I have got to get this done.

T

t-cart

Active Member
My ATP checkride. After one year and eleven months of procrastination, I have until the last day of this month to get it done. My plan is to go up a few times through the end of this week and do some approaches and holds. Also going to try to knock the rust off of the airwork. Then, starting next week, get with my instructor and get after it.

I'll be dong this in my Apache, and doing the ride with the fed. The reason for the fed is that I can't find a dpe within several hundred miles qualified to do it in the Apache. Oh well.

I've been really going over the POH for the plane and have a pretty good grasp of that. Anything else I should focus on?

Any suggestions, comments, gouge, or snide remarks are welcome.:D
 
The big, huge upside to doing it with a fed is that it is free! No, but really, feds are humans too (I think) and you will be fine. I have had three rides with feds and only one of those guys was jerk. He was later fired from the Orlando FSDO due to anger management issues.
 
I guess doing it with the faa wouldn't be so bad, but have you checked with the local DPE's to see if you could get them a waiver to do the checkride in an Apache? I did my MEI checkride in a Cessna 303 and I had the same problem finding a qualified DPE. One of them suggested I call the FSDO and request a one time waiver for him (I don't remember the exact details, but they faxed him a waiver and he was able to do the checkride in the plane.

As for gouges, I did my ATP in conjunction with a type rating ride, and it was no different than my sim partner's recurrent ride, so no help from me. I guess just know everything in the PTS.
 
Know your systems! And if you fail, at least it's a free ride! But seriously, good luck and we're all counting on you.
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You knew it was coming sooner or later...
 
dc3flyer said:
I guess doing it with the faa wouldn't be so bad, but have you checked with the local DPE's to see if you could get them a waiver to do the checkride in an Apache? I did my MEI checkride in a Cessna 303 and I had the same problem finding a qualified DPE. One of them suggested I call the FSDO and request a one time waiver for him (I don't remember the exact details, but they faxed him a waiver and he was able to do the checkride in the plane.
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:yeahthat:

Its happened on several occasions here.

I would call some DPEs and have them give their POI a ring.

Good luck!

P.S My ATP ride was the easiest one I've done so far. I was nervous at first but it took about 20 seconds after rotation to feel comfortable and 2.1 hours (:panic:) later I was done.
 
Thanks for the suggestions so far. I appreciate it. I will do some snooping around with some of the dpe's and see what I can find out. Thanks.
 
Know the ATP pts well, know the systems very well. Know some things like climb gradients in IFR and VFR etc, I sit through alot of ATP checks so I know what they usually ask. Most of it is systems and limitations of the airplane.
 
I take a different view than some of the earlier posts. I would not hesitate for a second to take the ride with the FAA. Besides the money savings, you will have made contact with an inspector who you might interact with on other levels. They are no tougher than the DPEs.

The inspectors are more used to doing the advanced checks than the DPEs, so their questions may be more like what one would expect from a professional pilot. You should stress the CRM issues. Something along the line of "I know you are not a crew member for the purpose of this test, but I still want you to watch for other traffic and alert me to anything that looks unsafe." Also, give your approach briefings out loud even though you are actually flying single pilot.

Since you own the airplane, you are probably very familiar with the systems, but it wouldn't hurt to review them. For example, losing the left engine means you are going to have to pump the gear down. Be prepared to explain what drives the prop into feather (just as an example).

Go through the checklist to ensure the way the checklist says to do things is the way your are doing them (do I really rotate at that speed, do I really do things in that sequence, etc.).

Good luck. I'm sure you will do fine.
 
good luck! i have been putting mine off too, i met the requirements 6 months ago, but i still need to take the written, then call up the DPE
 
t-cart said:
Thanks for the suggestions so far. I appreciate it. I will do some snooping around with some of the dpe's and see what I can find out. Thanks.
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If you want to go as far as Nashville, I know someone who could do it in an Apache (about 90% sure). PM me and let me know.
 
The only problem with doing a checkride through an inspector is the inspector's schedule. I have done nearly all of my checkrides through the FAA, but I had to be very flexible with my dates. They cannot work on the weekends, and normally have a full schedule during the week so it could be to two or three weeks before they can fit you into their schedule. If the weather is bad the day of the checkride it could be another two or three weeks until the inspector's next open day.

Alex.
 
PeterPilot said:
I take a different view than some of the earlier posts. I would not hesitate for a second to take the ride with the FAA. Besides the money savings, you will have made contact with an inspector who you might interact with on other levels. They are no tougher than the DPEs.
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Depends on the inspector. My one ride with the FAA was with the inspector that failed everyone. And by everyone I mean everyone. Lucky for me, I flew probably the best I had in my life and came in to the oral WAY over prepared since I knew his reputation. It was like I'd run over his dog when he had to tell me I passed. When I got back to the school, everyone wanted to see the temp cert b/c they didn't believe me.

After the stunt he pulled on another student that went a few months after me, I hope he got fired. I'll let Ryan tell that story...

That being said, he was pretty much the ONLY guy at the FSDO I would avoid on a checkride. Everyone else was tough, but fair. That's really all you can ask for. If the ride's too easy, I wouldn't feel like I earned it. All I ask is for a check ride to be fair and impartial.
 
Good suggestions and comments so far. Thanks for your replys. I have a pretty good relationship with the fed guy as he is the one over the ag operations in my area.

Thanks for your reply's.
 
I'm surprised you didn't get it during your BE200 training....I figured they'd put that in the package for you....
 
Polar742 said:
I'm surprised you didn't get it during your BE200 training....I figured they'd put that in the package for you....
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I checked in to that before we left and it wasn't an option at this particular school. I was on the boss's dime.
 
kellwolf said:
After the stunt he pulled on another student that went a few months after me, I hope he got fired. I'll let Ryan tell that story...
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Where is Ryan? Now I am curious. Go get this Ryan person and tell him to whip out his keyboard!:yar:
 
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