Skills test....

[Ian_Wannabe]

Hey guys - I've got my skills test booked for this Monday and I was wondering if anyone could pass on some last min hints and tips from other experiences?

Also... just a passing thought, how many people passed first time, and how many people failed? I started a thread a while back on the reasons for failing so you dont have to bare all if you dont wanna!
Cheers guys

Ian

[White Bear]

Skills Test, sounds like the exam at end of an old fashioned 5 year apprenticeship.

I much prefer the American term “Check Ride”, after all the ‘Examiner’ is just there to make sure you can fly the aircraft safely, can communicate while doing it, and understand and can demonstrate basic navigation, that’s all.

Stay calm, do what you already know you can do. Try not to get nervous. In my experience most Examiner's want you to pass, simply don't give him too many reasons for concern, and he is forced to fail you.
Good Luck,
White Bear. :ok:

[vancouv]

I found my skills test pretty hard. I did both the nav and handling bits in one go (you can opt to do them separately, but I guess this depends on the examiner as well), so you end up flying for over 2 hours, which was by far the longest flight I'd done. Add to that the general stress of being 'examined' (although my examiner was great and did his best to relax me) and it was very draining.

We did the nav first, and then the handling. My PFL was a nightmare, mainly I think due to fatigue and nerves, and I ended up with a partial pass. This meant I had to do a second test to re-do the PFL. For this we just flew to the local area, did a PFL, and flew back. Although the PFL is the point of this exercise, the examiner is also checking the other parts of the flight as well, so if, for example, your R/T was fine the first time, but rubbish the second, you could end up failing completely.

My advice would be to do a pretend test with your instructor beforehand. I did do this, but not both the sections in one go, and I did find the length a problem. Make sure you're rested, brush up on the POH for your plane as there is an oral test about it, and try and relax.

The examiner wants you to pass, he's not trying to trick you, so I'm sure all will be fine.

[The Swinging Monkey]

yeh, I agree with whats been written. I would only add this - if you think you have made a hash of something, then 'throw it away' and get on to the next thing. Don't let it niggle you and upset things, just forget it. One thing I was told was that if I did something real cr&p, then consider saying to the examiner 'I'm sorry,but I can do that much better - would you like me to do it again?' chances are he will just let it go.
Remember, he wants to see that you are safe, not some mega-qualified test pilot. Try to relax and enjoy it and good luck - let us all know how you got on
kind regards
TSM

[CherokeeDriver]

Best advice I can give is simply to relax. I had to fly for 3 hours to do my skills test. By the time I did it I was too knackered to get stressed - I just flew the plane how I had been taught. I found it helpful to drink a can of very suger laden lemonade before hand to give the brain some more energy!

Towards the end of my skills test the examiner actually taught me some new handling techniques as well - so it doubled up as a lesson. It's hard to belive until you've done a test but the chances are the examiner will want you to pass as much as you want to pass. If you proove to them you are not a danger to yourself or anyone else whilst PIC then you'll stroll through the exam. Good luck - let us know how you get on!:ok:

[tmmorris]

Also, you can be really sure you messed something up, yet still pass - so never give up!

In my case it was my glide approach, which was pants. If I'd assumed I'd failed at that point and stopped concentrating, I probably would have.

Tim

[terryJones]

I recall during my GFT as it was then, concentrating more on the guy next to me than the aeroplane. As a result, during the slow flying bit I picked up a dropped wing with aileron. Instantly however, I said something along the lines of 'Whoops, now lets try it again with top rudder' .
I was invited to demonstrate again, and passed with no further problems.
Rule number One - Fly the aeroplane. (Ignore the guy sat in the right hand seat)
Rule number Two - Gravity never gives up (see rule one)

[Cricket23]

Although this thread was started by Ian W, I'd also appreciate any comments.

I have my Skills Test to do shortly (it will also be the two tests in 1 flight), and although I'm 45 yrs old, and have done my fair share of exams over the years, I must admit that I am 'bricking it' at the thought of this one!

So, as Ian says, any help appreciated.

Cheers,

C23

[terryJones]

Cricket23
As I said, try and forget the fact that it is a test, but if you do make a mistake, POINT it out. By so doing you prove you KNOW what to do.
You CAN fly.
You can fly SAFELY.
You can navigate.
I know this to be true, otherwise you would not be entered for the Skill Test.
Oh, and I was 49 when I got my PPL, so age is no excuse...

[Ian_Wannabe]

Cheers for the comments so far - Cricket, when is your test? we'll have to let these guys know when we pass!

Looks like Monday might be a bit touch and go up north, damn snow...:D

[Cricket23]

Thanks Terry.

Ian - Good luck for Monday. I'm about 2 weeks behind you, although given that I've had some lessons cancelled recently coz of the weather, it'll be more like a month. But hey-ho, to be expected of course at this time of year.

.....and yes, we'll have to let this folks know how we get on.

[markflyer6580]

The best advice I had pre test was from my long suffering instructor who told me " the examiner wants to pass you!"

Best advice mid test when my diversion was a bit off track fairly close to three matz came whilst constantly looking at my chart for a feature I had passed.the words "look at the picture what can you see" came from the rhs-at which point I spotted airfield and got back on track. (cheers Liz :ok: )

First time pass too.
Just relax and enjoy the flight I was happy to be up on a nice day flying around for a while,as was the examiner.

Good Luck:D

[Ian_Wannabe]

Good luck to you too Cricket.

Vancouv mentioned the oral test - I think i'm pretty clued up on this but just incase I'm missing something... will the oral questions be about general aicraft information such as best climb speed, best glide, what type of oil she uses, max cross wind etc?

Thanks again

Ian

[andrewlt]

TIPS

First impressions count. Be meticulous and thorough with the walkround and the pre-flight checks. And remember LOOK OUT before every manouvre, not just at the HASELL checks.

[Ian_Wannabe]

To echo Andrew, something that all of my instructors have been hammering into me which might be of use to you Cricket is 'Make sure the examiner sees that you're looking out the window, eg. when you go to carry out a turn, lean forward and have a good look....'

Hope this helps, any more anyone?

[neilia]

Take it as read that you will make some mistakes, or not do things quite as perfectly as you would like. The key is, if you think you've stuffed up, put it behind you and don't dwell on it.

I thought I'd potentially failed my PPL at about 3 or 4 different points during the test, but I think what the testing officer wants to see is that you are safe, you are sensible, and you can deal with the situation, and I actually passed. During feedback, the things that I'd thought were end-of-the-world foul-ups, the examiner just passed off as the sort of things that you'll fix up with experience. The key was that I was safe and in control at all times.

I think the other good piece of advice is start making a good impression from the outset, and the examiner will begin to form an impression of you as a competent pilot before you even get near the aeroplane. Have all your paperwork ready and organised, if possible have a desk set up and ready to go for all the preamble, dress smartly - nothing over the top, but trousers, shoes and a collar of some sort make you look like you are taking it seriously. Get there early, make sure you're fuelled up, oil level okay, anything you can do to make life easier for yourself.

And to echo what many have said - you begin the test with a pass, it's up to you to fail it.

Good luck to all who have them coming up, it's a great feeling to finally become a pilot!

[Lance Murdoch]

I would reiterate what has been said on here, all good advice. The examiner is not looking for inch perfect flying. The impression I got was that the examiner was more interested in common sense/airmanship than anything else. On my diversion I got temporarily unsure of position but didnt give up and I managed to rectify the situation. I also nearly undershot my PFL (my least favourite manoeuvre!) but was able to explain why so got away with it.
Your instructor will have taught you to fly to a much higher standard than is required for the skills test.
On the oral part of the exam if you dont know the answer admit it. The response 'I dont know but I can find the answer in the POH/ ask an instructor' etc is the next best thing to the correct answer. Above all do NOT bullsh*t.
Best of Luck Ian and Cricket

[BroomstickPilot]

I did my skill test in two flights on the same day. Even that was exhausting. I suggest you ask in advance if you can do the same. Doing it all in one flight is asking a bit much.

If you screw something up, ask if you can do it again.

The things I was surprised to be asked to demonstrate were, steep gliding turns and recovery from a spiral dive.

Broomstick.

[EastMids]

Think of it this way:

You have already been judged competent and safe to fly solo (including all of the ramifications of that, including emergencies) - if you were not, you would never have been allowed to solo. You have already been judged competent and safe to plan and then fly yourself from airfield-a to airfield-b and back (including again the ramifications, like getting lost, diverting, etc) - if you were not, you would never have been allowed to go off on that solo cross country.

In fact, immediately prior to your skills test there is nothing you are NOT allowed to do with an aeroplane that you will subsequently be allowed to do after you pass the PPL skills test, EXCEPT carry passengers and do all of the above without ongoing approval from instructors on the ground.

Thus, the skills test is nothing to be challenged by - it is merely a platform for you to demonstrate again what you have already proven you are capable of doing.

Andy

[cjhants]

good luck to all of you about to take the test. its no use people telling you not to be nervous, if you are that type, you will be.
i agree with most of whats been posted above, but dont forget to plan properly, WX and W&B, t/o & landing performance. get all this done in a professional manner, and you create a good impression.

[cjhants]

something else i meant to add, my instructor gave me a listing of all the things covered in the skills test. i cant find it at the moment, but im sure somebody on here can point you to the website, or your CFI will be able to print one off. it looks a bit daunting at first, but its basically a summary of what you know anyway.

[Cricket23]

Thanks all - good advice, I'll try and relax.

cjhants - Good tip :ok: I found the doco on the CAA website. Ian, here's the address.....

http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?categoryid=33&pagetype=90&applicationid=11&mode=detail&id=1206

Regards,

C23

[Ian_Wannabe]

Cheers Cricket

Well guys...... yesterdays weather was perfect for a good skills test......

I passed, wahoo!!:eek: :8 :D

Thanks for all your help everyone!

[The Swinging Monkey]

Ian,

very well done old boy, I know you will be delighted.
Did any of our advice work or help??
Now the learning really begins!!

Have fun
TSM

[Ian_Wannabe]

Thanks swinging Monkey!

Yeah I think the two most important bits of advice that helped were relax.... and deffo don't dwell on mistakes.

I managed to bugger up my VOR position fixing funnily enough. Every other time its been a doddle as its very easy to do, but (I'll put it down to nerves) my brain went to mush and by the time I drew my second line I was well away from the point I had fixed :ugh:

At this point I thought that i'd messed it up entirely because I was so far off track however, the pprune voices in my head told me not to dwell and the examiner actually stated "because you asked to do it again and you didnt dwell on the situation you proved that you could actually do it properly".

So a sound bit of advice worthy of consideration

What else... nerves... its easy to say 'Relax' but I actually felt physically ill during my planning!

It ended up being quite enjoyable during the handling section, so another good bit of advice is just enjoy being up there - afterall we pay enough for the experience :O

Anyhow I've turned in to an excitable rambling mess as its still not sunk in properly! But thanks again.....

What would you guys recommend from here? A few nav trips to the local area and consider a night rating? IMC rating?? (new job stacking food somewhere.... :D )

[neilmac]

Well done Ian, now u can take family and friends up soon, whether they like it or not!! 13 years ago when i passed I took me parents up who werent keen on flying but i wouldnt take no for an answer I was that chuffed!!
Bless they did say they enjoyed it or maybe.....................?

[HiFranc]

Congratulations on your pass!

[markflyer6580]

Well done :ok:

Its great to take people up for the first time-thats when it hits home as to what you have achieved.(My wife was terrified! Parents loved it as have all my mates!):D

[Cricket23]

excellent job, well done!

C23

[Ian_Wannabe]

Cheers guys!!

[The Swinging Monkey]

Ian,

I would consilodate what you have done.
Take a few trips with an instructor and get even more profficient than you are now. Get him to show you some of the pitfalls.
Start going off by yourself, a bit further each time. Learn your local area.
Plenty of time to do a night rating, enjoy what you have got now, and think about a night ticket after a few more hours, when you are really up-to-speed with everything else, and you are absolutely comfortable with the aircraft.
Remember, walk and trot before you start to run.

Well done again
TSM

[Lister Noble]

That is the advice I have been given.
I may have posted this somewhere before,but my very experienced CFI told me that when I eventually get the licence, not to be in a rush to take family and pals up for a spin.
Much better he said,to have 10-15 hours on my own learning the area and building up confidence with occassional trips with an instructor to improve skills and performance.
Wishing you years of happy and trouble free flying.
Lister:)

[Ian_Wannabe]

Good advice guys i'll keep that in mind

Cheers