Sport Pilot Talk

I'm due to complete my 2 hours of Solo cross country beginning next week, and then it's all about preparing for the oral and checkride, given that during the course we study an enormous amount of information, rules, guidelines, and procedures etc. what is the best and quickest way to prepare for the checkride? any personal experiences shared would be very appreciated. also anyone used a DPE in NJ area named J.A.?
Thank you

Make sure you know all the material and can do all the maneuvers within the limits specified. Other than that, demonstrate confidence and at all times being in control of the aircraft with safety being paramount.

As I recall pretty much know the basics. He asked under what conditions you can fly. Know your aircraft and personal limitations. He did ask some basic weather questions. Know the I'm Safe checklist. When he gets in the plane treat him just like a passenger. Tell him how to buckle up, how to get out if there were an emergency(of course my plane is experimental so I had to give him the it's an experimental plane passenger "warning"). On the flying part he had me start out on the planned x-country then he asked me to deviate. I had to turn off my GPS and navigate to where he wanted me to go using the sectional including being able to figure out the direction and distance. When doing maneuvers don't forget your clearing turns. He had me do stalls, turns about a point, soft and short field landings and takeoffs. Also had me simulate an engine out. Basically all the stuff you've been doing.

Thank you for this information, in regards to Know your aircraft and personal limitations, what do you mean by that, in what aspect of knowing my aircraft? also re weather, what type of questions? Also how does it work, when the examiner asks you to deviate to a different airport, is it the alternative airport you prepared in advance? also how much time do you have to recalculate the TC, TH MH and all the information to get to the alternative airport, while in air and continuing to fly the plane, for me thinking about that point, seems the most stressful

The examiner I use will have you start out on a cross country. The cross country is done without the use of a GPS. By your second checkpoint he expects you to be able to give him a ETA to your destination based on your ground speed. He will then pick a point and have you fly there by any means possible. You can follow a road, rail road tracks, power lines, or what ever landmarks you have available. The point might be an airport, but it could just as well be any landmark on the map. Then it is upper air work, ground refence maneuvers, and back to the airport for the remaining take offs and landings.

Know the limitations legal, airplane, and personal. For example the legal requirement for fuel is what's required plus 30, Your personal might be 45 to 60 minutes. What is the maximum crosswind component? Would you fly with the maximum crosswind? Show good personal judgement. Just because there is a limit doesn't mean you have you have to go to the limit.

Thank you so much for all this information, what is maximum crosswind component? i don't remember ever hearing about this

I just passed one a few months back ....basically, in my case the oral portion was based on all sorts of scenarios. We spent some time over Chicago sectional where he had my explain how to navigate to various airports , usually involving B,C and D class airspaces, MOS.
Questions about W&B , how it affects handling , nose-heavy vs tail-heavy etc .... not much different than the written exam except mostly based around real life scenarios.

On the practical portion, it was a 10 minutes cross country flight using GPS ( he basically told me to fly the way I would normally fly ) followed by ground maneuvers , various stalls and then a lot of time spent simulating emergencies .. all the way to the ground (300 agl or so )
We finished by going back to the airport and doing bunch of landings , which happened to be probably some of my best landings , and that was it .

Overall about 2 hours and 30 minutes ...

When flying cross country, you should always know where you are. You should be able to see that with your GPS display, but should also verify with visual landmarks. Knowing where you are and how long it took to get there, you should be able to calculate your ground speed, as well as see it on your GPS. Knowing your ground speed, you should compare that to your planned ground speed and be able to calculate a revised ETA and any impact on fuel consumption.

At some point, he may give you a new destination. With or without the use of your GPS, you should be able to turn toward your new destination and go there. While headed toward your new destination, be able to verify your new heading, distance, and ETA to the new destination and verify that you have enough fuel to get there with 30 minutes of reserve or more.

These are things you need to be able to do, not just to pass a flight test, but to be a pilot.

B747 wrote:Thank you for this information, in regards to Know your aircraft and personal limitations, what do you mean by that, in what aspect of knowing my aircraft? also re weather, what type of questions? Also how does it work, when the examiner asks you to deviate to a different airport, is it the alternative airport you prepared in advance? also how much time do you have to recalculate the TC, TH MH and all the information to get to the alternative airport, while in air and continuing to fly the plane, for me thinking about that point, seems the most stressful

You would need to know what your planes maximum x-wind/head wind components are. Let's say your plane can handle a 15 kt x-wind but maybe you're not comfortable with that. Again when I told him you can fly in 3 mile visibility(legally) the DPE said "trust me you don't want to fly in 3 mile visibility." We did not discuss an alternate in advance(but I'm sure he had one in mind). When he asked me for heading and distance to the "alternate" I didn't whip out the plotter or E6B. I was taking my check ride on Long Island. A direct course to the "alternate" would have had me flying over the sound. So I told him I would fly along the North shore up to a particular point(gave him the landmark off the sectional) then cross over to minimize my time over open water. The "alternate" happened to be close to where I had flown for my x-country and since I remembered the distance to there I was able to "ballpark" the distance. Of course he told me that the compass roses(or whatever they are called) on the sectional have a certain distance diameter(I don't remember what it is)and you can use that to calculate distance on the fly(so to speak). The one weather question I remember was what does it mean when the temperature and dew point are the same? Again, the DPE is not there to fail you and they are instructional as well as testing you. So as long as you have a reasonable idea of what you are doing and why, you'll be fine.

So the new standard (Doc correct me if I'm wrong your a DPE) is more scenario based. So plan on thinking on your feet and be able to interpret the laws for the scenario. They are looking for application of knowledge, not memorization. I book marked the FAR/AIM with tabs as well as the POH, shows you prepared and if you can't remember, it's easy to find. If you don't know the answer, don't B.S. No good DPE is looking to fail you, but don't expect a free ride either. If you mess up, admit it and correct the issue, also remember it's not over unless he/she says it is.

foresterpoole wrote:So the new standard (Doc correct me if I'm wrong your a DPE) is more scenario based.

You're entirely correct.

Thank you all for this valuable input. Another question i would like to get clarity on, during my training i never used or owned the FAR/Aim, i used the Kings school course as well the sportys knowledge course also the FAA pilot's handbook of aeronautical knowledge.
Now reading all kind of checkride reports, many of the student's are mentioning that they bought along the Far/aim and marked all pages they might be asked on. To pass my oral exam do i need to know the book, do i need to bring it along to checkride?
Thank you

B747 wrote:Thank you all for this valuable input. Another question i would like to get clarity on, during my training i never used or owned the FAR/Aim, i used the Kings school course as well the sportys knowledge course also the FAA pilot's handbook of aeronautical knowledge.
Now reading all kind of checkride reports, many of the student's are mentioning that they bought along the Far/aim and marked all pages they might be asked on. To pass my oral exam do i need to know the book, do i need to bring it along to checkride?
Thank you

I would know it and bring it.

It is a pretty big book ...
I brought the iBook version on my iPad and frankly I only refered to part 91 once on my checkride -most of other parts are not applicable anyway.
Just have a general orientation which parts contain what rules .. if I had to memorize that whole thing , that would surely kill any and all joy of flying.

Warmi wrote:It is a pretty big book ...
I brought the iBook version on my iPad and frankly I only refered to part 91 once on my checkride -most of other parts are not applicable anyway.
Just have a general orientation which parts contain what rules .. if I had to memorize that whole thing , that would surely kill any and all joy of flying.

That's not correct. SOME is not pertinent, such as IFR procedures, etc. A large amount of it is important information all pilots should be familiar with.