Friday, December 17, 2021

Not Flying - Stage Check III Ground

This morning I was scheduled to fly, but that changed to a Ground lesson as part of my final stage check prior to a check ride.  

Of course today the weather was perfect for flying.  Sigh.

Met with Alec, an instructor  I've flown with and done ground work with before. Nice guy and concerned with making sure you learn and know the material, so yep he's a good instructor.

So I only saw this morning that it had changed and I was to plan a flight on paper from KPTK to KMDW.  Most people would do this via Foreflight in real life, but the examiner wants it to be on paper and you have to have a current  paper IFR chart and do all the calculations by hand for wind correction that Foreflight does for you.  Seriously. Well, at least he doesn't insist on an abacus.

So we went over that and it went pretty well and helped fine tune the paper calculations.

Then on to a general oral exam practice which I did well with and he had no concerns, saying I passed that with no problems and I'm good on charts, plates, weather, etc, and appear ready for the oral portion of the checkride. Just have to treat it like a deposition - answer only the question posed, yes or no only as a response if possible, and don't add anything.

So currently I'm a little confused as to where I stand exactly.  I think I need one more stage check-ride with the head instructor in order to be approved for the official check-ride, but perhaps not.  About to have to reschedule lessons yet again, so we will see what happens.

3 comments:

Old NFO said...

Just take it one step at a time. Patience is a virtue right now.

B said...

Yeah, I had to do the paper planning for my checkride. Last chart I ever bought, and the last time I did it on paper.

As they said, don't volunteer any more information than needed to answer the question. But know the subject material (and where to find the details, as you can use the FAR-AIM as a reference during the exam).

Also make sure you have reviewed the aircraft logs/maintenance records etc. He can (and likely will) ask for them so you can prove your plane is legal and ready to fly.

Comrade Misfit said...

Do you have to take your checkride in an airplane with a sixpack, or can you use a glass cockpit?

(I never got to that point, it would have cost a fortune to upgrade my old airplane to fly IFR. Though a previous owner did so fly it.)