Brady,
I haven’t had the opportunity to solo yet at ATP, but maybe those last solo TOLs will inspire me to! I knew coming to KGKY would definitely have that downside of super busy. But I love everything else!
Checkride is scheduled for 11/24 currently. Conveniently my birthday 
.
Best,
Raina
Raina,
Nothing better than receiving a ticket on your birthday (obviously a really great ticket 
).
Brady
That’s what happens when you’ve been on the island for too long. What’s the average temperature over yonder this year?
Brady
There is no “too long”. Living in the cold is uncivilized and should only be used as punishment (like Siberia!). The average year round is a very comfortable 81° 
Adam
Adam,
Look at the TAF from my last Grand Canyon hike in February of 2023. I am going again next February, would you like to go?
No thank you, I would not. These are mine on Koko Head from a couple of weeks ago (I go a few times a week), usually at sunrise when it’s about 76°. No coats, no layers, no snowshoes, no poles, no gloves, no frostbite, no hypothermia, no bears and no avalanches. T-shirt, shorts and some water. As I said, very civilized.
Fortunately for you the FAA doesn’t require psych evals! 
Adam
Just volcanoes.
Brady
Luckily ATP aircraft have great heat once the prop is spinning! Much better than the summer with no AC…
Hannah
Hi all,
Completed my XC solo eval September 27th and was blessed by the weather gods with a BEAUTIFUL day right after to complete my first and last solo XC (150 nm) for the PPL stage at ATP. A little sad that I can’t do it again because I already have solo time, but I will be thankful down the road that I have extra hours to allot to something I may struggle at, without being charged extra.
Starting with preparing for my XC eval, I was finding on my dual XCs that I was missing a lot of radio comms, either not hearing or not understanding, so that was really nerve-racking. This prompted me to upgrade from my old David Clarks to the Bose A20 (I am grateful to be able to make this investment now), because I was really worried about not being able to hear transmissions on my solo. I used them for the first time on my solo XC eval, and (praise the Bose engineers) had zero trouble understanding anyone. I still missed some comms, so I was also a little worried about if this would happen on my eval, but I’ve come to realize that when my instructor is with me, it’s just harder for me to listen for ATC compared to when I’m alone. Anyway, I passed my eval and took my solo bright and early this morning. I was so nervous to start because it’s been a while since I’ve flown alone and I didn’t even get to do solo TOLs at ATP, so I felt like it came up so fast. The warmup for it went great, though, and then the solo was just so fun and relaxing. I didn’t miss any comms and shortly after starting off, I wasn’t that nervous either with transmissions (swear the Bose A20s gives me some otherworldly sense of confidence). I was lucky that the nontowered airport I flew to had zero traffic in the pattern while I was there. Something about flying alone left with plenty of time to set everything up on every leg, and never fall behind or feel rushed. The only thing about this flight was that a plane crossed under me from right to left that never showed up on the traffic map, and that I of course never saw until I saw it passing out under my left wing less than 500’ below, and I was like wow. That’s crazy. I seriously think it’s crazy that a plane can fly without having… is it ADS-B Out that allows them to show up on traffic maps? On a super sunny day, I can barely see out of my windscreen, especially with all the scratches. And even with continuous scanning and vigilance, it can be hard to spot traffic when you’re looking at it, much less when you’re not looking for it. Add on that it’s crossing below you, or even above your high wing? Feels like so much risk is involved. Anyway, we were still well clear of each other, and I remained vigilant, but things like that always make you try to be a little extra vigilant.
Moving on from this, I’m super excited, but nervous to get into Checkride prep. Which is normal, I know, but a lot rests on this. It’s been so long since I’ve done maneuvers a lot, and they’re usually within tolerances, but a bad weather day can completely wreck them for me. Aside from that, I’ve been studying the POH, the ACS and matching it with the FARs/PHAK/AFH, and using the ASA Oral Exam Prep, but I just feel like there’s no way I’m going to know/memorize everything I need to know. My memory has always been similar to that of a goldfish when it comes to technical things and exacts (something three years of studying for engineering did not fix) so I’m just doing my best to get into the nitty gritty of the mechanics behind things and trying to utilize mnemonics wherever possible. Also practicing pretending to teach others helps a bit, too.
Happy flying!
Raina
Raina,
Congrats on completing the Solo XC, what an awesome feeling it is flying solo for the first time to a destination.
Sometimes the squitter of the ADS-B can be slow, so it may not have populated properly on the TFC page. I know many times even in our jets, I look at the TCAS and there’s a random target, but nothing in sight, no warning from our friends below on the ground, but you stay vigilant. Spotting traffic can be hard, I sometimes find it difficult to spot traffic unless I’m super high and can see a contrail from a plane, then I have the eagle eye for it.
Not to jinx everything because it seems to be rolling, when is your expected checkride date? Looking forward to some positive news.
Brady
That looks so peaceful and relaxing, Chris! Adam just lost his way and gone soft 
Brady,
Thank you! I hope one day I will acquire an eagle eye for spotting aircraft. Even just one.
My checkride date is unknown currently! It’s been set as TBD with no one for Nov. 24th since I began this program, but I expect it to move up? I hope? But I have no idea when or who it will be with.
Raina
Raina,
I’m glad the Bose A20’s helped. The noise cancelling technology is pretty amazing. You’ll appreciate them even more when you get to the instrument phase and you’re talking to ATC the entire flight. I can understand why you probably do better when you’re solo then with the instructor, one less person talking at you! It can be tricky but you’ll get better at listening to the instructor while also having an ear out for your call sign on ATC.
That is a bit frightening traffic came so close to you. I hope you remember that feeling throughout your career as a constant reminder to keep up that good scan! Technology is great but it isn’t 100% all the time.
Good luck with solo prep! Chair fly those maneuvers and if you can hop in the sim to practice before going up in the plane. The ASA oral guide was my favorite prep tool! I hope you find it as such as well.
Hannah
Hannah,
Thanks so much! I definitely understand why sterile cockpit is so important, even if it’s with an instructor. I’ve been chair flying at home a lot, but the sims are pretty booked. However, I’m planning on going up to sim at some odd hours very soon!
Raina
Update! I’ve been endorsed for Checkride! Going to do IACRA with my instructor tomorrow. A little scary, but I know that will be normal no matter how much I study and practice. Especially because this is my first check-ride ever.
I’ve been studying the ACS, the POH, FAR/AIM still, and now watching a lot of YouTube videos on mock orals. I asked my instructor to schedule me for some sim time up to my checkride (the date is still unknown), so I can practice stuff, even if he’s not there and someone doesn’t boot me off. I have some excess hours, so depending on when my checkride is, my instructor wants to use those for “proficiency” in case I’m not actually eligible for a real proficiency flight.
Speaking of proficiency, I am within tolerances on maneuvers, and my steep turns are typically fantastic. Today, though, it was so thermally and no matter how much power I was pulling out in the turn and pitching down, I kept building speed and floating out of tolerances. Even my instructor was like you were power idle and still positive on the VSI. How bad is this for a checkride, or is this seriously DPE dependent? Like if they see me fighting for my life and genuinely trying to correct for the conditions and they’re just too much. And the crazier part is the flight out to the practice area was so smooth, but there just was something out there. I did the maneuver twice because I was so flabbergasted by the first time that I was like “I need to redeem myself,” and it happened again, although I was able to predict it sooner and kind of add less power in from the beginning. Do I just need to learn how to correct better and this is on me or is there a room for error due to conditions outside of tolerances?
Another issue I’m having is holding the nosewheel off during soft-field landings. I’m very paranoid of a tail strike, and so the moment I feel the nose wheel kind of lifting more above the surface than your normal round out, I release a little pressure and of course the front tire subsequently drops down sooner than it should. I know in my head that the nose can be pretty high before a tail strike would come close to occurring, but I just feel like if I don’t drop the nose soon enough, it would tip back irreparably, and I’ll tail strike. Is there a good sight picture or something for holding the nose off?
Thanks everyone!
Raina
Hi again,
It seems I spoke too soon! Scheduled for Checkride this upcoming Monday 10/14. I read the special emphasis supplement on the DPE and it’s a bit short but seems straightforward. My instructor doesn’t really know anything about the DPE but is going to ask around and I’m going to ask around and see if any students have had experiences. I also flew again today, just short and soft-field, and did MUCH better on soft-field. SAT and kept the nose off. I asked my instructor if we could do a mock oral and checkride tomorrow, so looking forward to testing myself with that. I’m nervous, but more confident with those landings clicking a lot more now!
Safe flying!
Raina
Raina,
First off, congrats on the endorsement for the checkride. Secondly, it’s checkride time! 
You may use that simulator whenever and however much you want AS LONG as there is no event that is booked by an actual instructor. While your instructor wants to save the AATD for a “proficiency,” I really encourage this instructor to go above and beyond, and sit down 15-minutes on the sim regardless of how much is showing on the dashboard and check the standards, flows, profiles. I am a believer in setting milestones and changing them from time to time; i.e., instructing: first sign-off, 5 sign-offs, 10 sign-offs, gold seal, etc. Many times even as a lead instructor I sat with students on the AATD on off time, to ensure they progressed through stages.
Depending on the DPE, it could be satisfactory or dissatisfactory on a checkride. A piece of advice I give to EVERYONE, talk through your maneuvers. Talking through the maneuvers while demonstrating them to the DPE will give you more buffer than if you sat there and didn’t say a word. Demonstrate you know the tolerances, what you’re doing, and if you need to make corrections, speak them outloud as you’re doing.
While you’re not prone to a tail strike, they can and do happen in the real world. I recommend when you touch down, not to yank the control surface back, but gradually continue pulling as the aircraft loses lift effectiveness. Remember the soft field landing is done with a bit of power, if you yank back on the controls while producing thrust and lift, you may generate a downforce on the tail causing it to feel like its closer to the ground. The chances of actually nipping the tail off the tarmac is rare, just be smooth on the controls and you will be fine.
Please let us know how the ride goes, it’s a great time, truly. It’s your first checkride and the nerves will be there. Be sure to take a day to relax and make time for yourself between now and then, it will ease the stress.
Brady
Raina,
The ACS tolerances are published so that applicants know what is satisfactory and what is not. The conditions are the conditions but you still need to be able to execute within the tolerances for a sat. Early morning check ride flights tend to have better conditions and hopefully you get lucky on the day. However, now that you’ve seen what can happen that makes the maneuver more challenging you can anticipate it and respond more effectively.
Best of luck! Let us know how it goes!!
Hannah
Hello and thank you guys for the advice and encouragement! Short-ish story shorter, I passed my check-ride yesterday! Really the main thing I got from this is that I was lucky to get my DPE, who was really good and chill.
I started at 0700, but the first 30 minutes of the oral was just housecleaning and introductions. The oral went really well and took about an hour. We kind of bonded on both having degrees in engineering, and I think it was easy because of my grade on the PAR. The one thing I stumbled on was how the electrical system in the plane works, but he worked through it with me.
After oral, I did preflight, and he didn’t even come out until I was done, so I wasn’t asked anything about that. I got lucky with winds, which were about 12 kts with a 10-degree crosswind. It was terribly bumpy at altitude, but everything worked out fine. Started with a short field take-off, and then followed my navlog to the first checkpoint. We did unusual attitudes and some simulated instrument maneuvers after, followed by steep turns, power-off and power-on stalls, slow flight, and an emergency approach and landing due to an engine failure. My DPE even gave me an airport to land on before he pulled the throttle, which was so unexpected. The only ground ref we did was turns around a point and it honestly was really bad to me, but I talked through the whole thing and he also had me enter in a headwind so I showed that I understood how the groundspeed/steepness of turn related. Back at the airport, we did a short field landing (not my best but within tolerances) and a no flap landing. The flight was a 1.3.
The best advice is to just yap about everything, sensibly. Not only did it help me truly keep track of everything, but it helped him see what I was doing and thinking of as well. I made mistakes, but I realized them and corrected them (not starting the nav log clock on T/O roll, starting too close to my point for turns around a point and then getting way wide) and I think that was key. He debriefed me with what he liked and what he wanted me to improve and it was all very fair and pretty expected. I definitely was way more stressed and anxious than I needed to be, but that’s better than being complacent. I truly have been so fortunate to get my PPL in less than two months.
On to 141 instrument. Got-3 hour instrument grounds every Tue, Th, and Sat.
Question! I do, way down the line, want to fly for American because I want to end up in Dallas. Do y’all think it’s too early to apply for cadet programs? And would you guys recommend I only apply to Envoy’s then, or should I branch out to other no-commitment ones (like Skywest)?
Happy flying!
Raina
Congrats Raina!! Sounds like you did very well. Talking out your thoughts while doing the maneuvers is a great start for CFI school where you will be required to do just that! Sounds like you might be a natural.
Side note, you also got to use the brand new 40th anniversary special tail for the big ride, how cool is that!
As for the cadet programs, they are great just don’t focus on them just yet. Focus on your success through the program first and foremost. Then when you’re a graduate with 7/7 checkride pass rate you can spend energy researching, applying and interviewing for cadet programs. You’re not losing out and anything by waiting, I promise you.
Hannah
