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Instrument checkride advice...

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mocaman

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 12, 2002
Posts
130
Hello everyone, I few months ago I tried to take my Instrument checkride. On the day of the checkride the examiner told me that he would only be able to do the oral portion. So we accomplished the Oral and scheduled for the flight the next day. Well, the weather was totally crappy the next day and we were not able to go. This same thing happened for the next 3 weeks. To make matters worse, My wife came down with this medical problem in the midst of all of this. So I had to take care of her and I let my Instrument skills go. I never did contact the examiner to let him know what was going on. So now 3 months later here I am wanting to finally get my instrument rating done. The letter of discontinuance the examiner gave me expired the end of February. To top it off, I no longer have an instructor since my Instructor got fired from the FBO, and now is a dishwasher! So I was wondering what you guys would do in my situation? I really feel stupid calling the examiner up and trying to explain things to him. Then again, I paid the guy $300...Which I dont know if he would want another $300. I would appreciate any advice you guys could give! Thanks a bunch!
 
It probably wouldn't hurt to chat with the examiner in your situation. You're obviously going to have to do the oral again, but the examiner may not charge you--in fact, he's probably wondering why you dropped off the end of the planet--so you might want to work with him.

Also, since it's been more than 60 days, you are going to have to get a new endorsement. This will mean that you will have do a little more flying with an instructor (you could still legally do this with your old instructor, but depending on the circumstances of his termination, I'd probably steer clear.) Basically it's a choice between doing some more flying or not getting your rating at all.

Just out of morbid curiousity, what were the circumstances of your instructor's termination?

-Goose
 
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My instructor was notorious for no shows and being late. One day a new student came in and was gung ho about getting his private, on the first lesson my instructor was an hour late, second time I think he no showed. Well, the FBO finally fired him after 3 years of putting up with him. It sucks, he has around 2500 hours, 4 year degree, but no ambition.
 
Grass, Gas or Ass nobody rides for free

Mocaman, I think the examiner will probably want another $300 bucks, and he is percfectly within his rights to ask for it. This will be a new checkride. Your signoff has expired, and your letter of discontinuance is expired as well. I would just start fresh with a new instructor, it will probably take less time than you think to get proficient and a little brushing up is all it should take for the oral since you passed it the first time. Try to find an instructor who has recently sent someone for an instrument ride. I'm sure the examiner would be happy to talk to you about this stuff, but I wouldn't expect a free checkride. Hope this helps.
 
Instrument practical brushup

Sadly, it's $300 down the drain. You'll just have to pick up where you left off. Get an instructor who is more committed, get into the sim, brush-up your skills, and get back into the airplane. As the others mentioned, you'll need a new signoff, 8710 and another three hundred buckaroos. Also during this time, get back into the books because you'll have to repeat the oral.

I hate to hear stories like this. One is all honed and psyched (?) for a checkride, momentum is built-up, and events such as this stop the process. It's a big letdown, and a likely reason why learning to fly frustrates people. And, how can you blame them for being frustrated?

I don't know what your flying goals are, but I would just say that such events would be less likely with dedicated 141 training.

Good luck with your practical. Hope your wife is doing better.
 
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Bummer about the $300 for the first one - I had a feeling your story didn't (yet) have a happy ending when you started off with the oral on a different day. Weather is usually the deciding factor for cancelling, so I always figure it's best that if you can't get the oral on the same day as the ride, wait until you can.

Good luck on the second time around, dude - hit those books!
 
It sucks, he has around 2500 hours, 4 year degree, but no ambition.

What do you expect for 10$ a flight hour? He is making more as a dishwasher!
 
mocaman said:
It sucks, he has around 2500 hours, 4 year degree, but no ambition.

i hate lazy people...not just in aviation, but accross the board they slow us down as a whole...i'm kind of glad the dude got canned, it opened the spot up for someone that actually wants it...
 
Get back up flying as soon as you can. From personal experience, I can say that once you stop flying (while getting your ratings) it can be very difficult to get started again.

Hit the books for a few nights, spend some time doing some approaches on MSFS to get your crosscheck going again and then get yourself up flying! Try your hardest to find the best instructor you can. Pay more for him/her if you have to.
 

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