Skills test, split or combined?

[PPPPP]

I've been entered for my skills test but have been strongly recommended to opt for the two-part scenario with an hour or so break in the middle. This could of course be on account of my advanced state of chronological decrepitude, but I'm assured that most people at our club do indeed opt for the split test, with beneficial results. The CAA documentation, on my readiing, seems to imply that it's not the norm. Any opinions for or against the split scenario?

[topcat450]

When I did it I was told I could do either, the factors that made me go for it in one go were:

1) One attempt was slightly less time in the a/c than doing 2 separate runs.

2) availability of examiner, does he mind splitting in 2. Mine said not if onto different days but then he couldnt make 2nd date I had in mind so ended up going for 1

AND, in the end, it wasn't that bad...it was a long flight but you're not going to fall asleep at the wheel (yoke? ..Stick?) doing it.

[vancouv]

I did mine in one, and it is a long slog, but it's nice to get it over with rather than having to wait and find out if you passed.

Also, I believe you will be examined on the whole flight, so if things went perfectly the first time and then you made a dog's dinner of arriving and landing the second time, I think you might fail?? Not 100% sure if that's right.

Of course my arrivals and landings are perfect every time :\

[long final]

Did mine in one. It went so fast I couldn’t believe we were back in the circuit so soon. I felt splitting would just double the worry!

Best of luck whichever way you do it.

LF

[Bluebeard2]

Did mine all in one go, it was a case of seeing how things went in terms of how busy the circuit was. I was glad to get it all over with in one go and was concentrating so hard that I lost track of time anyway! Also, you are examined on general airmanship and performance in the circuit whenever you (re)sit part of the exam, so there's more chances to screw it all up! :{

Good luck!:ok:

[High Wing Drifter]

Depends I guess. If your nav was not too good then a break would be good to give you a chance think about the handling side. If your nav was superb then keep going, your are zoned in!

Only you can answer the question. What are your streangths and weaknesses and how could a you maximise your abilities?

Horses for courses old boy :)

[KCDW]

Did mine in 1, and would advise 100% against it. If things start to go badly early on, you can develop a very negative mindset, and the whole thing can get very stressful, with an increased likelihood of errors and failure.

My logbook reads 2hrs 20 mins for the Test. For me, the first half of the Nav was great, then I really did badly on the diversion (only saved by recognizing a landmark and realizing I was way off course, and fixing that pretty late in the diversion). However, that really knocked my confidence, and I can remember making stupid errors in the GFT, culminating in my first ever go-around after a god-awful glide approach. This was stuff that was never an issue in training, and which I put down to the accumulating stress over the long Test. While I passed, I would not knowingly put myself through that again.

Just MHO

[knobbygb]

I did mine in two - on the same day with a break. No preference really - just thought I'd chip in since all the other posters did it in one.

Having done several dual land-aways with a cup of coffee and a chat in between legs, it felt quite natural actually.

I take vancouv's point that you may have more chances of screwing somthing up on a two-part test, but on the other hand, you also have the opportunity to put right any mistakes and show the examiner you really do know what your doing so it probably evens out in the end. We'd done the circuit work on the first part, so after the nav and diversion, the examiner took over and flew us home while I relaxed - I was absolutley knackered after 3 hours in the air.

[HelenD]

I did mine in one about an hour or so after my last session of GFT prep. There was no way I could have faced having a split test as I was nervous thankfully they decided not to tell me I was on my test.

[Red Chilli]

Mine was split at the examiners suggestion due to the weather vis. being too poor for the nav section. So we did the GFT first which went well, even though we had to start with the circuit work straight off due to ATC slot timing. However, in retrospect I'm glad it happened this way, since on the nav a couple of days later I managed to cheerfully set the DI 20deg out the wrong way (i.e. 40deg, you know what I mean I'm sure) when aligning with the mag compass (pressure, what pressure..) before take-off:uhoh: I managed to recover the situation along the way and the timings and diversion were fine, but it took a lot of focus not to throw it away, since I couldn't initially work out the problem (probably still making the same mental error when doing FREDA). My point is (got there eventually) that to then have had to carry on straight into the GFT would have been far more difficult with that extra pressure. Anyway, as everyone will have said relax, the examiner's primarily looking to see that you're safe, not perfect! :ok:

[TangoZulu]

Would probably recommend splitting it into two parts - although I did mine in one go with about 2.5 hrs T/O to Land. However we did the nav/diversion bit first which was generally OK but still tiring from "exam pressures" and then did GFT - all very well except after two hours or so of fairly intense work you then have to do the GFT bit in the circuit and produce your best landings - not always the easiest when you are tired.

So if I was doing it again I would probably consider two parts, but then I did pass on the single attempt so who knows really!

TZ:ok:

[Gertrude the Wombat]

If it's a 152 and the student and the examiner are both of reasonable size then there's not a lot of choice - the thing won't take enough fuel to do the whole lot in one go.

[topcat450]

I'd forgotton that I got a rollocking off ATC within 5 mins of taking off for not answering their calls, at which point I resigned myself to having failed and chilled out for the rest of the time...thought of it as a rehersal for the next time...turns out I hadn't fluffed it after all, he just said ATC was a crabby git and I'd done well not to shout back at him.:rolleyes:

[swervin'mervin]

At my school they advised me to decide as i went along. if the nav had stressed me out and i wanted a break then say so and we would come back and land and do the rest another time/later on. Similarly if it was going well then continue. As it happened the nav went well (during which the examiner ate his lunch), he then asked if i wanted to continue and took control for 5 mins to give me a break before starting on gen handling. All out it took me 2.6 on the hobbs and i'm glad i did it in one. Best idea is to ask these questions with your examiner in the initial brief and see how you stand - after all this is the time to clarify any points on your mind. Best of luck!

Oh and i did mine in a C152 with 2 big guys in - just make sure your weight and balance is right for your fuel calcs etc!