6280LDO
Well-Known Member
Passed my commercial ASEL checkride and several days later, did the add-on commercial AMEL with another pass.... A little background, I already had a private AMEL with instrument, so the commercial part was not overly difficult, but challenging none the less. Additionally, I used the same DPE for both, so this may have eliminated some overlap in "common" questions during the oral.
For Commercial ASEL, oral was straight out of the PTS and contained a lot of info from the ASA Commercial study guide. We talked, in no particular order, about commercial privileges, 121 vs 135 operations, oxygen requirements, airspace and cloud clearance requirements both from a technical perspective and scenarios, talked a lot, and I mean a lot about weather. Seemed my DPE used to be a meteorologist so we went into some detail. Also talked about charts such as color coding of airspace, prohibited vs restricted airspace, TSRA's, and so on. He looked over the performance charts I created based on conditions that day as well as a straightforward weight and balance. He then asked what if we landed and picked up another passenger to see if I could rework the W&B on the fly.... We went over the XC that was provided and we talked about altitude selection (winds aloft and cardinal headings and such) and fuel burn, TOC, etc..... Lastly, we discussed the planes systems (Piper Arrow), V speeds, what speeds are listed on the ASI, ASI colors, and why Va is not listed. Also, just before finishing up, he asked me to prove the airplane was safe and airworthy to fly..... Also asked the usual inspection periodicities for static, transponder, ELT and so on.
After about a 2 hour oral, I preformed the pre-flight and the DPE joined me just as I was finishing up. He asked some questions about the flaps, antenna's, avionics, and we were ready for departure. Practical consisted of:
I immediately started with my AMEL training the next day. Aircraft was a Piper Seneca and all in all, significantly was significantly easier than the single. Just sayin.....
Again, I used the same DPE. Oral was again, approximately 2 hours but was heavy on systems and aerodynamics based on critical engine, CG, W&B, etc.
The flight portion was very straight forward and consisted of:
For Commercial ASEL, oral was straight out of the PTS and contained a lot of info from the ASA Commercial study guide. We talked, in no particular order, about commercial privileges, 121 vs 135 operations, oxygen requirements, airspace and cloud clearance requirements both from a technical perspective and scenarios, talked a lot, and I mean a lot about weather. Seemed my DPE used to be a meteorologist so we went into some detail. Also talked about charts such as color coding of airspace, prohibited vs restricted airspace, TSRA's, and so on. He looked over the performance charts I created based on conditions that day as well as a straightforward weight and balance. He then asked what if we landed and picked up another passenger to see if I could rework the W&B on the fly.... We went over the XC that was provided and we talked about altitude selection (winds aloft and cardinal headings and such) and fuel burn, TOC, etc..... Lastly, we discussed the planes systems (Piper Arrow), V speeds, what speeds are listed on the ASI, ASI colors, and why Va is not listed. Also, just before finishing up, he asked me to prove the airplane was safe and airworthy to fly..... Also asked the usual inspection periodicities for static, transponder, ELT and so on.
After about a 2 hour oral, I preformed the pre-flight and the DPE joined me just as I was finishing up. He asked some questions about the flaps, antenna's, avionics, and we were ready for departure. Practical consisted of:
- XC with diversion to a grass strip (a little tricky)
- 720 steep turns
- Slow flight
- Power on/off/accelerated stalls
- Chandelle to one direction (He told me to the right)
- 8's on pylons (Made me do it twice. Nailed it both times, but in the second circuit, we discussed pivotal altitude)
- Emergency descent
- Engine failure and simulated emergency landing.
I immediately started with my AMEL training the next day. Aircraft was a Piper Seneca and all in all, significantly was significantly easier than the single. Just sayin.....
Again, I used the same DPE. Oral was again, approximately 2 hours but was heavy on systems and aerodynamics based on critical engine, CG, W&B, etc.
The flight portion was very straight forward and consisted of:
- 720 steep turns
- Slow flight
- Power on/off stalls
- Engine failure with restart (DPE reached down while I was making a directed turn to the left and turned off the left engine fuel supply)
- Vmc demo
- Emergency descent
- Short, normal, and soft field T/O and landings
- Single engine approach and landing (On final, i was a little high with three whites.... DPE asked why and I said it was easier to lose altitude than gain it. He remained quiet, but after landing, said a commercial pilot should not need to be high or low..... I see his point, and did not argue, but the landing was entirely safe and I did not have to slip or dive.... Just pulled a little more power on short final once I was sure no other issues remained.
