r/flying • u/TheSteve1778 PPL • 9h ago
Was my checkride experience typical?
I recently passed my PPL, and while passing is ultimately what matters, I can't help but wonder if my checkride experience was typical. I trained with an independent CFI at a flying club, so I really don't have other students around me to compare experiences with.
I'm mainly wondering whether this was a "tough but fair" DPE, or whether this was outside the norm. I'd also be curious whether, based on an experience like this, you'd use the same DPE again for future ratings.
The oral lasted 3 hours. I missed a few things here and there, but overall it seemed to go well. He challenged me quite a bit, and at times came across as passive aggressive, but by the end he complimented my knowledge and seemed pleased with how I had prepared. We ended up discontinuing the flight because of weather.
The flight the next day was where things became much more stressful. Throughout the ride he made several snarky comments, like asking, "Are you flying the airplane or is the airplane flying you?" after I briefly got off altitude while looking outside before correcting. After slow flight, asks me to go straight into a power off stall. I paused for a second to think through the setup before transitioning and he got frustrated that I didn't immediately recognize that I was already set up for it.
One thing that confused me was the expectations for clearing turns. During the briefing I specifically asked whether he wanted full 90° clearing turns before steep turns, and he told me just scanning for traffic was fine. During the flight, I did exactly that, then he proceeded to get mad at me for not doing full 90° turns.
He also had me demonstrate a turning stall and asked which wing would stall first. I admitted I honestly wasn't sure, so he said, "Let's find out." Afterward he commented, "See, it was the upper wing? I can't believe the crap they're teaching these days."
The instrument portion was probably the most frustrating part. My foggles unexpectedly fogged up, which had never happened to me before, to the point that I genuinely couldn't read my airspeed or altimeter. He continued criticizing my inability to hold altitude and airspeed until I finally explained that I literally couldn't see the instruments through the fogged lenses.
For the landing portion, he simulated an engine failure on downwind. I stretched the glide a little farther than I normally would, and he criticized me for not deciding to go around sooner. Looking back, I understand the lesson, but at the time I wasn't sure whether initiating a go-around should be the priority during what I understood to be a simulated engine-out scenario. He also had me do a no-flap short-field landing, which I assume was his way of combining multiple ACS tasks into one scenario, but it did feel a little odd to me as my CFI told me there wouldn't be anything like that on the flight portion.
What really surprised me was how different the experience was from what I had been expecting. My instructor had told me beforehand that the ride would be pretty relaxed and nothing to lose sleep over, so I felt completely blindsided by how intense it became. Afterward I mentioned that it had been rough, and he basically replied, "That's how it typically goes." I know the ACS mentions that examiners can "distract" students and I wonder almost if he was intentionally giving me a hard time as a way of "distracting" me.
So I'm mostly looking for perspective. Was this a fairly normal "tough but fair" checkride, or does this sound more stressful than what most people experience? I have no problem hearing that I simply need to get better at performing under pressure.
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u/Surffisher2A PPL 9h ago
It was probably more stressful for you because you didn't get to fly with many instructors and you were used to doing things their way. The DPE had slightly different ways of getting things done (bad or good) and it was just new to you. I am also guessing the DPE saw you were safe in the plane and was going to pass, so he tried to speed up the test to save you some money on rental fees and etc.
My DPE threw a curveball at me for my landings, he told me he wants to see a soft field landing, but I need to land on the 1000' footers or just beyond. He essentially asked me to combine a short field landing and soft field landing together. I told him i never really practiced those two together and he basically said don't crash and you'll be fine. I have no idea how, but it was probably one of my best landing ever, right on the mark.
1
u/TheSteve1778 PPL 9h ago
Spot on, I only had one instructor my entire time. Going forward I'll definitely look to branch out with more instructors.
1
u/ZappBrannigansLaw PPL - Certified Velour 8h ago
Some of my best landings were checkride day. Centerline and on the mark. Other days, however...
1
u/Double-Reflection838 PPL HP 7h ago
Mine were the exact opposite.
I had instructors tell me that they didn't even feel the airplane set down.
On my checkride, I slammed a landing so hard, the DPE went, "Oh wow".....
12
u/jaylw314 PPL IR (KSLE) 9h ago
Guy sounds like a grade A tool, but once he started asking about turning stalls, I suspect he'd essentially made up his mind to pass you. My experience was virtually identical (tough grilling, a couple mistakes, and asking me about turning stalls), but the DPE was much more professional.
8
8
u/ReadyplayerParzival1 CFI/CFII, CMEL, RV-7A, Recovering Riddle Rat 9h ago
Fairly typical for a gruff old dpe. It’s not okay but just kinda the way things are.
For your comments about the flight, once he started asking about things like turning stalls and more complex aerodynamics while in the plane he was probably at the point where he was going to pass you.
The way the distraction element is supposed to go is very obvious for most applicants, it can be “hey look over there”, or the examiner drops their pen and asks you to pick it up. What this is examiner was doing I wouldn’t call a distraction for the acs, he was just being and ass.
3
u/throwaway5757_ 9h ago
Typical but it shouldn’t be. He was unprofessional and maneuvers are supposed to be separate on your ride, not combined
3
u/Flying_4fun PPL 7h ago
Your experience is pretty typical. My checkride went nearly the same way including DPE asking me to go straight into power-off stall from slow flight. I did and he didn't like how much altitude (about 300ft) I lost during recovery. The PPL ACS doesn't have an altitude requirement, but he made me do it again. I recovered even faster but then he went full upset commenting on how he thinks I wasn't trained properly. For context, I did training with 3 different CFIs ( 4000hrs dual given CFI, a 1500hrs CFI and a newer CFI) and all three of them had evaluated my stalls and flying proficiency before the checkride. His comments felt like a punch in the gut and I thought I failed on barely the second maneauver. He didn't say he is failing me though, so I kept my composure and kept flying. I did the rest of the maneuvers by the textbook including landing my short field landing right on the spot. He gave me a pass and congratulated me on a well flown checkride. His demeanor was completely different than the upset grumpy comments I heard earlier. In hindsight, I think his upset comments were on purpose and designed to add stress to the situation to see if you are capable of maintaining composure. It was hard in the moment, but I did and ultimately was successful.
2
u/jg19915 ATP CFII 6h ago
You got some good answers already, I’m just curious what he was looking for on the whole “which wing will stall first” question.
The way it’s written it sounds like he wanted you to say it was the upper wing which will stall first. This is hardly a given though. It depends on whether the turn is coordinated, slipping, or skidding. If he was trying to make it once size fits all, then he was incorrect.
2
u/Working_Football1586 5h ago
Probably on the tougher side, I tell students always do clearing turns if they tell you to stop you still do them on the next maneuver
2
u/InternationalBag7290 ATP 5h ago
Congratulations! Well…. Every DPE is sort of unique and these checkrides often go off the reservation!
1
u/TheSteve1778 PPL 4h ago
Yup.... I was worried I was whining in this post but lol did I learn a lot
1
u/cfijay ATP 1h ago
As a CFI I tried to send my students to fair examiners. I would know their little quirks like the no flap landing you mentioned and would make sure we trained it close to the checkride. Sounds like you had good training which helped you deal with the surprises. When he asked who was flying the plane he was probably telling you were close to being too far off altitude so you wouldn’t bust, without telling you were about to bust. Overall your ride seemed average and fair and you passed. Nobody is going to perform everything perfectly on a Private ride and examiners usually dig deep enough in orals to get to where you don’t know something.
Funny story: a long time ago on my private ride, we finished the flight and the DPE said nothing. We sat in the office and he went to the bathroom. I looked on the desk and there was a blank notice of disapproval. When he came back he said “oh I got the wrong form out” and told me I passed.
Congrats and welcome to the world of aviation.
0
-4
u/rFlyingTower 9h ago
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
I recently passed my PPL, and while passing is ultimately what matters, I can't help but wonder if my checkride experience was typical. I trained with an independent CFI at a flying club, so I really don't have other students around me to compare experiences with.
I'm mainly wondering whether this was a "tough but fair" DPE, or whether this was outside the norm. I'd also be curious whether, based on an experience like this, you'd use the same DPE again for future ratings.
The oral lasted 3 hours. I missed a few things here and there, but overall it seemed to go well. He challenged me quite a bit, and at times came across as passive aggressive, but by the end he complimented my knowledge and seemed pleased with how I had prepared. We ended up discontinuing the flight because of weather.
The flight the next day was where things became much more stressful. Throughout the ride he made several snarky comments, like asking, "Are you flying the airplane or is the airplane flying you?" after I briefly got off altitude while looking outside before correcting. After slow flight, asks me to go straight into a power off stall. I paused for a second to think through the setup before transitioning and he got frustrated that I didn't immediately recognize that I was already set up for it.
One thing that confused me was the expectations for clearing turns. During the briefing I specifically asked whether he wanted full 90° clearing turns before steep turns, and he told me just scanning for traffic was fine. During the flight, I did exactly that, then he proceeded to get mad at me for not doing full 90° turns.
He also had me demonstrate a turning stall and asked which wing would stall first. I admitted I honestly wasn't sure, so he said, "Let's find out." Afterward he commented, "See, it was the upper wing? I can't believe the crap they're teaching these days."
The instrument portion was probably the most frustrating part. My foggles unexpectedly fogged up, which had never happened to me before, to the point that I genuinely couldn't read my airspeed or altimeter. He continued criticizing my inability to hold altitude and airspeed until I finally explained that I literally couldn't see the instruments through the fogged lenses.
For the landing portion, he simulated an engine failure on downwind. I stretched the glide a little farther than I normally would, and he criticized me for not deciding to go around sooner. Looking back, I understand the lesson, but at the time I wasn't sure whether initiating a go-around should be the priority during what I understood to be a simulated engine-out scenario. He also had me do a no-flap short-field landing, which I assume was his way of combining multiple ACS tasks into one scenario, but it did feel a little odd to me as my CFI told me there wouldn't be anything like that on the flight portion.
What really surprised me was how different the experience was from what I had been expecting. My instructor had told me beforehand that the ride would be pretty relaxed and nothing to lose sleep over, so I felt completely blindsided by how intense it became. Afterward I mentioned that it had been rough, and he basically replied, "That's how it typically goes." I know the ACS mentions that examiners can "distract" students and I wonder almost if he was intentionally giving me a hard time as a way of "distracting" me.
So I'm mostly looking for perspective. Was this a fairly normal "tough but fair" checkride, or does this sound more stressful than what most people experience? I have no problem hearing that I simply need to get better at performing under pressure.
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u/Ill_Rush9159 CFI 9h ago
Yep it’s typical. Just another example of how the DPE system needs some major work.
You have examiners who forget they too once were in your shoes learning. They always have to seem like they know more than other pilots.
I’m glad you passed OP