Friday, June 19, 2015

N162HG SP-ASEL Checkride 0.7

This checkride was to address deficiencies from my previous attempt.

I filled out the IACRA paperwork again and showed the DPE my passport. According to my marriage certificate and passport, my middle name is "Abd-El-Hamid". That settles that.

I pre-briefed the DPE on how this was going to go. I said --
  1. This is a briefing more for myself than for you.
  2. I will fly this like a training flight, which means interrupting any demonstrations if I deem them to be unsafe, since I am a new pilot. If that affects the results of the test, then so be it. (He shook his head "no" at that point.)
  3. I would like to do a normal landing as a warmup first. (He said ok.)
He asked me, so what about last time made it not like a regular training flight? I replied that I should have called a go-around in the bounced landing rather than trying to stick it out for test purposes. He seemed happy with my answer.

On my first takeoff, my stall horn pipped just a little bit as I rotated, and I sort of mumbled in acknowledgement of that. My first landing was a greaser, stall horn squeaking and sliding in on ice. The DPE was like, "Wow! You must be happy with that one!"

The DPE then said, go ahead and demonstrate whatever you want to demonstrate.

I said I would do a short field landing. My second takeoff was uneventful. I was sent out on a slightly long downwind for traffic, but I established a stable final approach, more or less on speed if maybe just a tiny bit fast. My flare was just a little bit high but not unacceptably so. My nose waggled in yaw a little bit -- again, not unacceptably, but this is the sort of stuff I want to work on in my future flying. The DPE said "Ok".

I then said we should do our short approach. The DPE said I could cut power any time I liked, and we agreed I would do it about midfield. I had an uneventful takeoff, upwind to the auto bridge for traffic, then back again, and cut power. I established best glide at 70 kias, let us glide for a second, then turned and made for the runway. Landing assured, flaps down, slip like a madman, recover just barely over the runway, then hold it and be patient and float off the speed ... until chirp! I touched down very softly with the stall horn squeaking. I was talking to myself all the way down, in the third person, for every step. #whateverworks

I asked the DPE what we should do next. He said, taxi back to parking without hitting anything. I succeeded in that task, fortunately, and shut down, and he said "Congratulations!"

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