Your instructor and you agree, you are ready for your check ride. Lets start by saying you don’t get a check ride to get a pilot licence in the United States. You take a Practical Test to get a pilot certificate. If the FAA employees at the FSDO hear me say “check ride” or “pilot licence”, I immediately get corrected. We all know that in the technical world, we must be specific with words. You do know the difference between drift, crab and slip, or approach and arrival, right? Well, its Practical Test and Certificate in my business.
There is much written about how a practical test is conducted so I am not going to write about that here. I am going to provide my observations on why tests that I have given have gone well or not so well. It should be obvious, but apparently it is not, so here goes.
First, think about this. A Practical Test is not intended to determine if you are a good pilot. It is the responsibility of the flight instructor to teach an applicant how to fly. It is the examiner’s responsibility to determine if the applicant meets the minimum standard set forth by the federal government.
Stage Fright
So you are nervous. Pilots, and humans that want to be pilots, are generally success oriented. Applicants that are ready to test have generally spent a great deal of time, money and effort to get to this point. The test itself was hard to schedule and is expensive. A re-test is not free. There are plenty of good reasons to be nervous, but it is just a test and failing it has little lasting consequence in most circumstances. Don’t be nervous.
Yeah, right. But you can still get a good night’s sleep and allow plenty of time in the morning to do your routine, gather your stuff, get the airplane ready, and get to the test site without rushing. Prepare what you can the night before. I work hard to not rush applicants, if you feel rushed, don’t.
Instructors, consider having someone besides yourself conduct a mock check ride with your applicant. This is required under a Part 141 curriculum and the pass rate is far higher. I believe this is cause and effect, not just correlation. It is especially effective if the instructor conducting the check is in a perceived position of authority.
DO NOT USE
This is what should appear in Block B of your 8710-1 for SSN. It is a selection you can make in IACRA. We will still do a test if that block has your real Social Security Number in it, and I don’t know why that block is still on that form.
The ACS
The test is conducted according to an easily acquired document, the Airman Certification Standards. I darn near have it memorized because I refer to it nearly every day. If you are an instructor, you should too. Teach right from it, especially when conducting “mock check rides”. Yes I said check rides, but a mock check ride isn’t really a practical test now, is it? If you are a solo student, you should review the standard for each maneuver you plan to practice on each solo flight before you takeoff. Each task or maneuver should have a set-up phase, execution phase, and recovery phase. Many of the maneuvers can be performed in multiple ways that satisfy the standard, but not every technique will.
The appendices have a lot of good information about the conduct of the test and what you should bring. Nothing should be a surprise.
Go-Around
Go-around, or balked landing is permitted for most of the landing tasks if the approach isn’t looking good making it unlikely the Task will be satisfactorily performed. It is expected if required to maintain safe flight. Read the ACS again. Do NOT land short, and if you are going long, or get a last second knock from turbulence, go around! And yes, you have to land on the center line. And no, you may not land 3 point or nose wheel first. You may discontinue the test any time if you find the conditions beyond your personal minimums. You must request the discontinuance before you unsuccessfully complete a Task.
Checklists
Its OK, even recommended that checklists be accomplished using a cockpit flow. A written checklist should still be consulted in almost every case before declaring the checklist complete. There are parts of some checklists that should be memorized. These are sometimes called “Boldface” or “Immediate Action” items and are usually part of certain emergency checklists. If your AFM doesn’t identify those items for you, then work with your instructor to identify those items. Memorize them. This includes spin recovery, engine fire, engine failure, and electrical fire to name a few.
Inoperative Equipment
91.205 (ATOMATOFLAMES) is the end of the flowchart for determining if a piece of equipment is required for flight, not the beginning. 91.213 is the applicable regulation and it should be well understood, beginning to end. It is a bit complicated, so a flowchart is handy. If your airplane doesn’t have a proper AFM, then get one from a newer airplane for academic study so you can fully understand the specifics of each of the requirements of 91.213.
Preventative Maintenance
This is another example of technical terminology. Just using the common definitions of those words will get you in trouble with the FAA if you do work you are not authorized to do and do not document it properly. It will also cause poor performance on a practical test. The term is very well defined in Appendix A of 14 CFR 43. Find that list, become familiar with it, but don’t memorize it. Do have a copy handy. You will need it more often than you think if you own an airplane and its a common question, often embedded in a scenario, during a practical test.
Aircraft Documents
Yes, we need to see the “real” aircraft documents to satisfy the ACS requirement that the applicant provides a suitable aircraft for the test. Suitable means it can do all of the maneuvers and is airworthy. I do accept copies of the airworthiness certificate and registration to determine eligibility for the test. All owners should make copies of these documents and include them in the maintenance logbooks for applicants. I will still verify the documents are properly displayed in the aircraft, but I understand how fragile they can become with excessive handling.
The weight and balance record is meaningless without an up to date equipment list for the particular aircraft.
Flight Manuals
Information manuals are fine for most flight planning and study requirements, but they do not substitute for the approved AFM or POH when referencing limitations or operating restrictions. And lets not forget Supplemental Flight Manuals. Autopilots are optional on many aircraft so the limitations associated with them are located in the Supplement. Reference 14 CFR 91.9(a) if you do not this is important. The supplements are mini-AFMs and often have their own limitations section.
Pilotage
I do expect all pilots to be able to navigate without color television regardless of what make and model aircraft you fly. This means no moving maps of any kind; installed, portable, tablet or phone. This is not an emergency procedure though it may be tested in a scenario in combination with simulated equipment failure or the Lost Procedures task.
Commercial Applicants
All of this goes double for you. Many of the ACS tasks read the same for Commercial as they do for Private, but you are expected to have a significantly better understanding of the entire profession. You will taxi on the center line, be courteous to other operators, be efficient, safe, and respect the equipment. You need to fly well and look good doing it. The test is more than just the sum of its parts, and if you think that is being hard, wait until you test for your ATP or CFI. Only the ATP has an eligibility requirement that you “Be of good moral character”.
FAA Order 8900.2C
This document is not as readily available as the ACS but it is public domain and available on FAA.gov. It is the policy document that directs Pilot Examiners as well as some other FAA designees. If you wonder why we do some of the things we do, its probably in there. It is less fun to read than even 14 CFR Part anything, and much of the reason why these tests seem so expensive. There is significant overhead in earning and maintaining an FAA Designation. There is nothing in there that will help you or your student pass a Practical Test. I include it in this blog to give you the opportunity to see the testing process from my perspective.
Conclusion
Please e-mail me at op@pobox.com if you have questions about an upcoming test for you or your applicant. There are some things that I can’t answer by policy, but generally speaking, the test should not be a mystery itself. It is a verification that an applicant has met a minimum standard.
