Checkride Prep

Effective preparation for a checkride can actually make the experience an enjoyable one, instead of one that is stressful.

Oral Exam

A significant amount of time and effort are required by you to prepare for the oral exam.

  • An effective way of understanding the disparate amount of information you will need to know is to study flashcards, writing out the information and teaching others:

    • Flashcards are an efficient way to memorize details you will be tested on in your oral exam
    • Whiteboarding (or at least writing on paper) a detailed PAVE Checklist will help you understand what you know and what you don’t know
    • Teaching others will help you refine how to succinctly and effectively describe a topic without any hiccups

Additionally, you will need to become well versed in flight planning, so by the time you get to your checkride, you are able to easily prepare a NavLog and explain why you planned the way you did.

(Note: a “NavLog” is a piece of paper that details your flight – which waypoints you are using, the course heading to get from point to point, distance from point to point, your altitude, etc. – and which you use during the flight to track progress)

Regardless if you use the printed or digital version, having FAA documents bookmarked (“tabbed”) and highlighted will be hugely beneficial when studying for your oral exam. Plus, all FAA resources are available for use during your oral exam. The same also applies to the Pilot Operating Handbook (POH), which is published by the aircraft manufacturer.

Practical Exam

While your flight instructor will prepare you for the flight portion of the checkride, it is still good practice to think through flying procedures and skills when not in the airplane.

"Chair flying" is used throughout aviation training as a way to practice different flight scenarios. Chair flying can be accomplished by simply closing your eyes and imagining or with a cockpit layout print-out in front of you.

If you have the budget, a home simulator set-up can accomplish the same goals of chair flying but with more realistic inputs.

A binder is helpful in organizing documents that you can use for training flights and checkrides. Some documents that pilots may have in their binder include: temporary pilot certificate, medical certificate, test results, NavLogs, pages within the airplane’s POH, Airworthiness Directives (AD’s) and any other FAA documents, etc. Sheet protectors are also helpful in protecting your documents, especially the more important ones (certificates and test results).