Advice for PPL oral?

[gator4798]

I have my PPL checkride in two weeks and wanted to know if any of you had good advice beyonde: Be calm, Know where to find things you dont know, Dont BS..

Also if anyone flew a checkride with Lori Latimer of San Jose I would be extremely grateful for any info you have!

Thanks in advance....Ps the checkride is the 14 so I'll let you all know how it goes then!

[christina3hunt]

Go through the PTS and examine all of the TASK's. Also look in the beginning of the FAR/AIM, there is a page that lists private, instrument, commercial, etc and it tells you everything in the FAR/AIM that is applicable to that rating. Go through every single one of these read, highlight, and tab them. When the examiner sees all of the tabs and highlights he will know you have read the FAR's and this is a good thing. Also- go through the flight step by step and chair fly the entire thing From the takeoff (remembering to start your time), your after takeoff checks, all of your maneuvers (remembering set ups and common mistakes). Also if you can what is a very good thing is to fly the beginning part of your cross country with your instructor before you fly with the examiner. This will make you much more confident with this part of the checkride when you are with the examiner.

Get good sleep, eat a good breakfast, and go in feeling positive!

[mojo6911]

Know the sectional chart symbols, in addition to the things christina3hunt mentioned.

[w5cdt]

Know day VFR required equipment, night VFR required equipment, read up on MEL's (minimum equipment list), and know what the -R means in your POH equipment list. These three items are related but sometimes confused. Make sure you know all of the special use airspaces. Know all of the physiology stuff, scuba diving wait times, and inspection schedules E.A.T.S. Do your weight and balance chart, take-off and landing charts, and TOC (top of climb) calculation for fuel, time, and distance.

I'm sure there's more but this is a start.

[will_fly_for_bandwith]

The check ride is a practical exam.

My DPE drew an X on the chart and said "it is 1000' overcast, 2 miles in rain you are at 800'.. are you legal" (I cant recall the exact numbers but you get my point). The answer was Yes.. I am in Class G. He then pointed to an airport with class E at the surface.. "can you get in here ?" Yes.. with SVFR.. He then asked me how i would get such a clearence.

Have someone ask you questions from the Oral guide, answer them outloud (this helps)
Also pick your weaker areas and try and teach someone the topic.

Good luck... its not that bad.

[aviatorrbt]

Everything above. But on a more personal level, try and make some jokes with the DPE. Talk to him about flying or something off topic before you start the actual exam. This will relax you and you will do so much better. (as long as he/she is not really mean). But honestly, it helps so much.

Good luck.

P.S. Don't EVER forget the emergency freq. I did for a split second, even though I really did know it. But my DPE ate me up after that. He knew I was nervous and still passed me.

[Pietrantonio]

I'll have to second the whole "teach someone" the material. Not that my Fiance cares to really hear about it all the time she still listens, and it allows me to find my weak spots, even in answers I thought I knew. When going through the PTS, use that as a study guide. Example, when you get to the emergencies section...take the time to review emergency procedures, etc.

I guess the biggest issues to take into consideration besides knowing the regs and everything, is to make proper use of the checklists, and just use common sense (ADM). Lastly, just relax. It's the first checkride, so the tension is always there, but just try to relax and everything will be fine.

Best of luck. Make sure to post your result.

[will_fly_for_bandwith]

Forgot to post this



Google video of a private oral exam. Dont know if it for real but is is worth the hour to listen in.



(http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...al+examination)

[will_fly_for_bandwith]

Video not working... click the link

[Nihon_Ni]

Just remember that the oral & check ride are pass/fail. You may struggle with a question/maneuver, but you have to realize that once you've answered the question/performed the maneuver, it's time to move on to the next item. You can't go back and fix something you did poorly, so just focus on the next item. In the unlikely event that you have substandard performance, the DPE is required to tell you immediately the moment you fail the test. Unless he tells you that you have failed, you are passing. It may not be the best you can do, but it was good enough, so forget about it and move on to the next item.

The other thing to realize about the oral is that you will get questions you can't answer. He will be looking to see how you deal with things that you don't know. It's important to know where to find answers, because that's the most likely scenario you'll run into as a certificated pilot.

Others have mentioned attitude above, and I think it's worth repeating. You should have the mindset that you are going to show the DPE how good you are. Tell yourself, "He had better be wired for sound if he's going to really test me!" Have your game face on and realize the DPE's job is to make sure you can safely pilot yourself, your friends, and your family out of dangerous situations. If you're not up to the task, it's his job to find out what your deficiencies are and make sure you get the extra training you need to be safe. You really do want him to test you so that on some dark and scary night you'll know that you can do it! I remember making my second approach on my instrument check ride, and I realized I could see the runway out of the corner of my hood. For a second I thought about just looking at the runway and flying to it, but then I decided that if I couldn’t do it by looking at my instruments that I didn’t want my instrument rating. I had no business being inside of a cloud if I couldn’t do it without cheating.

Passing the PPL check ride is a wonderful challenge and you will be a confident pilot once you've passed it.

Blue skies,
Rob

[fly4food84]

Study the ASA Oral Study Guide and be prepared and remember it's ok to be nervous.