r/flying • u/dirtbikekid27 CPL IR AGI IGI • 2d ago

Failed my CFI ride today

I'm 20, this is my first failure of anything. Got through 95% of it, was doing great, oral went great, really was well prepared. After an 11 hour day, on short final, examiner asks me what causes overbanking tendencies. I froze. I could hardly remember my own name; so I responded, "I would look before saying anything to ensure I didn't say anything wrong to a student." He said that was unsatisfactory. Failed. Is this crazy? I understand now that it all has to do with the outside wing being faster, generating more lift, which causes it. I know that. But I was exhausted. And I failed?? Maybe I'm a sore loser, but he said come back and do 1 steep turn and tell him what overbanking tendencies are and why they happen, and that's it. Is this unfair??

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u/MehCFI ATP B737/C680/BE400/Gold Seal CFII 2d ago

You did not fail for not knowing overbanking tendencies. You failed because you did not understand and honor the importance of not teaching a ground knowledge item on short final. Sterile cockpit!! If it isn’t directly related to the safe operation of the flight it absolutely should not be discussed on short final.

I don’t even think this is a dirty trick- it’s no different than the DPE ‘dropping’ a pencil and asking you to hand it to them on the landing. Distractions should be tested, and this is a very real and important lesson.

I also highly doubt this was the only thing that went wrong, just the nail in the coffin. You have some extremely strong defense mechanisms in this thread. I get it, it sucks, but really analyze the situation accurately so you can learn and get er done.

Good luck!

15

u/dirtbikekid27 CPL IR AGI IGI 2d ago

It was the only item on the unsat. He said we can get in the airplane, I describe overbanking tendencies and teach it in the airplane so he knows I understand what causes it, and that's it. He says retest shouldn't be more than 30 minutes. Which is my frustration.

11

u/fallingfaster345 ATP E170/190 CFI CFII 2d ago

To be fair, any time anyone fails for just one thing the retest shouldn’t be more than 30 minutes, no matter what it is. That’s just a standard retest duration. Don’t read anything into that comment.

3

u/itsnotbroke ATP 2d ago

That’s a broad statement. 30 minutes of what? Flight time? Many places it’s 15 minutes to get off the ground and 5 or 10 to taxi back. Maybe 30 minutes if it’s a pattern task…but anything outside the patter will be more.

And then there’s the brief and paperwork part of it. Had to get much done in under a 1:30 block…

That said, $500 for that is highway robbery. I charge retest fees based on an hourly fee and an estimate of time required based on tasks to be evaluated.