Ross85 Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 I'm going up for my CFI check ride pretty soon and wanted to hear some others experiences with it. Certain things they stresses, tricky questions, how you studied, etc. Also I was wondering if anyone had as much trouble as me schedualing the test. The FSDO pretty much didn't have anyone to give me the test and it took a while to get resolved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helomaster Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 Ross85, As far as the flight portion is concerned you just need to perform to the commercial PTS standards, although you have to teach it instead of just perform it. During the ground portion it's pretty much a free for all. Be prepared for anything. Having your CFI book in good order is key. Don't sweat it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoFlyer Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 Which examiner is giving the test? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flingwing206 Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 Most times the FSDO will allow you to schedule with a DPE if there are no FAA Examiners available. Of course you have to pay the DPE, but often it's that or wait three months. As far as the checkride goes, if you are solid with your knowledge, and have practiced your teaching and gotten feedback from good coaches, you should do fine in the oral. Make sure you create the FAA-spec lesson plan for your assignment, then create one you can actually teach from... If you get into a disagreement with your examiner over any topic (and this happens at times in the CFI oral), work quickly to determine if you are merely having a communication problem or if in fact one of you is actually in error. (I had a DPE emphatically "correct" me when I said SVFR wx mins was clear of clouds and see & avoid - he said it was 1SM vis. During a break, I copied the relevant FAR, highlighted it, and left it on his side of the table. I made sure he got into the room well before I did. When I got there, the paper was gone and not another word on the topic - the rest of the checkride went fine.) As helomaster said, the flying must be commercial standard, and you have to be well ahead of your situation when teaching in the aircraft. By "well ahead", I mean you have to describe what you are going to do before you do it, so your student has time to process the info before things actually happen. Different examiners have different checkflight techniques - some will fly most of the ride, expecting you to evaluate and critique both in flight and post-flight. Some will have you fly the entire thing, some will do a mix. My CFI ride was three hours (including breaks) inside, 1.6 on the Hobbs for the flight. In hindsight, it was much easier than teaching... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross85 Posted March 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 I'm going up with Don Cody a local DPE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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