Will Samurai Husky pass his checkride?

[Samurai Husky]

Just now, Chupacabra said:

Hi Sam,

Get a new examiner. This guy is a total dick and has done an incredible disservice to you. Has your instructor had any previous issues with this guy with other students?

 

 

It doesn't seem so, otherwise i dont think that he would have had me go to him. The other DPE is a Japanese guy who he says is nice, but really hard to understand, which is why i wasn't told to go to him. There is a unknown guy out of RHV, and no one has any info on him. So i dont know what to expect. 

I think we are all in a bit of shock; The guy is known for being a hard ass on paperwork. For instance we talked about my middle name for about 45 minutes. On my student license its just the initial. on everything else its the full name. We went back and forth about 30 times on why it should madder if its all tied to my SSN. 

Once you get passed the paperwork it was supposed to be easier; guess things changed...

[XXX]

I know it's a long way, but I have a friend in the San Diego area that runs a flight school. I'm sure he could get you hooked up with an examiner there. You could use one of his planes as well and just fly commercial. I'll PM his info. if you think it might be feasible.

[Samurai Husky]

That might be a bit too extreme; I think i an -10 PTO days now from all the time off i have taken for check rides and training etc. I think i would also be a bit unnerved doing a test in a completely different environment from my own.

I have no problem visiting there, but probably not the practical. Thanks Though!

[Yetti]

I am going to do the carsom thing and summarize

The DPE is stupid and does not know jack about a high performance plane.   Yes you have to know how to fly but don't do stupid stuff you don't have to.

Get a plane that works.  Broken stuff needs to be fixed.  Just cause you know things are OK..does not make it work any better..  Cirruses have been falling out of the sky recently don't temp it.

You are close and have done the work.  Get some reliable equipment and a good DPE and you will do fine.   Have better plans and leave more time to make it happen.  People die in aviation because they rush things. 

 

You got this.

 

[N601RX]

A good examiner will make it more about a learning experience than just taking a test.  

[Samurai Husky]

Just now, N601RX said:

A good examiner will make it more about a learning experience than just taking a test.  

Find me him!

[Seth]

16 minutes ago, N601RX said:

A good examiner will make it more about a learning experience than just taking a test.  

That's true and it's how both my PPL and especially my IFR practicals went.  I'm sorry you have had a rough experience.  I would not use this DPE moving forward.  Find another and keep your head up.

We we are all in your corner.

Use the resources here to go with another known DPE.

-Seth

[Hank]

8 minutes ago, Samurai Husky said:

Find me him!

You've got a point out above. PM him for details, and make a visit. Ain't nothing like getting it done and buying your own plane.

[glafaille]

Husky:

You may have already found him!  But all the broke stuff on the airplane turned Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde.  Expecting someone to administer a checkride in such an aircraft as you describe borders on disrespectful.

The Chief Pilot of the flight school should be the one consulting with the DPE concerning the inop equipment, not you.  You are the customer and applicant, there to demonstrate your ability.  Your instructor should be demanding a checkride worthy aircraft from the Chief Pilot.  You shouldn't have to worry about inop equipment on a checkride.

I will say that an airplane with inop fuel gauges is not legal, not sure if the Garmin based avionics fuel quantity is a legal substitute.  

Sounds to me like you are being treated very poorly by the flight school and your instructor.  You should have "bailed" on that school long long ago.

[Samurai Husky]

it wasnt the fuel quantity; it was fuel flow; Even then, it wasnt completely inop; at idle it showed 0gph-5ghp and bounce all over between them, but once you throttled up to would stabilize and be in the green.

The fuel quantity gauges both analog and digital were working fine. 

his big gripe was the batt2; which i found out was installed just for IFR flight. We flew with everything else last week in the same condition as this week. 

But i understand what everyone is saying; its the same reason i have wanted to be done with this club for the past 2 months. The plane is going off for the 100hr this week, it probably will not be back for several weeks with everything that is wrong with it. 

[donkaye]

3 hours ago, Samurai Husky said:

If you dont mind, let not use any names or 'scenarios' if you go to report him., I dont want it somehow being tied back to me. 

The plane is a SR20; 

Flight Club is West Valley; 

DPE is Tom H.... he has been around for a while so i will guess you know him.

OK I do know who the examiner is.  Definitely get another one.  IMO Tom was wrong to do a no flap and emergency landing at Palo Alto in a Cirrus.  They are worse than the Mooney.  Regarding the parachute, I don't know what the minimum altitude for deployment is in the Cirrus because I don't and won't teach in them, but if it is 500', then I'm with you, deploy it rather than trying to land a non retractable airplane in the marshes off of Palo Alto and flipping over or worse..

 

[bonal]

45 minutes ago, Samurai Husky said:

Find me him!

He's in Santa Rosa

[glafaille]

Husky:

I have to hand it to you, you are a persistant guy!  I have no doubt you will succeed and be a very good pilot.  Sometimes it takes extraordinary drive to reach a dream.  You WILL get your license, and that day will be one of the sweetest ever.

[bonal]

His name is Steve Benedict at North Coast Air

[Skates97]

Sam,

Don't quit... You've come way too far and are so close. I can't imagine trying to do what you are doing in a complex plane. I'm grateful that I am taking my lessons and will be doing my checkride in Cherokee 140's, nice and simple. Hang in there, listen to the experienced guys here, and you will succeed. Maybe in six months or so when we both have our PPL's and planes we can meet up and swap training stories in person.

[Yooper Rocketman]

Stick with it buddy.  This will all be war stories a year from now.

[Samurai Husky]

Thats odd, my post got wiped out...

So got off the phone with my CFI and the 'how are you doing?' call; which was nice. He feels just as upset as I am as he really does think i am ready to be a pilot. He said he really needs to sleep on it because tensions are running high right now.

@bonal

Thanks! i will look him up and see what i can find.

@Skates97

That would be great. Hopefully its sooner than 6 months before we have our PPL's though!

To everyone, thanks for the support! Im glad that my concerns are valid and i am not just being a whiny.... well you know. I really do feel like i am ready i just wish there was a better way to prove it.

[mccdeuce]

I will echo a lot of points that have been made before. (Positive reinforcement?)

Pick one

1) new examiner.  I am an examiner for the Navy. As I said before every check ride is a learning experience for my students AND for me. This guy is clearly not happy with the combination of airplane location or club or you.  Or all of the above.  Also not impressed with his wonky timeline.

2) new airplane/club.  A cirrus is a good airplane. It's also a complicated airplane. It has a lot to go wrong.  But it shouldn't be. Not for your checkride. No matter what we as examiners try to do to calm students they are often stressed just because it's a checkride. It's the same flight that has been done before. The club is not setting you up for success with a broken airplane.  You don't need to add stress. There's a reason Cessnas have survived so long as the primary trainers. At the same time there is nothing wrong with doing your PPL in a cirrus and you will have demonstrated some good skill to get there.  I do understand the examiners discussion of engine issues on takeoff. He needs to know you have thought of this though. Or can demonstrate. Not all airplanes have parachutes and your license doesn't say only fly cirrus. 

3) new CFI.  I am not sure that this one/group is really setting you up for success either. You want CFIs that have working knowledge of their DPEs as well. There may be some residual angst with this DPE and this CFI. Flying with another CFI will teach you a few other techniques as well as knowledge that if he gives you a thumbs up that you really do know your stuff and are ready. 

Edited September 3, 2016 by mccdeuce

[mccdeuce]

Me:

I discontinued my first PPL checkride in a Cessna 152.  I learned to fly in the summer at a 3000ft single runway airport. In the summer there we had no winds or light 5 knot wind days. Scheduled my first check in September. Winds were 12 ish with gusts up to 16. Down the pipe no biggie. Take off go do the stalls and turns and other stuff. Go to a nearby airfield that the DPE flew corporate out of.  Asks tower if we can use the cross not in use runway because that puts all the wind directly at crosswind. I knew the basics and theory but hadn't really practiced and was not good at it. 

So the school had me go on a few more flights with different instructors to work cross wind landings. Felt like I got the hang of it. 

2nd checkride day. Winds are 20 and above no one else is flying cause the winds are straight crosswind. I am literally moving to another state after my checkride. I'm determined. We go. Same setup takes me straight to other field sets up for strong crosswinds. I spend the next hour flying at 3 feet down the runway proving I can fly straight down the runway.  Finally he's yelling at me to get the nose straight and I loose and yell back "I can't there's no more rudder!" Hazzaa! He asks what does that mean? You have now found the real crosswind component max. We land shutdown at this field so I can relax. He disappears for 20min. Comes back and says now your check flight starts. Take me home and smoke the landing. So I do. 

Total flight was 3 hours that day. Was supposed to be 30 minutes. I hated him. Finished paperwork. Got in the car with my dad and started driving to move. 

Month later I bought a Grumman Yankee. Great little plane. Went flying one day and a non forecasted storm popped up while I was on a xc.  Went into Panama City behind a G5 that was struggling to land. It was bumpy but I smoked the landing. Went into the FBO and the G5 pilots asked me where I learned to fly 'cause I handled it so well.  (Lightbulb) I finally understood my examiner. I actually wrote him a thank you letter. 

 

I tell you this lengthy story for many reasons. There's a few points to take home. But I'll let you grab them. 

Figure out what is going to work best for you. And when you pass your checkride because you will, it's going to feel amazing. 

[Danb]

I totally agree the Don , I stated prior id get another DPE and a few strongly disagreed, that guy has a hard on for you why?  Think back years how much did the DPE influence your flying career NONE. If you passed, I don't even know who the hell my DPE was, a few friends of mine are DPEs one a client I mentioned this thread to, he just said on the other coast they must do things differently, or want multiple fees. If you Keep the dude we may be on this thread for another year. SH I don't know you but feel as I do, I hope you make the proper decision and get to the sky's like the rest of us. Now the rest of you can bust my balls because I want the easy way out NO,your CFI is the one training you, you have master CFIs there, it they sign you off as ready your most likely ready, figure out how to get it done, when you all bust my balls don't forget to bust Dons balls as well, he is merely one of the best instructors in the country.

[Yetti]

Too much bad blood has been created with this DPE

Two Ciruses have gone down in SE Texas in the pattern due to being too slow.

Two planes stalled spun in.  8 people dead.

[Skates97]

8 hours ago, Samurai Husky said:

That would be great. Hopefully its sooner than 6 months before we have our PPL's though!

 

I hope that we both have our PPL's by the end of this month. Stretching the meet up out to 6 months is only to give us both time to find and buy a plane... 

[bonal]

Ok Sam one last try. There have numerous suggestions to move to a more simple airplane that you have resisted and now your against a wall. Go to STS North coast aviation take out their 172 with an instructor to get comfortable then schedule Steve for the check. I'll skip the details of mine but it was the first time I met Steve we flew my 150 and it was a challenging fun learning experience. Steve had a great demeanor and was a pleasure to fly with. Believe me you won't be the first to change CFl's or DPE's in persuit of your license. 

[glafaille]

No excuse for sending a student up for a checkride in a plane with so much wrong with it.  Especially with a DPE that is not WELL known to everyone at the flight school.  The instructor and school is to blame for these problems, not the student.

[Marauder]

SH - didn't you tell us your instructor is Max Trescott?

"My instructor is Max Trescott; He wrote books on the G1000, IFR flight, WAAS etc. Im sure you can google him and find out everything you need to now" https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?url=http://www.mooneyspace.com/index.php?/topic/18208-What-should-i-get%3F&share_tid=18208&share_fid=55491&share_type=t

http://www.wvfc.org/instructors/trescott-max

I'm surprised Max wouldn't have you fully prepared. What is he saying about this check ride experience?

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