Kelly N. Posted September 1, 2008 Posted September 1, 2008 Initially, I was supposed to go on my checkride last weekend, but weather prevented me getting in some of the night T/Os and landings beforehand. So, my new date is 9/2 - tomorrow morning. I'm fluctuating between being confident and nervous as hell I'll do fine on the oral and will do good in the flying portion if I don't get too tense and wound up. I tend to be a bit over-critical of my own performance. However, I know my instructors would not have signed off on me for the checkride if I wasn't ready so, I'm just going to read safety notices tonight, review some material and then go to bed early. Tomorrow I'll focus on just flying, having fun, and trying to learn as much as possible from the DPE while I'm up with him. I'll post to this thread tomorrow night with my results. Kelly Quote
rodrop Posted September 1, 2008 Posted September 1, 2008 Initially, I was supposed to go on my checkride last weekend, but weather prevented me getting in some of the night T/Os and landings beforehand. So, my new date is 9/2 - tomorrow morning. I'm fluctuating between being confident and nervous as hell I'll do fine on the oral and will do good in the flying portion if I don't get too tense and wound up. I tend to be a bit over-critical of my own performance. However, I know my instructors would not have signed off on me for the checkride if I wasn't ready so, I'm just going to read safety notices tonight, review some material and then go to bed early. Tomorrow I'll focus on just flying, having fun, and trying to learn as much as possible from the DPE while I'm up with him. I'll post to this thread tomorrow night with my results. Kelly Good Luck!Looking forward to a great blog entry on this one. Quote
Kelly N. Posted September 1, 2008 Author Posted September 1, 2008 Good Luck!Looking forward to a great blog entry on this one. Hey rodrop, Thanks! I'll definitely post up a detailed blog entry about the checkride. It'll be interesting to see what it's going to be like. Kelly Quote
BOATFIXERGUY Posted September 1, 2008 Posted September 1, 2008 The first one is always the most nervous. After it's over, you'll wonder what you were nervous about. Good Luck! Enjoy the flight! Quote
rotormandan Posted September 1, 2008 Posted September 1, 2008 The first one is always the most nervous. After it's over, you'll wonder what you were nervous about. Good Luck! Enjoy the flight! You're going to ace your ride tomarrow. Have fun. Quote
rmiller4292 Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 Kelly, I just took my Commercial ride on Friday...I was pretty nervous myself....Stick with the confident thoughts and you will do just fine...I was pretty nervous myself...it went well for me.. Ryan Quote
rodrop Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 Hey rodrop, Thanks! I'll definitely post up a detailed blog entry about the checkride. It'll be interesting to see what it's going to be like. Kelly You will do great, can't wait to hear. Quote
ADRidge Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 Your PPL ride is scary at first. But just realize that it's YOUR helicopter. That guy is just going to tell you what you already know. You're a Pilot. I personally thought the oral was harder than the flight portion. Not for a lack of knowledge... just calling it all up on demand. If you don't have a problem with that, then you're golden. Quote
Ross85 Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 good luck! the examiners aren't out to get you, they just want to make sure you are safe. Quote
FlynPHX4Ever Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 Kelly:Good luck tomorrow! You're ready, my friend. Just RELAX and have fun. Can't wait to see the well earned smile on your face tomorrow afternoon! Quote
Kelly N. Posted September 3, 2008 Author Posted September 3, 2008 Waiting on some good news Well, it's over and it went well I passed and had a great time in the process. The oral portion was no problem (I was prepared well - Thanks Craig!). The flight portion of it went pretty well too. There were a couple of things that went less perfectly than I'd like but overall it went pretty smoothly. My best maneuvers? Settling w/power and the recovery along with the low-rotor RPM recovery were so smooth and quick it was like a non-issue. Also, I had some pretty smooth pick-ups and setdowns. My hover auto was pretty good too (though he showed me the same maneuver with more of a forward motion as you descend which I'll be working on for comm.). Worst? My auto was a bit sketchy. I let the RPM get a bit low at the first and was chasing airspeed the rest of the way down. However, I did the flare and recovery o.k. I'll post a full write-up on the blog in the next day or so, but I'm pretty wiped out right now and just want to get some rest tonight (was up super early due to being excited about the checkride today). Thanks everyone for the support, advice, and (Craig, Greta, Dan) the training. Kelly Quote
ADRidge Posted September 3, 2008 Posted September 3, 2008 Great news, Kelly! I understand about being wiped out. It's definitely a decent bit of stress. Congratulations! Quote
Kelly N. Posted September 4, 2008 Author Posted September 4, 2008 Good Luck!Looking forward to a great blog entry on this one. As promised, I've updated the blog with an entry describing the highlights of my checkride (it is a bit long so, if you have trouble sleeping tonight, give it a read ). Thanks again to everyone for the congratulations and all the advice over the past few months. Kelly Quote
FlyNHighNFast Posted September 5, 2008 Posted September 5, 2008 Kelly: Huge Congrats Man!! I'm happy for you. Chalk up another success story to the great team of instructors at NC Rotor and Wing. Quote
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