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5 Answers

CFI Initial next week – wish me luck!

Asked by: 1659 views Flight Instructor

That's pretty much it, its all on me now, but i'll take any extra luck I can!  I'm appreciative of all the info i've been able to glean here and I look forward to a positive report next week.

cheers!

adam

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5 Answers



  1. KDS on Jan 08, 2019

    Good luck and TEACH TEACH TEACH. It’s not like those other check rides.

    KDS

    P.S. A positive attitude and a friendly demeanor goes a long way. Show what a nice guy you are to the examiner.

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  2. ayavner on Jan 08, 2019

    Thanks, i am actually looking forward to it (in between periods of mortal dread and anxiety haha)… will report back either way!

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  3. ayavner on Jan 15, 2019

    Passed, first time out! My brain is still swimming in jello and my whole body hurts from the tension haha!! it was a great workout, looking forward to exploring this…

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  4. KDS on Jan 16, 2019

    What did you learn in the process of taking the check that you would pass on to others preparing for the same check?

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  5. ayavner on Jan 16, 2019

    Good question – I’d have to say first and foremost, your advice above was spot on – bounding in there with a smile on my face and a ‘let’s have fun’ attitude really set the tone. Caffeine helps.

    For the oral, I guess I’d pass on that knowing the material isn’t necessarily enough. Pretend you are explaining this to your grandmother, watch for the cues that your message isn’t getting across, and be ready to throw your prepared statement out the window and try something else.

    Be creative – I brought my cordless drill with a holesaw and a block of wood to help explain torque effect. It got a great laugh from the DPE, but I think he liked it. Think outside the box, prepared statements are not necessarily going to get you through.

    Leave your tabbed out “Oral Preparation Guide” at home, I think they want to see you prepared using the FARs and FAA publications etc.

    To the extent possible, YOU set the pace. Just like if you are giving a presentation at work or school, don’t let the room run you – you run the room. There is only so much you can do here, but it helps. Pause in your lecture to ask if things are making sense, ask for questions at the end, and try to manage any attempts to steer you down the rabbit hole by staying on track but acknowledging the question and promising to get an answer. He or she may be seeing how you react to that distraction. But again be ready to throw it out the window and pivot if necessary – don’t be so emotionally attached to your own preparation that you lose sight of the goal.

    Take lots of breaks if you need to… I think i got up to pee every half hour it seems, but it kinda broke it up some…. don’t make it more of a marathon than it already is.

    There were a couple of times where I was probably a little wordy and the DPE called me out on that, saying a student might not have the attention span. If this happens, its a good idea to have the PTS available and explain to him that you understand that, however in this particular circumstance you are also trying to pass a test and that you need to have all bases covered – in reality you might break that same information up over time for a student.

    The flight portion – again as you said, TEACH. Never let your lips stop moving. Vocalize your thought process like you are Rain Man. Know the standards so that you can monitor how you are doing in real time, and point out when you are about to exceed a limitation, why that could be the case, and how you can fix it. You set the pace – don’t be in a hurry to demonstrate your best steep turns; instead, take the time to really set the stage just as you would with a student who has never done one. It helps you to relax when you remove that pressure.

    Otherwise it was really just like the Commercial checkride, and kinda fun after the oral grilling. Mine was 5 hours oral, 2.2 flying, plus all the paperwork and breaks etc.

    OH – and KNOW YOUR EMERGENCY MEMORY ITEMS 🙂

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