Judgement Day: Friday January 2nd - 830AM

Holy crap! I cannot believe that it is here!!!!! I just checked the TAFs (weather/cloud forecasts) for Boston, Providence, and Worcester. The clouds are forecast to be at 8000 feet tomorrow morning. More than high enough for me to go up for my FAA checkride for my private pilot license. Oh boy, here come the nerves!

Last week I had completed my end of course checkride with the Chief Flight Instructor at Horizon Aviation in Norwood. The flight portion of that checkride was very solid and I really didn't have any issues. There were a few portions of the oral quizzing that I found had slipped from my memory. So, at least I have one more day to review everything before I go up for my license. The best analogy for my progress in terms on learned knowledge from all my lessons is best described as "drinking from a fire hose."

My FAA checkride tomorrow morning is to be with an FAA designated examiner, Mr. Ray Collins - whom I understand from my research and reading on other blogs is a professional veteran aviatior. I look forward to the opportunity to fly with him and learn as much as I can from him at the same time during my check ride. The FAA check ride consists of two parts: The first portion being an oral exam, more like Q&A on the nitty gritty details of aviation. For instance, I will probably field questions on weather and the different types of weather reports available to me as a pilot, to the basic regulatory principles set by the FAA for Private Pilots, to the airplane systems and components, the surrounding airspaces, as well as emergency procedures. He will check to make sure everything is up to date on my log book and everything is accounted for at Horizon Aviation for all the hours I have logged up to this point. Then after I pre-flight the plane, he and I will go out to complete the flight portion of my check ride, which will include, but not be limited to my cross country flight planning, short and soft field take offs and landings, flying the pattern and radio communications, turns around a point, steep turns, unusual attitudes, and even some basic instrument flying. I imagine that he will also throw in tuning and tracking VORs, as well as even seeing a simulated emergency landing in there. Then I imagine he will have me come back to the airport for possibly a couple more maneuvers, and then back down to the ground from where we once left. Then this will be the judgment time to see if I pass.....oy. I'm nervous!

Now is the time I need to take to go over my cross country flight planning, weight and balance, and review all my material. I just have to go into work for about an hour tonight, which will be my mental break, but then I will be back to hitting the books again and double and triple checking my checklists to make sure I have everything I need for my check ride tomorrow.

I will be posting again tomorrow - hopefully with good news of my success of achieving my private pilot license!