PPL Skills Test is nigh!

[jamesellis123]

Hi all

its soon going to be the school holidays, and since in still at college, next week will be filled with flying, which means i'm probably going to be doing my skills test next week. It's daunitng!
me and my instructor did a mock skills test at the weekend, and it seemed to all go okay, except from taking a couple of minutes to identify a turning point. My instuctor seems to have every confidence in me and says after a revison lesson i'll be ready for my test. although in myself, i feel as though i'm going to mess up somewhere! i know that they're not looking for perfection, but i have a feeling i'll slip up somewhere and that will affect the rest of my flight.
Would anyone have any reassuring hints and tips for me? (at least to calm my nerves?)
thanks, James.

[localflighteast]

Relax...
...okay that wasn't very helpful... Sorry

If you've done a mock test then you are in a good place. My flight test was almost a carbon copy.

Remember, the examiner is looking for an excuse to pass you, they aren't trying to trick you.

Treat the examiner as your first passenger. Explain what you are doing. They aren't mind readers. Let them in on your train of thought.

They are not looking for perfection. Making a mistake is not the end of the world. They are looking for how you deal with them

If you are unsure of what they are expecting from you then ask.

Confidence helps. Once I was back in the circuit on my home turf.... I actually kinda enjoyed it !

Best of luck...

[Pull what]

A little secret James, if your examiner is from another school very few fail. Why, because its a nice little earner and if you start failing people guess what?

Also consider that not even your examiner can fly a prefect test, we all make mistakes, its what you do when you make the mistakes that shows what sort of pilot you are.

The old advice of never dwell on a mistake is very valid, Dwelling on a mistake will spoil the rest of the test.

Many candidates fail to prepare properly, especially Notam's & weather, Mass and balance and fuel planning.

If you come over to the examiner as someone who has prepared meticulously he will be in a much better frame of mind when dealing with subsequent mistakes than if you have done the absolute minimum planning.

Lack of a passenger briefing is another example of poor preparation and non understanding of what the test is all about. Treating the examiner as the most important passenger you will ever carry helps too.

Most flying schools that Ive come across seem to teach pilots to fly either solo or with an instructor. Flying with a passenger who is nervous and has never flown in a light aircraft before isnt the same as flying solo or with your instructor

Failure to use an aerodrome chart for taxying again shows poor preparation but seems to be the norm with most schools, who seem to think a runway incursion is some sort of holiday.

[Big Pistons Forever]

A little secret James, if your examiner is from another school very few fail. Why, because its a nice little earner and if you start failing people guess what?

.

A good friend of mine is an examiner. I like to joke he is the best examiner money can buy :E. Seriously though examiners truly want you to pass.

I give 3 pieces of advice for the flight test to my PPL students

1) Take your time. Keep everything slow and methodical. If you are asked to demonstrate a maneuver, a steep turn for example, pause do your checks make sure the aircraft is in trim and stable and then go ahead and smoothly roll in at a moderate rate.

2) If you don't know something admit it at once, ideally with a further comment that will tell him you know where to look for the information. You can't BS an examiner !

3) When, and it is when not if, you cock up something go back to the beginning and start over. Don't dwell on what went wrong look ahead not back.

Good Luck !

[jamesellis123]

Thanks all!!
Test is tomorrow, trying not to overthink, but at the same time making sure everything is what it should be!
James

[Jan Olieslagers]

A good sleep and a good breakfast will be worth much. Good luck!

[localflighteast]

to echo the above , take snacks ( granola bars) that kind of thing. If your test is delayed , you need something to keep the blood sugar up.

I don't know how the ground portion works in the UK but I made sure that I had all the paperwork / documents ( weather printouts/weight and balance / log for XC etc.) in clearly labelled sections in my binder and had used index tabs on the relevant sections of the POH

that way I could instantly put my hand on the information he asked for and it makes you look organised, good impressions count!

Good luck :ok:

[Genghis the Engineer]

(1) Enjoy it

(2) Do everything exactly as you've been taught - don't try to be clever

(3) If you make a mistake, sort it out and carry on. If anything, examiners are more interested in how you deal with mistakes, than your ability to do things right first time.

(4) Good luck.

G

[jamesellis123]

Thanks guys, it means a lot!
Trying to put my mind at ease at the moment! I shall post on here how it goes!

[ecosse]

Good luck, Its not as bad as you think!!

I really enjoyed my GST as after all those weeks of the same thing It felt so good to do something different.

You will enjoy it once your examiner puts you at ease.

KP

[Heebicka]

remeber mine like it was today.
"Remember, the examiner is looking for an excuse to pass you, they aren't trying to trick you."


Totally valid, I remember how I ****** emergency landing during that flight... :)

[jamesellis123]

Glad to inform that i passed!!!
Buggered up my PFL slightly, but the latter was all good.

[DeeCee]

Excellent, well done.

[flyinkiwi]

Firstly, CONGRATULATIONS! :D:D:D

Now give us a full debrief of the flight, and leave no details out. :ok:

[localflighteast]

awesome job !!!!!!!!

welcome to the world of no money!!!!

I also royally messed up my forced approach so you are in good company.

And yes details............ :ok:

[jamesellis123]

Details!:
Nav was near enough to perfect as it could be, on time at all waypoints, all pinpoints on time.
Unplanned diversion was not to bad, had to do a second diversion around airfields!
General handling was all good, apart from the stall where I pushed the nose forward slightly more than the CFi would have liked!
Circuits were fine, and landings were greasers!