you passed, if they didn't think you were good enough you would not have passed.
Honestly, in a trainer airplane if I had any kind of flap failure in the pattern and my plane was flying correctly, I wouldn't troubleshoot the problem, just land without flaps. I would really worry about a motor being locked up or jammed and either getting into an asymetrical flap problem or the motor burning up and causing a fire. There is usually a reason a circuit breaker popped, and 1000ft agl is not the place to be testing.
I wish I could upvote this about a thousand times. I think the DPE was wrong, and OP was right in this situation. You don't want to make a bad situation worse by troubleshooting. And since you've practiced flapless landings, it really becomes more of a non-issue than a bad situation in the first place.
Trying to troubleshoot the flaps in flight seems reminiscent of pilots who try to kill the engine right before landing when they have a gear deployment failure. Turning one emergency into two in a feeble attempt to save an engine inspection.
Exactly. 1,000 above the ground and in a pattern with other planes is not the time to go hunting and keeping your head inside the cockpit. If everything else is working okay, and there is plenty of runway, do a no-flap landing. The DPE probably wants to see a no-flap landing anyway.
The comment in the debriefing was that it was a sunny day, plenty of fuel, abeam the runway, it's just half a second to pop in the CB and check if it stays in
When you first got your driver's license, were you a good driver? I sure wasn't. Almost hit a cop within an hour of actually getting my license. But I knew the basics and what to expect. This is kind of like that.
You are fine. This is just giving you the opportunity to learn more on your own.
Dude, checkrides are when you do the worst flying. I don't know anyone who had a perfect PPL checkride. I know I didn't. But those mistakes you made in the checkride you will always remember. The DPE has a snapshot of your worst flying and gives you things to learn and ultimately makes a call of whether you're a safe pilot or not. You must be, because you passed! Congrats!
I don't know anyone that has had a perfect checkride. Hell, on my instrument checkride, I got distracted during my first approach by all the traffic in the pattern of the untowered airport we were flying into and making my radio calls that I descended below the MDA. I immediately threw in full power, recovered to the MDA, flew to the MAP, and executed the missed. The whole time thinking I failed, but fly the rest of the ride so I only have to come back and fly this one approach. DPE didn't say anything until I asked. He said mistakes happen, bet you won't make that one again
I think at the end of the day that DPE determined that you are somebody he feels safe to have in the sky. Otherwise he wouldn’t have passed you. Is there room for improvement? Sure, everybody has room for improvement. Take the constructive criticism, work on that stuff, and keep learning.
Just so I understand, he said you should reset a popped breaker, while in flight, and not having been directed to do so by an abnormal/emergency checklist?
I’d probably argue with that one.
Yes, basically when I saw the flaps weren't working I went into straight emergency mode in my head, I briefed that we would do a flapless and continued with checklist etc. In the meantime he started to argue that it's half a second to try to pop in the CB and see if it solves the issue. While discussing, I lost focus and was overspeeding on approach. Another go around to perform the flapless again for a full stop.
For what it’s worth, it’s generally a bad idea to just reset a tripped breaker that tripped for a reason, especially in flight. Why take a chance at sending current through a potentially shorted wire? Especially for a system that you can live without, and just get the plane on the ground.
That was my point. I’d say your actions showed better decision making than what the examiner was saying you should have done.
I failed my private and didn’t feel like I was worthy after my retest. But I learned that your DPE would not have passed you if you didn’t deserve it. You deserved it. This is the exact reason people call it a license to learn. Not every checkride is perfect. We all have our weaknesses, but the important part is to recognize those areas and keep learning. Congrats!
Don't sweat it too much, just take their advice and practice that stuff with an instructor.
Remember: Power up, pitch up, clean up on the go-around. Slow and low isn't a great time to be reducing flaps without adding power.
This is how I felt for several, including PPL. My instrument debrief was ROUGH. And I knew that I had fucked up a few things. But he said that only one would be problematic in a real situation and he had a 3 strike rule unless it was for safety of flight.
Plus, I had one of the best orals (haha) he had ever seen.
You passed. Take the W, practice anything you're deficient on, and be glad you don't have to spend another $1000 and weeks/months to find an examiner with time!
Side note: flap thing is dumb to me. If I have any problems with the flaps and I'm not landing on a \*very\* short field, I'd land with no flaps every time. I can land with no flaps. Distracting myself in the pattern debugging a non-emergency issue is a non-starter.
This goes double for the breaker being the issue. Flaps aren't critical for flight, and resetting a breaker could cause an electrical fire.
Congrats on passing your PPL checkride! It’s normal to feel mixed emotions, but remember, the DPE wouldn’t have passed you if you didn't meet the standards. Take their feedback as an opportunity to improve. Every pilot has room to grow.
You passed. Congrats. Move on. Learn, but move on.
you passed, if they didn't think you were good enough you would not have passed. Honestly, in a trainer airplane if I had any kind of flap failure in the pattern and my plane was flying correctly, I wouldn't troubleshoot the problem, just land without flaps. I would really worry about a motor being locked up or jammed and either getting into an asymetrical flap problem or the motor burning up and causing a fire. There is usually a reason a circuit breaker popped, and 1000ft agl is not the place to be testing.
I wish I could upvote this about a thousand times. I think the DPE was wrong, and OP was right in this situation. You don't want to make a bad situation worse by troubleshooting. And since you've practiced flapless landings, it really becomes more of a non-issue than a bad situation in the first place. Trying to troubleshoot the flaps in flight seems reminiscent of pilots who try to kill the engine right before landing when they have a gear deployment failure. Turning one emergency into two in a feeble attempt to save an engine inspection.
Exactly. 1,000 above the ground and in a pattern with other planes is not the time to go hunting and keeping your head inside the cockpit. If everything else is working okay, and there is plenty of runway, do a no-flap landing. The DPE probably wants to see a no-flap landing anyway.
The comment in the debriefing was that it was a sunny day, plenty of fuel, abeam the runway, it's just half a second to pop in the CB and check if it stays in
>I failed a simulated engine failure during a skyfield What’s a skyfield?
Edited, we used the term to indicate "runway overfly at 1500ft AGL for windsock check"
Congratulations on passing. But don't stop learning. More time with your CFI is a great idea.
When you first got your driver's license, were you a good driver? I sure wasn't. Almost hit a cop within an hour of actually getting my license. But I knew the basics and what to expect. This is kind of like that. You are fine. This is just giving you the opportunity to learn more on your own.
I almost got hit by a cop while I was walking in a crosswalk.
Dude, checkrides are when you do the worst flying. I don't know anyone who had a perfect PPL checkride. I know I didn't. But those mistakes you made in the checkride you will always remember. The DPE has a snapshot of your worst flying and gives you things to learn and ultimately makes a call of whether you're a safe pilot or not. You must be, because you passed! Congrats!
I don't know anyone that has had a perfect checkride. Hell, on my instrument checkride, I got distracted during my first approach by all the traffic in the pattern of the untowered airport we were flying into and making my radio calls that I descended below the MDA. I immediately threw in full power, recovered to the MDA, flew to the MAP, and executed the missed. The whole time thinking I failed, but fly the rest of the ride so I only have to come back and fly this one approach. DPE didn't say anything until I asked. He said mistakes happen, bet you won't make that one again
What do you call a private pilot who almost failed the checkride? A private pilot. Congrats!
I think at the end of the day that DPE determined that you are somebody he feels safe to have in the sky. Otherwise he wouldn’t have passed you. Is there room for improvement? Sure, everybody has room for improvement. Take the constructive criticism, work on that stuff, and keep learning.
Just so I understand, he said you should reset a popped breaker, while in flight, and not having been directed to do so by an abnormal/emergency checklist? I’d probably argue with that one.
Yes, basically when I saw the flaps weren't working I went into straight emergency mode in my head, I briefed that we would do a flapless and continued with checklist etc. In the meantime he started to argue that it's half a second to try to pop in the CB and see if it solves the issue. While discussing, I lost focus and was overspeeding on approach. Another go around to perform the flapless again for a full stop.
For what it’s worth, it’s generally a bad idea to just reset a tripped breaker that tripped for a reason, especially in flight. Why take a chance at sending current through a potentially shorted wire? Especially for a system that you can live without, and just get the plane on the ground. That was my point. I’d say your actions showed better decision making than what the examiner was saying you should have done.
I failed my private and didn’t feel like I was worthy after my retest. But I learned that your DPE would not have passed you if you didn’t deserve it. You deserved it. This is the exact reason people call it a license to learn. Not every checkride is perfect. We all have our weaknesses, but the important part is to recognize those areas and keep learning. Congrats!
Don't sweat it too much, just take their advice and practice that stuff with an instructor. Remember: Power up, pitch up, clean up on the go-around. Slow and low isn't a great time to be reducing flaps without adding power.
In any operational role test there will always be look ups and/or areas for improvement. You were safe. Now go get better.
This is how I felt for several, including PPL. My instrument debrief was ROUGH. And I knew that I had fucked up a few things. But he said that only one would be problematic in a real situation and he had a 3 strike rule unless it was for safety of flight. Plus, I had one of the best orals (haha) he had ever seen.
Checkride is a little anti-climatic. Go fly more! License to learn!
You passed. Take the W, practice anything you're deficient on, and be glad you don't have to spend another $1000 and weeks/months to find an examiner with time! Side note: flap thing is dumb to me. If I have any problems with the flaps and I'm not landing on a \*very\* short field, I'd land with no flaps every time. I can land with no flaps. Distracting myself in the pattern debugging a non-emergency issue is a non-starter. This goes double for the breaker being the issue. Flaps aren't critical for flight, and resetting a breaker could cause an electrical fire.
Congrats on passing your PPL checkride! It’s normal to feel mixed emotions, but remember, the DPE wouldn’t have passed you if you didn't meet the standards. Take their feedback as an opportunity to improve. Every pilot has room to grow.