PPl Skill Test

[jc1013]

Hi everyone,

I am nearly at the skill test stage. I just wondered if anyone had any advice on the matter? Do you need to know emergency check lists from memory? That sort of thing.

Thanks

Regards

jc

[ACW 335]

Its a good idea to know the emergencies by heart; although a checklist is there to be used. The only emergency i got was an engine failure followed by a PFL.

Also, if something doesn't go quite to plan; quickly ask to do it again! - normally the stalling bit or PFL bit.

[Another St Ivian]

You aren't allowed to redo any of the abnormal and emergency operations though, so make sure you get them right first time. These include simulated engine failure after take off, simulated forced landing, simulated precautionary landing and simulated emergencies.

To prepare for my skills test I just studied the relevant bold face actions on the checklist, double checked all the relevant general knowledge bits (V speeds for example), and from a chair in the crew room flew various parts of the test in my head, so going through a PFL, stalls, etc. The other key thing is to relax!

Good luck!

ASI

[Aussie Andy]

For things like the Nav, I think the examiner is looking to see that if you make a mistake, or if things start going wrong for some other reason, that you notice it and take appropriate corrective action. e.g. its OK that you are off-track mid-way through the leg, but its not OK if you don't notice this and don't say so! Talk out loud so he knows what you're thinking the whole time!

Hope this helps, and best of luck mate! Be prepared and all will be well :ok:

Andy

[YYZ]

Do not point things out that you think are correct just for the sake of conversation.

EG. Sheffield look smokey in the distance..... only to be told thats not Sheffield followed by a navigation pop quiz for the rest of the flight!

Makes for an interesting flight but not really fun for the test!

(above is an example and not a real event:} )

Good Luck!
YYZ

[FNG]

As Andy said, tell him the Examiner what you are doing, particularly if your nav has gone a bit astray. I wrongly convinced myself that I was off track, by looking at the wrong disused airfield, and flew to it, but told the guy that I was in error, and was going to fly back to my last known position and regain my track. He was happy with that.

You may it may not be asked to do everthing on the list. For example, if the Examiner likes your PFL, he may not bother with a glide approach in the circuit. Try to fly precisely, but don't sweat too much at the time if you wander just a bit off heading or height, as the examiner is looking for overall safety, not perfection, and allows for nerves. I found the IMC bit with the foggies to be very brief: as soon as the guy saw that I could turn the aeroplane around he told me to take off the goggs. Bear in mind that, after the diversion, the examiner does the nav back to the field, so the last leg of your route may be academic, but you still have to plan it carefully.

I had been advised to give a full passenger briefing before departure (as I still do nowadays), but the Examiner waved that aside.

Good luck. It's a very intense 2.5 hours or so, but the prize is well worth having.

[jollyflyboy]

From my experience, know your spins, stalls, emergencies and also keep ahead of the aircraft on your NAV test. Everything else should be fine.

I had to do two test. 1st was the GF test (emergencies, stalls etc.). The 2nd was the NAV. Keep ahead of the aircraft and all will be well. If you are heading off course, point this out to the instructor and correct. No use pointing out and doing nothing about it!

Good Luck!

[rotateandfly]

Hi jc,

I agree with most things above and I want to add that you can't prepare yourself enough for a flight test. You've got to know your stuff and what the examiner really wants to see is that you know your stuff in order to operate a flight safely. Don't try to impress him, show him that you're always one step ahead and in full control of the airplane even during simulated emergencies.

One more suggestion: rent a plane the day before your flight test and if you don't wanna go flying, just take an hour and run through every exercise on the ground with the engine shut down. It'll make things quicker.

I really hope your flight test turns out great and rest as much as you can the night before, remember to enjoy the flight!

Happy Landings, Dave

[ALEXA]

You should ask your instructor how well he knows your examiner's habits - for example, are there questions he always asks and has he any favourite nav routes?

My instructor got my route for me from my examiner the night before the test and said that, from other students' experiences, the diversion would probably be at point x - and it was!

On the day, once the examiner was reasonably satisfied that I was safe, the test became a very pleasant chat for the remainder of the 2 hours.

And that was with a totally messed up pfl, which he made me do again immediately (ok 2nd time).

Time spent on reconnaisance is seldom wasted!

[Maxflyer]

I did mine in one hit. With hindsight I would have split it. On my diversion I convinced myself that I had calculated heading and eta incorrectly. Told the examiner I was going to orbit while I rechecked my figures, did this and found I had been correct the first time! I guess that means I should have had a little more belief in my abilities. I was asked by the examiner for all of the particular performance speeds during the test. I checked the POH for the figures, they were somewhat different from the generalised ones on the shop bought checklist.

Remember the six P's.

Proper Planning Prevents P!ss Poor Performance!

Good luck with your test.

[KCDW]

As others have said, it's a stressful 2.5 hours. If doing it again, I would split it into 2 sessions.

Best piece of advice I had: "don't fail yourself". People who feel they have performed poorly have been known to call it a day and hand over the controls. I had a pretty bad nav, a dreadful PFL (changed my chosen field 4 times on the way down), and a go around on the flapless landing: and still passed (though I thought I had failed). It's as others have said: it's about flying safely, good use of judgement, spotting errors and correcting where possible.

Best of luck.