No matter your aviation career goal, every pilot must pass a series of checkrides to earn their stripes. And sooner or later, you may experience what is often referred to as “checkride-itis” – an informal term describing minor fears or nervousness surrounding the testing process that could affect the outcome of a regulatory checkride.
NBAA’s Business Aviation Insider asked three flight training experts to share their thoughts on possible leading causes of this troublesome distraction, and offer tips aimed at preventing your next ride from being a bust.
Familiarity With Examiners
“One of the biggest causes is a lack of familiarity with the FAA’s designated examiner,” said Andrew Chan, owner/chief flight instructor at Right Rudder Aviation. “Most students fly with the same instructor all the time and get stressed when flying with someone new.”
The FAA examination culture has improved since the 1980s and ‘90s, Chan said. “FAA examiners want you to pass, as long as you demonstrate all the skills you need to operate the aircraft safely. Our solution is to do staged checkrides with multiple instructors, so the student gets a feel for flying with different people.
“And we try to make it even harder than the FAA’s checkride to simulate all the pressure in advance, so the student isn’t caught off guard,” he added. “Lastly, I ensure our students take the day off before an FAA checkride to clear their heads. It helps most students handle the pressure.”
Understand the Checkride
“When you get nervous, you can’t concentrate on what you need to demonstrate. And I don’t mean just in the airplane,” said Jeff Guzzetti, president of Guzzetti Aviation Risk Discovery, LLC. “The oral part of the checkride is equally important, and too many students stumble there.
“If you don’t show mastery of the subject during the oral, the examiner will make the practical part even more challenging to make sure you do know what you are doing,” Guzzetti said.
“The solution is to understand what a checkride is all about. Examiners want to see how you perform outside your comfort zone and under stress. That’s the real world,” he said.
“It would be best if you also allowed yourself to make small errors. But be quick to recognize that error, let the examiner know that you understand what you did, and ask to correct it.”
Guzzetti said pilots should “always remember that anxiety is self-generated. You expect yourself to perform better than others. No examiner expects perfection. You need to relax and demonstrate what you are asked to do. Most importantly, make sure you always operate the aircraft safely.”
‘Just Another Routine Flight’
“My No. 1 issue with any checkride is putting too much value on the flight,” said Parker Northrup, chair, flight department, College of Aviation, Prescott Campus Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. “I’ve been taking checks since 1988, and it took me way too long to realize that checks are just another routine flight in an aviation career.”
Parker said the “solution is to take your time and complete your checklist, power settings, traffic clearing habits, ATC calls and everything else like you did every other flight before the checkride. That’s what I tell all the students I fly with to do.”
Students should “be assured that an unsatisfactory outcome only means you need additional training – it doesn’t mean you have to abandon your goals,” Parker said. “Once you get what you need, you will move on, just like anything else that’s unsatisfactory in your life. You learn, and you move on.”
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.