Commercial Checkride Experiences

[Seth]

Noted in another thread was the fact that we just had a Mooney Space member pass his Commercial Pilot Checkride in his Mooney.

I know we have had a couple of members pass as of late.

I'm finally going to earn mine and prior to December as I'm earning this in place of my BFR.

What was the Checkride like?  What was the hardest part of earning your Commercial Rating?  What would you differently if you had to do it again?

Any personal stories?  They can also be from long ago vs recent.

 

Thanks!

 

-Seth

[chrisk]

I started working with a local flight instructor, but eventually gave up and went the accelerated route.  I just couldn't find the time, and when I did find the time, the local instructor didn't have the time.  I had also set a target date, much like you have.   Finally it became apparent that the only way to achieve my goal on the schedule I wanted was to go the accelerated route. And it didn't help when the local instructor indicated that the local examiner would require me to use an E6B in the air to calculate true air speed.  --Not that anyone with half a brain couldn't estimate airspeed within 10 kts by taking a wag at it.  i.e. plan the route and just use your predicted airspeed when asked.

So, off I went to visit a flight instructor for 3 days. Chandells and Lazy 8s are a pain and were the hardest part for me.  Turns on pylons don't have a real standard.  Steep turns are not bad, provided you use trim.  Know how much trim to put in and know what power setting works for you.  Landings were actually easy, but I didn't use my Mooney I used a Lance, that would soak up a hard landing without a bounce.  The precision landings would have been harder in a Mooney. 

Anyway, my check ride started with a long cross country.  I picked the absolutely simplest route I could: along the shore of a big lake.  Impossible to get lost, and check points were easy.  We got got to the 2nd check point and the examiner had me divert to  another airport.  He wanted to know the heading, distance and rough time.   I had my tablet, so it was easy.  After I headed in that direction, it was time for the maneuvers.  After those, back to the airport for precision landings.  Then done.

The oral questioning was not bad.  The typical question is:  Your friend comes to you and ask you to fly him somewhere in your plane for some $.   Can you do it?  This is somewhat of a gray area, because you could be considered an operator if you are providing the plane.  Various twists to the question include renting a plane from a flight school to do the same thing.

 

[laytonl]

My commercial was several years ago.  It's really a fun rating and easy.  Chandeles are easy,  However I never could get the hang of lazy 8s.  I actually finished my lazy8 a little outside of the altitude tolerance.  The DPE groaned and said let me show you a lazy8 and she did worse than me and just said, "let's keep going".  She didn't say anymore about the lazy8.

The precision landings were not a real problem, even in the Mooney.

lee

[milotron]

I have the commercial flight test to do later this year. Did you have to do spin recovery for yours? Not sure if my M20k is certified for spins.

[RLCarter]

Spin training is only for the CFI, I don't think any Mooney is rated for intentional spins

[milotron]

In Canada the Commercial pilot license requires intentional entry and recovery from a spin after at least one quarter revolution.  I have only done them in the C172 and definitely my least favourite maneuver. I didn't think that the Mooney was rated for it, so was kind of wondering how folks were using Mooneys for the Commercial licence in the US, but I guess you don't need to do this?

Just saw that in the POH...no aerobatic maneuvers including spins...

Edited July 11, 2016 by milotron
spelling and content

[Hank]

After saying that intentional spins are prohibited, my Owners Manual gives recovery procedures followed by a WARNING:  recovery from a one turn spin may require 2000' of altitude or more.

Good luck with your Commercial checkride in Canada, but please spins something other than your Mooney!

[milotron]

Hank,  Roger that!

 

I just read a couple of other post on this topic and it seems that our birds are a bit of a hand full to recover from.  It looks like I have some 172 time in my future....

[ArtVandelay]

Also the POH recommends an altitude of 6000' AGL when doing slow flight, stalls.... I curious what altitude y'all doing your commercial maneuvers?

[N201MKTurbo]

I told the instructor and the examiner that I wouldn't do the steep spirals at idle, it is bad for the engine to back drive it. They were OK with that. At 12 in, 2400, wheels down it loses 3500 ft in three turns.

I think the Mooney is the best plane ever invented for power off 180 landings. It is so slippery you can fly it around all day with no power. I missed my mark by about six inches. Because of the yellow arc on the tach I normally fly final with the power just above where the engine shudders and 80 KTS. About 1/4 mile from the end of the runway I pull the power back to idle, touch down on the numbers and turn off at the second exit (where my hangar is). So, that maneuver is just a normal landing with a tight pattern.

i think the commercial training was great, it took me places in the flight envelop that I haven't been in a long time. 

[aviatoreb]

5 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

I told the instructor and the examiner that I wouldn't do the steep spirals at idle, it is bad for the engine to back drive it. They were OK with that. At 12 in, 2400, wheels down it loses 3500 ft in three turns.

I think the Mooney is the best plane ever invented for power off 180 landings. It is so slippery you can fly it around all day with no power. I missed my mark by about six inches. Because of the yellow arc on the tach I normally fly final with the power just above where the engine shudders and 80 KTS. About 1/4 mile from the end of the runway I pull the power back to idle, touch down on the numbers and turn off at the second exit (where my hangar is). So, that maneuver is just a normal landing with a tight pattern.

i think the commercial training was great, it took me places in the flight envelop that I haven't been in a long time. 

My examiner actually offered to allow me to not do it in idle since it was the beginning of Jan and it would shock cool and he was worried about my engine - as was I.  I was very grateful.

I had scheduled and reschedule a total of 7 times over a month for my final exam, throughout Dec into Jan each time because of bad weather.  That part was torture, but after that the exam itself was fun.

Power off landings 180 spot landings I thought were sort of hard because it is something to learn to land at a specific spot, requiring excellent energy management.  Its one thing to make the runway, but another to land at a specific spot.

[chrisk]

3 hours ago, N201MKTurbo said:

I think the Mooney is the best plane ever invented for power off 180 landings. It is so slippery you can fly it around all day with no power. I missed my mark by about six inches. Because of the yellow arc on the tach I normally fly final with the power just above where the engine shudders and 80 KTS. About 1/4 mile from the end of the runway I pull the power back to idle, touch down on the numbers and turn off at the second exit (where my hangar is). So, that maneuver is just a normal landing with a tight pattern.

i think the commercial training was great, it took me places in the flight envelop that I haven't been in a long time. 

There are two perspectives on the Mooney for a power off landing.  1) is in the case of a real engine out. I'd take a Mooney any day.  You can manage the energy and put the plane where you want it.  and 2) the perspective of a check ride test.  The Mooney requires considerably more skill to land in a -0, +200 foot tolerance than the piper lance I flew.   With the Piper Lance there was only one way to do it, since it glides like a rock. It was fly a very tight pattern,  pull the power and prop back abeam, immediate diving turn for the spot, gear down half way through the turn.  If the turn was kept coordinated, you could just make the spot.   Doing the same thing in a Mooney would have you off the far end of the runway.  --That said, with my Mooney, I'd make the 200 foot tolerance about 50% of the time if it was the first one of the day.

And I agree.  the commercial training is good fun and makes you a better pilot.  --But I still don't enjoy lazy 8s.

[N201MKTurbo]

Lazy eights are evil

[dlthig]

I got my commercial in '94, but I think the fundamentals are about the same. If you are flying your airplane you should have an advantage with your familiarity. Make sure you understand and can explain the systems and their capability. Understand the operations limits of your aircraft and how to calculate time, fuel and CG with precision. Speaking of precision, get into the habit of flying with precision, if this is part of your normal routine then your checkride is just another day. The airwork will most likely require at least a little time with an instructor to understand what to practice. After that, just practice. Seth, I suspect you'll do just fine.

 

Thiggy

[N9453V]

I did my commercial in 2012 in an accelerated program with the flight school (ProMark Aviation) in Burnet, TX. I already met all the requirements, so it was just a matter of getting the maneuvers down. I found the power-off 180's the most challenging; my instructor helped by getting me to fly the pattern entirely by feel (all instruments except engine RPM and MP were covered). I probably did 100 practice landings to ensure I could always hit my mark (-0, + 200). The check ride was uneventful; I'd over-prepared and everything was within PTS standards except I let my airspeed increase a bit on the steep spiral and quickly corrected. For the oral, my DPE knew I'd studied the ASA book cover to cover, so most of the questions were more ADM, aircraft performance, charts and weather using scenarios (e.g. having to fly customers out of a short high elevation strip on a hot day)...

-Andrew