Hi everyone, I am currently sitting at 65 hours of flight time as a student pilot and I have cancelled one checkride (PPL) so far due to high winds that I don’t feel comfortable in. My second checkride is in two days and again the forecast shows high winds, even higher this time. I will make a decision tomorrow with my CFI. If it does get cancelled and I have to fly to stay proficient, will the extra hours make it look bad on my license and resume once I get my commercial? The extra hours worry me sometimes. For example finishing commercial at like 300 or more instead of 250? This is probably a stupid question but worth the ask. Thank you!
No it’s not going to matter at all. Better to get the extra practice and pass than skip it and fail. ATP tries to get you ratings in the most efficient way possible but there are many pilots who took more hours to get a rating.
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Akshar,
Not a stupid question and no, it’ll never come up and if it does, you explaining your concerns and desire to remain current shows good judgement.
Good luck on your checkride.
Adam
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Akshar,
First off, you are the Pilot-in-Command during the checkride, if you believe the weather conditions do not provide for a safe and effective checkride, then you have the right to reschedule. However, be aware that you may need proficiency flights to keep your skills in shape. The hours you’ve submitted on the 8710-1 (IACRA) will not reflect on your certificate/ratings negatively unless you’ve unsatisfactory completed a checkride. I also don’t think you’re going to see finishing commercial at 300, especially if you’re at ATP.
Goodluck on the checkride, let us know how it goes! Aviate, navigate, communicate.
Brady
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Akshar,
Proficiency is incredible important! If you need more hours to achieve that, no problem! At the end of the day, you need 1500 hours in your logbook so you might as well use those to better prepare you for check rides then burning holes in the sky later.
Hannah
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Thank you Adam, I got a last minute date yesterday and I passed my PPL checkride.
Akshar.
Akshar,
This is fantastic news, congratulations on passing the checkride! What a way to celebrate the holidays, hopefully you get to spend the holidays with those, today.
Please keep us posted on your journey through the instrument phase and further.
Brady
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Congratulations, that is fantastic news! Please continue to update us.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Chris
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Akshar,
Congrats! Did you feel proficient and well prepared?
Hannah
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I was very nervous until it started and the examiner was just another guy who flew with me. He was a nice person who was looking for safety and pilot proficiency and not perfection. My oral was very smooth and I did very well there. My flight, I made one mistake in one of my maneuvers but the rest was satisfactory. I felt very good after, It was a good day. Thank you!
Akshar,
How are you doing with your instrument training?
Chris
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Akshar,
To feel nervous is a normal feeling, if that feeling wasn’t there, I’d be asking if you were an alien because it’s a totally different test than you probably have completed in the past. Personally, I enjoyed working with DPE’s who understood the applicant wasn’t perfect, but accepted standards and proficiency (within safety margins) to be better. Take that checkride and build upon it for the next. 
Brady
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Chris,
Instrument is confusing. My CFI is doing a good job to make me understand everything and am using every available resource to help me. At the end of the day I don’t mind the challenge because I love IFR.
Brady,
Absolutely, It is just a normal feeling. I learned a lot from that checkride and aim to continue learning.
Akshar
Akshar,
Instrument in the beginning is an overwhelming feeling, it takes time. Here’s a trick that I always taught my students or friends that were going through instrument:
Roughly 2.5 miles or 30 seconds from the final approach course, TRACON is going to give you the “PTAC.” Position, Turn, Altitude, Clearance. Example: “Career Track 233, 10 miles from FAF, turn right heading 330, maintain 3,000 until established, cleared ILS.”
Brief it before it even happens. “We can expect to maintain an altitude and receive a turning instruction to intercept; therefore, we’ll establish ourselves here.” In the airlines, everything is IFR, even in visual conditions, even shooting a visual approach (because we use approaches as backup to the runways).
Brady
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Brady,
Thank you so much, I will look more into it and understand it better. Appreciate your help.
Akshar.
Akshar,
Anytime, we’re here to help. We’ve all been there, seriously, maybe just a few years or decades… 
Brady
Akshar,
Think of instrument as a big game of Simon says! A clearance is a command. You read it back and get permission to do certain things only. Once at the end of that clearance limit, wait for Simon to tell you what to do next. Or request what you want from Simon.
I know it sounds silly, but that’s all it really is.
Hannah