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Took my checkride today....


GravityKnight

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... and now I can sleep again at night!! :D

 

3rd time scheduling it... had to cancel a few times due to weather, and then my examiner's plane breaking down several states away.. today we finally got a chance to get together..

 

The oral was easier than expected. I had to look up 1 question. I was worried about this part of the test, ended up being a fun time talking about flying/airplanes/regs etc. Everything he asked was in the material I had covered (I used the Sport Pilot Checkride prep book that Paul Hamilton put out.. very thorough). Except the one question about how I knew a particular airport had fueling services by looking at the sectional (I had referred to the AF/D to check as a possible fuel stop on my cross country planning). I had to look it up, I didn't remember the little square dealies poking out on 3 sides.

 

Flying.. my first takeoff was not real swell. I was nervous and just plain behind the airplane. About 5 minutes into the flight my nerves calmed and I was back in real control and from that point on it was fine. Not my best flying by any means, but not bad either and within standards etc.

 

I took my ride with Drew Chitiea out of Englewood, CO. If anyone ever gets the chance to even meet Drew, please take the opportunity. Drew is a heck of a nice guy, made the testing environment about as comfortable as one could, and was 100% fair. He is also nearly a legend in aviation, over 14,000 hours of flying, experience flying over 180 aircraft, military service, war stories that are the real deal (shot down in a helicopter twice)... and a pretty darn good story about loosing 2 of 3 blades in a LSA during a checkride about a year ago. I read about this online and asked him to tell the story, it was pretty good! I don't remember what kind of LSA, it was a brand I'm not familiar with... but it made for a good story, some first hand experience that IMO was worth a lot to hear about, and how the situation was handled.

 

Anyway... it's pretty exciting, and a relief at the same time. I now have my ticket to.... keep on learning :)

 

Todd

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Congrats! You knew you were a pilot before the exam - it is nice when it becomes official though, Isn't it?

 

I was supposed to do my checkride with a person I knew at the flight school until I figured out that to be legal in the schools Skycatcher we would have had to fly with 6 gal. of fuel. He sent me to a lighter examiner. It went well. The biggest pain was that I had already done a cross country plan for the local guy, then I had to do one to the town the other examiner was in - for my own instructor- and another for the examiner that finally gave me my checkride.

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Thank you guys!!! feels great!

 

 

 

Congrats! You knew you were a pilot before the exam - it is nice when it becomes official though, Isn't it?

 

I was supposed to do my checkride with a person I knew at the flight school until I figured out that to be legal in the schools Skycatcher we would have had to fly with 6 gal. of fuel. He sent me to a lighter examiner. It went well. The biggest pain was that I had already done a cross country plan for the local guy, then I had to do one to the town the other examiner was in - for my own instructor- and another for the examiner that finally gave me my checkride.

 

Definitely!!

 

And I understand what you are talking about. I re-worked my nav log 3 times to update forecasted winds (same route at least though).

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Congratulations! The tendency after taking your checkride and passing athe exams is to slowly forget what you have learned about FAA airspace and the more technical aspects of being a pilot. That is when complacency can set in and affect your judgement in a negative way. Your comment about learning is a really good one and refects a great attitude. If we all would just remember that we should act as the professionals our license attests to we could make general aviation much safer and far more respected by the FAA and the airline industry. Well done and safe flying.

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Congratulations! The tendency after taking your checkride and passing athe exams is to slowly forget what you have learned about FAA airspace and the more technical aspects of being a pilot. That is when complacency can set in and affect your judgement in a negative way. Your comment about learning is a really good one and refects a great attitude. If we all would just remember that we should act as the professionals our license attests to we could make general aviation much safer and far more respected by the FAA and the airline industry. Well done and safe flying.

 

Thank you! and I agree.. to the outside world, I get to be that "bada$$" if you will (sorry...not trying to sound cocky, but you have to live it up a little :) ) but on the inside, I know that I know very little in the scheme of all things flying. And could continue to learn and improve from now on... period. Money is of course always the issue, but I hope to fly as often as possible for the fun of course, but more importantly to stay sharp. I'm going to take my Dad up first.. he is a pilot (who has handled a plane more than once in an engine out situation), though he hasn't flown in 15 years he would still be a huge asset in the cockpit if something went wrong. I'd like to get a few more hours under my belt before I start handing out rides. I'm confident in my abilities, but I'm not looking to become a statistic and take someone who is in a helpless situation down with me.

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If you can cadge a ride with someone in a higher performance single or even better yet a twin, in some junky weather, going into a busy airport at the high volume time of day it may be a real eye opener. It's not quite the same as listening to Liveatc. :)

My point is that it is very easy for us all to become insular and gradually assume that everyone flies pretty much like we do - oh, not really, but - that is the only part we relate viscerally to. Sometimes a trip in the other guy's right seat gives one a better appreciation for "why did he...." or "why didn't he..." and that means better safety, I think, as we don't make presumptions.

Have you ever followed a vehicle down the street and based on some fairly subtle driving cues remarked to your passenger, "that sucker is going to turn right in front of me" to have your projection borne out? It's that kind of broader perspective that can keep our eyes open to how other will act in "our" air space and gives us a little better appreciation for possibilities up there.

Always stay ahead of your airplane.

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Another good thing to keep sharp is to try every couple of flights to challenge yourself just a little bit. Nothing crazy, just do a landing or touch-and-go at an airport you've never been to, practice a maneuver you might have never done much in training...just something to build experience and confidence in a safe way while expanding your comfort zone a tiny bit at a time.

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Congratulations!

 

What you have is a license to learn. Passing your check ride is, hopefully, the first step in a long aviation journey. Try and be mindful of opinions and conjecture that is not backed up by hard facts. Stretch yourself. Don't be afraid to be wrong. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Seek out the best in thier craft and ask questions of them.

 

Welcome to the family!

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