Welcome to Flightinfo.com

  • Register now and join the discussion
  • Friendliest aviation Ccmmunity on the web
  • Modern site for PC's, Phones, Tablets - no 3rd party apps required
  • Ask questions, help others, promote aviation
  • Share the passion for aviation
  • Invite everyone to Flightinfo.com and let's have fun

how many failed checkrides is too many

Welcome to Flightinfo.com

  • Register now and join the discussion
  • Modern secure site, no 3rd party apps required
  • Invite your friends
  • Share the passion of aviation
  • Friendliest aviation community on the web

getonit

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 22, 2002
Posts
194
I am applying at a regional and one of the questions is have you failed a checkride and how many. Unfortunately I have failed 5, CFI, CFII, initial 135 SIC in a metro, and the ugly, ugly one captain upgrade in a metro. The captain upgrade I was a complete mess and firetrucked the oral twice, no one's fault but my own and I knew the material just didn't demonstrate it at all. Don't get the idea I am a bad pilot, just a bad test taker, every captain I have flown with is writing honest recommendation letters.
Thanks.
 
Interviewer: "Have you failed a checkride and how many?"
You: "Unfortunately I have failed 5, CFI, CFII, initial 135 SIC in a metro, and the ugly, ugly one captain upgrade in a metro. The captain upgrade I was a complete mess and firetrucked the oral twice, no one's fault but my own and I knew the material just didn't demonstrate it at all.
<insert what you learned and how well you are taking checkrides now, and how you have overcome test nerves>

Fly SAFE!
Jedi Nein
 
The sad fact is, if you want to be in this business, you better learn to be a better test taker. With a checkride every 6 or 12 months, they come often.
 
Test taking

I agree 100% with the above. However, you are flying Metros right now which used to be typical commuter equipment. So, you have experience in equipment that is similar to what the regional in question is flying. In fact, many people would opine that Metros pose a far greater challenge than many of the props now in use. You have solved the checkitis problem. You are passing your currency checks now. The company at which you're flying took a chance on you, despite your previous busts. You are proving that they made a good decision in hiring you, finally, by getting the job done.

Maybe you can add something like that to Jedi's answer.
 
Last edited:
Well if they offered the interview, its yours to lose after that most of the time.

Being nervous is normal, just keep it in check and clear your mind.

Be positive.
 
It's not going to help. Busting 5 checkrides established a definate pattern. Busting the same oral twice will really send up red flags. As an interviewer, that'd make me wonder about that person's motivation and attitude. The majors want people that can learn quickly and not tie up the sims with redos and remedial. Keep in mind that in the hiring process you're competing against other people who haven't failed nearly as many, or probably any at all, and have sterling letters of recommendation and employment histories. The only way I know to mitigate the problem is to establish a long run of VERY successful evaluations and bury the busts in the background clutter.
 
The only way I know to mitigate the problem is to establish a long run of VERY successful evaluations and bury the busts in the background clutter.

Great advice from Draginass. If you have to explain your checkride failures during your interview, be sure to also let your interviewer know what you've done since then, to improve yourself such as achieving several hundred hours of PIC turbine time in the Metro, mention the fact you've never had an incident or violation, etc. I would do all this, in addition to mentioning what you learned with each failure. As far as your CFI and CFII rides go, those probably won't carry as much weight as your 135 checkrides. Most people go through their ratings with one or two failures. I would focus more on the more recent checkrides.

I"m sure you aren't the only person out there with 5 checkride failures, so don't let it get you down or stop you from applying with the regionals, or wherever you want to fly.

Good luck! :cool:
 
I failed my IR once, then washed out of B737 training because I went to law school and am now, at age 26, making 10 times as much as I would being a CFI or an F/E. Gotta love getting a check for $8,347 per month....AFTER taxes. I'm buying my own plane next month.
 

Latest resources

Back
Top