Instrument Checkride Dec 2015

We started the oral exam at about 07:45 am by going over all the documents and paper work required for the check ride.

The examiner then briefed me how the oral and practical parts of the check ride will proceed and asked that I will review the weather again to make sure we will be able to fly before starting the oral exam.

In the oral part of the exam we mainly spoke about the following subject:

* Cross country planning – The use of checklists for the planning stage and during flight (DECIDE, 5P, 3P, I’M SAFE), the use of the POH for planning, how to choose alternates, we also took a look at the low en route chart and he asked me some questions about the markings and different altitudes marked in the chart.

A few days before the check ride the examiner instructed me to prepare a cross country flight from KGAI to KMMU. The theoretical weather scenario for this flight was as follows:

• Ceiling of 600 feet.
• Visibility of 2 SM.
• Temperature 10 degrees Celsius and dew point 10 degrees Celsius.
• The theoretical weather conditions were caused by a stationary front that stretched between KBWI and KALB.
• I will have two non-pilot friends as passengers on the plane.

We spoke about my interpretation of the weather scenario given to me, how I chose my route, how I decided if I should actually perform the flight or not, lost communication procedures and how to plan your IFR route to assist in case of lost comms, we also reviewed the W&B calculations and how to make them.

The examiner then asked me how I would preflight the plane, the instruments, how I would check the GPS, VOR systems, and both radio systems.

* Weather services – How to use the different weather products we have available to be able to get a complete picture of the current and forecast weather.

* Approaches – We talked about the different parts of the approach plate, when to decent past a VDP, where can you find the approach plates, different circling scenarios, decent past the DA/DH, etc.

* Regulations – Pilot currencies, instrument certificate requirements, Airplane required maintenance and equipment checks, he asked me to open the plane’s maintenance logbook and find all the required logs to see that we were able to legally fly the plane in IFR, IFR takeoff and landing minimums, alternate regulation, and a few more questions about regulations.

The practical exam:

The examiner asked me to file a round robin IFR flight plan from KGAI to KDMW, KFDK, and back to KGAI.

During taxi the examiner asked me to show him how I do all the necessary instrument checks. I contacted ATC to get my IFR clearance and after that we took off.

First we started with the VOR 34 approach at KDMW.  This approach was done as partial panel, the examiner covered the attitude indicator during the entire approach and the heading indicator only during when I started the missed approach procedure.

I did the entire approach including the missed approach procedure and after returning to EMI we took the 295 transition to the ILS 23 approach at the KFDK, where we did the low approach and the missed approach to enter the published hold.

From there we turned back to KGAI to do the RNAV 14 approach there. On the way the examiner put me in an unusual attitude twice and after that we continued to KGAI.

The examiner asked me to do a circling approach to land on RWY 14. That meant descending to circling MDA, continue above the runway and circle back to land.