Old Dominion Flyer
Well-Known Member
It is now a two day ride with a five week wait time.
Oral:
I met with the inspector at the FSDO. I was there a total of four hours.
Discussed half of the FOI. Laws of Learning. Defense Mechanisms. Reasons students forget material. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Levels of Learning. Elements of Professionalism. The inspector didn't say a word about planning instructional activity. Perhaps my binder of awesomeness convinced him I understood lesson planning. He asked for a lesson about spin awareness, so I taught slow flight, stalls, and spins. They seem to be related.
Then we dove into the FAR's. It felt like the inspector had a list of most commonly asked stupid questions by instructors. He gave me scenarios and I answered his questions by quoting chapter and verse from the FAR. Example: You're a CFI with a tailwheel endorsement. What FAR says you're qualified to provide instruction in a tailwheel aircraft?
Flight:
I was delayed twice due to mx issues but eventually got it finished up.
On the first flight we took up a Diamond 20 so I could demonstrate instructional knowlege of spins. I performed one spin by entering straight in and completing one full rotation to the left before the aircraft began to transition into a spiral. The inspector was satisfied with my performance and we went home.
On the second flight I used a Piper Arrow.
Preflight lesson about retractable gear and constant speed propeller
Very thorough explanation about everything in the engine run-up
Steep Turns
Lazy Eight
Slow Flight
Power Off Stall
Elevator Trim Stall
Basic Attitude Instrument-Climbing Turns
Emergency Procedures-In Flight Fire, Emergency Landing, Gear Failure
Soft Field T/O and Landing at a towered airport
Short Field T/O and Landing at a towered airport
S-Turns across a road
Eights on Pylons
No power on stall
No steep spiral
No chandelles
No Power-off 180
Just keep talking no matter what. The two airports we used are nearly 30nm apart. I spent plenty of time explaining scanning and pilotage. You can recover from an ugly maneuver by explaining the common error you just committed and then executing a smooth correction. While we taxied back during the landings I debriefed the maneuvers and briefed the next one. When I was done with that I talked with the inspector about his flying background and experience. Instructors can better communicate material to a student when they understand the student's knowlege base. The inspector was glad I tried to find common ground with him like I would with a student.
As I prepared for this checkride I constantly heard about a 20% pass rate and how this is the toughest checkride I'll ever take. I'd say it was the most enjoyable checkride I've ever taken. All the hype caused me to prepare like mad and go loaded for bear. At the end of the day, my performance impressed a guy who probably has more skill in his pinky finger than I'll ever have. Now there's a sense of a job well done!
I also need to add an honorable mention to my fiancee, friends, and family for enduring the endless torture of me teaching them flying material as I trained for the CFI. Teaching material to non-pilots is a great way to gauge your teaching ability as well as your own understanding of material.
Oral:
I met with the inspector at the FSDO. I was there a total of four hours.
Discussed half of the FOI. Laws of Learning. Defense Mechanisms. Reasons students forget material. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Levels of Learning. Elements of Professionalism. The inspector didn't say a word about planning instructional activity. Perhaps my binder of awesomeness convinced him I understood lesson planning. He asked for a lesson about spin awareness, so I taught slow flight, stalls, and spins. They seem to be related.
Then we dove into the FAR's. It felt like the inspector had a list of most commonly asked stupid questions by instructors. He gave me scenarios and I answered his questions by quoting chapter and verse from the FAR. Example: You're a CFI with a tailwheel endorsement. What FAR says you're qualified to provide instruction in a tailwheel aircraft? Flight:
I was delayed twice due to mx issues but eventually got it finished up.
On the first flight we took up a Diamond 20 so I could demonstrate instructional knowlege of spins. I performed one spin by entering straight in and completing one full rotation to the left before the aircraft began to transition into a spiral. The inspector was satisfied with my performance and we went home.
On the second flight I used a Piper Arrow.
Preflight lesson about retractable gear and constant speed propeller
Very thorough explanation about everything in the engine run-up
Steep Turns
Lazy Eight
Slow Flight
Power Off Stall
Elevator Trim Stall
Basic Attitude Instrument-Climbing Turns
Emergency Procedures-In Flight Fire, Emergency Landing, Gear Failure
Soft Field T/O and Landing at a towered airport
Short Field T/O and Landing at a towered airport
S-Turns across a road
Eights on Pylons
No power on stall
No steep spiral
No chandelles
No Power-off 180
Just keep talking no matter what. The two airports we used are nearly 30nm apart. I spent plenty of time explaining scanning and pilotage. You can recover from an ugly maneuver by explaining the common error you just committed and then executing a smooth correction. While we taxied back during the landings I debriefed the maneuvers and briefed the next one. When I was done with that I talked with the inspector about his flying background and experience. Instructors can better communicate material to a student when they understand the student's knowlege base. The inspector was glad I tried to find common ground with him like I would with a student.
As I prepared for this checkride I constantly heard about a 20% pass rate and how this is the toughest checkride I'll ever take. I'd say it was the most enjoyable checkride I've ever taken. All the hype caused me to prepare like mad and go loaded for bear. At the end of the day, my performance impressed a guy who probably has more skill in his pinky finger than I'll ever have. Now there's a sense of a job well done!
I also need to add an honorable mention to my fiancee, friends, and family for enduring the endless torture of me teaching them flying material as I trained for the CFI. Teaching material to non-pilots is a great way to gauge your teaching ability as well as your own understanding of material.
. Have fun!
