Hello,
I am a sophomore at a 141 university and just messed up my PPL flying portion and my retake. My instructor told me this wouldn’t count against me, but from what I’ve heard, failing the same check ride twice is concerning. I’m starting to think an aviation career isn’t for me. Any advice?
Riley
Riley,
Obviously none of us were there, we have no idea of your progress (or issues) during training or what we’re the reasons for the double bust. Respectfully I disagree with your instructor and even if you continue with zero failures going forward, at the very least it will come up during an interview.
With no information my question would obviously be why did you bust? I’m not asking for the literal answer (ie, couldn’t hold an altitude on a steep turn) but more why did it happen? Nerves, lack of preparation, or lack of skill and ability?
If was it nerves you’ll need to find some way to calm yourself (easier said then done). If it was lack of preparation or not being ready, why weren’t you better prepared or ready? If you couldn’t mentally chair fly and talk your way through EVERY maneuver that’s on you. If you went in thinking you had them down “pretty good”, you’ve learned pretty good isn’t good enough. Finally if it’s lack of skill or ability that’s a problem. The reality is, despite our desire, not everyone can or should be a pilot.
It’s time for you to be honest with yourself and come up with a plan. If it was lack of prep or comfort that’s easy. You need to up your game and make sure it doesn’t happen again, ever. If it’s nerves or ability that’s harder and may require some soul searching.
Adam
If you get easily discouraged by any failure during training, you have a tough road ahead. Adam made some good points, and I would heed them. Also, remember that if you start worrying about your performance on a specific maneuver, you may have your whole checkride fall apart. The best advice I ever got from a DPE is to stop evaluating myself and let the DPE do their job. The checkride isn’t over until they say a maneuver is unsatisfactory or till you shut down the engine at the end of the ride. This was a game-changer for me and maybe it can help you as well.
Riley,
It was your first checkride! You didn’t know what to expect, but now you do. You’re at a crossroads now… either give up if you truly don’t love flying as much as you thought you did. (I find this hard to believe if you went as far as going to college pursuing an aviation degree). Or take a deep inward look and figure out what led to the failures and how you can prevent that again in the future. Don’t ever rely on your instructor to decide if you’re ready. It’s their endorsement but it’s your record!
Hannah
Riley,
I am curious, what did the airline pilot mentors at your 141 university say about this?
Chris
Chris,
I talked to the head of the aviation department, my instructor, and one of my professors. All of them said that it wasn’t anything to worry about. I’m curious because I hear a lot of different answers from pilots on here.
Riley
Riley,
Your future could go a few different ways:
A). You make a commitment to change the way you study and prepare for training. You complete your PPL and continue your training successfully.
B). You continue on your way doing the same thing and fail multiple subsequent check rides. This makes it difficult to get a job in the future.
C). You give up now and never know what could have been…
It’s great to get advice and direction from mentors in your life. But you need to make a decision and commit to it.
Hannah
Riley,
One piece of advice I would love to offer is think of your checkride as a training event with someone who is going to find bits and pieces for you to improve. A checkride doesn’t have to be as intimidating as students make them, it’s more of a psychological thing; if you hype yourself up negatively, you’ll more likely receive a negative outcome.
Put these failures behind and focus on passing and doing well in the future. Use the disapproval as an advantage of HOW you can do BETTER for future checkrides. If you show a continuing portfolio of disapprovals, then you may have a problem.
Brady
Brady,
Thank you for your advice. My nerves got the best of me during my checkride causing me to miss some ATC calls. All of my maneuvers and landings were spot on, so it was frustrating to fail at something that I knew I could do and that had never happened to me before. You are spot on that students make them much more intimidating than needed, and I certainly did.
Riley
Both times?
Adam
Yes, both times.
This is going to sound silly, but I witnessed Army Aviation candidates screwing up during their checkrides just due to nerves when I was in the military, and the examining officer quite often would simply repeat words one would often hear in the Army, “drop and give me 20!”
Believe it or not, 20 push ups tend to calm you down, and the Army examiners knew exactly what they were doing. (After all, the army had a whole lot of time and money invested in the pilot trainee at that point).
A less conspicuous technique (Again, believe it or not, but it seems to work) is simply to wiggle your toes. If the nerves are getting to you during your next checkride, try it.
There are many techniques to calm checkride nerves… my personal technique is chair flying the entire day. Starting from walking in and having all my documents ready, the oral, then how I’ll preflight, to taxi out… every maneuver, every landing. That way when I’m doing it, it feels like the second time and I feel calmer and more confident knowing what’s to come.
Hannah