checkride
Students, hide your logbooks...
10/02/2008 Filed in: Flying
CFI Checkride Gouge
My CFI checkride is today. I'm scheduled with an FAA examiner and I'm really not feeling overly confident. This checkride is like any other I've had in that I could pass or fail it on any given day, except that this one is universally accepted as being extremely difficult. I'm reminded of this old joke:
Guy 1: I don't think I'm going to pass this test today.
Guy 2: C'mon dude... think positive!
Guy 1: Ok... I'm positive I'm not gonna pass this test today!
It's not quite that bad inside my head, but it's not wildly removed either.
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IFR Lesson 18 - Lateralus - The Checkride
12/21/2007 Filed in: Flying
IFR Lesson 18 -
Lateralus - The Checkride
It's pretty amazing really. About two months before I began studying for the IFR written I put on my calendar the days I would take both the written and the practical tests for my instrument rating. I took the written one day earlier than I originally scheduled myself. Today is the exact day I pencilled in to take the practical, some three months prior. If I can fly as well as I schedule, this rating is as good as done.
I do wish I had gotten more sleep last night. With life in general, and the holidays in particular, intruding upon my studies, I found myself a little under prepared last night for the oral, so I stayed up later than I would have preferred to ensure the hemispheres of my brain were within 50rpm of each other. On the upside, I feel very much prepared for the oral now, and only a smidgen lean of peak in general terms for the flight. And with this paragraph, I've hit my quota of corny pilot metaphors so we can safely trudge onward.
As is my custom, I pick up doughnuts and bring them to the FBO. I was early but the DE has an office there, and I found him chatting casually with the chief pilot of the school.
Me: Here you go, gentlemen. I figure the extra sugar can only help my chances.
After a brief, but welcome, delay cramming warm, glazed doughnuts down the pipe and cutting up with two pilots with more combined total flight time than I have total time breathing, it's time to begin the oral. I may have exaggerated slightly. I forget that I'm getting "old".
We start with the customary logbook, 8710, and payment dance. He then goes over the IFR flight I've planned per his instructions and has a few questions about that. No problems there, really. Afterwards, he asks for a weight and balance for the flight and I immediately produce that. Unfortunately, we'll have to drain some fuel from the airplane to be under gross, but I'm aware of this and have notified the school about it. He appears pleased that I have not overlooked this detail. Score one for me and high-fructose corn syrup!
Now it's time for DE to take the lead and for me try real hard not to step on his toes or dip him at the wrong moment in the tune. Here are the questions I can remember. There were many, many others that I can't. It was a long, thorough session of question, answers, and discussion.
1. How often should we do a VOR check?
Every 30 days
2. Describe the ways do that.
VOT, designated check point, airborne check, dual VOR check
3. What is the frequency for a VOT at smyrna?
110.2
4. Where is that information listed?
AFD
5. What are three sources of in-flight weather advisories?
AIRMET, SIGMET and convective SIGMET.
At first I just really didn't understand the question, somewhat out of context as it was. Then he spotted me "AIRMET" and it all came tumbling out. Brain lock.
6. How often are AIRMETs issued?
Every 6 hours (he then prodded me for "or as needed")
7. What are the three types of AIRMETS and what are they for?
Sierra (IFR), Tango (turbulence), Zulu (ice)
8. To whom do they apply?
Small aircraft
9. To what weather phenomena might a SIGMET alert you?
Turbulence, wind shear, icing, ash, etc
I needed a bit more prodding here, but got a few without it.
10. What about a convective SIGMET?
Thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes, etc
11. To whom do they apply?
All aircraft
12. At what airspeed do you fly the approaches?
About 90 (correct, but bad answer, see question 13)
13. About 90 huh? So which is it? Category A or B?
I said B and explained it was based on the fastest portion of the approach not the slowest. He nodded in apparent satisfaction.
14. At what temperature should you be concerned with ice potential?
+/- 5 degrees C
15. At what temperature/dewpoint spread should you be concerned about the formation of fog?
2 degrees C
16. What procedure should you follow if you lose a radio?*
Answer he wanted and that your DE will want: Assigned, vectored, expected, filed
Originally I stated that, while this wasn't the answer he was looking for, I would pull out my backup radio. Then as I began to explain the actual answer he interrupted and began to go through it himself. Wanting to show him that I knew the material, I interrupted back as he arrived at "filed". I think that kind of perturbed him, but it was important to me to show that I wasn't being flippant out of ignorance, I just truly would pull out my backup radio. Flippant would be to describe how I would curse when I discovered the dead batteries.
17. En route charts: At what altitude would you file this route?
Looked at chart and give him the MEA
18. En route charts: At what altitude would you cross this fix?
Looked at chart, noted the MCA flag and gave him the MEA on the other side of the flag
19. En route charts: What does this symbol mean? (MCA flag)
Cross at or above the altitude on other side
20. Runway signs. 26 of them.
A quiz given in the form of matching the description next to the sign picture.
Of the 26, he counted 7 that I missed. I did not want to be the one to point out to him that, because it's a matching quiz and I didn't use any answers twice, I could not have missed an odd number. Thus I either actually missed either 6 or 8 [Edit - Oops, yes you can, my mistake, 7 is the number]. Complicating the matter further, he tallied the grade as 68 instead of 73. I tried to alert him to that, as if it somehow made my performance stellar, but he just looked at my quizzically so I decided to let it drop, filing it away for clarification in the unlikely event that he failed me on the oral based solely on this result.
DE: Didn't do too well on that did you?
Me: No, sir.
A couple of the symbols I'd never seen before in my life. A couple of them, like the runway hold short and the free-movement area demarcation line look similar and are much easier to discern in context than on a piece of paper. I believe I transposed the answers for those, for example. Others had odd descriptions like "holding short of this line is imperative to ensure wingtip clearance of passing aircraft", and therefore were ambiguous as it could be the answer for more than one of the symbols.
Don't mean to sound like I'm making excuses, but I really do know my airport symbols and lights pretty well. Still, I was not able to demonstrate that on his quiz for one reason or another. The results speak for themselves so my answer to him was straight-forward: I didn't do well.
21. When must you file an alternate?
If weather forecast within 1 hour earlier or later than arrival time is worse than 2000 ft ceilings and 3 nm vis.
22. What are the following: MEA, MCA, MOCA, MRA, MSA
Min Enroute Altitude
Min Crossing Altitude
Min Obstruction Clearance Altitude
Min Reception Altitude
Min Safe Altitude
23. What items are included in a position report?
Position, time, altitude, type, estimate, next
24. What are the Part 91 takeoff minimums?
There aren't any
25. What are your personal takeoff minimums?
1000 ft ceiling, 2nm vis
26. Why do these two adjacent en route charts not line up correctly at the edges?
The scale of the charts is different
27. What are some benefits of filing and flying IFR?
Less weather worries, you're in the system, etc
He prompted me for traffic separation, TFRs, etc. I actually had in mind TFR avoidance by my "in the system" comment but had not explicitly stated it.
28. How often must the altimeter / transponder / etc be checked?
24 calendar months
29. Describe the current requirements for instrument flying.
6 approaches within 6 months
30. What must you do if you let your currency lapse more than 12 months?
You must take an instrument proficiency check flight
31. Where might you encounter wind shear?
Near thunderstorms, temperature inversions
32. Are you more likely to encounter strong wind shear ahead of a cold front or a warm front?
Warm front (did not know this one)
33. What should you do if you encounter wind shear?
Be aware of large performance decreases, be ready to apply power and go around as necessary
34. Where might you encounter a microburst?
Near a thunderstorm
35. What should you do if you encounter a microburst?
"I'm probably screwed. But I'll apply power and try to get out of there anyway."
36. What altitude would you file if going east?
Odd thousands
37. Is that magnetic, true and heading or course?
Magnetic course. Embarrassingly, I answered magnetic heading and he corrected me.
After several hours of back and forth on the above, he puts his hands on the table and looks out the window.
DE: Looks like it's clearing up out there. Let's go fly.
So, it wasn't my best performance on an oral, but I was reasonably pleased with it. Keep in mind that I tend to remember questions I stumbled on better than ones I got right immediately so the stumbles are probably over-represented in the above. If not for the sign quiz, I'd have been very pleased with my performance on the oral. But I've passed, so time to get my head in the game for the flight portion.
Incidentally, the following should not be construed as a complete description of the approaches and related items that I performed on the ride, but it's a reasonable representation of the kinds of things that will be required of a pilot on an IFR checkride.
I preflight the airplane before he comes down from his office, and I'm finding myself a lot more nervous than usual for this ride. As part of the preflight, I perform a VOR check and note it's within 1 degree. That'll do. Then I make a point of checking the departure procedures for MQY in the US Terminal Procedures book. I have heard stories of guys who did not do this, particularly at untowered fields, and received a pink note to take home to mommy for their lack of caution.
I take off and flip down the glasses at 300 AGL. He requests that I level off at 2500 to stay VFR, and I graciously comply. Except that the DE successfully distracts me just before level off by asking me to check the highest obstacle in the MSA area for MQY. As I'm doing so, I notice the altitude coming up quickly, but my level off is crap and I'm immediately dangerously close to busting out of my 100 ft PTS grace confinement.
DE: (gruff and annoyed) Does this airplane have trim on it?
Me: Yes, sir, just getting to that now.
I trim the airplane and get it where it should be, acutely aware of how close a call that little fiasco was.
Next up are constant airspeed climbs, descents, turning descents, turning climbs, etc. Mainly because of the bumps present down this low, these weren't fantastic, but I was +/- 5 most of the time. DE seemed satisfied with it all.
He also asked me to slow down to 80 knots in level flight which, despite having practiced it, is surprisingly tricky to do. I opted to use one notch of flaps to help get there and increase lift a bit, but looking back on it this was almost certainly unnecessary. Still, it helped as we transitioned to slow flight and other maneuvers afterwards, so meh.
A few unusual attitudes and various other maneuvers later and it's time to start our approaches. We start with a VOR approach.
DE: First give me a hold, standard turns, on this intersection (pointing to plate)
The point at which I was to hold was a DME waypoint, 18nm from the BNA VOR. Since there's no DME in the Katana, you have to use the "Nearest VOR" page in the Garmin 420 to simulate DME instead. I tune in and identify the VOR, turn to the Nearest VOR page on the Garmin, and begin to dial in the inbound course on the OBS. I got this. No problem.
DE: Uh.... I'm trying to figure out what you're doing.
That statement seriously unnerved me. Now I'm sure I've done something wrong, but I can't figure out what!
I look again at the chart, back to the OBS and begin to doubt myself. Did I put in the wrong course? Surely not. Nope, looks right. Nevertheless, I began to dial in the reciprocal just in case that's what he was looking for.
DE: No, put that back where you had it.
At this point I'm throughly confused and coming up quickly on the point where I need to figure out the hold entry and start turning. Fortunately, it's a direct hold so it doesn't complicate what is quickly becoming a confusing situation. I decide to let him be confused and I start my turn back outbound in the hold based on the "DME" on the 420 and just hope for the best. As I begin to time the outbound leg...
DE: Why are you doing this the hard way?
He turns the 420 back to the moving map, loads the approach and shows me the waypoint on there. Well hell, that's what he meant! He was confused about the nearest VOR thing on the Garmin. Well, that's how CFII and I have always done it, and I (incorrectly) assumed he wanted me to simulate a VOR approach and hold w/o using GPS. I so love miscommunication and false assumptions on checkrides.
DE: Use every tool you've got. Make it as easy as you can.
Me: Ok, roger that.
Now that we're finally on the same page with regard to this approach, I turn back inbound and he appears satisfied with my hold. Now it's time to begin the approach in earnest.
I get to the intermediate leg and begin my descent down to 1900 at 700-800 fpm like we always practiced on non-precision approaches.
DE: What's your hurry to get low? How long do you have to get down there?
Me: About 4 more miles.
Presumably, he wanted me to slow down my descent to something that would have me reach the FAF at the prescribed altitude. From this point, maybe something like 200 fpm. That's counter to the way I've read about and practiced, so I have a bit of trouble finding a power setting that will slow the descent and keep my airspeed within PTS. Consequently I end up fighting the aircraft with trim, throttle, and pitch all at the same time in a precariously unbalanced dance to remain within standards.
This is not going well.
Finally I get to the FAF and descend down to minimums. Sure enough, runway environment in sight, time to go missed per the instructions received from BNA approach. After that we'll start our next approach, but I am already feeling frazzled, and DE must have noticed.
DE: Get yourself a drink there... relax.
Me: (big exhale) Ok...
Me: You're not seeing the best of what I got.
DE: (mock surprise) What?! You mean you fly better without me in the airplane? (chuckle)
Heh, yeah, I do actually. Although I see his point and can only imagine the number of times he's heard that tidbit. Let's see if we can pull this together for the next approach. First he fails the attitude indicator and DG then tells me I'll be flying a GPS approach.
This one goes considerably better, except that the airspeed/descent thing is a concern again. Other than that, I manage not to bust the minimums and go missed at the appropriate time.
As I'm ascending and turning for the missed, he tells me to dial up the ILS 32 for Smyrna. As I'm doing that, I overshoot the assigned altitude by *almost* 100 feet. I immediately correct it and nose down aggressively.
DE: Whoa, that was a big bump there.
Me: (chuckle) Yes, it was.
Score two distractions for DE, dammit.
Next he "fails" the GPS for the ILS 32 approach. I just slightly overshoot the turn inbound on the localizer, but nothing that can't be easily cured. I correct for the wind, capture the glideslope, and fly right on down to circling minimums with virtually no trouble. In an error that would send CFII's blood boiling, I fiddle with the throttle trying to maintain the airspeed. Had I been thinking clearly, I would have simply left it alone as I had been taught, but I've been successfully put off my game by this ride to the point that I'm no longer performing up to my usual standards. Here's betting I bounce the landing.
Still, the approach is clearly made from the passing mold and he gives me the nod. From here it's a simple matter of circling, landing, taxiing, and not saying or doing anything (else) stupid.
As we're shutting down the DE looks at me for the post-flight debrief.
DE: Ok, you made it. The main thing I have to say is "Trim the airplane!" You fought with pitch and throttle and nearly busted the airpseed several times. Let the trim do the work for you.
Me: Yes, sir.
So there you have it. I passed, but it was a performance not altogether praiseworthy. In the past, I've had some of my best flights ever during checkrides, so I guess it's an inevitability that this trend would not continue indefinitely. Still, I like passing with flying colors and it appears this time those colors are rather bland shades of beige.
At this point, all I can do is recognize and learn from the mistakes I made, as well as recognizing the successful parts of the flight. Thus, in avoiding overthinking and overanalyzing my performance, per the admonitions found in the lyrics of the song serving as the title of this post, let's spiral out to new territory. I feel like I have a whole world of potential flying destinations that just opened up for me with this rating. The additional freedom is breathtaking, and I am most anxious to exercise my new privledges.
As an aside, you may have noticed all the titles of my IFR lesson posts were song titles. For those that care, here is the list. It'd make for an eclectic iTunes playlist, I'll tell ya that.
1. Aint No Sunshine - Bill Withers
2. Even Better than the Real Thing - U2
3. Hold Me Now - Thompson Twins
4. Blame Canada - Southpark (Trey Parker, Matt Stone)
5. Since I Lost My Baby - The Temptations
6. Mama I'm Coming Home - Ozzy Osbourne
7. It's Not Easy Being Green - Kermit the Frog
8. Tones of Home - Blind Melon
9. All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
10. If You Could Only See - Tonic
11. Crossfire - Stevie Ray Vaughan
12. Long Way Around - Chris Whitley
13. All Falls Away - Big Jim Slade
14. The Last Mile - Cinderella
15. Monkey Business - Skid Row
16. Rumblin Train - Badlands
17. Countdown - Rush
18. Lateralus - Tool
And in my usual tradition of sharing pictures of the journey, here's another slideshow. This one is set to a song that I've never heard in an aviation video before. And while not strictly within the bounds of the song's intended meaning, I think it's a very fitting tune for aviators. Hope you enjoy it.
But first, a hearty thanks to everyone who read these entries, offered encouragement or advice, and generally supported my efforts. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to learn from other pilots in describing the trials and tribulations of training through my writeups. So again, thank you. And to CFII, thanks for everything, I really couldn't ask for a better instructor.
Now, where did I put those commercial ticket requirements...
It's pretty amazing really. About two months before I began studying for the IFR written I put on my calendar the days I would take both the written and the practical tests for my instrument rating. I took the written one day earlier than I originally scheduled myself. Today is the exact day I pencilled in to take the practical, some three months prior. If I can fly as well as I schedule, this rating is as good as done.
I do wish I had gotten more sleep last night. With life in general, and the holidays in particular, intruding upon my studies, I found myself a little under prepared last night for the oral, so I stayed up later than I would have preferred to ensure the hemispheres of my brain were within 50rpm of each other. On the upside, I feel very much prepared for the oral now, and only a smidgen lean of peak in general terms for the flight. And with this paragraph, I've hit my quota of corny pilot metaphors so we can safely trudge onward.
As is my custom, I pick up doughnuts and bring them to the FBO. I was early but the DE has an office there, and I found him chatting casually with the chief pilot of the school.
Me: Here you go, gentlemen. I figure the extra sugar can only help my chances.
After a brief, but welcome, delay cramming warm, glazed doughnuts down the pipe and cutting up with two pilots with more combined total flight time than I have total time breathing, it's time to begin the oral. I may have exaggerated slightly. I forget that I'm getting "old".
We start with the customary logbook, 8710, and payment dance. He then goes over the IFR flight I've planned per his instructions and has a few questions about that. No problems there, really. Afterwards, he asks for a weight and balance for the flight and I immediately produce that. Unfortunately, we'll have to drain some fuel from the airplane to be under gross, but I'm aware of this and have notified the school about it. He appears pleased that I have not overlooked this detail. Score one for me and high-fructose corn syrup!
Now it's time for DE to take the lead and for me try real hard not to step on his toes or dip him at the wrong moment in the tune. Here are the questions I can remember. There were many, many others that I can't. It was a long, thorough session of question, answers, and discussion.
1. How often should we do a VOR check?
Every 30 days
2. Describe the ways do that.
VOT, designated check point, airborne check, dual VOR check
3. What is the frequency for a VOT at smyrna?
110.2
4. Where is that information listed?
AFD
5. What are three sources of in-flight weather advisories?
AIRMET, SIGMET and convective SIGMET.
At first I just really didn't understand the question, somewhat out of context as it was. Then he spotted me "AIRMET" and it all came tumbling out. Brain lock.
6. How often are AIRMETs issued?
Every 6 hours (he then prodded me for "or as needed")
7. What are the three types of AIRMETS and what are they for?
Sierra (IFR), Tango (turbulence), Zulu (ice)
8. To whom do they apply?
Small aircraft
9. To what weather phenomena might a SIGMET alert you?
Turbulence, wind shear, icing, ash, etc
I needed a bit more prodding here, but got a few without it.
10. What about a convective SIGMET?
Thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes, etc
11. To whom do they apply?
All aircraft
12. At what airspeed do you fly the approaches?
About 90 (correct, but bad answer, see question 13)
13. About 90 huh? So which is it? Category A or B?
I said B and explained it was based on the fastest portion of the approach not the slowest. He nodded in apparent satisfaction.
14. At what temperature should you be concerned with ice potential?
+/- 5 degrees C
15. At what temperature/dewpoint spread should you be concerned about the formation of fog?
2 degrees C
16. What procedure should you follow if you lose a radio?*
Answer he wanted and that your DE will want: Assigned, vectored, expected, filed
Originally I stated that, while this wasn't the answer he was looking for, I would pull out my backup radio. Then as I began to explain the actual answer he interrupted and began to go through it himself. Wanting to show him that I knew the material, I interrupted back as he arrived at "filed". I think that kind of perturbed him, but it was important to me to show that I wasn't being flippant out of ignorance, I just truly would pull out my backup radio. Flippant would be to describe how I would curse when I discovered the dead batteries.
17. En route charts: At what altitude would you file this route?
Looked at chart and give him the MEA
18. En route charts: At what altitude would you cross this fix?
Looked at chart, noted the MCA flag and gave him the MEA on the other side of the flag
19. En route charts: What does this symbol mean? (MCA flag)
Cross at or above the altitude on other side
20. Runway signs. 26 of them.
A quiz given in the form of matching the description next to the sign picture.
Of the 26, he counted 7 that I missed. I did not want to be the one to point out to him that, because it's a matching quiz and I didn't use any answers twice, I could not have missed an odd number. Thus I either actually missed either 6 or 8 [Edit - Oops, yes you can, my mistake, 7 is the number]. Complicating the matter further, he tallied the grade as 68 instead of 73. I tried to alert him to that, as if it somehow made my performance stellar, but he just looked at my quizzically so I decided to let it drop, filing it away for clarification in the unlikely event that he failed me on the oral based solely on this result.
DE: Didn't do too well on that did you?
Me: No, sir.
A couple of the symbols I'd never seen before in my life. A couple of them, like the runway hold short and the free-movement area demarcation line look similar and are much easier to discern in context than on a piece of paper. I believe I transposed the answers for those, for example. Others had odd descriptions like "holding short of this line is imperative to ensure wingtip clearance of passing aircraft", and therefore were ambiguous as it could be the answer for more than one of the symbols.
Don't mean to sound like I'm making excuses, but I really do know my airport symbols and lights pretty well. Still, I was not able to demonstrate that on his quiz for one reason or another. The results speak for themselves so my answer to him was straight-forward: I didn't do well.
21. When must you file an alternate?
If weather forecast within 1 hour earlier or later than arrival time is worse than 2000 ft ceilings and 3 nm vis.
22. What are the following: MEA, MCA, MOCA, MRA, MSA
Min Enroute Altitude
Min Crossing Altitude
Min Obstruction Clearance Altitude
Min Reception Altitude
Min Safe Altitude
23. What items are included in a position report?
Position, time, altitude, type, estimate, next
24. What are the Part 91 takeoff minimums?
There aren't any
25. What are your personal takeoff minimums?
1000 ft ceiling, 2nm vis
26. Why do these two adjacent en route charts not line up correctly at the edges?
The scale of the charts is different
27. What are some benefits of filing and flying IFR?
Less weather worries, you're in the system, etc
He prompted me for traffic separation, TFRs, etc. I actually had in mind TFR avoidance by my "in the system" comment but had not explicitly stated it.
28. How often must the altimeter / transponder / etc be checked?
24 calendar months
29. Describe the current requirements for instrument flying.
6 approaches within 6 months
30. What must you do if you let your currency lapse more than 12 months?
You must take an instrument proficiency check flight
31. Where might you encounter wind shear?
Near thunderstorms, temperature inversions
32. Are you more likely to encounter strong wind shear ahead of a cold front or a warm front?
Warm front (did not know this one)
33. What should you do if you encounter wind shear?
Be aware of large performance decreases, be ready to apply power and go around as necessary
34. Where might you encounter a microburst?
Near a thunderstorm
35. What should you do if you encounter a microburst?
"I'm probably screwed. But I'll apply power and try to get out of there anyway."
36. What altitude would you file if going east?
Odd thousands
37. Is that magnetic, true and heading or course?
Magnetic course. Embarrassingly, I answered magnetic heading and he corrected me.
After several hours of back and forth on the above, he puts his hands on the table and looks out the window.
DE: Looks like it's clearing up out there. Let's go fly.
So, it wasn't my best performance on an oral, but I was reasonably pleased with it. Keep in mind that I tend to remember questions I stumbled on better than ones I got right immediately so the stumbles are probably over-represented in the above. If not for the sign quiz, I'd have been very pleased with my performance on the oral. But I've passed, so time to get my head in the game for the flight portion.
Incidentally, the following should not be construed as a complete description of the approaches and related items that I performed on the ride, but it's a reasonable representation of the kinds of things that will be required of a pilot on an IFR checkride.
I preflight the airplane before he comes down from his office, and I'm finding myself a lot more nervous than usual for this ride. As part of the preflight, I perform a VOR check and note it's within 1 degree. That'll do. Then I make a point of checking the departure procedures for MQY in the US Terminal Procedures book. I have heard stories of guys who did not do this, particularly at untowered fields, and received a pink note to take home to mommy for their lack of caution.
I take off and flip down the glasses at 300 AGL. He requests that I level off at 2500 to stay VFR, and I graciously comply. Except that the DE successfully distracts me just before level off by asking me to check the highest obstacle in the MSA area for MQY. As I'm doing so, I notice the altitude coming up quickly, but my level off is crap and I'm immediately dangerously close to busting out of my 100 ft PTS grace confinement.
DE: (gruff and annoyed) Does this airplane have trim on it?
Me: Yes, sir, just getting to that now.
I trim the airplane and get it where it should be, acutely aware of how close a call that little fiasco was.
Next up are constant airspeed climbs, descents, turning descents, turning climbs, etc. Mainly because of the bumps present down this low, these weren't fantastic, but I was +/- 5 most of the time. DE seemed satisfied with it all.
He also asked me to slow down to 80 knots in level flight which, despite having practiced it, is surprisingly tricky to do. I opted to use one notch of flaps to help get there and increase lift a bit, but looking back on it this was almost certainly unnecessary. Still, it helped as we transitioned to slow flight and other maneuvers afterwards, so meh.
A few unusual attitudes and various other maneuvers later and it's time to start our approaches. We start with a VOR approach.
DE: First give me a hold, standard turns, on this intersection (pointing to plate)
The point at which I was to hold was a DME waypoint, 18nm from the BNA VOR. Since there's no DME in the Katana, you have to use the "Nearest VOR" page in the Garmin 420 to simulate DME instead. I tune in and identify the VOR, turn to the Nearest VOR page on the Garmin, and begin to dial in the inbound course on the OBS. I got this. No problem.
DE: Uh.... I'm trying to figure out what you're doing.
That statement seriously unnerved me. Now I'm sure I've done something wrong, but I can't figure out what!
I look again at the chart, back to the OBS and begin to doubt myself. Did I put in the wrong course? Surely not. Nope, looks right. Nevertheless, I began to dial in the reciprocal just in case that's what he was looking for.
DE: No, put that back where you had it.
At this point I'm throughly confused and coming up quickly on the point where I need to figure out the hold entry and start turning. Fortunately, it's a direct hold so it doesn't complicate what is quickly becoming a confusing situation. I decide to let him be confused and I start my turn back outbound in the hold based on the "DME" on the 420 and just hope for the best. As I begin to time the outbound leg...
DE: Why are you doing this the hard way?
He turns the 420 back to the moving map, loads the approach and shows me the waypoint on there. Well hell, that's what he meant! He was confused about the nearest VOR thing on the Garmin. Well, that's how CFII and I have always done it, and I (incorrectly) assumed he wanted me to simulate a VOR approach and hold w/o using GPS. I so love miscommunication and false assumptions on checkrides.
DE: Use every tool you've got. Make it as easy as you can.
Me: Ok, roger that.
Now that we're finally on the same page with regard to this approach, I turn back inbound and he appears satisfied with my hold. Now it's time to begin the approach in earnest.
I get to the intermediate leg and begin my descent down to 1900 at 700-800 fpm like we always practiced on non-precision approaches.
DE: What's your hurry to get low? How long do you have to get down there?
Me: About 4 more miles.
Presumably, he wanted me to slow down my descent to something that would have me reach the FAF at the prescribed altitude. From this point, maybe something like 200 fpm. That's counter to the way I've read about and practiced, so I have a bit of trouble finding a power setting that will slow the descent and keep my airspeed within PTS. Consequently I end up fighting the aircraft with trim, throttle, and pitch all at the same time in a precariously unbalanced dance to remain within standards.
This is not going well.
Finally I get to the FAF and descend down to minimums. Sure enough, runway environment in sight, time to go missed per the instructions received from BNA approach. After that we'll start our next approach, but I am already feeling frazzled, and DE must have noticed.
DE: Get yourself a drink there... relax.
Me: (big exhale) Ok...
Me: You're not seeing the best of what I got.
DE: (mock surprise) What?! You mean you fly better without me in the airplane? (chuckle)
Heh, yeah, I do actually. Although I see his point and can only imagine the number of times he's heard that tidbit. Let's see if we can pull this together for the next approach. First he fails the attitude indicator and DG then tells me I'll be flying a GPS approach.
This one goes considerably better, except that the airspeed/descent thing is a concern again. Other than that, I manage not to bust the minimums and go missed at the appropriate time.
As I'm ascending and turning for the missed, he tells me to dial up the ILS 32 for Smyrna. As I'm doing that, I overshoot the assigned altitude by *almost* 100 feet. I immediately correct it and nose down aggressively.
DE: Whoa, that was a big bump there.
Me: (chuckle) Yes, it was.
Score two distractions for DE, dammit.
Next he "fails" the GPS for the ILS 32 approach. I just slightly overshoot the turn inbound on the localizer, but nothing that can't be easily cured. I correct for the wind, capture the glideslope, and fly right on down to circling minimums with virtually no trouble. In an error that would send CFII's blood boiling, I fiddle with the throttle trying to maintain the airspeed. Had I been thinking clearly, I would have simply left it alone as I had been taught, but I've been successfully put off my game by this ride to the point that I'm no longer performing up to my usual standards. Here's betting I bounce the landing.
Still, the approach is clearly made from the passing mold and he gives me the nod. From here it's a simple matter of circling, landing, taxiing, and not saying or doing anything (else) stupid.
As we're shutting down the DE looks at me for the post-flight debrief.
DE: Ok, you made it. The main thing I have to say is "Trim the airplane!" You fought with pitch and throttle and nearly busted the airpseed several times. Let the trim do the work for you.
Me: Yes, sir.
So there you have it. I passed, but it was a performance not altogether praiseworthy. In the past, I've had some of my best flights ever during checkrides, so I guess it's an inevitability that this trend would not continue indefinitely. Still, I like passing with flying colors and it appears this time those colors are rather bland shades of beige.
At this point, all I can do is recognize and learn from the mistakes I made, as well as recognizing the successful parts of the flight. Thus, in avoiding overthinking and overanalyzing my performance, per the admonitions found in the lyrics of the song serving as the title of this post, let's spiral out to new territory. I feel like I have a whole world of potential flying destinations that just opened up for me with this rating. The additional freedom is breathtaking, and I am most anxious to exercise my new privledges.
As an aside, you may have noticed all the titles of my IFR lesson posts were song titles. For those that care, here is the list. It'd make for an eclectic iTunes playlist, I'll tell ya that.
1. Aint No Sunshine - Bill Withers
2. Even Better than the Real Thing - U2
3. Hold Me Now - Thompson Twins
4. Blame Canada - Southpark (Trey Parker, Matt Stone)
5. Since I Lost My Baby - The Temptations
6. Mama I'm Coming Home - Ozzy Osbourne
7. It's Not Easy Being Green - Kermit the Frog
8. Tones of Home - Blind Melon
9. All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
10. If You Could Only See - Tonic
11. Crossfire - Stevie Ray Vaughan
12. Long Way Around - Chris Whitley
13. All Falls Away - Big Jim Slade
14. The Last Mile - Cinderella
15. Monkey Business - Skid Row
16. Rumblin Train - Badlands
17. Countdown - Rush
18. Lateralus - Tool
And in my usual tradition of sharing pictures of the journey, here's another slideshow. This one is set to a song that I've never heard in an aviation video before. And while not strictly within the bounds of the song's intended meaning, I think it's a very fitting tune for aviators. Hope you enjoy it.
But first, a hearty thanks to everyone who read these entries, offered encouragement or advice, and generally supported my efforts. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to learn from other pilots in describing the trials and tribulations of training through my writeups. So again, thank you. And to CFII, thanks for everything, I really couldn't ask for a better instructor.
Now, where did I put those commercial ticket requirements...
Multi Checkride: After a two week nap, the writeup...
10/02/2007 Filed in: Flying
9/13/2007
Another checkride already. Feels really odd. Weirder still, I think I want to pass this one even more than my PP-ASEL checkride, mostly due to the extra expense of training and inconvenience of traveling to M54. That said, I'm not particularly nervous, much like last time. I can pass or fail any given day, but I'm as prepared as I can be at this moment.
The weather is absolutely perfect. I arrive at M54 early so I can preflight and get things moving. We have to fly from M54 to KRNC for the checkride. Only about a 20 minute flight, but it takes me a while to untie the airplane, pull off the cover, preflight, runup, etc. I'm not doing cartwheels when I find out some dude has the airplane right now. Read More...
Another checkride already. Feels really odd. Weirder still, I think I want to pass this one even more than my PP-ASEL checkride, mostly due to the extra expense of training and inconvenience of traveling to M54. That said, I'm not particularly nervous, much like last time. I can pass or fail any given day, but I'm as prepared as I can be at this moment.
The weather is absolutely perfect. I arrive at M54 early so I can preflight and get things moving. We have to fly from M54 to KRNC for the checkride. Only about a 20 minute flight, but it takes me a while to untie the airplane, pull off the cover, preflight, runup, etc. I'm not doing cartwheels when I find out some dude has the airplane right now. Read More...
Lesson 30: Checkride - And then I farted on the DE...
08/09/2007 Filed in: Flying
Thursday - 08/09/07
No, not really. But I'm flattered that you've come to expect as much from me.
I managed to sleep fairly well last night, but while lying half asleep in bed at 5am my mind briefly flickered to the checkride and that was that. I'm up.
Deep breath. Today's the day. Read More...
No, not really. But I'm flattered that you've come to expect as much from me.
I managed to sleep fairly well last night, but while lying half asleep in bed at 5am my mind briefly flickered to the checkride and that was that. I'm up.
Deep breath. Today's the day. Read More...