Took my checkride.....
Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2013 8:27 pm
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 posted in this section... since I used the Sport Pilot Checkride prep book that Paul Hamilton put out.. very thorough, would recommend 100%). 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. No bid deal....
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
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 posted in this section... since I used the Sport Pilot Checkride prep book that Paul Hamilton put out.. very thorough, would recommend 100%). 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. No bid deal....
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
