The checkride: what to expect

Prerequisites (61.39)

• Pass the knowledge test within the preceding 24 calendar months.
• Meet the aeronautical experience requirements (61.109) and hold a medical certificate.
• Get an endorsement from an instructor saying you received and logged training within the preceding 2 calendar months in preparation for the test and are prepared for it, plus an endorsement that you were trained on the areas you missed on the knowledge test.
• Complete your application in IACRA.

What to bring

Every examiner sends a list; common items are:

• Photo ID, student pilot certificate, medical certificate
• Your knowledge test report
• Your logbook with the required endorsements
• The airplane's maintenance logbooks and documents
• The POH, current charts, the Chart Supplement, a plotter and E6B (or approved apps)
• The cross-country flight plan the examiner assigned, with a weather briefing and weight and balance
• The examiner's fee

The oral exam

Usually 1 to 3 hours. The examiner uses scenario-based questions: "We're flying your planned trip and the alternator fails. What do you do?" They're testing whether you understand, not whether you memorized. It's fine to look things up in the right reference; it's not fine to guess. "I don't know, but here's where I'd find it" is a good answer.

The flight

Usually 1.5 to 2 hours. Expect the start of your cross-country, a diversion, simulated instrument flying, slow flight, stalls, steep turns, ground reference maneuvers, emergencies and several kinds of takeoffs and landings, all graded against the ACS standards. Fly like you've been trained, use your checklists, and clear the area before maneuvers.

Outcomes

• Pass: you leave with a temporary certificate. Your plastic one arrives by mail.
• Notice of disapproval: you didn't meet the standard on something. You get credit for the tasks you passed (generally for 60 days) and retest only what's left after more training.
• Letter of discontinuance: the test was stopped for something outside your control, like weather or a mechanical problem. No failure; you finish later.