proceeded to chew me out for five minutes on how flap boosting is the worst thing ever and my instructors should be ashamed for teaching that.
Very short debrief, he didn't say anything about the oral or maneuvers. Told me I busted for takeoffs and landings, he specified he was happy with my takeoffs and it was just the ACS code then told me my short and soft were because of firmness, my power off 180 for flap boosting, and on initial taxi out, I didn't do full aileron deflection for the winds (it was a 10-degree offset at 4 knots). He then printed my letter of disapproval and left.
I know that DPEs are supposed to tell me when you failed and I've never heard of anyone saying something like he did in the downwind on a checkride. Is there something I should do?
Also, what about the flap boosting, because that was something I was taught, and my roommate actually got taught that on his PPL checkride by his DPE.
Flavor_Nukes@reddit
Am I the only one whose never heard of the term 'flap boosting'?
I assume it's yanking the flaps up low to ground. Yea, don't do that.
miwgbestwing@reddit
My read is op dropped in probably a notch of flaps to boost himself to the zone, which....is 100% valid to do in a PO180
PlaneShenaniganz@reddit
It’s 100% valid. The PO180 is a bullshit energy management maneuver that should be discontinued, but how is lowering flaps in ground effect not directly related to energy management?
Due-Letterhead6372@reddit
Boosting is when you add flaps in ground effect to float a bit longer if you're going to be short. The opposite involves retracting the flaps if you're going to float long.
Neither is dangerous if done correctly (i.e. practice it with your CFI before you try it on your own). If you're retracting flaps make sure to not let the nose drop. I used that trick to pass my checkride, was going to float long so brought the flaps up in ground effect and settled right on my point. DPE didn't say anything about it.
mightymac-89@reddit
This sounds so reckless. 5 feet above the ground and you are dicking around to find the flaps? This is something people are teaching just to pass a chrckride or you’d do this with passengers too? Absolutely absurd
Due-Letterhead6372@reddit
Again, just go practice it with a CFI and you'll see its really not anything special. I don't routinely do it with passengers, but I still practice how to do it every now and then. Who knows when it may come in handy?
I was taught this technique by the chief instructor at my flight school. Its not like its some obscure hidden knowledge. You can even find videos of people on YouTube showing you how to do it.
mightymac-89@reddit
I’ve made it all the way to my third airline without ever hearing mention of this. Not going to be trying this anytime soon in the GA flying I do
legitSTINKYPINKY@reddit
Well you’re probably not going to be doing it at your airline 🙄
BluProfessor@reddit
This pretty exclusive to the PO180 or an emergency procedure where you're going to come up short of the runway.
mightymac-89@reddit
I think it’s very reasonable for a DPE to fail someone just for doing this based on “unsafe operation.” You aren’t even supposed to touch the flaps until clear of the runway so I’d say lifting them up at 5 feet agl while over the runway or grass is reckless
BluProfessor@reddit
Flap adjustments on final are fine if you know what you're doing. There isn't anything "unsafe" about adding flaps in ground effect. There's nothing that actually prohibits flap manipulation on the ground either. We train to leave the flaps alone until you can look and identify because of retractable gear aircraft.
Flavor_Nukes@reddit
My 141 had a firm 200 foot rule for manipulating flaps regardless of landing thpe. When I gave EOC checks, this would have been an insta unsat if you're playing with the flaps in ground effect to make it work.
Hour_Tour@reddit
It's never been a thing in my personal flying experience here in the UK, which is very limited (runway is 2000ft long, so you can't float a lot and still land anyway). But I can remember tons of "it's a great technique" and "never ever do that, heretic!" sentiments from various US CFIs on YouTube the last decade or two, so I can totally see this DPEs reaction happening.
Due-Letterhead6372@reddit
Yep. Some people hate it, but its not dangerous or prohibited so I don't see a reason to avoid teaching it. Its useful in a pinch, but if you need to use it every time you do a precision landing you may want to work on your fundementals first.
delcielo2002@reddit
I agree, if for another reason, the pilot should know what happens when you do it, both when you add flaps in ground effect, and when you reduce them. In a bad situation, every tool that can provide an advantage should be known and understood.
In our old PA-24, adding flaps gave us much more glide, and dumping them would drop the airplane almost immediately. In a Cessna 172, it worked just the opposite. Those types of things are good to know.
Bwin101@reddit
Did the same thing, dpe said good option 😃
Flavor_Nukes@reddit
Yea I guess I have a problem with changing the aerodynamic characteristics of your wing 5 feet off the ground from a safety perspective
Due-Letterhead6372@reddit
You change the aerodynamic characteristics of your wing every time you move the ailerons. Flaps are a control surface just like any other, if you use em wrong you can mess something up, but if you practice it and know how to use them safely then there is no issue.
Even if you fully stall the aircraft 3 feet off the pavement you're not going to die. Firm landing yes, but nothing other than that really.
Gabriel_Owners@reddit
"Flap boosting" comes from the same generation that invented "looks maxing."
Swimming_Way_7372@reddit
And six seven
SayNoTo-Communism@reddit
Mainly done when flying a Piper low wing with manual flaps. You can quickly deploy full flaps for a little boost of lift if you are gonna fall short however after that brief moment you will fall like a rock so you better be ready to touch down.
PhraseTimely302@reddit
If he's in a cherokee, there's an extra few degrees of flaps beyond the full flap detent that can be used to cheat a little if you're short of your touchdown point. It's not official anywhere and as we see here likely isn't desirable in a checkride.
Ok-Document8010@reddit
Woow, this is the same exact situation that happened to me at the beginning of the week. I failed my CPL ride for landings and Eight on Pylons and DPE didn’t say a single word until we got back home and landed to park.
Honestly man for me I definitely messed up and deserved to fail, the pressure, exhaustion and afternoon heat got to me. I think that you should evaluate what went wrong and simply reschedule to take it again. I know how you’re feeling because am feeling the same way right now, but just know that this will make you a better pilot if you take it the right way. Reschedule, practice on what you failed and go back and get your license. You will be fine!
SSMDive@reddit
You should be thankful he was trying to help you.
He gave you an easy ass oral… I’d be happy. He threw maneuvers at you quickly, but didn’t fail you for them.
You admit your short and soft field landings were not good. (In the future don’t admit they sucked, admit they could have been better).
And then he gave you one last thing and you kinda blew it by letting other traffic fly your pattern for you. Next time if you think you will be taken too far GO AROUND. You accepted a shit position and while there were reasons, that’s on you.
Then you did something that seems to be controversial (I’ve never even heard about it) and unfortunately for you he is in the ‘death on a stick camp’ not the ‘you do you’ camp.
You failed on your landings. But he gave you an opportunity to still pass and you didn’t meet his standards there so he invoked the earlier failure.
I’d say it sucks, but you admit your landings sucked and you even told him that.
Go get your training, go retest and become a commercial pilot.
In the future, vet your CFI and DPE. I once was not even able to take my IFR checkride because of my CFI writing an entry incorrectly. A buddy could not take a Heli checkride because his CFI endorsed him as an initial rating, not an additional… I failed and he failed by not checking the CFI’s work. In both our defenses we fell into the ‘CFI’s know what they are doing trap.’
Trust but verify anything that is not in the POH or ACS.
RaidenMonster@reddit
I had to do a couple 360’s in the pattern to get a good setup. Not ideal but I wasn’t about to screw up the last maneuver for traffic convenience.
ltcterry@reddit
You probably didn't mean exactly what you wrote there, but what I think you intended to say is not part of a standard.
Never heard that term, but it's clear what you mean. "Don't use the flaps until you have it made" fits right here if you made it after adding flaps... There is absolutely nothing stabilized/etc about a power off 180. I wish the FAA would get rid of it.
Headoutdaplane@reddit
I disagree, the power off 180 is one of the maneuvers that can actually save your life. And should be in the Emergency section of the ACS
If you lose an engine and have 600 feet to land in, the ability to land at the beginning of your landing area (versus 200 feet down) and use your brakes before you hit whatever is at the end can dramatically reduce the force with which you hit it. The force actually decreases logarithmically going back to basic physics F=Mass x acceleration.
What makes me even more crazy (I just threw in an easy joke for you) that a lot if folks claim they can do the "impossible turn" but can't even consistently do a power off 180 to standards.
I can make a list of stuff that I would get rid of in the ACS chandelles, lazy 8s, 8s on pylons, even steep turns just to give more time and resources to practice the power off 180.
planegoeswoosh@reddit
I didnt even know you guys were doing lazy 8s. In canada, its steep turn, power off stall, T/O stall, landing stalls and spin recovery. Whats the point exactly of teaching lazy 8s, Ive never actually done one
StretchRose@reddit
I’m not a fan of lazy 8s (busted my initial cfi attempt on them) but I find them to be useful to teach finesse of the airplane. They’re all about letting the plane’s natural tendencies do the work for you while you add the slightest pressures to correct during the maneuver with only a finger on the yoke at most.
My old flight school said they’re good for commercial because you don’t want to be whipping the airplane around and death gripping the yoke when you have pax on board. Not that you’re doing lazy 8s in any scenario except practicing them lol
RaidenMonster@reddit
And they are kinda fun in comparison to the other stuff you gotta do. Or at least I thought so.
At the same time, check ride I could pick chandelles or lazy 8’s, went with chandelles, less interpretation I felt.
StretchRose@reddit
I agree, once they finally clicked for me before the retest I actually enjoyed them a lot. I failed on them before because I didn’t realize just how hands off they are and was trying to force the airplane.
I wish I had that choice though. Chandelles are by far my favorite maneuver to fly
mountainbrew46@reddit
If it was a life saving emergency procedure why wouldn’t it be a PPL maneuver? The point is energy management
Puzzleheaded-Pay5364@reddit
Back in 1978, I was required to do a power off 180 for my private.
Headoutdaplane@reddit
The point is energy management so that you can land safely. Whether it is called an emergency or not is semantics (It should be in the emergency section). It is the one actual maneuver that can save somebody's life.
Your military training has probably only been in turboprop aircraft. The chance of losing an engine in those is quite low. In piston single engine. The chances go up, although not still not high. For civilian folks that are flying single engine Pistons sometimes up to 1,500 hours or more. This maneuver is much more important.
mountainbrew46@reddit
I’m also a CFI and teach fairly regularly. In the military we also did ELPs in the T-6 which is essentially a power off 360. It was used for emergency recovery but it really was an energy management exercise.
imme267@reddit
PO180 is not an emergency maneuver, it’s an energy management maneuver
Headoutdaplane@reddit
As I said in my original reply, it really should be an emergency maneuver. It is about energy management You're 100% correct. But that energy management can save lives.
mightymac-89@reddit
I’ve also never heard of flap boosting, this guy might need a new CFI
akav8r@reddit
Flap boosting can get you a couple hundred feet in ground effect. Pretty awesome tool to have to be honest.
planegoeswoosh@reddit
Its a recovery technique to stay airborne in the ground effect longer by delaying full flaps until ground effect. You can float for easily 200-500ft and force a touchdown where you need to be for the manoeuvre. Its just another tool in your toolbox to pass the test ride
CheapTomato3090@reddit
Why are you complaining that most of the work during the oral was done for you?
RaidenMonster@reddit
Seriously.
In your ATP ride or CQ, if the instructor wants to talk, and they often do, you stop talking and listen. Valuable lesson to learn for this dude.
Mrfunkyclouds@reddit
Sounds like the dpe actualy gave you alot of chances to make up some stuff. Multiple things at that. At the end of the day if you didnt fall in the ACS you didnt fall in the ACS. Simple as that. GENERALLY dpes are there to help you. They want you to succeed and will always give solid advice for the most part. But you have to realize they have a job to protect. They are trusted to make a decision on if someone is ready, and safe to operate whats being tested on. If you get into an accident after he signs, HES going to get investigated to. All dpes are at risk for every person they sign off on. So they need to be damn sure you are not going to accidently make a costly mistake. And with you just listed, you admitted to making quiet a bit of mistakes. All though small, many. Just gotta practice more. When you have passengers you cant afford to be making mistakes like that. Ever.seems like a over all nice dpe tbh. Ive seen some dpes almost full cuss out students for busting a Bravo by 5 ft. Won't even give them the chance to continue and deem it as just straight up unsafe. You got lucky with yours.
z_barcode@reddit
The flap boosting thing is lame from the dpe because I’m an emergency I’m using every tool at my disposal including flaps in ground effect if I need it. No place in the acs does it say you can’t but every DPE is different. I always taught my students to ask how the DPE wants to see it before they go up so that there is no questions or minimal grey area. That always went a long way with the ones I had to deal with. Just retrain, no big deal.
Swimming_Way_7372@reddit
Its not an emergency procedure though.
Gabriel_Owners@reddit
I'm not advocating for "flap boosting," but just because you're in an emergency situation does not mean you can only use "emergency procedures."
makgross@reddit
PO180 has nothing to do with emergency procedures. It’s a landing. Read your ACS.
MikeOfAllPeople@reddit
According to the Airplane Flying Handbook:
Now, call me crazy, but I believe losing engine power is considered an emergency in most manuals.
makgross@reddit
No, bringing the power to idle is not an emergency.
Look at all the commercial maneuvers. Almost all follow a pattern. They remove one variable and ask you to use the others in a continually changing environment. In this case it’s throttle. For 8s on pylons, it’s bank angle. Are 8s on pylons an emergency?
MikeOfAllPeople@reddit
The power-off 180 is a simulated emergency. This isn't a controversial statement.
Again, even the commercial ACS discusses some considerations that go with simulating an emergency during a power-off 180:
Reasonable people can argue about the extent to which you should treat a simulated emergency like a real one. There is plenty of middle ground to debate things like flap boosting, and whether or not it is prudent to use in training. I personally think you should practice it, so you can have every tool available in the event of an emergency. That said, to pretend that the power-off 180 about simulating engine failures is just silly.
makgross@reddit
Did you read what you quoted?
It says in as many words not to treat it as an emergency. Like, don’t feather the prop.
Did you also read the heading that placed it in the “takeoffs and landings” task rather than emergency procedures?
Just because you’ve been confidently wrong for a long time does not mean it’s “not controversial.” There is a long history of instructors assigning meanings to commercial maneuvers that aren’t there.
EntroperZero@reddit
They don't want you to actually feather the prop, but they do want you to simulate the prop being feathered as it would be in the event of a true loss of engine power.
Swimming_Way_7372@reddit
I teach it by the book and it's a performance management maneuver and not an emergency.
Gabriel_Owners@reddit
I never said it was. I was simply replying to the previous comment.
z_barcode@reddit
It’s about precision and control of the energy state of the aircraft. I was taught and always taught use the tools you need to get there. Slip a little sure, adjust flaps sure. Idk I always thought it was weird to ding someone for that technique but that’s just me.
InsGuy2023@reddit
Quit talking, let the DPE ramble...like the Captain on your 747. listen, learn. Also, your CFI should have prepped you better for this guy. Has he never used him before?
Ok_Bar4002@reddit
Engines can be replaced. “Save the engine” is the dumbest advice. Engines can be replaced. This is multi engine advice after the safe operation of single engine parameters are re confirmed (aka idle the engine first).
makgross@reddit
“Save the engine” in this context means not forcing it into a failure right now. If you’re still in the air, partial engine power is far, far superior to no engine power.
jumpy_finale@reddit
Is partial engine failure not dangerous as it can turn into complete engine failure at the worst moment? Killing more pilots through hesitation, startle and false hope?
Tuhks@reddit
Of course it’s dangerous but surely you’d rather have an unreliable engine than no engine.
Full-Ordinary-6030@reddit
I'm sure that's not what the DPE means. Adding full power to climb might lead to the engine to quit immediately instead of "saving it" and keeping it running until reaching destination.
In the C172 POH, under section 3 (emergency procedures), there is a specific section on "rough engine operation or loss of power." It lists a bunch of reasons that can lead to a rough running engine or loss of power and what should be done. In the last "scenerio," (I assume that's what the DPE was expecting from OP in this case), it mentions that:
"If a total loss of oil pressure is accompanied by a rise in oil temperature, there is a good reason to suspect an engine failure is imminent. Reduce engine power immediately and select a suitable forced landing field. Use only the minimum power required to reach the desired landing spot."
Rictor_Scale@reddit
It seems like he was trying to do you a solid and pass you if your PO180 was perfect.
justdrivin2271@reddit
Why does this dpe sound like kill bill Edward’s
AnnualWhole4457@reddit
This sounds like a Scott Taylor checkride.
bhalter80@reddit
This is one that I'm particularly sensitive to since as an instructor I get to see the runway drift off to the right of us a lot.
When you line up at 0 kn you have 0 ailerone authority so you can put the controls fully into the wind. Once you start getting airflow over the ailerons you can back out as much as you need to to maintain directional authority and it's much smoother than realizing you're drifting and trying to correct. It's also the inverse of what you do landing so clearly something is working there 😄
Former_Farm_3618@reddit
There’s 3 options how I see it:
1) get training, go back with a smile and you’ll pass.
2) argue about how he’s not following the rules, you’ll still fail, need training, reschedule and he could absolutely find something else to bust you on…there’s always some they could do to throw you for a loop.
3) find a new examiner and start from scratch. Hopefully the new one doesn’t find out you attempted to “throw the book at” the other one.
I think they were trying to pass you the first time. They even told you so! Unfortunately, you didn’t meet their expectations on the final chance maneuver and you got failed. I think a check ride should be an overall approach. Just because you bust one maneuver you’ll never use in real life doesn’t mean you should fail and end of flight. It should be overall, is this pilot competent in what matters and do they have good ADM?
Mad-M0nk@reddit
Exactly this. A fail is a fail and there is no shot he will get the disqualification thrown out.
Just take it on the chin, go blast the pattern for a few hours and reschedule.
pilotjlr@reddit
The stuff in the ACS about what the examiner should do are really more like guidelines
Speedymcspeeder@reddit
You should be able to hit your spot on P180 without "boosting." That means you came in with too little energy. In the real world you might do that as a last ditch effort but otherwise using flaps for anything other than a drag device is a fail for that maneuver. You can scrub energy with no engine, you cant increase it. Using flaps to extend just to hit your spot is a fail. Just read the ACS.
Anthem00@reddit
Here is the bottom line - do you actually think you did well enough to pass ? Or are you asking questions about how to challenge based on a technicality ? If you didn’t follow the acs and pass based on acs standards - then you didn’t pass.
NYPuppers@reddit
this - 100%.
it feels like a lot of people forget there is inherently a human element to all of this. DPEs dont want to sign off pilots they think are unsafe for the cert/rating. the guy obviously thought that OPs landings were bad for a commercial standard pilot compared to the dozens/hundreds of people he has signed off. he didnt have all the info he needed to come to that conclusion until the power off 180 but that doesnt mean he cant make that conclusion. if someone thinks you are unsafe, then get safe. dont try to "gotcha" your way into a pass.
makgross@reddit
Were I giving you a mock commercial checkride, I’d fault you on everything you described. Except maybe the flaps on the PO180 (I’d pass that if and only if the pilot was fully in control through the round out and flare).
Lost_Cockroach6702@reddit
You’re going to have to retake it obviously.
But that’s crazy he actually told you to save the engine instead of climbing for energy. That’s big dumbass energy if he meant it how you wrote it. So is allowing the aircraft to lose hundreds of feet when breaking a stall.
makgross@reddit
It’s a misquote.
A rough engine can be forced into a failure RIGHT NOW by full throttle. Without that, it may never completely fail.
Due-Letterhead6372@reddit
I'm skeptical at how accurate OP's summary is. Its certainly possible that the DPE said those things, but we also have no way to confirm.
Puravida1904@reddit
I don’t know what you’re complaining about, you obviously were outside the standards… he was being VERY generous to “look the other way” on previous exercises that were a fail
jtyson1991@reddit
Just curious, did you have a gouge on this DPE? Were you expecting this?
Hokie_Pilot@reddit
Full aileron deflection into such a light wind/negligible is analogous to full breaking at a stop sign when taking your drivers test…with someone on board judging you, best to do it to the fullest.
FlowerGeneral2576@reddit
>Is there something I should do?
What did you have in mind? Practice more and try again.
Prof_Slappopotamus@reddit
Yikes. He was being Santa Claus giving you the opportunity to wash away your sins by nailing the PO180.
Not much you can do at this point other than get out there and practice. Do everything he debriefed you on the way he wants to see it done and you'll be fine.
I recall a couple of our instructors used to have a hard on for "full deflection into the wind" no matter how light it was. It's good rote training and habit formation for primary students, but at some point you have to accept full deflection isn't needed. Just put it in, start the roll, smoothly take it out. And honestly, at the CPL level you should have (you clearly have) advanced to the point of knowing how much deflection is necessary by listening to the weather and looking at the windsock.
EliteEthos@reddit
You should receive training and retake your checkride.
BigBadPanda@reddit
My ASI who did my CFI checkride did the same thing. It happens. You won’t get a pass from a technicality. Get your retraining scheduled.
rFlyingTower@reddit
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
I busted my commercial checkride for landings yesterday. This one was a lot different than PPL and IR. The oral was weird; we did the normal process of validating my logbook and the aircraft, paid the DPE, and started going through a bunch of scenarios. He would give me a question, and I would start to answer, and I honestly felt like I couldn't talk for more than 10 seconds before he would interrupt (This was explaining scenarios, not rote questions). At the end of it, he basically was just teaching a ground and wouldn't let me give anything. Oral was about 1.5, then took a break and went on the flight.
The first half went well, simulated XC, but he made me climb up to 7500 instead of my planned 5500, and he basically told me not to worry about TOC, then vectored me off to start maneuvers. We did steep turns, slow flight, power off, power on, and accelerated stalls. He complained about my power on stall and how I wasn’t breaking critical AOA aggressively enough (I was taught to avoid minimal altitude loss and build airspeed to climb), which he then asked for controls to demo one and showed me one with an 800' loss. (We didn't discuss this any further)
Then engine out, he told me we had a rough-running engine and asked what I would do, I said I would climb in case of an engine failure and start towards the nearest airport. He told me I should always just save the engine and told me to simulate a shutdown. We did an emergency descent into an "off-field landing," and he told me what field to set up for which I just felt like he was forcing me into decisions. Once we recovered, he told me to climb to 1900' which was our pivotal altitude, and told me that the 5KT headwind wouldn't affect us and to start my 8s on pylons to a barn right off my left wing, which after rolling out, he gave me a house off my right side and told me to recover after about 30 degrees in the right turn. Then we did a lazy eight, which again he gave me a 90-degree point and told me to start right away.
We went back for pattern and entered midfield behind one other aircraft and did short and soft field landings, which I admit were very firm, and I was expecting the notice when we cleared the taxiway on both. He asked me if those were my regular landings and kind of chuckled about it and I told him that they were bad in my opinion and how I could've fixed them and that I was just really nervous. He told me not to worry and we would keep going and do the power off 180, and then we'd be done.
In the downwind for the PO180, he told me, "If this is good, then we won't worry about the other, but if not, you'll need more training." I got out a little bit further than I wanted to which I verbalized was because of the other traffic that was slow on final but brought in some momentum and flap boosted in ground effect and landing +50... and he proceeded to chew me out for five minutes on how flap boosting is the worst thing ever and my instructors should be ashamed for teaching that.
Very short debrief, he didn't say anything about the oral or maneuvers. Told me I busted for takeoffs and landings, he specified he was happy with my takeoffs and it was just the ACS code then told me my short and soft were because of firmness, my power off 180 for flap boosting, and on initial taxi out, I didn't do full aileron deflection for the winds (it was a 10-degree offset at 4 knots). He then printed my letter of disapproval and left.
I know that DPEs are supposed to tell me when you failed and I've never heard of anyone saying something like he did in the downwind on a checkride. Is there something I should do?
Also, what about the flap boosting, because that was something I was taught, and my roommate actually got taught that on his PPL checkride by his DPE.
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