Testing Philosophy: I believe that regardless of the outcome, each practical test should be a positive experience for the applicant. No matter your background, my goal is for you to walk away knowing that you were treated with respect, and given every opportunity to succeed.
- What kind of practical tests can you administer? Private, instrument, and commerical airplane single engine land
- If you are planning to fly in to X51 for your test, please plan to land 15-20 minutes prior to your test start time. This allows time to taxi to the ramp, secure the aircraft, and still get started on time.
- I am required to test the items answered incorrectly on your knowledge test (if any). The codes associated with your missed questions correlate to the ACS section where the question came from.
- Read the ACS, including the appendix. Know what you are being tested on and to what standard.
- Get a good nights sleep, eat a good meal, and try to relax. If the choice is to cram more studying in late the night before, or get some extra sleep, get the sleep.
- Review the maintenance logbooks with enough time to correct any issues or find a new aircraft before the day of the test. Know where to find the entries that prove the aircraft is legal to fly.
- AD logs are a common problem area: the logbook entry “All AD’s complied with” does not satisfy the requirement for us to qualify the aircraft as legal for the practical test. We need the AD log in it’s entirety.
- If you are taking an Instrument Airplane Practical test, your GPS must have a current navigation database.
- Don’t have anything left to do the day of the practical test besides the test itself. Examples of things that cause last minute stress:
- Endorsements not complete or incorrect
- IACRA username and password not available
- Unable to locate flight experience requirements in your logbook
- Unable to find the required inspections in the maintenance logbook
- Ground training not logged
- Dress comfortably. You take the same test whether you wear a suit or go casual.
- Bring some water and a snack with you
- No one, especially me, has ever flown a perfect flight. You are expected to make mistakes. Perfection is not the standard. Review the threat and error management model in the FAA’s risk management handbook. When you make an error, let me know that you recognize the error, and what action you will take to trap that error to avoid any safety of flight issues. Then move on!
- You are the Pilot in Command. Sometimes things happen on practical tests that you don’t expect or haven’t seen before. Make a decision that is based on managing risk appropriately, and the knowledge/training you have accumulated. In short; you are in charge, don’t be afraid to make decisions. They don’t all have to be perfect, but I need you to make decisions.
- If the landing is going to be unsafe, go around.
- You will see me scribbling notes during the ground and flight portion, don’t panic! this doesn’t mean you did something wrong. This is for me to keep track of what we have done and what we have left to do.
- Can I use an EFB for my Weight and Balance, Cross Country Planning, and Weather Brief? Short answer, yes. Foreflight, GarminPilot, JeppFD, Fltplan Go, and paper charts are great tools, but like any resource, you need to know how to use that tool correctly. I don’t have a preference of manual vs. electronic calculations or any specific app as long as the information is correct.
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