How to Pass Your Checkride: 5 Tips From a Designated Pilot Examiner
A Designated Pilot Examiner on the logbook mistakes, airworthiness questions and judgment calls that decide a checkride, plus the engine failure that put him on Lake Shore Drive.
Every pilot remembers the night before a checkride. In Episode 371, Justin sits down with Designated Pilot Examiner Johnny Ginley to talk about what actually happens on the other side of the table, and what applicants can do to walk in prepared.
The advice applies whether you are going for your private, instrument, commercial, CFI, ATP or a type rating.
- 01The logbook mistakes that can disqualify you before you fly
- 02How to prove your airplane is airworthy, from inspections to airworthiness directives
- 03Why you need to know your airplane’s performance numbers, and the reason behind every setting
- 04How to make a go/no-go decision when the weather changes on checkride day
- 05When to go around, and the one maneuver where a go-around counts as unsatisfactory
- 06Average pass rates, and how the ACS changed the CFI oral exam
Start with the paperwork
A checkride can end before the engine starts. Johnny walks through the logbook errors that can disqualify an applicant, and why proving the airplane is airworthy, with current inspections and airworthiness directives, is part of the test rather than a formality.
Know the why, not just the number
Examiners want to see that you understand your airplane. That means knowing its performance numbers and being able to explain the reason behind the settings you choose, not just reciting them.
Judgment counts on checkride day
Weather does not care that you scheduled a checkride. Johnny explains how to make a sound go/no-go decision when conditions change, and when a go-around is the right call. He also covers the one maneuver where going around counts against you.
An engine failure over Chicago
Johnny also shares the throttle-cable failure that ended in an emergency landing on Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive, and how he got back in the airplane afterward.
Johnny Ginley
Johnny Ginley is a Designated Pilot Examiner and an Ohio State aviation alum. He also wrote “DPE Disapproved: Now What?” for Volume 004 of Pilot to Pilot Magazine.
Frequently asked questions
What do DPEs look for on a checkride?
In this episode, DPE Johnny Ginley focuses on clean logbooks, proof of airworthiness, knowing your airplane’s performance and the reasoning behind your settings, and sound go/no-go and go-around decisions.
Does this advice apply to the instrument or commercial checkride?
Yes. The episode covers advice for private, instrument, commercial, CFI, ATP and type-rating checkrides.
What happens if I fail a checkride?
A disapproval leads to retraining and a retest. Johnny covers that process in detail in his Volume 004 article, “DPE Disapproved: Now What?”
