Checkride #9
On Dec 1 I got to put those famous initials behind my name PP-ASEL..and it was a thrill I fly out of BMG and the DE was down at BFR I got to the airport at 7am. I had my flight plan done and now was watching the weather  This would be my sixth attempt. We had light winds...10,000 ft ceiling but snow moving in. I decide to go ahead and take the chance. Off the ground at 8 and on the ground at Bedford by 20 after. Met the DE in his office.and it started

First he wanted to see my paper work..all in order
--Then the check..LOL...it was good too. 
--Then the log books on the plane. 
--He wanted to see the 100 hours and the last annual and then asked if they are the same. --He ask more about aircraft maintenance 
--Then I blew my first question..what color is the brake fluid. I got this blank look and told him..I have no Idea! He laughed and said Red.  I knew the rest of his answers on maintenance. 
--Then he went into rights and privilege of the PP..
--A couple of questions about the AF/D.
--Then onto the sectional...
--What airspace do you need clearance to fly into..
--Where do you need a mode C..what are your clearances..do you have a ceiling limitation..can you do this or that..He spent much more time on the sectional than anything else. 
--Then on to the flight plan I had done. no problems..
--Had to show him how I got the wind correction angle..
--He asked me about my fuel numbers and I think I made a few points. POH say 8.6 gals per hour at cruise..and I use 10 for a margin of error. when he saw this he seem very pleased. 
--Then figure take-off and landing distances. and again I think he was happy.. I showed him the book figure and then told him I would add 50% to it to be "real". 
--We went over the weather charts and prog charts..read a few metars then he said..we are going flying I went out to the plane..checked the fuel..walked around and off we went.

He didn't want a preflight briefing. And he did something funny, it is 25-degrees out side..cold as could be..the heat in the plane is not the best you know..and he took his coat off and put it in back..this will make sense in a minute..LOL

I took off and hit my course for my cross country. We couldn't climb up to cruise attitude because the ceiling had dropped. I fly on my course..get the plane set up .......and missed my first check point.I told him that I had..and why I thought I had...told him that I would make the second check point in another 8 minutes...he said fly to it and we would see. and low and behold...7 minutes after our little conversation..there it was...right where it was suppose to be..ok..turn 180 and put on the foggles..steady flight ..climbs and descent..turns to a course...whoop..he said we just lost the DG...now make turns to a heading..all went well..and said close your eyes..we are going spiraling..LOL.

The DE took the controls and jerking around we went..When he said the plane was mine we where in a very deep nose down spiral...throttle out..wings level..and pull out...WOW..he asked why I leveled the wings before pulling out and I told him about increase load factors in a turn...he said good..Then he starts thrashing around to put his coat on. I understand now. Little bit of diversion.I ignore him..to much..you will see in a sec. now lets go stall...power off power on..no problems...steep turn..no problems..ground ref..no problems..lets go land..normal landing on 13 at BFR...ok..call for traffic..enter on the 45...do my gumps check..and don't catch that he didn't put his seat belt on after putting on his coat..he puts in on while I am on base...I think uh oh..that is a bust..but we go ahead and do our landings..I am high on my short field..go around and he pulls the motor..ask for a quick decision..best field is to the right about 40 degrees from our course..he is happy again..didn't try to make it back to the runway..hit my short field right on the numbers..hit the brakes..and he says take it back to the hangar. I figure missing the first check point and missing the seatbelt as earned me a trip back. We taxi up to the hangar and he asks how I did. I started reeling off everything I thought I had done wrong......and he agreed......then said we are not looking for perfection ..we are looking for safe pilot who make good decisions..and you are one..you PASS.

What is hard is making someone who hasn't done this understand what a proud moment that is...I have done many things in my life.I have passed many tests..I have gotten rewards for being one of the best at what I do for a living..but it just doesn't compare to getting those words...it almost reaches the feelings I had when my children came into this world

So now I am a private pilot with all the responsibilities and privileges due...and I make my first big decision on the way home.I get BMG weather..2500 ft ceilings..4 mile visibility..so I decide to fly back..on the way I hit a snow storm..do a 180 and back I go to make some phone calls..LOL.I tell them to come get me...weather is to bad..between the airports it is more like 1000 ft ceilings and 2 miles visibility.So I am setting in the lobby of the airport and in comes the DE...I told him what was going on and damned if he didn't get a big smile on his face..shake my hand..and told me how happy he was that I made that decision..I think that made his day......and I know it made mine..My instructor brings down a instrument rated friend and off we go..back home..and me showing this piece of paper to anyone that will look..and to a lot that don't..LOL>...

So now as soon as the weather breaks up here I am off..and am starting my instrument rating this spring..have to repair the .check book you know..Again..thanks to all in this newsgroup that has been a help and for all the support...

Checkride #10
Its me again! I'm a private pilot now though!!!!!! After days of worrying it all came to an end around 10am cst.The day before After practicing one last time last night I was a nervous wreak. I flew safe but it was the worst flying I've done in a long time. So I came home and started to feel sick and had a high temp, oh great, after getting over being sick I'm gonna have to cancel it because I'm sick again, so I laid down and took a nap at 6:30. I woke up at 10 and felt a lot better but couldn't go back to sleep until after midnight because I was worrying so much.

The morning of...
Then I woke up around 4:30 having a nightmare (yes about not passing my checkride) so I laid there until it was time to get up at 5am. After getting up and taking a shower I ate a bowl of cereal and headed for the airport. I got there about 10 minutes before the flight instructor said he would be there so I sat and waited. Finally after waiting for 20 minutes he showed-up, his car wouldn't start. I went in and started working on my flight plan and when I was finished I had about 10 minutes left before he got there. This is when I started freaking out! I tried to go over everything one last time and was just a big mess. Then I saw him walking up the sidewalk! After meeting him he seemed pretty nice.  (Note: At one point in the PTS history a pilot was allowed only 30 minutes to do all the planning required for cross-country planning .)

The oral
him "Can I please see your application?"
me "huh"
him "I can't start until I have your application"
So I run to find the instructor and he said he forgot so he printed it out. Here I am racing to fill it out and get back in there asap. After returning he fills out some papers and then its time to get started. He starts by asking me to explain how I planned the flight. Then we go over a few things on the sectional. After he asked what I needed for class c airspace and the weather mins for our flight. Then he asks what we need in the plane and what happens if we have a pink registration. I had no idea so he explained. Then he asked what happened if I was stuck at an airport with a grounded mag, once again I wasn't positive on the answer but had a general idea. After than he asked me to do the weight and balance and then asked me to explain what things could increase takeoff distance. After that he says the tas it and explains what we will be doing on the flight. After a brief potty break and after getting over the thought of how much I over studied for this we went out to the plane. At this time I was pretty sure I would walk away a private pilot.

The flying part
He let me preflight by myself while he was talking to another guy, I figured he would be watching over me. The plane was ready to go so we hoped in and started up. He asked for a short field takeoff on runway 18. I haven't used 18 in several weeks because of the wind. Off we went and then we headed towards our destination. After showing him I knew exactly where we were at all times he pulled the engine and asked me to make a grass strip. I made it but it could have been a better forced landing. (didn't actually land)

Then we went back to 2,000ft agl and he asked me to divert to Shelbyville and give him an estimated heading. After that he wanted me to tune into the VOR and fly there, I was off by about 5 degrees. He wanted a short field landing so I did it, it was a little bumpy but we stopped in plenty of time. Then we did a soft field takeoff and landing which went good, he asked why I wasn’t tracking the centerline on the runway though when on final, my answer was because of the road beside it, and nervous so he said ok.

After that we went up to 2,500ft and he told me to do slow flight, I asked to go up to 3,000 to be safe so he said ok. Then I went into slow flight and did some turns and he told me to do a power off stall. After explaining to him I needed to do a clearing turn (which he wasn't too concerned about, I thought it was a trick) I did a power off stall and then a power on stall. Then he asked me to put on the hood and fly a heading and descend to 2,000ft. A few minutes later I was allowed to take it off and we were on a 45 downwind entry for runway 18 at MBT. He said he wanted a normal landing so no problem. Then there was a Citation beside/behind us so he said to make it close and fast. I landed and made the first taxi way, not the best landing but safe. Then the worst part, parking the dang plane but I did it and he got out and told me he would be inside filling out the paper work. Then I asked him "Did I get it?" and he said "yes!". Meanwhile my boss was watching and video taping me. I got out and tied it down and it was over.
After
Before I went inside I talked to my boss for a few minutes and then went in and was handed my temp certificate. I asked how I did and he told me everything was safe, I just needed time to improve. Damn I had a smile on my face then! Then my instructor congratulated me and took my picture. He also said he wished he would have taken a before and after picture because I was pale as a ghost before! So far my instructor has a 100% pass rate still and I was his #2 checkride. Then I called my dad and told him the good news and went out to talk to my boss. I stood out there talking to him and admiring the Citation for about a half-hour. Then I went back in and talked to my instructor about renting and IFR. After that I went home!

What I learned
Listen to other people, I freaked out over something I should have laughed at.
You can do anything you set your mind to.
How easy the test really was.
Not to stress things.
That I'm rambling right now.....

Zach

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