Publisher's Synopsis
From 2018 Flight Instructor Of The Year Dan "Taz" Christman and The Creator of Helicopter Online Ground School Kenny Keller. Top Ten Check Ride Tips. Dedicated to all those that suffer from the hype created by others about the dreaded, Helicopter Checkride! If you apply yourself, remember that we learn through repetition, go over the content repeatedly. Use our checkride tips to keep yourself calm, you will do just fine! In this short read we cover our top ten checkride tips. These tips are very basic, but that's the key. People screw up on checkrides because of very basic things. As we get into our tips for the checkride, we want to add our normal disclaimer. Remember that it is up to you to know the procedures for your aircraft and your environment. We're going to provide some tips, some things that I've seen in 20 years of instructing, that are very basic. These may be basic, but they are things that I don't want you to overlook. It doesn't matter whether it is taking you three months, six months, two years, four years, or more. The time varies for anybody going for a checkride. You are preparing the whole time you are flying. Your instructor is doing his job working with you. You're working through the PTS, and you're doing what you are supposed to be doing. So often, it is the last-minute issues that bite people in the rear. When I say to start three weeks in advance, I mean to start getting the materials ready three weeks in advance of the day of the checkride. I am always amazed that students will show up to a checkride without CURRENT Aeronautical Charts, FAR/AIM, PTS or Chart Supplements (formally A/FD). There is nothing worse than on the night before the checkride thinking, "I don't have a chart. I don't have an E6B. I don't have this, I don't have that." It is the most horrible feeling in the world for you and a horrible feeling for your instructor because you both look unprepared showing up at the checkride trying to sneak through saying, "Well, I couldn't get this in time," or "I forgot that." It just doesn't look good. If it is required, you will not be able to take the test. You want to show up at the checkride prepared. I just picked three weeks as a, general rule. I used to say one or two weeks, but I love the number three. You should have everything that you need for the day of the checkride three weeks in advance. You should have all the tools and things that we talk about three weeks in advance of that checkride. Everything you need is listed in the PTS (page 1-xi) under "Applicant's Practical Test Checklist". We will provide a copy of the checklist in the Appendix. Much of these items are now available digitally and can be updated within a few minutes. The FAA has now approved the use of these digital products for checkrides, but I would check with your DPE as to what he expects. There are a few "old hats" out there that might still want you to demonstrate on paper, as a backup. A note on the use of digital products. Tablets have an uncanny knack for over heating or running out of battery right at the most inopportune time. Have a plan ready should this happen. I had a student, who was using his iPad for his instrument check. Halfway through the first approach, it over heated. He had to land and print out the subsequent approach plates. Lucky for him his examiner was being generous. That might not always be the case.
