Failed PPL Check Ride

R

roconnell

New Member
Hey everyone, I am a long time lurker and have a couple of posts, but didn’t feel like I should add my 2 cents until I was an actual pilot. I am posting today to let any future private pilots know my situation. Today I took my PPL Oral and Flying Exam. I passed the oral and with the weather briefing there was only thing to say. It was legal to fly but it was not smart to fly. I would not fly in the conditions I had to fly in today, but I was not going to back down from the challenge of the test. The winds were in the high teens and gusting in the high twenties with a wind shear Airmet. The examiner here in KGNV was excellent, he did help me along on certain items, that I knew but was not saying exactly correct. The two things I failed on are two things I have no problems with in training. So in a couple of days I will show him how well I can complete those two items. Hopefully the winds will not be as near as bad. So my advice to the any future pilot: Do not worry about the test, if your instructor signed you off, you are good to go. You know more than you think, but keep studying. The examiner may come off as mean when you fail or have trouble completing a certain part of the test. This does not mean you can give up. Keep flying the airplane and act as the PIC. We continued with the check ride and after the flight we talked about what is needed to be re-tested on, and things I can approve on. I am a little bummed, but when I look at the situation that this one man is giving me the right to fly myself and friends around, I fully understand and support his decision. My only concern is if this will hurt me down the road when I apply for a job and they ask if I failed a check ride, can anyone provide any insight into how this affects future employment?
 
roconnell said:
My only concern is if this will hurt me down the road when I apply for a job and they ask if I failed a check ride, can anyone provide any insight into how this affects future employment?[/SIZE][/FONT]
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It wont.

But in the future don't be afraid to delay a checkride if you're uncomfortable with the conditions. If you wouldn't fly in them alone, don't drag a DPE up there with you.

There will always be someone there, no matter what the conditions, who will say they'd go. But as PIC you have to make decisions you are comfortable with.
 
After the oral when the DPE said lets fly, was the encouragement to go. After that first T/O and especially on the landing was when I was thinking is there any way possible to cancel this check ride, but he didn't say anything so I continued on. Hopefully future pilots will see this, I knew the conditions were going to be not great today but was willing to go and see how things turned out. As I look back, I should of talked to my instructor to get his opinion and knowledge on re-scheduling the check ride.
 
It sounds like you learned a valuable lesson, are accepting responsibility for yourself and not blaming others. With that attitude, I don't foresee you having any problems with future employment. Let us know when you get that PPL.
 
Just remember YOU and only YOU are PIC. He/she is just there for the ride. If for whatever reason you don't feel good about something tell him/her why and try it again or say I would like to return to the airport and try it another day. They can't fail you for that........
 
It's been my experience that a DPE will always say something like, "let's fly" after the oral exam.

However, that DPE may be really testing you to see if you make the correct decision and stay on the ground when the conditions call for it.

Never hesitate to stay on the ground if the conditions aren't correct for your intended flight. Better to get there late than never get there at all.

I think the DPE taught you a valuable lesson and you'll do fine on the retest.
 
roconnell said:
Hey everyone, I am a long time lurker and have a couple of posts, but didn’t feel like I should add my 2 cents until I was an actual pilot. I am posting today to let any future private pilots know my situation. Today I took my PPL Oral and Flying Exam. I passed the oral and with the weather briefing there was only thing to say. It was legal to fly but it was not smart to fly. I would not fly in the conditions I had to fly in today, but I was not going to back down from the challenge of the test. The winds were in the high teens and gusting in the high twenties with a wind shear Airmet. The examiner here in KGNV was excellent, he did help me along on certain items, that I knew but was not saying exactly correct. The two things I failed on are two things I have no problems with in training. So in a couple of days I will show him how well I can complete those two items. Hopefully the winds will not be as near as bad. So my advice to the any future pilot: Do not worry about the test, if your instructor signed you off, you are good to go. You know more than you think, but keep studying. The examiner may come off as mean when you fail or have trouble completing a certain part of the test. This does not mean you can give up. Keep flying the airplane and act as the PIC. We continued with the check ride and after the flight we talked about what is needed to be re-tested on, and things I can approve on. I am a little bummed, but when I look at the situation that this one man is giving me the right to fly myself and friends around, I fully understand and support his decision. My only concern is if this will hurt me down the road when I apply for a job and they ask if I failed a check ride, can anyone provide any insight into how this affects future employment?
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Sorry it didn't work out for you yesterday. Obviously you learned a thing or two from the experience. It was a little gusty here in G'ville. Who was your DPE, Thompson?

As for future employment, it shouldn't matter too much. Just don't make it a habit of busting rides ;). You'll be fine.
 
DPApilot said:
I failed my instrument. Need to retake it. It sucks, but it isn't the end of the world.
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I still think that was a BS move by the examiner, but I'll try to stay on topic here.

I have friends flying for airlines right now who have failed 2 or 3 check rides in their lives. It happens, sometimes nerves get to you. But if you fail the first time, work your ass off to learn to correct what went wrong, then show up for round 2 ready to show your stuff, no one will fault you for it.

Oh, and I discourage the whole lurking until your a "real" pilot thing. The whole site exists so people can help each other out. Just because you don't have FAA plastic in your wallet yet doesn't mean you can't possibly help people out with questions in areas of life. And the best way to learn is to ask questions. You don't have to have your PPL to start learning about the industry.

Just my $.02.
 
Thanks for all the encouragement. My DPE was Casternover, great guy, can’t wait to go back up with him, hopefully he’ll throw some more distractions my way, that was pretty fun.
 
The only way to actually fail anything in aviation training is to quit. You didn't fail a checkride, you were unsuccessful. Next time you will be.
 
ChasenSFO said:
Oh, and I discourage the whole lurking until your a "real" pilot thing. The whole site exists so people can help each other out. Just because you don't have FAA plastic in your wallet yet doesn't mean you can't possibly help people out with questions in areas of life. And the best way to learn is to ask questions. You don't have to have your PPL to start learning about the industry.
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Hey, a student pilot certificate is still a pilot certificate.
 
roconnell said:
After the oral when the DPE said lets fly, was the encouragement to go. After that first T/O and especially on the landing was when I was thinking is there any way possible to cancel this check ride, but he didn't say anything so I continued on. Hopefully future pilots will see this, I knew the conditions were going to be not great today but was willing to go and see how things turned out. As I look back, I should of talked to my instructor to get his opinion and knowledge on re-scheduling the check ride.
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As instructors we learn the definition of learning to be "a change in behavior based on experience." Learn from that experience. To me a good PIC doesn't say he can go, a good PIC knows enough to say he can't go.

Hang in there. You are young in your aviation career and you will gain experience. You will make mistakes as we all still do. Just make sure you learn from them and you will do just fine!
 
Don't sweat it - you've got the right attitude and will soon be holding a shiny new certificate, then on to the Instrument Rating!

Bp244
 
Thats good your picking yourself up and trying again. I had a similar situation on my comm ride. The weather was iffy and we completed the oral. I had a job lined up that I needed to start ASAP and so I REALLY wanted to do the ride, but I went for a no-go. We ended up doing it the next day, even though I needed to fly a few hours to where the examiner was at because of her vacation. The ride went over really well! Like said before, GOOD learning experience. Now take a picture of your ripped up T-shirt or whatever the tradition is and put it up as your avatar!
 
roconnell said:
Thanks for all the encouragement. My DPE was Casternover, great guy, can’t wait to go back up with him, hopefully he’ll throw some more distractions my way, that was pretty fun.
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That's a good attitude to have. Make sure you get together with your instructor and go over the items you didn't pass and make certain you're clear on exactly what you need to do to pass.

Then go out and be successful on the re-take.
 
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