How to Pass Your Checkride: What Examiners and Instructors Say
Designated Pilot Examiners and instructors have told Pilot to Pilot what decides a checkride. Here’s their advice in one place, with the full episodes.
Get the paperwork right
A checkride can end before the engine starts. DPE Johnny Ginley 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.
Know the why, not just the what
Examiners want to see that you understand your airplane: its performance numbers and the reason behind every setting. Jason Miller makes the same point about instrument training. Understand why procedures exist instead of memorizing them, finish the written early, and tell your instructor when you’re reaching your saturation point.
Show good judgment on the day
Weather doesn’t care that you scheduled a checkride. Johnny explains how to make a sound go/no-go call when conditions change and when to go around, including the one maneuver where going around counts against you.
Volume 004 of Pilot to Pilot Magazine goes deeper on that second point in “Sometimes the Best Landing Is the Next One,” on why a go-around shouldn’t feel like a failure.
Train with structure
John Zimmerman of Sporty’s admits he made nearly every training mistake, needed a more structured syllabus to finish, and had an incomplete checkride along the way. Jason Miller’s advice on setting a clear objective for every lesson and standardizing your procedures helps make each hour count.
If it doesn’t go your way
A disapproval isn’t the end. In “DPE Disapproved: Now What?” in Volume 004, Johnny Ginley explains what happens after one, starting with the first step: take a breath.
Frequently asked questions
What do examiners look for on a checkride?
DPE Johnny Ginley focuses on clean logbooks, proof of airworthiness, knowing your airplane’s performance and the reasons behind your settings, and sound go/no-go and go-around decisions.
How should I prepare for the oral exam?
Learn the why behind procedures and settings rather than memorizing them, a point both Johnny Ginley and Jason Miller make on the show.
What happens if I fail my checkride?
You retrain and retest. Johnny Ginley covers the process in “DPE Disapproved: Now What?” in Volume 004 of Pilot to Pilot Magazine.
