39 Private Pilot Checkride Prep – How to Fail a Checkride before it Even Starts - Interview with Jason Blair
Aviation News Talk podcast
Glass Cockpit Publishing
4.8 • 730 Ratings
🗓️ 1 November 2017
⏱️ 56 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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Jason Blair is a FAA DPE, or Designated Pilot Examiner, who gives checkrides to pilots, and he’s also an active flight instructor. He got an early start in aviation, taking flying lessons at age 15, soloing at 16, and getting his private certificate at 17.
Jason explains that there is a shortage of designated pilot examiners who give checkrides, which is affecting people’s ability to schedule a checkride. He also said that if someone feels that an examiner is not conducting checkrides in accordance with the ACS, they can send comments to this FAA Email address for DPE/Practical Test Concerns.
Then he talks about the important qualification process, which occurs at the beginning of a checkride. If a student doesn't have all the documents, correct endorsements, or hasn't met all of the experience requirements, he or she will be going home before the checkride even starts. He explains the most common oversights he sees during the qualification process, and encourages flight instructors to have a second CFI review a pilot's logbook and endorsements, to ensure that the pilot is qualified for the checkride, and won't be sent home early.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, and thank you for joining us on Aviation News Talk for a newsmaker's edition, where we talk to people who are making the news. |
| 0:08.8 | Now, there's been much discussion in the industry of a pilot and a CFI shortage, but in some parts of the country, |
| 0:14.8 | there's also a shortage of DPEs or designated pilot examiners who give check rides. |
| 0:20.6 | And in a moment, we'll be sitting down with Jason Blair. |
| 0:23.8 | He's a DPE, and we'll talk briefly about that situation. |
| 0:27.4 | And then we'll talk at length about the check ride gotchas, those many things that can |
| 0:31.8 | stop your check ride dead in its tracks just minutes into your check ride. |
| 0:36.4 | And since this is the last show of the month, that's the show in which I read the names of |
| 0:40.6 | all of our high-level Patreon sponsors who contribute $20 a month or more to help support their show, |
| 0:46.4 | which I greatly appreciate, and I'll be reading all of their names at the end of the show. |
| 0:51.3 | Now buckle up because this Newsmaker's edition starts now. |
| 1:15.8 | Welcome to Aviation News Talk, where we talk about general aviation and the people in our industry. |
| 1:23.4 | I'm Max Prescott, and if you're new to this show, we have a weekly show that shares pilot safety tips in general aviation news from around the world. |
| 1:28.4 | And we also interview movers and shakers in the aviation industry, which is what we're doing today. |
| 1:38.5 | You probably know that to get a private pilot certificate, eventually all student pilots have to go through the dreaded check ride with an FAA designated pilot examiner. |
| 1:45.5 | We talked about check ride anxiety in episode 33, and my point then was there's no reason to have anxiety about a check ride if you're fully prepared. Unfortunately, a lot of people fail to find small errors in their |
| 1:51.1 | logbooks or omissions in their flight training. And these problems can bring an immediate halt |
| 1:56.5 | in the first few minutes of a check ride and send you home almost before you got started. |
| 2:01.6 | That first part of the check ride where the examiner goes through your logbook and documents |
| 2:06.0 | is called the qualification process and not enough attention is devoted to preparing for this |
| 2:11.3 | important part of the check ride. |
| 2:13.2 | Earlier today, I talked with Jason Blair about the many gotchas he finds during the |
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