Well today was a very stressful and a lot of fun at times. Brett and I met at the airport around 800 am and chatted as we waited for my designated pilot examiner (DPE) to show up for my 9am appointment. After meeting Pat, we handled the paperwork first and inspected the airplane I was going to use for the check ride. Unfortunately we found some small problems with the plane, so I called the owner for some help. Soon the issues were resolved.
As we proceeded thru the oral portion of the test, Pat very knowledgeable, and quickly found the things I didn't know well. Over all I was happy, with my progress, feeling more confident. The best part was Pat was passing on some wonderful tidbits of advice and knowledge from his years of experience. FAA's examiners don't teach during a check ride, but I'd heard good examiners pass on their experience and I was learning a lot.
Soon we were headed to the plane; my heart rate was going up. I knew could fly but was worried I'd make a mistake that couldn't be ignored. Unfortunately I found the starter was broken again. And we couldn't "fix" it. Luckily Pat was a patient man, allowing me to find and procure a substitute plane. Thankfully I was prepped for that possibility and had flown the same plane yesterday. So it wasn't my first pick but I was familiar with it. The aircraft run up and take off went well. Soon we were headed to the east portion of the county. Unfortunately Murphy struck again, I ran into some problems with airspace at Gillespie and Montgomery. After what seemed to be an eternity I sorted the issues out, but was left very rattled from the issues. Pat was nice and told me to relax. After thirty minutes of maneuvers we headed to Brown Field for the landings. Those landings and takeoffs went well, so I was starting to relax as we headed back to Montgomery. Pat was calm and cool the whole time. He smiled and stated "only one more landing left!" One the way back, I flew under the "hood" and did well. All that was left was the landing. Again Murphy struck again as I was starting to relax. The approach went well, but my last landing SUCKED!! Probably the worst I'd ever had but it was effective. On top of it, the tower was upset with me for not getting off the runway quick enough.
I worried screwed up the check ride on the last landing, as I shut down the plane, as the door opened. Pat looked at me and shook my hand.. Telling me I had passed. He explained my handling of the stress early in the ride showed good pilot skills. Pheww... I started to breather again! As we tried to wrap up the paper work, that didn’t go smoothly but after a half hour we finished it and I received my first pilot's license.
It was weird, I was relieved but the joy wasn’t immediate. I thanked Pat for his patience and wisdom. After talking to Brett, and texting my family. I started working on my flight plan to fly up to Whiteman (By Burbank) airport for the evening to spend time with my sister and family (Wheelers). The hour and half flight allowed me to relax and enjoy the new privileges of being a pilot. Soon I was landing at Whiteman.
Being tired but happy I locked up the plane as I waited for Dale to pick me up. As luck would have it, my nephew Cody graduated from kindergarden soon Dale and I headed off to meet the family for Cody’s graduation dinner.
As we proceeded thru the oral portion of the test, Pat very knowledgeable, and quickly found the things I didn't know well. Over all I was happy, with my progress, feeling more confident. The best part was Pat was passing on some wonderful tidbits of advice and knowledge from his years of experience. FAA's examiners don't teach during a check ride, but I'd heard good examiners pass on their experience and I was learning a lot.
Soon we were headed to the plane; my heart rate was going up. I knew could fly but was worried I'd make a mistake that couldn't be ignored. Unfortunately I found the starter was broken again. And we couldn't "fix" it. Luckily Pat was a patient man, allowing me to find and procure a substitute plane. Thankfully I was prepped for that possibility and had flown the same plane yesterday. So it wasn't my first pick but I was familiar with it. The aircraft run up and take off went well. Soon we were headed to the east portion of the county. Unfortunately Murphy struck again, I ran into some problems with airspace at Gillespie and Montgomery. After what seemed to be an eternity I sorted the issues out, but was left very rattled from the issues. Pat was nice and told me to relax. After thirty minutes of maneuvers we headed to Brown Field for the landings. Those landings and takeoffs went well, so I was starting to relax as we headed back to Montgomery. Pat was calm and cool the whole time. He smiled and stated "only one more landing left!" One the way back, I flew under the "hood" and did well. All that was left was the landing. Again Murphy struck again as I was starting to relax. The approach went well, but my last landing SUCKED!! Probably the worst I'd ever had but it was effective. On top of it, the tower was upset with me for not getting off the runway quick enough.
I worried screwed up the check ride on the last landing, as I shut down the plane, as the door opened. Pat looked at me and shook my hand.. Telling me I had passed. He explained my handling of the stress early in the ride showed good pilot skills. Pheww... I started to breather again! As we tried to wrap up the paper work, that didn’t go smoothly but after a half hour we finished it and I received my first pilot's license.
It was weird, I was relieved but the joy wasn’t immediate. I thanked Pat for his patience and wisdom. After talking to Brett, and texting my family. I started working on my flight plan to fly up to Whiteman (By Burbank) airport for the evening to spend time with my sister and family (Wheelers). The hour and half flight allowed me to relax and enjoy the new privileges of being a pilot. Soon I was landing at Whiteman.
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| Whiteman Tower |
Being tired but happy I locked up the plane as I waited for Dale to pick me up. As luck would have it, my nephew Cody graduated from kindergarden soon Dale and I headed off to meet the family for Cody’s graduation dinner.
The rest of the evening was spent relaxing with Renee and Dale, over a couple of beers. Hopefully the weather tomorrow will be good. I’m hoping to see the parents in Santa Ynez and then go to Monterey for some cross country flight time.
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