The Checkride

Yesterday afternoon I met with my DPE and finished the oral exam section of the two part private pilot checkride. Being the over achieving worrywart that I am, I went to the airport 2 hours early to ensure everything was prepared and readily accessible for the DPE. On my way in the DPE was leaving to grab some lunch. She asked why I was so early and if I would want to bump it up an hour; for whatever reason I agreed. It took a couple of seconds for me to realize that my preparation time had just been cut in half. This turned out to be a fantastic decision even though my apprehension level doubled because I lost an hour of preparation.

Hastily, I laid out all of the maintenance log books, my flight logbook, sectional chart and flight plan so that I might estalish a decent first impression. When the DPE arrived, we immediately finished the IACRA application and began examining the log books. Everything went smooth barring a little disappointment with some sloppy entries into my log book. She then asked if I was seeking aviation as a profession, and suggested cleaning up the logs if I were. That said we moved on to the flight plan and began discussing my planned route from HKY to FAY. After a few questions her phone rang and she proceeded to talk for a good 5-10 minutes. This was no skin off my back; in fact it was a welcomed break for me to collect my thoughts. After her conversation was through she proceeded to ask me a few questions about airspace and my privileges and responsibilities as a VFR pilot.

During all of the questioning the DPE did a fantastic job of carrying on a conversation (with me) while making sure I had some knowledge about aviation. We talked a lot about some of the trips she made and was able to somehow incorporate aviation into all of the stories she told. One such story involved a trip to Alaska where she had the opportunity to fly around Mt. Denali in a Piper Seneca. During their climb out she watched the altimeter and the pilot to see when he would offer everyone oxygen. She stopped the story there and asked what aeromedical factor might be experienced at these altitudes. It was simple stories like these that made the exam comfortable and fun. Unfortunately, I worried way too much and could have gotten away with a lot less studying. Better safe than sorry, though.

I guess everything went well, because she didn't tell me I failed. I was supposed to take the practical today at 12pm, but it was slightly windy and very hot. When I got to the airport I asked myself, 'if it were any other day, would I fly by myself?' I answered no and decided to postpone the flight until tomorrow morning at 7:30. Hopefully by noon tomorrow I will be a private pilot!

Indefinate Checkride Date

Since my previous post, little development has occurred and I disappointedly remain a student pilot. My disappointment doesn't come from being a student; rather, it is an artifact of not completing the requirements necessary to obtain my private pilot's certificate in time for an upcoming family visit. Normally my disappointment and anxiety would be less evident, but since my family rarely visits western NC, this weekend would be one of the few chances I could have taken my father flying. Not to mention, this is Father's day weekend.

At this time I do not have a firm date to anticipate, but I continue to study and mentally prepare for the oral and practical exams. I am hoping to take the checkride within the next week if the weather holds. The more it draws out the less confident and more nervous I get. I trust that these delays are happening for a reason. Who knows, maybe a gust of wind would have resulted in a failure on a day the checkride had been scheduled to occur.

During this delay, I developed a nifty weight and balance spread sheet that calculates the weight and C.G. information, and confirms safe flight using conditional formatting and graphics. The image below compares two situations differing only in the amount of fuel on board. As you can see, when too much fuel is added a red warning message appears in conjunction with the graphic showing a plotted point outside the W&B limitations. I hope to soon develop another calculator that will use the landing and take-off charts to determine the respective distances needed for each to occur safely. This will be a little more difficult and less accurate due to the interpolations that will have to be made using proprietary equations established by Cubcrafters.

More to come...stay tuned

Saturday June 13, 2009- Checkride

As of today, the current forecast for Saturday is 85 F and partly cloudy. There has been a high pressure system in the Gulf of Mexico for the past several days which looks to be keeping much of the adverse "spring-time" weather to the north of western NC. My checkride is scheduled for Saturday morning hours in hopes that the turbulence will be less, and I can better focus on the practical test standards. As for the oral exam, this will be conducted the preceding afternoon. Apparently my instructor has another student who is receiving sea-plane training and needs a check-ride as well. Killing two birds with one stone, I suppose. With the testing broken up like this my nerves will be a little less for each examination. However, my instructor informed me that the FAA will be present during the oral part of the exam to conduct their own review of the examiner who has not examined in quite some time. Not again... The same thing happened to me as I was solo'ing for the first time at KMRN. While I was there, another gentleman was being reviewed after an incident involving a cub whose throttle was fire-walled while being hand-propped. Hopefully, like last time everything will go smoothly and the FAA nor my examiner will have much to say.

The studying has reached point of monotony and my flight plan is ready to be made. My nerves are gathering and my brain is overflowing. I can't wait to get this over with so I can share my passion with friends and family!

Check out this intersting video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZBcapxGHjE&feature=rec-HM-fresh+div

An Eventful Checkride Practice

As the time for my checkride draws nearer, my anxiety level continues to increase. Prior to this Saturday morning my confidence level was close to five on a scale of one-to-ten. Although the practice revealed areas I needed to improve, my confidence level increased enough to counteract my fear of failure and compose my state of mind. The flight began with a smooth take-off and continued as such until my instructor asked me to report my first checkpoint on our way to Shelby County Airport. All of my previous cross country trips were very organized and uneventful. However, on this practice run, I found myself scrambling to determine where we were. This came as a result of not having fully been able to prepare my flight plan before departure. Luckily this was practice (which I am told makes perfect). After determining our location I practiced some steep turns, slow flight and stalls. The power off stall were uneventful, but power on stalls were a little more exciting. After slowing the plane to 50mph and dropping the RPM to 1500, I applied full throttle and entered a climbing right turn. During the middle of the turn I became too focused outside and neglected the turn coordinator. Once the airplane was stalled the left wing dropped and we entered the incipient phase of a spin. In my minds eye I saw the acronym P.A.R.E.. As I attempted to bank right to get us out of the spin I realized the ailerons were not responding. At this point I remembered "opposite rudder" (the "R" in P.A.R.E.) and heard my instructor saw opposite rudder. Wow! I nearly soiled myself. As we left the incipient phase, I inched the nose up, released opposite rudder and applied throttle to regain straight and level flight. What a great relief and learning experience this was. I am grateful to have had been instructed well enough to realize what I was supposed to do. I strongly recommend training for spins so that you may realize what it feels like to enter one.

After all of the aerial maneuvers, it was time to hone my landing skills. We practice short and soft-field landings. My first shortfield landing was a little rough and would not have passed, but the second one was considered passing. After a few more touch-and-go's I was introduced to wheel landings for the first time. For this type of landing the approach is made at 70 mph compared to the normal approach speed of 55 mph. The plane it held above the runway significantly longer as you gingerly move the controls to slowly fly the plane to the runway. Once the wheels have kissed the runway, power is fully reduced and brakes are slowly applied. Once slowed down the stick is brought back to lower the tail and gain better steering. After a few tries I began to get a hold of the technique and was able to execute an acceptable wheel landing. After this, my instructor demonstrated a poor wheeling landing wherein he threw the stick forward to imitate a pilot who might be impatient and wants to get on the ground sooner than he should. I will be uploading a nice video of this demo sometime tonight.

With this 1.5hrs of practice I was able to see what needs to be improved. Although my confidence level did not increase too much, I was able to realize what needs to be improved so that I am not surprised when it comes time to take the checkride. Look for videos of practiced landings within the next two weeks!