Cross Country Destination: Your destination will be assigned when you schedule your test. 

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Examiner Weight: 165 Pounds

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Passenger & Baggage Weight: For the oral exam scenario, plan to have yourself in the left seat, examiner in the right seat and a 200 pound passenger in the back seat and 75 pounds in the baggage area. For the actual flight profile, my flight bag is 10 pounds, plus whatever you normally have in the airplane.

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Test Fee: Please refer to the Rates page for current test fee information.

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Scheduling and Weather Policy: Please refer to the Scheduling page for details.

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Required Endorsements:

Please refer to the current edition of advisory circular 61-65.  At the time of writing, 61-65H is current.  You will need the following endorsements in order to take your Commercial Pilot practical test.  Please have your instructor review your logbook to ensure that these endorsements are complete and current.  Missing endorsements may prevent your test from being completed on schedule.  Other endorsements may apply, but at the minimum we will need the following:

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-A.1 Prerequisites for Practical Test (61.39)

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-A.2 Review of deficiencies on Knowledge Test (61.39)

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-A.34 Aeronautical Knowledge Test (61.35 A1, 61.123c, and 61.125) (NOTE: Your knowledge test results by themselves are not sufficient. We need this endorsement too!)

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-A.35 Flight proficiency/Preparation for test (61.123e, 61.127 and 61.129)

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-A.65 Completion of a flight review (61.56) (Yes, you need a current flight review in order to take this test.  If you have a previous checkride you're using to meet 61.56, bring that logbook with you so I can verify it, please.)

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-A.73 Retesting after failure of a practical or knowledge test (61.49) (NOTE: Only required for a retest)

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-CRITICAL NOTE: If you are using Supervised PIC time as described in 61.129(a)(4), then you MUST be consistent.  The 5 hours of night and the 300NM cross country flight must both be solo, or they must both be Supervised PIC.  You can't "mix and match."  This time can not be logged as dual received, and it can not be combined with the dual training requirements of 61.129. If you are unsure of the requirements and how to perform and log this time correctly, contact me before the test so that I can explain it.  This regulation causes more problems than any other item I deal with, and it is the number one cause of people being turned away due to eligibility issues.  For additional details, visit the Resources page.

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Required Documents:

Please ensure that you have ALL of the following documents, in addition to the required endorsements listed above.  If you're missing documents or paperwork, I won't be able to conduct your test and we'll need to reschedule for another day.  That's not fun for anyone.

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-Completed application in IACRA

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-Please have your IACRA login credentials readily accessible.

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-Paper copy of the 8710-1 printed from IACRA after CFI signature.  (Please use the "View/Print PDF button, not the "Print" button)

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-Knowledge test results

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-Pilot logbook with all pages totaled

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-Record of ground instruction received (This is missing all the time.  I can't do the test without it.  You're paying your CFI to give you ground training, make them log it for you!)

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-Government issued photo Identification.  Passport, US driver's license, Military ID, etc.  Foreign Driver Licenses are not acceptable.

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-Valid, unexpired medical certificate (Third Class or higher) OR Basicmed CMEC certificate

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-Pilot certificate

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-All aircraft documentation (ARROW, as applicable)

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-All aircraft maintenance records (AV1ATES, as applicable. Photocopies are fine, I don't need the orginal books. Please confirm any pertinent AD compliance!)

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-Completed cross-country navlog, with supporting documentation (charts, weather briefing information, performance data, etc)

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Test Advice:

-Go through the maintenance records well in advance of the test date. Verify that all the inspections are up to date, ESPECIALLY the airworthiness directives. Remember, 91.7 says that it is your responsibility as PIC to make sure the airplane is airworthy. While it is the owner's responsibility to keep it airworthy under 91.405, it is your job to make sure the owner is doing their job. Please review 91.417 carefully.  AD Compliance is a consistent issue. If they are not documented correctly, I can not and will not fly your airplane, which means your test is cancelled.  Blanket statements such as "All AD's are current" are not acceptable.  The FAA is very clear about the requirements. For further detail, you can read the Easter-Precision Letter.  Remember that recurring AD's need to have their next due date listed too.  This has been enough of an issue recently that I have adopted a no-show policy, and I will probably charge you a cancellation fee if your test can't be conducted as a result of information that, in reality, is part of the test.

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-Read the ACS.  The whole thing.  ESPECIALLY appendix 5.  Everyone skips this section.  This describes how your test will be conducted and what the expectations are.  I'll cover this with you before starting the test, but there's a lot of details and it's better to be familiar with it up front.

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-Read the manual for your airplane, especially the systems section. Know the avionics, be familiar with the performance, weight and balance, etc.  You're a professional pilot now.  Things like V-Speeds, max gross weight, max baggage weight, fuel capacity, etc, should be memory items. You really should be a systems expert by this point.

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-Electronic flight bags like Foreflight or Garmin Pilot are fine, but be sure that you're comfortable with the technology and how to use it.  You'll be tested on the tools you bring to the test.

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-I strongly recommend getting an "official" weather briefing from Flight Service, Foreflight, or some equivalent program.  Printing METARs and TAFs from aviationweather.gov almost always leads to missing information.  As a good rule of thumb, if you didn't have to give someone your aircraft registration number in order to receive your briefing, you're probably missing information that you're going to need during the test and during your flight.  Don't forget to look at the NOTAMs!

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-Know where to find extra information about airports, airspaces, etc.  Hot spots are a great example.  What exactly is the problem in that hot spot?  How much runway will you have if LAHSO is in effect?  We are professional pilots flying into complicated places.  We want to be in command of the operation.

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-Please dress comfortably.  There's no need to "dress to impress."  Shorts are perfectly fine.

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-Bring a snack or some lunch.  Sometimes the test runs long, especially if we have any weather delays.  No one flies well when they're hungry.

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-Take your time.  A lot of the mistakes I see during tests are simply the result of people rushing into things without thinking about what they're doing.  If you take an extra 10 minutes to finish the test, that's fine.  Watch the details.

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-If it doesn't look right, go around.  Let me say that again: Go around.  Many accidents can be avoided simply by going around.

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-You're going to have a simulated engine failure during your flight.  There will most likely be a runway under you when that happens.  You will be expected to touch down on that runway.  Plan accordingly.  Many people fly their approach with no intention of actually landing, which totally defeats the point of the exercise.  Pick a touchdown spot, and then fly an approach that'll get you there.  

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Common Errors

-Privileges and limitations.  What exactly can you do with that new commercial pilot certificate?  I'm a big fan of scenario based testing on this topic, but if you know the rules then it's easy to evaluate the scenario. That's how real life usually works anyway.

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-Mindset.  At the private pilot level, we usually ask "Can I do that?"  At the commercial level, we are asking "How can I do that safely?"  Remember, you're a working pilot now, so we need to consider our customer's needs as well as our own.  You've probably heard the private pilot phrase "It's a license to learn."  This checkride is our chance to show off what we have learned.

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-Landings: Pay attention to the crosswind correction!  The ACS is very clear that we need to be getting the airplane straight and touching down on the centerline.  This should be an old habit by this point. Your landings don't need to be perfect, but they need to be technically correct.  If the first thing that hits the ground is the nose gear, that's unsatisfactory.  On the short field and power off 180 especially, remember that you're trying to land on your point, not crash into it.  The landing needs to be under control, not just an arrival on the point. The ACS says it best: Land with the longitudinal axis aligned with and over the centerline, at a proper pitch attitude, with the appropriate crosswind corrections made and maintained throughout the landing roll.  Remember that the touchdown point is a graded item on all landings except the soft field landing. For the Short Field landing, you need to be touching down at, or within 100 feet beyond, your selected point. For the Normal and Power Off 180, you need to touch down at, or within 200 feet beyond, your selected point. If you touch down short of your selected point, then your landing is unsatisfactory. There is no tolerance for coming up short. Those aren't my rules, that's straight out of the ACS.

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-Power off 180: I see a lot of different techniques for this maneuver.  I don't care how you do it, but I'll tell you that everyone is paranoid about coming up short and they overcompensate for that fear. 90% of the unsatisfactory power off 180s are because we were too long, not too short.  Extra speed is not your friend on this maneuver.  Don't be afraid to slip the airplane, especially down low.  A slip is NOT an unstable approach!  I get asked all the time "Can I go around on a power off 180?"  The answer is: we need to get it right the first time.  That's the whole point of the maneuver.  However: it is my job to make sure you got a fair evaluation.  If I think that something outside of your control disrupted the test (like traffic or the tower) I may ask for it again.  If we're not going to make it because you misread the wind and turned base too late...sorry, but dealing with those variables is the whole point of the maneuver.

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-Stalls: You should be comfortable demonstrating the stalls to a full aerodynamic stall.  The ACS says that the recovery should happen at the first indication of the stall, or after the stall has occurred, as specified by the evaluator.  I'm specifying: full stall.  The power on stalls are going to happen at full throttle, not at a reduced power setting.  Yes, the ACS has a provision that allows for reduced power settings, but that's up to the DPE (that's me) and it's in place to allow for airplanes with more powerful engines than your average trainer. If you don't have a turbocharger, plan to use full throttle. For all the stalls, remember that we can do them either straight ahead or in a turn. I suggest practicing them both ways.  Remember as well that there are a number of stalls that may not be on the checkride, but if your CFI isn't teaching them to you, then you're not getting complete training.  Make sure you go through things like the cross-controlled stall. The point is to be able to recognize the warning signs of these stalls and take action before they happen.

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-Slips and Skids: I've had a lot of issues recently with people who can't tell the difference.  That's a problem. We need to be able to identify each, use the appropriate one, and explain the aerodynamics involved.  I've had a number of people who tell me they're going to use a slip, but then show me a skid instead, and don't see that as a problem.  That's an automatic unsatisfactory test.  Deliberate skids thinking we're doing a slip are not acceptable.

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Questions?

Text me and ask!  I'm here to help.  You can try calling me too, but I do spend a lot of time in airplanes and I'm not always available to answer.  A text message is the most reliable and preferred way to reach me.  You can also take a look at some of the frequently asked questions page.

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