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General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: xNOVAx on February 12, 2012, 05:44:34 PM

Title: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: xNOVAx on February 12, 2012, 05:44:34 PM
I'm a pilot! Started this journey 3 years ago and finally I can say it's over, but I know it's really just now beginning.  :airplane:

http://sonomaflying.com/http:/sonomaflying.com/congratulations-tom/ (I'm the one on the right)

Can't wait to take up my first passengers!  :rock
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: Tupac on February 12, 2012, 05:49:31 PM
Congrats!!!!!!
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: Widewing on February 12, 2012, 05:58:02 PM
 :aok :cheers:
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: MK-84 on February 12, 2012, 05:59:17 PM
Congrats!!!
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: grizz441 on February 12, 2012, 06:03:31 PM
Great job nova, congrats!
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: SIK1 on February 12, 2012, 06:09:43 PM
Congrats, and in a tail dragger to boot.  :aok
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: MachFly on February 12, 2012, 06:28:13 PM
Congrats!
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: Puma44 on February 12, 2012, 06:35:56 PM
Congratulations!  Nice way to start out, in a taildragger.  Now you can easily fly any of those planes with the training wheel up front.   :aok
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: oakranger on February 12, 2012, 06:41:29 PM
Congrats, sir!    :salute      :rock      :cheers: <---- oh wait.  best you don't drink before flying. 
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: Wolfala on February 12, 2012, 06:53:35 PM
Good job. Hope you enjoyed Steve
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: rpm on February 12, 2012, 07:13:24 PM
WTG! :airplane:
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: Golfer on February 12, 2012, 07:41:32 PM
Congratulations! Knew you'd do fine. Enjoy and stay safe!  :aok
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: eagl on February 12, 2012, 07:53:20 PM
congrats!
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: Nypsy on February 12, 2012, 07:55:00 PM
 :aok :rock
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: Maverick on February 12, 2012, 07:56:06 PM
Congrats.
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: Nypsy on February 12, 2012, 07:56:27 PM
wtg!   :aok :rock
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: Hawk78th on February 12, 2012, 08:27:16 PM
Congrats  !!
 :aok

and the 7ECA is a blast to fly..--> I have 210 hours in the Same type  (all in VT...)

Keep up with all the AD's & it'll fly without problems.
<<S>>
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: xNOVAx on February 12, 2012, 08:35:31 PM
Thanks guys! Wasn't quite sure if I was going to get it in today. Here was my view when I arrived at my home airport in Sonoma at 9:00AM.

(http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/423276_10150614589544846_500354845_8823193_1333438651_n.jpg)

It burned off just in time for me to get out and hop over to Santa Rosa and get started. My examiner had another checkride this afternoon, so time was against me right up to when he called me (10:45) and said Santa Rosa had turned to VFR and for me to head over. I had to run out to the plane and get over there as fast as I could while doing it safely. What a whirlwind day, but I'm glad it got it done!  :rock
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: 2ADoc on February 12, 2012, 08:44:37 PM
Nova it is not the end of the journey, it is just the beginning, have fun with it.  Remember that the PPL is a License to learn, you are at the beginning of a great journey.  It will be fun.
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: xNOVAx on February 12, 2012, 08:51:51 PM
Nova it is not the end of the journey, it is just the beginning, have fun with it.  Remember that the PPL is a License to learn, you are at the beginning of a great journey.  It will be fun.

Yeah I know. I feel like I learned a lot today as PIC. Got to deal with weather in a different way than I normally had before and a bunch of other little things / feedback from my examiner. It was a good day, and I definitely understand a good pilot is always learning.  :cheers:
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: Shuffler on February 12, 2012, 08:52:10 PM
Grats !!  :aok
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: Sonicblu on February 13, 2012, 06:23:03 PM
Congrats :salute

What are some pointers or tips you can pass on?

Working toward my PP.
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: bacon8tr on February 13, 2012, 06:42:22 PM
Congrats  :cheers:
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: Krupinski on February 13, 2012, 06:48:25 PM
WTG NOVA!!  :cheers:
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: xNOVAx on February 13, 2012, 07:50:02 PM
Congrats :salute

What are some pointers or tips you can pass on?

Working toward my PP.

Hey Sonic. Cool man! How many hours you got so far?

As far as any pointers, it actually turned out to be quite a bit easier than I thought it was going to, but I felt like I was fully prepared. I really knew my stuff for the oral and was comfortable flying the plane, using the radio, and navigating.

For the oral study hard (and I do mean study hard), but you don't have to recall everything from memory. That certainly helps you though if you can. He was asking me stuff about charts and i was rattling off all the right answers. Maybe 6 or 7 symbols and he was like, "ok I know you know charts" and we moved on. That kind of thing. You should be at least familiar with everything and know where to find the answers if you don't know something. There were a couple questions where i didn't know the answer, but i was able to tell him where i would look. Biggest tip on the oral would be do not try to BS your way to an answer. That will just get you in trouble and they will keep digging. Also, if you do well on your written, that's less you have to cover in the oral. I got a 95% on my written, so he only had to ask me 3 questions about it. Make sure you remember which ones you missed (if you haven't already taken it) so you can make sure you understand those. If you miss them again, your examiner might not like that very much.

One thing that I screwed up a little in the airplane was my position/intention reporting on the radio. Calling for a south departure when i really wanted a southeast departure, the tower cleared me for a runway that wasn't the best for my initial route. Also I called I was northeast of an airport when I was really northwest. Just small situational/directional awareness things were the only real thing that my examiner was giving me a hard time about on the flying. Just don't scare your examiner and you'll be fine.

 :cheers:
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: 4deck on February 14, 2012, 05:52:08 AM
Congradulations bro.  :salute :cheers:
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: jollyFE on February 14, 2012, 11:27:36 AM
congrats, I just passed my check 2 weeks ago.............ain't it a great feeling
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: xNOVAx on February 14, 2012, 12:39:05 PM
congrats, I just passed my check 2 weeks ago.............ain't it a great feeling

Sure is Jolly, congrats yourself!  :cheers:
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: pipz on February 14, 2012, 01:19:08 PM
Good goin Nova!
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: Grayeagle on February 14, 2012, 01:40:30 PM
Congratulations .. now the fun begins :)

Flyin all the planes you run across just for the fun of it .. it's amazing how different each one is.
I loved every one I got a chance to fly.
Just nothin like it.

When time/funds permit:

http://www.stallion51.com/

You owe it to yourself.
-evil grin-

..and it goes in your logbook.

-Frank aka GE
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: Sonicblu on February 14, 2012, 08:30:10 PM
I'm about halfway through. Six or seven weeks left. We did emergencies today.

Lol that's funny you say don't  scare him. We were doing stalls the other day, and the book answer is to push forward aggressively on the yoke. So that's what I did, we were nose down a good 60 degrees or better. The instructor braced himself with on hand on windshield and one hand on the oh toejamakee handle.  :x

Ya ya ah you don't have to push forward so hard on the yoke, just ease off on the back pressure.

Anyway it is everything I always hoped it would be.

We have flow in only calm no wind. So today we had some real wind, they were going to cancel flights if it got any worse. I told him I really wanted the references for flying in some wind, so we got up early. It was great. The wind  real pushes more than I thought it would.
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: xNOVAx on February 14, 2012, 10:17:31 PM
Haha yeah stalls can be wild rides if you over do the correction. Just remember the examiner will want to see you recover quickly, and then attain a steady vertical rate of climb (power on or power off) since most of the accidents that come from stalls are near the ground (in the pattern on climb-out or base to final). You don't want to keep losing altitude if you're near the ground if you know what I mean. :)

Yeah you definitely have a different dynamic in high winds for sure. Keeps you a lot busier when you're trying to navigate, talk on the radio, and keep your wings level. It will all come in time, but those days where you get out of the plane totally exhausted and frustrated about how the flight went are usually the ones that teach you the most.

Let us know how things progress!  :rock
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: Tupac on February 15, 2012, 12:33:18 AM
I saw this and thought of this thread

(http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/422042_10100573282224648_2703123_53057157_2004522275_n.jpg)
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: xNOVAx on February 15, 2012, 09:38:48 AM
I saw this and thought of this thread

(http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/422042_10100573282224648_2703123_53057157_2004522275_n.jpg)

Haha not sure what the "what society thinks i do" picture represents (I mean i get it, it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense), but pretty accurate overall. :)
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: MachFly on February 15, 2012, 03:25:55 PM
I saw this and thought of this thread

(http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/422042_10100573282224648_2703123_53057157_2004522275_n.jpg)

That's only accurate for a very specific type of pilot. 
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: texasmom on February 15, 2012, 06:46:10 PM
Great job!
Title: Re: Passed my Checkride!
Post by: Kermit de frog on February 15, 2012, 08:20:59 PM
WTG Nova.   :aok :aok