40 Year Old Career Changer - Looking for Advice
- Thread starter barchaim
- Start date
Screaming_Emu
Joe Conventional
Wait, that’s how we are supposed to be flying?
Roger Roger
Bottom of the list
Instructions unclear, entered stall/spin
barchaim
Well-Known Member
Stage one complete! I passed my private pilot check ride and am now ready to start my IFR training. This is a big milestone for me, and it feels so good to get it done and off my back. I've been waiting for this check ride for months, so relieved.
The thing I've been debating sharing here but I will was that the check-ride was a really negative experience. The examiner was grumpy and snapped at me a number of times. He was 45 minutes late, rushed both the oral exam and the practical flight, and even skipped entire sections of the ACS (which I really had studied hard for). The practical flight was really rushed as well which made me nervous as a student pilot. I like to fly in a deliberate and methodical manner, and he was rushing me the whole time. My thought was... "Maybe he wants to see how I perform under pressure?" We did a five minute debrief in the plane, then he had to run off to his next check ride. There were a few occasions where he was just straight up rude to me as well, it was very disappointing. When I debriefed what happened with my CFI (who has never had a check ride with this DPE), he was very confused as to why the experience I had was like this. He said he's never had a DPE treat him like this.
Overall, it wasn't a great experience. He's the only DPE for my area, he charges $1K, he's very difficult to get in touch with and doesn't follow up on emails, calls, or texts. He's going to be my DPE for all my other check rides, so I have to learn how to "work" with him, but I really was expecting a different experience and this just wasn't it.
Good news is that I got over it really quickly, and am proud to say I have my pilot's license.
The thing I've been debating sharing here but I will was that the check-ride was a really negative experience. The examiner was grumpy and snapped at me a number of times. He was 45 minutes late, rushed both the oral exam and the practical flight, and even skipped entire sections of the ACS (which I really had studied hard for). The practical flight was really rushed as well which made me nervous as a student pilot. I like to fly in a deliberate and methodical manner, and he was rushing me the whole time. My thought was... "Maybe he wants to see how I perform under pressure?" We did a five minute debrief in the plane, then he had to run off to his next check ride. There were a few occasions where he was just straight up rude to me as well, it was very disappointing. When I debriefed what happened with my CFI (who has never had a check ride with this DPE), he was very confused as to why the experience I had was like this. He said he's never had a DPE treat him like this.
Overall, it wasn't a great experience. He's the only DPE for my area, he charges $1K, he's very difficult to get in touch with and doesn't follow up on emails, calls, or texts. He's going to be my DPE for all my other check rides, so I have to learn how to "work" with him, but I really was expecting a different experience and this just wasn't it.
Good news is that I got over it really quickly, and am proud to say I have my pilot's license.
Beaker
Well-Known Member
Way to go! Congrats on joining the pilot ranks. While you had a rough experience, at the end of the day all that matters regarding a check ride is that you walked away with your certificate. The negatives will quickly fade away as you move on to the next thing.
The DPEs in my area charge the same as your guy, more or less, so that part probably is what it is. However, you might consider flying out to a different airport to do your next ride with a DPE who has a better reputation. And there are better DPEs out there. Not sure what your definition is for "area", but make sure you're drawing a large circle. People in my large metro region will sometimes fly a couple hour cross country just to reach a DPE who has better availability.
The DPEs in my area charge the same as your guy, more or less, so that part probably is what it is. However, you might consider flying out to a different airport to do your next ride with a DPE who has a better reputation. And there are better DPEs out there. Not sure what your definition is for "area", but make sure you're drawing a large circle. People in my large metro region will sometimes fly a couple hour cross country just to reach a DPE who has better availability.
A300Capt
Freight Dawg
Wow…that looks like a great retirement side hustle. Can’t believe what they’re charging for a checkride…it’s crazy, and sad…plus the stupid long wait times only to get a dirtbag for a DPE.
Anyway…congrats. Don’t sweat the DPE as long as he’s not abusive. Just concentrate on learning the material, passing the ride and moving on. The training, having a great CFI to teach the fundamentals and being the best you can be is the most important part. The checkride is merely an exercise in “playing along to get along..”
Anyway…congrats. Don’t sweat the DPE as long as he’s not abusive. Just concentrate on learning the material, passing the ride and moving on. The training, having a great CFI to teach the fundamentals and being the best you can be is the most important part. The checkride is merely an exercise in “playing along to get along..”
