CFI CHECKRIDE PASSED

Josh

Well-Known Member
Completed the rating on 26 May. Finally getting around to writing up some stuff on it. Pasted in below from the web page I made up:

http://www.igot.net/fly/shebles/cfi.html

I recently completed my initial Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) Airplane Single Engine, at Sheble Aviation http://www.shebleaviation.com/ in Las Vegas (Henderson), Nevada. The course consist of 8 days of training, with the checkride planned for day 8. Both written test (FOI and FIA) must be passed prior to starting. The stuff below may be slightly out of order, but is as close as I can remember.

Day 0: Flew into Las Vegas (LAS), from San Jose (SJC). Wait around for a 3PM check in for the airport hotel I'd be staying in for one day. The condo was not availible until the next night. Try and figure how to open suitcase, as the combination had accidentally been reset while I was packing. Resolve that, and wander on over to In-n-Out for lunch/dinner. Pick up rental car, which was about 300 feet from the hotel room. Pick up 3 ring binder at WalMart. Use up some hilighter ink while reviewing the FAR/AIM book.

Day 1: Up early to pack and check out a little after 7am. Make my way to Henderson (HND) where the training is done. About a 30 min drive, noted road construction on the way, and figured I'd have to plan that into my daily trips out there. Meet Luis, who runs the CFI course, and go through the paperwork. Make sure my 8710 is in order, test results exist, begin to fill binder with stuff. Into the classroom, where CFI students are presenting lesson plans. The other guys had been there from 4-6 days on average, so I was the new guy. Pretty much a constantly growing class it seems, as new students come in. Take some notes on how lessons are best presented. Other students come and go for their flights throughout the day. Wind was howling all day. There was other ground training given by Joe Sr., and the day was wrapped up. Somewhere in there, I got the keys to the condo I'd be staying in for the next few days. Schedule is made at the end of each day, and I had a 7am flight the next morning, but no flying that first day. Settle into condo. Visit Costco to pick up some stuff for the week, and ended up leaving my wallet there. Couple hours later, realized this, and drove back (afraid of what I'd do without it) and some kind person had found it left in the cart, and turned it into Costco. Begin on lesson plan in the format given.

Day 2: Arrive a little before 7am. Windy. CFIs out, give their stories on how it is hard to hold centerline, and getting worse. Flight cancelled. Others arrive shortly for ground for the day. 2 of the students had checkrides schedule for this day. They went into do the oral portion of the tests, and it seemed they would wait and see if it was going to calm down for flying later. Review some information, and how to teach on topics with another student, Mike, who was staying in the condo with me as well. Fly in the afternoon. Hot and windy, and getting used to commercial airwork from the right side, in those conditions was interesting. Landing practice would come another day. Logged 1.8hrs with Andrew as the instructor.

Day 3: Arrive about 8am. Windy as usual. This was a ground training day, and I was not scheduled to fly. Ground begins on how to present lesson plan, details on look and layout. New student arrives. Joe Sr. conducts classes in the afternoon on required CFI knowledge areas. Discuss systems in the 172RG, while out around the plane. Break for the day with a, show up around 8am for tomorrow. Write a few lesson plans.

Day 4: Get a call about 6:10am asking where I am. I'm supposed to fly I guess at 6am, and the schedule for that was made up after we had all left the airport the day before. So I wake up, and get out there and in a plane around 7am. Logged 1.9 with Tyler, and did a number of landings, including power off 180s, which went good by the end. Practiced presenting a lesson plan, and a few other knowledge areas for ground. Wait for schedule before leaving for the day. Write up a few more lesson plans. Mike takes checkride, and does well, but the 172RG has a problem before he gets to complete the ride. He will finish tomorrow when the other RG is brought up from the Kingman (IGM) location.

Day 5: Morning flight logged 2.3 with Tyler, and worked on commercial airwork and landings. Ground on knowledge areas, and teaching techniques for certain topics. Mike takes checkride portion in the RG and passes.

Day 6: Morning flight logged .7 with Alex. Vibration came up during power reductions, so we brough the plane back in. Seems it is normal with that plane, and power changes need to be made slower to avoid this. At least both of us knew now. More ground. Break for lunch, and another new student added to the class. Back for an afternoon flight, and logged 1.3 hours working on commercial airwork, and no flap landings. Next day is my last full day before the checkride, so I'm plannin on RG flying, and whatever else before the signoff.

Day 7: Morning flight logged 1.5 with Alex. Commercial work, and landings. I get a post flight that basically seem ready to go for the ride. So I ask about the RG, as I have been all week, and no one seems to know for sure how it'll be worked out. It seems the current plan is to have me fly in the RG on the morning of day 8. And then checkride later that day. I am kinda wondering, since I hear my ride is scheduled at Lake Havasu (HII) and it'll be hard to get 2 planes down there. So I'm going to do all the ride in the 172RG it would seem. Which I have 0 time in at this point. I pester a bit, and am told I will get a call with what the plan is for day 8. Back at the condo, get a call, saying that the checkride can not be on Monday, day 8, because I am not checked out in the RG, and I am not signed off. I'm told things are pushed then to Tuesday, day 9, with a different examiner, and at HND. So I comment I'll still need to get an RG, since the one at HND has been broke for the last few days. I need to know for sure, since I'll need to change my flight home with this change. I'm told to arrive day 8 at 8am. Not very happy about the change, figure I'm in Vegas, so at least drive up and down the strip once.

Day 8: At the airport before 8am. Am told that the day 9 checkride is not going to work out in HND, since the DPE is not availible. Great, another change. But, I'm told, the original examiner I was going to have on day 8, can do it in the morning on day 9. I'll be going down to IGM for 172RG work in a short while, and a confirmation of that checkride time. Get into a 172 and fly it down with Luis and another student in the back about 8am, to IGM. Do a procedure flight in the RG. Grab some lunch. Then fly for 3.6hr in the 172RG with Jeff, as it is firm at this point my ride will all be in the RG, and at HII. So we visit HII on this flight, and complete all review needed for the ride. Feels good to get to do things all in the RG, as it is a little more solid feeling. Nailed the power off 180 practice. Park the RG, and make sure it is ready to go for tomorrow. Fly back to HND with Luis in a 172. Same plane I'll be taking back to IGM on day 9 to pick up my RG to go down on HII in. Fuel up, and make sure all is ready to go in the plane. Need to arrive about 5:30am to get going, as I have about an hour of flight to IGM, and then another hour to HII tomorrow. Flew 6.2hrs today.

Day 9: Up early, and leaving HND shortly after 5:30am on my way to IGM. Land and secure, and pick up my RG, and head out to HII. Arrive a little before 8am for a planned 8:30 start. Get the plane topped off. Go through the ground portion of the practical test with the examiner, Joe La Placa. Some good tips were given on how to present certain things. Get into the RG to fly after going over preflight. Flight was good, teaching maneuvers that Joe wanted, with him taking the controls a few times as I talked through something, or he did a demo. I was getting hot and windy, as it was early afternoon now. After a steep spiral, to a landing at a field across the river, and some 8 on pylon work, went back to HII for what Joe said as something like, believe it or not now, we're going to finish up now with a power off 180 precision landing. The ASOS, which is an odd format, and slow at HII, was showing wind 190 at 20 gusting 30. Thought this would be fun, and we had just done some power off work at the other airport. Kept speed up to account for gust, and came in ok, but touched down about 400' past the aiming point. Rolling out was good, full aileron into the wind, and then a gust picks us up off the runway. I do a little rudder, power, aileron dance, and bring us right back down on center. Joe says that was all good, but the standard for the 180 is 100', so we'll park and talk about it. Discuss that it was bad judgement. Call to make sure I can get a 172 to finish off the ride the next day early, since the complex work was complete. In talking, Joe comments he doesn't want to do another checkride in the afternoon, because it is too windy out there. I think, yeah, it is a little beyond trying to show precision skills. So I'm set for 7am the next morning to finish off, and I take the RG back to IGM. I recall the winds at IGM when landing (and leaving shortly after) were 210 at 27 gusting 38, and no one else was on CTAF. I park the RG, and go inside to see what 172 I get to go back to HND in. Get my plane, and go back to HND. Additional training with Luis on the power off, and get signed off to complete the ride the next day. Logged 5.1hrs.

Day 10: Up early again. Leave HND a little after 5:30am again. Direct to HII this time. Had to be there at 7am though, because Joe had a ride with the FAA a little later in the day. I get to the HII area around 6:30, and wind is like 320 at 3. So figure I should practice a few, since this is the first time I've had no real wind in a couple weeks. Practice landings go ok. Meet with Joe, and discuss how I would teach the power off 180. Paperwork. Finally out to the plane. Joe takes controls on the first time around, and tries the landing power off. Touches at the top of the aiming bars, and then firmly down about 200' past. Says my controls, and for me to go around and perform a power off 180. So I'm thinking this is all I have to do, and not wanting to mess anything up. Approach goes well. Put the mains down, firmly and stick it, right in the middle of the aiming bars. Joe says that's good, and to taxi in. Secure the plane, and head inside to wrap up the paperwork. Shake, and then he mentioned checking out his seaplane. So I say I have a few minutes. Head over, take a couple pictures. And then I'm on my way back to HND, with my temp in hand. Feels good to be done, as I follow along the Colorado. Get back into the HND area, and know things are weird as the airport is landing the other direction because of winds, and they are below 15 for the first time since I've been there. Logged 3hrs. Secure, wave goodbye, and pick up stuff at the condo. Head to LAS, to wait in insanely long lines for 'security'. Back to SJC and home later in the day. Sleep.

All in all, the course was pretty good. There could have been some things done better, but a majority of the issues came because a plane was down. I logged about 27hrs of flight time while there, most of which was dual. If someone were to go to a course there, and you are flying in, as I did, I would recommend you leave return plans open. Or just get a one way ticket. I had to pay $125 to make the late change on my flight, and a couple more days for a rental car, and another $150 for the recheck fee.

FOR PICTURES VISIT http://www.igot.net/fly/shebles
 
Congratulations! Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
 
Josh,

Great job. your experience is VERY different than mine, since mine was a year and a half ago. Atleast you got more flight time for your money. I also understand you met my buddy Dave (the Canadian).

The pics on your web site brought back fond memories....
smile.gif


DeanR
 
Yeah, I think things are always improving there. In fact, they are working on a nicer corp. paint scheme, white w/red and blue instead of that old tan and blue they have now. Thanks for the info on your experiences. Helped in what to expect. I did meet Dave there. He was in the last day before his ride when I arrived. I had wanted to get a few more picts of the planes, but just was too busy at times, and didn't have the chance to snap a pict.

I would certainly recommend Sheble for training, with just the idea that on any of their longer courses, you may want to allow for possible changes. The one or two day courses seemed to all run on sched that I saw.
 
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