After 6 months of flying, I was ready for the check-ride. I’ve been ready since before Christmas, having completed my training on the 23rd. I scheduled my check-ride on the 28th. That day was quite interesting. I went to the flight school to check everything over with Josh and make sure I was ready. Then we called the examiner to schedule the check-ride. It was about 5pm, and Josh made the call, which was very fortunate for me as it interrupted the examiner’s dinner. He said to have me to call him later and we would get things squared away.
I talked through the paperwork and got a few pointers from some people at the flight school. I got a lot of really good information like where I will most likely be planning to fly and some advice on the examiner’s favorite consumables (coffee and doughnuts). Not that I am implying that I would try to bribe the examiner with food and beverage; it’s just helpful for making a good impression. On an interesting side note, I also met my instructor’s instructor.
I left the flight school and went across the ramp to my office where I called the examiner back. It was a little after 6pm and he was ready to take my call. We briefly exchanged pleasantries, including the fact that this was a Private Pilot check-ride and quickly moved on to the meat of the scheduling. I was looking at the weather for the next week or two, it was going to be hit or miss just about any day I picked. I asked if it was possible to do it on the 1st of the year. I didn’t expect it to work out, but I was hopeful. I wouldn’t have to take a day off work, and it would be a great way to start off the year. He said it was a possibility, but that it might be rescheduled due to weather. I inquired about his weight and to where he would like me to plan a flight. He gave me those details and I set off to plan the flight and fill out the paperwork.
I was planning the flight to Murfreesboro, KMBT. It was an easy enough flight to plan considering I had already done a flight out that way. I even managed to include a little VOR navigation since the Hinch Mountain VOR is along the way. Even though it has been out of service a lot, I felt it couldn’t hurt to include it. I did all the requisite calculations since the examiner had given me mock weather. I also planned on waiting until the night before to check the real weather and do real calculations.
In the mean time, I did the paperwork and hammered at the little oral exam prep book I had purchased. By Wednesday, I had filled out the IACRA paper work about four times; it is a good idea in theory, but leaves a little to be desired in practice. After ironing out all the details, I was ready to go. Unfortunately, I hadn’t considered that the flight school would close on New Years Day which led to a bit of a shock when I got the email about the closure. I immediately called to make sure I was still good to go. As it turns out, the examiner has a key so it wasn’t a problem (though it almost became one, more on this later).
I studied like crazy for the days running up to the check-ride. I read everything I could find about check-rides on the internet. I studied every little scrap of paper from my training. I carried all that stuff with me everywhere I went. It was pretty easy to manage with the flight bag I have, but it was still heavy. I made one concession and opted not to study the night before. The only thing I did the night before, other than sleep and be nervous, was to check the weather and finalize the flight plan. Even though the examiner had given me a fake day’s weather, I wanted to have the real weather in case we actually made the trip.
I received a call from the examiner early that morning informing me that everything looked good and that we would meet at the FBO rather than the flight school. This was no big deal, but I did inquire about whether I needed the aircraft paperwork. He said we’d get around to that in preflight, so it wasn’t necessary right away. I said I’d see him in about an hour, and I set out to find doughnuts since the coffee is already good and free at the FBO. I showed up about 20 minutes early and walked in to meet the examiner. Despite my early arrival, he had beat me. We exchanged pleasantries and he led me to the room he uses for oral exams. We made small talk while I got my stuff out. Then, once I seemed ready, he asked “Do you believe in checklists?” This made me incredibly nervous. My response slipped out, “absolutely.” An affirmative answer is the only answer worth giving. He produced the examiner checklist for the entire event and started working his way down it.
In the interest of having a cliffhanger, I will break here. Check back soon for the harrowing conclusion to our story in “Private Pilot! (Part 2).