by Joseph Standley | Oct 18, 2012 | Student Pilots
So, you’re getting close but you’re still worried about passing your private pilot checkride.
First let’s talk about some of the fears you may have about your checkride and then we will talk about how to overcome them. Many people are just nervous about taking tests. You have to understand that this is normal. You will alway be nervous about it, even when you feel you are ready. It’s the unknown that is making you nervous. Will you remember the answers? Will the examiner be fair? Did you learn enough? Just flying with someone you’ve never flown with is enough to make you nervous on your checkride. The nervousness won’t go away but you can minimize it by making sure you are prepared.
Are you ready for your checkride?
This is a question many people have and are afraid of. Since the PTS (Practical Test Standards) is what the FAA Examiner is testing you on, then as long as you can do everything in there, you will pass. Make every page in the PTS a checklist item. Know all the limitaions of the maneuvers and make sure that you can hold those limitations. If you’re allowed 100′ then give yourself a little room and make sure you can hold it within 50′ instead. When it comes to the knowledge part, make sure you can give a “what, why and how” for every line in the PTS. When you can do those things, you will be more than ready.
What if I don’t know the answer?
This is another fear. You don’t need to know all the answers to pass your private pilot checkride. You just have to know where to find them. In real life, you’d look something up. The only difference is that you can’t look up every answer and when you do look up an answer it should be in a FAA publication. You can’t use your student pilot manual. Practice looking up answers in the FAR/AIM. Many people go right to the front of the book to search and I go to the back in the index. It’s much easier to find things back there. When searching for things, think outside the box a bit. For example, if you are looking for the visibility and cloud clearance requirement in class C airspace, don’t just look up class C. Look up any word associated with what you want to find. Be specific too. If you look up weather as a key word and don’t see it then look at all the words related to the word weather. Think of what kind of weather you are looking for. Is it VFR or IFR weather? Try looking under VFR and look under it at all the subcategories listed there. It won’t always be under the first thing you think of. If you find an answer and it references part 135, then move on because that doesn’t apply to you as a private pilot. If you know part of the answer, then give it to him and let him know that you can’t quite remember the rest and tell him you’ll find it for him. He may want you to find it or he may just move on from there.
How much do I say to the FAA Examiner?
People are afraid that they are going to say too much and say something wrong or dig themselves a hole. This can happen so be careful. The best way to present the information is to explain things in simple terms as if the examiner doesn’t know anything about flying. Pretend you are teaching him and be sure to include a “what, why and how” in your explanation. Remember to keep it simple when explaining. If he wants more detail, he will ask, otherwise it should be enough. If you include those 3 items in your explanation then your answer shouldn’t be too short nor too long.
Things you should know for sure!
Airspace and what you need to fly in the various types. Emergencies is another one. You should always know where you’re flying and what to do if something goes wrong, but in order to do that you need to know aircraft systems. To make good decisions, you should know aviation weather too. If you’re weak in any of these areas, then study!
The last tip I have is to make sure you are studying and flying right before the checkride. Don’t go two weeks without flying and then try to take your checkride. Also, make sure you get sleep and eat well and if you’re not comfortable with the weather, then reschedule. I hope this helps!
by Joseph Standley | Oct 12, 2012 | Student Pilots
This is what the S-Turn should look like. Notice how the wind is at the tail when you enter. Many people say it doesn’t matter because it doesn’t say it in the PTS. Entering with a tailwind is the proper way and it does say it in FAA publications. Why does it matter? There are a couple of reasons, one is that this maneuver is helping you with the skills you need for landing setup. When you come into the pattern you enter with a tailwind. The second is explained next.
You should enter with a tailwind and this is why; when you do your ground reference maneuvers, you want to plan them to not exceed 45° of bank. The distance from the road should be pretty tight, usually around 1/2 mile or less. Let’s assume that the winds were really strong and you entered the maneuver into the wind.
Turning required very little bank because the wind was pushing you back. By the time you get half way through the turn 1/2 mile from the road, you may only be in a 25° bank turn. As you turn toward the road for the second half of the maneuver, the wind is at your tail pushing you fast. You now begin the second half of the turn attempting to make it match the first half which was 1/2 mile from the road.
This is where the problem comes in. You’ve reached 45° of bank attempting to keep the same distance as the other side but the wind is pushing too hard. You have to exceed 45° of bank or increase the distance from the road. One will give you a bank that is too steep and the other will not give you equal semi circles and you will find out about it only when it’s too late.
If you entered with the tailwind first and attempted the 1/2 mile distance, you would see that holding 1/2 mile wouldn’t be possible with the current wind. You’d stop your bank at 45° and whatever the distance ended up being, you’d easily be able to do the same on the other side of the road because you’d then be going into the wind.
Another tip I have is for judging distance from the road. If you’re having a hard time maintaining equal distance on each side of the road while practicing S-Turns then use the section lines in the fields if you’re from an area that has them! They are nice and straight and easy to see and can help you judge your distance at a glance. Those who are from areas that don’t have them, sorry, you will have to use your best judgement.
Below is another picture from my ground reference maneuvers e-book that I’ve been sitting on for awhile. I haven’t made it available yet so if you guys like it enough I will make it available.
Wings level, over the road at the start of the maneuver we are looking to the left for fields of equal size to judge our distance. Two of them will be about 1/2 mile. As long as you keep an eye on the section lines and make sure you don’t go past the one you choose or turn short of reaching it, then you will equal distances on both sides.
One last tip I have is to choose the highest altitude allowed to do your ground reference maneuvers. In the PTS it says to choose an altitude between 600′-1000′ agl. The latter is more common to what you’d see in a normal traffic pattern which will be more familiar to you and it will also give you more altitude in case of engine problems! I hope you enjoyed this!
by Joseph Standley | Oct 6, 2012 | Student Pilots
Unless you’re able to devote a lot of time to flying and studying, you will probably fall into the average time range of 60-70 hours to get your pilot license. If your average is higher than that and your instructor is not signing you off for your checkride then there is a reason. These reasons usually fall back to the basics.
One example would be holding altitude. There are many students out there that still can’t hold their altitude without losing or gaining more 100′ after over 40 hours of flying time. Instructors will remind them over and over about holding altitude but the students will continue to let it exceed allowed limits.
Not maintaining limits in airspeed, heading or bank is also a problem. Can you hold airspeed during a climb? Do you lose airspeed when you descend? Do you still struggle with radio communication or entering the pattern at unfamiliar airports? Lack of knowledge in areas that you should know without looking up, such as; Airspace, Emergencies, Basic Problem solving or Weather are problem areas too. You need to study these to the point of knowing it all without help. You need to know the limits in the practical test standards so when you fly, you practice holding those limits.
How many times do you have to be reminded to use right rudder or use your checklist before it finally sticks? Many of these things can only be fixed by you. If you have a problem losing altitude every time you get onto the 45° entry or on downwind and you know it, then do something about it. Make it a priority to control your altitude! When you’re out soloing, then pay extra attention to your altitude if you know it’s a problem. Make every flight count. If you’re off by only 20′, then correct it right away because if you don’t, then chances are pretty high that you’ll be twice as far off the next time you look at it. Before you know it, you will be off more than 100′.
Many people lose altitude on downwind when they slow down to land. When they take power out to slow down, they lose altitude because they don’t do anything to compensate for it. Think back to your slow flight maneuvers and how you stopped losing altitude as you slowed down. Any power reduction will need additional lift to hold altitude and your pitch must be increased. When you put in flaps, you get lift. Lift makes you go up. If you know this much, then anticipate that you will go up when you are putting in flaps to land and push forward slightly to prevent the plane from going up when putting them in. Don’t let it balloon up 50′ and then correct for it.
Some people end up high or fast on final because they powered back to descend too late. If you know you are supposed to power back at a certain point and you don’t, you will be behind the plane. Do you know where to power back? If you do, then why aren’t you doing it? This is another thing that only you can fix. Remember when to do it, and then do it. If you are busy and miss the point you should have powered back, then compensate for it. Power back more than you usually do until the plane is back where it should be.
At some point you have to say to yourself, I AM THE PILOT! I am going to do this without anyone reminding me of what to do. I know what to do because I’ve done it 100 times before. I’ve heard my instructor a million times saying the same thing and there’s no reason I can’t remember it by now.
When I was learning, my big thing was holding altitude. I got so frustrated that I was repeating the same mistake that I finally made it my number one priority and goal for that flight to hold it within limits and figure out exactly what I needed to do to make sure it was never a problem again. I nailed it on that lesson, figured out exactly how to correct, and where to position my nose in relation to the horizon to fix the problem. I corrected when it was only 10′ off instead of being happy leaving it where it was.
It all comes down to making your weak areas a priority and studying, asking questions to clarify and fixing it once and for all. Flying is a lot of hard work and many drop out when they get frustrated. Don’t give up. Pay attention to your weak areas and do everything in your power to fix them right away so you don’t waste money and time. The sooner you fix the problem, the easier it will be.
by Joseph Standley | Sep 24, 2012 | All Pilots
So, now that you’re learning to fly, you will eventually need to know about FBO’s. Chances are, you already know what they are but just in case you don’t, it stands for “fixed base operator”. This is the place at the airport you fly into that supplies your fuel. As you will soon see, they are so much more than that.
When choosing a destination airport it is better to choose one that has an FBO. While looking through the airport facility directory and checking out your airport destination information, check out to see if there’s an FBO on the field. They usually put a phone number and hours in there. Check to see what their fuel prices are, their hours, any fees, etc. You want as much information as you can to decide if what they have will meet your needs.
I would prefer an FBO to be open when I arrive. I would want fuel, a place to tie down the plane or even hangar it, if I plan on staying for awhile to make sure it starts good and keeps the snow or frost off the wings. Most nicer fixed base operators have bathrooms, vending machines, flight planning rooms to check the weather for your flights and complimentary coffee, etc. They also have pilot lounges or sleeping rooms and showers in case you need to rest for awhile or clean up. If you buy fuel, most will not charge you to leave your plane there for the day or overnight unless you want it in a hangar.
When you get there, they can even call a cab for you. You can plan for the cab in advance by calling them ahead on the radio too. If you’re staying overnight, most hotels will send a shuttle to the airport to get you for no charge, but you should tip them. If you are just stopping for fuel and possibly to grab something to eat then FBO’s usually have a courtesy car they will lend you to run into town for an hour or so to get something to eat. They don’t charge for the use of the cars but some expect you to replace whatever gas you use. You are treated much better at a local FBO than you would be at an airline.
If there are several fixed base operators on the field, then compare fuel prices and tie down fees to see which you want to use. They are usually very helpful to any pilots that fly in. When it’s time to leave, if your plane is in a hangar, you can call ahead and they will pull it out for you and have it ready when you want it. If it’s been sitting on the ramp overnight and has snow or frost on it, you can call them a couple of hours before and ask them to put it in a hangar for awhile to melt off the frost and warm it up. Some won’t charge for this and some will charge a small fee. So, do your homework and it will make your traveling much more enjoyable!
by Joseph Standley | Sep 3, 2012 | All Pilots
As a pilot, you have a unique view of the world that many people don’t get to experience in their lives. Those unique views can turn into a deadly MID AIR COLLISION if you’re not careful. Things you see on the ground, such as smoke can distract you. Where there is smoke, there is fire and seeing it from the air would tempt any pilot to check it out.
You have an airplane, and can fly straight to the smoke at over 120mph. No roadblocks or traffic, just a great unobstructed view! I saw this fire on my way back to the airport and had to check it out!
It’s cool to be able to see things like this from the air but they can turn into a mid air collision real fast if you don’t keep your eyes open. Just as it can be tempting for you to fly to the smoke to check it out, other pilots are probably doing the same thing. As I was turning right around this fire, I saw another plane on the opposite side turning left around the fire.
If we were at the same altitude and I hadn’t noticed him, we could have had a mid air collision, causing a couple more fires on the ground for more pilots to look at. Mid air collisions are more likely to happen when there is something to look at on the ground so you have to be extra careful in these areas. If you’re interested in seeing a fire, someone else probably is too. Don’t let distractions on the ground prevent you from doing your job as a pilot which is to protect you and your passengers from harm.
This post is just a reminder to all pilots, that anywhere pilots tend to migrate to is where you have to really keep your scan going. Aiports and the 45° entry into airports are other areas where you should really pay attention. I know it seems like common sense but it’s easier than you think to become distracted, so be careful and avoid a mid air collision by keeping your scan going at all times.
