CFI checkride monday morning.

[scubabri]

Any last words of wisdom? I am so nervous, I am sick. I've studied and studied more, yet there is so much info that I can't recall without some sort of aid. I am hoping that this won't fail me.

Anyway, crossing my fingers.

b

 

[falcondriver]

Relax,Relax,Relax........ Your brain is full. The information will come when asked..
Good Luck
FD

 

[bobbysamd]

CFI Practical

If you're not ready by now, you'll never be ready.

THIS MORNING, give everything the once-over. Make sure your materials are organized. Make sure your 8710 and other paperwork is organized. THIS AFTERNOON, take a nap, watch a ballgame, movie, etc. THIS EVENING, eat a good meal. TONIGHT, go to bed early.

Good luck with your practical. Write back to tell us what was covered, how it went., etc.

 

[jdog78]

I agree...the worst thing you can do is freak out about it. I know many people say they had these crazy 6-8 hour orals but as long as you know your stuff...or know where to look for it...your oral will be short and sweet. Also, don't be afraid to ask questions of the examiner, such as asking his "professional" opinion on what he might do in a situation with a student. That may lead to a nice long story and it will also show him that you're really interested in learning to be a good intructor.
I also agree with bobbysamd....make sure your 8710 is in good shape, i.e. typed out. And make sure you have all of your endorsements...especially the oft forgotten 61.39 60-day endorsement.
Best of luck.

john

 

[austers]

Take a break from studying, you won't be able to memorize any more before monday. Bring every reference book you can think of. You won't know everything, just have a way of finding it.

My test wasn't bad at all, the oral was less than 3 hours and the hardest part was carrying the 3 bags of books back to the airplane. The exmaminer already knows you can fly since you've got the commercial, you just have to teach it now.

Mostly just relax, get some sleep, eat a good breakfast and put a few beers in the cooler for after the test.

 

[scubabri]

Thanks for all the good advice.. I'm just gonna brush up on a couple things that I'm a little weak on and then I'm gonna watch a movie.

I'll let ya'll know how it goes.... by the way, the checkride will probably be the easy part compared to trying to find a job after

b

 

[TEXAN AVIATOR]

Good luck bro!

 

[Anne]

Scubabri,

Best of luck!

As an aside, I bought something from you off ebay. I can't remember what now, but it was aviation related. I gave you positive feedback

 

[scubabri]

cool.. I don't remember what either.. maybe it was a testprep. I like ebay.. not so much now that I am a starving soon to be CFI

b

 

[Timebuilder]

You've done the work, right?

Now you get to show that you really do know all of that stuff.

Just keep your head and take it a step at a time.

I'm waiting to hear how well you did. Do it to it.

 

[BoDEAN]

Relax =)

I did my CFI ride a few months ago, with an eight hour oral. It was a very long day, but it was refreshing when it was over. I chose to fly another day, as the oral physically and mentally wore me out. So all in all, stay relaxed and focused, and you will do great.

 

[AV1ATRX]

I know I'm typing this to you while your taking your checkride, but I wanted to throw in my "Good Luck!"

This will have been easier than what you've previously been through with your other job

I can't wait to here how it went!

 

[phungus_mungus]

I firmly believe that examiners who subject check ride candidates to outlandishly long orals should be publicly flogged with a radiator hose.

As a CFI, two things immediately jump to mind when one tells tales of murderously long oral exams.

First the student is not prepared and the examiner is having to dig, rephrase, dig, prod and dig some more… student is either not prepared or does not know the material, oral should be terminated, student busted.

Second the examiner doesn’t know the material or is not prepared.

I’ve heard of many times people being subjected to excessively long orals for no reason anyone could figure out beyond the simple fact that the examiner was trying their hardest to bust someone, that was the only explanation.

If an examiner cannot determine your knowledge inside of two to three hours then something is wrong. Same goes for the practical, two hours tops unless traffic/wx/act-of-god dictates further.

Fortunately I’ve had some really good DE’s in my past even my experience with FAA 135 rides have been good.

 

[BoDEAN]

I knew the material inside and out. But it was with the "head of safety" as the Detroit FSDO. So she pounded me hard, because of her position, and being the FAA (opposed to a DE).

 

[Boxer]

Well....? I wish you luck after the fact. Let us know.

 

[TEXAN AVIATOR]

How did you do?

 

[crash-proof]

Relax =)

I did my CFI ride a few months ago, with an eight hour oral. It was a very long day, but it was refreshing when it was over. I chose to fly another day, as the oral physically and mentally wore me out. So all in all, stay relaxed and focused, and you will do great.

I'd like to get an 8 hour oral too! Where can i get one of those?


sorry

 

[scubabri]

I'm just getting home after... PASSING MY CFI CHECKRIDE!!!!!


my 8 hour oral was monday, and the 1.7 flight was this morning at 6:30am. I had to leave my house at 4:30 am to get to the FSDO up in Miami at 6:30am monday, and 5am this morning to get to the airport before the examiner did.

The oral promptly started at 6:30am, and I felt that I was on the lightning round for a game show. Just one question after another, not what I expected.

Honestly, the questions came so fast that I have no clue right now what he asked. I recall that he gave me a half hour to do a lesson plan on steep turns and a half hour for lunch, which of course was not included in the 8 hours of oral.

I got tripped up on Parasite Drag of all things... mostly because I was tired. The other thing I got tripped up on was the V-g chart, which after taking "lunch" I was able to explain both Parasite and the V-g chart.

The flight portion was a lot of me flying and the examiner telling me what I was doing wrong.. not quite what I expected, but I passed so, whatever works.

I'm gonna take a break, help fly a king air down to Colombia, and come back and start work on my CFI-I

Thanks for everyone's help here. All the support, makes me feel glad to be part of the community.

b

 

[bigD]

Congrats! Good for you, man.

 

[TEXAN AVIATOR]

Congrats!

 

[52Vincent]

Holy Cow and 8 hour oral!!!! One would have thought the DE had it out for you.

Well Congrats anyways andwelcome to the ranks.

 

[scubabri]

Actually, I couldn't afford a DE so it was the FAA examiner, who was a safety guy there.

b

 

[Timebuilder]

Congratulations!!

My FAA guy did almost ALL of the flying. He said he knew I could fly by now, and he was there to see if I could TEACH. I guess they all have a different idea of what should happen, even WITH a PTS.

Thanks for posting. We were on pins and needles with the suspense.

Now, go have some Barbeque!!!

 

[SkyGuyEd]

Congrats man!

 

[CitationLover]

parasite drag and V-g diagrams?!?!

wow they're stretching their questions......what the hell is the FIA exam for then?

congrats.....don't let your students kill you.

 

[generaltso]

You couldn't afford a DE? Comon man. Can you afford a bust? You passed, congrats... seemed like a tough oral.

But you shouldn't have gone to the FAA if they would have let you do the CFI with a DE. Checkrides are not the time to get cheap. Go with the guy that is going to get you the certificate.

 

[Flyingdutchman]

congrats!

 

[bobbysamd]

Another unemployed flight instructor . .

Congratulations! Nice job! But . . .

Originally posted by scubabri
[M]y 8 hour oral was monday . . . The oral promptly started at 6:30am, and I felt that I was on the lightning round for a game show. Just one question after another, not what I expected . . . . in the 8 hours of oral

(emphasis added)

That is ridiculous. I know of a DE who gives eight-hour CFI orals, but hadn't heard of an FAA eight-hour oral in some time.

Take a break. You deserve it after such torture. I second Tso 100%. Go to a DE for your CFI-I and MEI practicals.

 

[KingAirKiddo]

An 8 hour oral? Good grief, I took mine with the FAA and it was only an hour and twenty minutes! Guess it's just the luck of the draw...

Anyway, congratulations...take a couple of days off and then start pounding the pavement. CFI jobs are out there; you just have to look for them.

Best of luck...

 

[flywest]

Broken airplane

My CFI oral was about 7 hours long with an FAA inspector. It wasn't supposed to be, but I had an alternator system failure on the flight in the previous evening. The mtx shop said they would give me a call when it was fixed, so the examiner pushed the oral portion till the call came (4 hrs later). Before we left he says to me that since we were discussing in depth so many things that morning (read - got offtrack), he still needed to cover a few things to finish up the oral portion when we got back. Off to the airplane we go.
Well, the system failed again while the inspector was doing the runup (which I had to point out to him), so we brought it back into the shop. The mtx shop told us "It'll be done by tomorrow morning", so we met back at the FBO the next day. Of course it wasn't done yet, so the examiner starts in on ANOTHER 3 HOURS or oral exam.

Moral of the story: don't even start the checkride until you are sure that you AND the a/c are ready and able to complete the ride. Otherwise (as in my case) the examiner thinks they have all the time in the world to probe for deficiency.

Regards,
FlyWest