Skills test - An experience

[left_hand_drive]

I passed my skills test again this morning! :D

I say again because I'm revaliding my PPL after a gap of 11 long years. Thanks to all who have posted experiences from their skills tests on PPRUNE, it has helped me prepare for what I could expect on the test and what I should/shouldn't do. I thought it would only be sporting to add my experience to the long list!

11 years is a long time to be out of the picture, my advice to anybody would be not to let it lapse in the first place! It has taken since March this year to clock up about 17 hours worth of training and resit all the ground exams, although this isn't strictly a CAA requirement, examiners and instructors see this as a good move and I had forgotten so much of my original training, it was worth repeating the ground work.

Anyway, the skills test... started this morning arriving extra early at the airfield to work out the nav log with today's wx, make up the weight and balance guesstimations and to give myself plenty of time to panic. :yuk:

Examiner arrived on time, checked out my chart and nav log and told me what he had in store for the test. Most of that went in one ear, through the vacuum and out the other side.

The walkaround found a loose screw on the cowling and a tiny bit of water in the fuel drain which was soon sorted - the examiner triple checked this for his own piece of mind while I looked intently at the rest of the airframe to try and find more problems for him.

Taxiing to the holding point I inform the examiner that I have prepared a passenger briefing speech if he was interested - he wasn't particularly but I told him not to smoke anyway.

Tip for you - when given a route to plan, don't start it from overhead your airfield but from a nearby feature.

I found my nearby feature and proceded in the wrong direction! :O Another tip for you - always do a FREDA check when you arrive at your starting point. The DI/HI had managed to swing itself 10 degrees out and it was the best part of 10NM before I managed to sort myself out and aim for the original track which I rejoined at the halfway point. The FREDA checks were being rolled off every few mins after that!

Just after I had settled back on (the right) track, examiner decides it's time for a diversion. Time for a stab in the dark at some sort of vague heading. It's worth noting what obvious features/landmarks you can use to help you on your way... when I was asked, I pointed out a large town on the right, RAF airfield on the left, railway line, but missed a main A road going past the airfield I was trying to find. Whoops. :oh:

Once we found it, it was time to climb above the cloud for some stalling and steep turns. Make sure you know your HASELL checks off the cuff.. it makes life so much easier. A few stalls and turns later, we headed in the direction of a quiet airfield in the middle of nowhere which I was told to arrive overhead at 2500ft. Throttle fully back, full flap, side slip and we arrive... just in time for the engine to 'fail'!!! Soon sorted, resulting in a purrfect landing. I went through all the checks I could remember and told the examiner to brace himself! Pheww... that was my biggest worry out of the way. Next came a short field take off which is always good fun, then the engine 'failed' again after take off! We then climbed away after he was happy we would survive to head back home. :D

ATC called up wondering if we were ok since we disappeared off radar - sorry guys!

Back at base, a normal re-join into the circuit led to a flapless approach, touch and go, followed by a precision landing. I thought this was it and I could go home to console myself but the examiner wanted me to take off again... just in time for the engine to fail yet again (on the ground this time).. nice simple solution, just hit the brakes and stop before we run out of runway. That really was the end of it... we taxied back, shut down and he gave me the good news :ouch: I passed! It could have gone either way and I didn't really have any idea until the end of the test. It's an amazing experience but one I'd rather not re-live straight away.

Thanks again for everybody's help through publishing their tales.. keep it up!

Now to have some fun! :D

[BEagle]

Err - pardon me for asking, but when you say you're " 're-validating' your PPL after 11 years off", do you mean that you have a lifetime UK PPL whose validity has lapsed? If so, why on Earth did the Examiner conduct a PPL Skill Test rather than simply a renewal Proficiency Check?

If you have a UK PPL which has lapsed, I suggest that you do NOT apply for a JAR-FCL PPL, but stick with your UK one as is your right. Otherwise you'll have to pay another re-issue fee in 5 years time!

Congrats anyway; PM me if you need more clarification.

[left_hand_drive]

BEagle, thanks for your feedback! I think you have probably misunderstood my reasons for posting here... I just wanted to share my experience of a skills test/renewal proficiency check so others can benefit from another tale of what not to do.

Of course my UK PPL itself is unexpiring and I'd be crazy to apply for a JAR-FCL PPL (which I'm not) but didn't want to give my entire life story - it wasn't really relevant to get my point across.

Happy flying! :D
lhd

[Pianorak]

Left Hand Drive – Thanks for that most welcome thread. Have copy/pasted it and put on file for future reference – being a mere PPL student with skills test at a distant horizon.

[BEagle]

l_h_d - Yes, but the points are:

1. There is NO navigation section in a renewal proficiency check - which is what you should have been flying - only your General Handling should be tested.

2. If you hold a lapsed PPL, there is no longer a requirement to sit any of the exams except the RT ones.

3. The Examiner should have given you the simple form SRG\1119 - just a couple of sheets of A4. NOT the 4-coloured PPL Skill Test report form FCL 684. Did he?

Congratulations anyway - but it really does sound as though you flew the wrong test format!

[Gertrude the Wombat]

There is NO navigation section in a renewal proficiency check - which is what you should have been flying - only your General Handling should be tested. According to the CAA documentation that you pointed me to when I was in this position (thanks!) there is an optional navigation section (at the examiner's option). My examiner decided that I didn't need to do it, perhaps on the basis of the dual and solo XC flights I'd done as part of the retraining. Other examiners might decide differently, surely?

[BEagle]

"Section 3A En-route Procedures (VFR) (see Note 3)....."


"Note 3. Section 3A shall be completed to revlidate a Type or MEP Class Rating....."

Which means that it is NOT required for a SEP Class Rating revalidation (or renewal - but the form makers forgot to make that clear)

The point I'm making is that the 'PPL Skill Test' is NOT required to renew a lapsed SEP Class Rating - or any other for that matter.

[FlyingForFun]

I enjoy reading all the stories that people post here about skills tests (or first solos, or first lesson, or QXCs, or anything else!) But congratulations to left_hand_drive on one of the most enjoyable reads for ages! :ok:

Can't fault any of the advice you give, and it sounds like you're well on your way to getting back into flying - whether you were over-examined as BEagle suggests, or not!

FFF
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[left_hand_drive]

I can't fault any of BEagle's advice, it's always worth getting an opinion on PPRUNE while trying to tackle the CAA and getting mixed messages back from them.

I wasn't aware that it wasn't necessary to check my Nav skills but I'm glad I did it since it turned into another valuable learning experience.

At the flying school, there was much discussion over the requirements for lapsed PPL holders for a period more than 5 years... strictly speaking and according to the rules, I could have retaken the RT exams and submitted myself to the wrath of an examiner for the proficiency but after 12 years, I was rustier than a very rusty thing and wanted to go back to basics for my own peace of mind (and safety).

Finally, the examiner used form SRG\1119. I saw this test more as a consolidation of everything I've learned as opposed to an exam. It made it slightly easier having a human examiner with a sense of humour :D

Thanks again to all on PPRUNE, keep sharing the stories and experiences! :}

[Penguina]

Must do a write-up of mine before I begin to forget it all! However, not when my boss is approaching........:eek: