Skills Test Question

[Deano777]

I am due to take my skills test at EGGD, well it's kinda been overdue for quite sometime, Ive had a frustrating time of it, basically I only work a 3 day week so I have plenty of time to fit in flying although it has taken me a while to get to the 45 hrs needed, basically when Im at work the sun shines and when Im on my days off the clouds roll in, last year I had a flight on the 18th Oct, went to Australia for 4 weeks 31st Oct, got back 30th november and didnt fly again until 4th january, i was ready for my skills test at the end of Jan and took it in Feb but aborted it because the visability was too bad, the weather reports suggested I took off but I wasnt happy before I went, i said to the examiner that we will give it a try, anyway I aborted it ½ hr into the flight, the plane i flew then goes into the engineers for its D checks at the end of March then doesnt come out until the middle of May, so as you can see its been one long wait, Ive already had it cancelled this week due to winds gusting to 35 knots.
The question is, my examiner said to me about the emergency drills i may encounter on the test, he said he wanted me to simulate some (understandable) but also said there may be some he wants me to do for real, I cannot think for the life of me what emergency drill he wants me to carry out for real, at EGGD he isnt going to give me a brake failure on taxi due to high levels of commercial traffic, all the ones involving engine failures/fires requires a shutdown, basically I know there could be one or 2 performed on the ground like an engine fire on startup but what about in the air?

Thanks in advance

Deano :)

[Mr Wolfie]

Deano,

Not sure how your examiner is going to create "real" emergencies - surely they are all going to be simulated.

I passed my skills test a fortnight ago. In the pre-test briefing, the examiner told me that I should assume that I was P1 all the time unless told otherwise. He told me that there would be some practice emergencies and that I should still assume P1. He then said that in the event of a real emergency taking place during the test, I should still assume that I was Pilot in Command, and should continue to do so until if/when the examiner felt that "his own @rse was on the line" at which point we would asume command!!!

Perhaps this is what the examiner was telling you too.

Mr. W

[Maxflyer]

You may have to perform an electrical failure. This can be done in real time. It might be worth doing it before the actual test though. It seems very odd when it happens.

Good luck.

[FlyingForFun]

That sounds very strange. Doing an electrical failure for real sounds plausible, but I've never heard of it before.

The first thing I thought of was that he meant that some of your checks would be for real. For example (depending on type, of course) your emergency checklist might include switching the carb heat position, ensuring the mixture is fully rich, and changing fuel tanks (all of which can be done for real). It would also involve checking the throttle is open, which you would simulate by touching the throttle lever. Other examples of checks you would simulate would be the actions after "failing" to re-start the engine - shutting off the fuel and electrics, for example, would be simulated by touching the appropriate controls.

Maybe the best thing would be to ask the examiner? Or ask your instructor to ask the examiner?

FFF
----------------

[andrewc]

Well on my skills test my instructor wanted me to cope
with,

a) he as daft passenger opening the door in mid-flight,
b) a passenger suffering from ear ache - moaning like a
banshee - on a descent,
c) weather coming in on my planned route so off we
go on a diversion,
d) Engine failure on take off, swiftly followed by a glide
landing,

All very exciting...

-- Andrew

[Max AirFactor]

A.
For point d) was this two separate manoeuvres? My basic intro to EFATO to date is 'nose down, point at a field, stick the power back on' and continue the climb out so that the biz-jet behind can roll. How much further can this be taken in the test. I thought that the latter stage of PFL or glide approach might cover the landing part?

Also I can't see how one examiner can choose to test your reaction to a pax trying to vacate mid air with or without an ear ache, unless its a required objective in the syllabus?

Is there is a published 'overview of the GFT or guide to examiners' in the public domain?

MAF

[andrewc]

Max AirFactor

Yeah, d) was two seperate manoeuvers, just that as I
got disentangled from the EFTAO we boogied straight
on into the glide approach, so there was an element
of keeping the pressure on me up.

The other stuff was just seeing how I reacted to and
coped with in flight problems - whether my flying/nav went
completely to pieces while there was an additional
internal problem.

Maybe not on the syllabus but a valid way of testing the
quality of my flying,

-- Andrew

[FlyingForFun]

I'd guess every examiner has their own technique. On my skills test, I was given an engine failure at altitude. I made an approach to a field, and when it was clear that I'd made the field the examiner told me to go around. Within a few seconds of me adding power, he cut the power and told me I had an engine failure after takeoff.

Doing things in this order means that you can continue the EFATO as low as you like (within the boundaries of low-flying rules and safety of course) without having to worry about that biz-jet behind you!

The moral of the story is be ready to handle anything reasonable, even if it's not exactly what you've been practicing before. I doubt there's anything in the syllabus that says you have to be examined on passengers with ear-ache - but if you can't handle a passenger with an ear-ache, I think an examiner would be quite correct in refusing to give you a license which lets you carry passengers who, lets face it, can have ear-aches!

FFF
--------------

[Max AirFactor]

FFF, Understood - these are just distractions to test your ability to multitask and to 'keep flying the a/c'. Up to the examiner how he does it. I guess he wouldn't say 'Oh dear, my camera has jammed solid under this rudder pedal and now I've got heart palpitations...'? That's a bit more than a distraction and it isn't covered in training (go on tell me it could happen). How bizarre could they be in the limited time.

Anyway, I assume they are not out to fail you - you get briefed and you wouldn't be up for it if your instructor hadn't got you to consistently demo the text book practice emergencies.

[RodgerF]

MAF

In answer to your question whether there is a published overview
of the GFT aka Skills Test for the PPL see

http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/175/srg_fcl_19v2.pdf

RF

[Max AirFactor]

RF,

Thanks for the link. Its all in there. I like this bit... ' The PPL Skill Test is very demanding. It is appreciated that even the most competent pilots can make mistakes, but this does not necessarily mean that a failure should result'. I guess lack of recovery from a spiral dive would result in failure:eek: