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2 Answers

Retaking practical test

Asked by: 3147 views General Aviation, Instrument Rating, Private Pilot

Hello there.

Just failed some item from practical IR test.

Oral portion passed.

ACS states that new DPE MAY not ask you for successful part of the test.

But it means if I go with new DPE he may ask. So no need to retake test within 60 days. Anyway DPE can do full test at his discretion.

Tell me please about your experience. Am I right?

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2 Answers

  1. Best Answer


    KDS on Oct 31, 2019

    I’m not 100% sure what the question is, so I’ll try to answer it, but if I miss the mark, just let me know.

    Whether you use the same DPE or a different one should not matter. In reality, unless the first DPE was a horse’s hind end, you’re better off with the first guy as he will remember what happened and what needs to be rechecked. A different examiner only has the first DPE’s notes to go on, so there can be questions in his mind. Also, there is a human tendency to not want to put your name on a temporary certificate after just checking one task. The initial examiner has seen all of the other tasks and may (for example) say “Okay, let’s go shoot that ILS again and land and get it done”.

    After 60 days, an examiner is required to redo the entire test. However, examiners are human, despite what anyone tells you. If they sat through a big long oral with you and remember you doing well, you’re probably going to get the briefest oral that is allowed within the rules.

    If you take the test again within the 60 day limit, the examiner must test those areas that were not successfully complete. They may, at their discretion, test areas that were successfully completed. My experience is that this will almost never if ever happen. Normally when a person receives a disapproval for something that was previously completed satisfactorily on the first test it is because it came up in the normal progression of a flight. It’s not that the examiner was looking to test that item, but something bad happened and they couldn’t ignore it.

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  2. Max Trescott on Nov 15, 2019

    If you go with a new DPE, you should assume that he will ask you about some of the things you already passed on the oral portion of the exam with your first DPE. I had a client who decided to go to a 10-day accelerated Instrument school. He passed the oral but not the flight portion (or perhaps didn’t even fly the flight portion; I don’t recall that part). I told him multiple times that the new DPE he was going to might ask him oral questions again. He kept telling me that wouldn’t happen. It did, and he failed the oral…which he had already passed! So yes, stick with the first DPE if you can. Otherwise, expect you may have to repeat some things if you go to a second DPE to finish your checkride.

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