FAA Practical Test: Difference between revisions

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A practical test, more commonly known as a checkride, is the Federal Aviation Administration examination which one must undergo in the United States to receive an aircraft pilot's certification, or an endorsement for additional flight privileges. The name refers to the portion of the examination in which the candidate being examined flies in an aircraft with the Designated Pilot Examiner or other authorized examiner to demonstrate competency in the skills that are required for the certification. Although 'checkride' is the most commonly used term, it is considered informal and is technically known as a Practical Test by the FAA and in all its literature, and the specific objectives which the candidate must meet are called the Practical Test Standards, or PTS.

In addition to successfully completing a checkride, one must also complete an oral examination (which happens before, and often, to some extent, during the checkride), and meet certain basic aeronautical experience requirements (such as number of hours flown) as well as pass a separate multiple-choice computer-administered test that is quite consistently called the "written test," even though it involves no writing at all.

During a checkride, an examiner takes on a role more like that of a passenger rather than an instructor. That is, it's the examiner's job to observe that the candidate demonstrates good decision-making skills, rather than to teach or to act as a crewmember, although an examiner is likely to offer advice during the ride if so inclined. The examiner usually does not touch any of the aircraft controls unless necessary to maintain the safety of the flight — in which case the candidate usually fails the examination instantly, except for the part when the examiner acts as a safety pilot during operations with a view limiting device.

While the Practical Test Standards outline very specific tolerances that a prospect must adhere to, the examiner has a certain amount of subjective control over whether the student passes or fails.

When a candidate fails a checkride, the examiner has the discretion to either (a) end the checkride immediately, or (b) allow the student to complete the remaining objectives of the checkride, and defer the failed task to a retake. The checkride may not continue without the consent of the applicant. During the retake, the examiner is only required to test the previously failed or uncompleted items, but is at liberty to retest any items previously passed, as well as fail the candidate again based on them.

If the checkride has to be stopped due to any reason besides student pilot failure, e.g. weather setting in, the examiner will issue a letter of discontinuance, which will state which maneuvers have been completed, so that the re-take checkride can be limited only to the maneuvers that haven't been completed yet.

References

Federal Aviation Administration, Airmen Practical Test Standards
Richard Hiner, "Checkride Success", Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
Alex Hoch CFI, Checkride Guide

Revision as of 23:46, 14 June 2012 edit 24.164.177.80 (talk) Addition of other authorized examiner as noted in note 1 of page 1 of the FAA Practical Test Standards. Removed comment after allowance for repeating a task after demonstration of a failure, this is not allowed per page 10 of the FAA PTS ← Previous edit		Revision as of 13:59, 10 December 2012 edit undo 50.193.171.70 (talk) grammatically incorrect to say "is the most common term" when there are two terms preceding it. Given the remaining text in the article, this appears to be what the writer intended to say. Next edit →
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	A '''practical test''', or '''checkride''', is the ~~most common name for part of a~~ [[Federal Aviation Administration]] examination which one must undergo in the [[United States]] to receive an aircraft pilot's certification, or an endorsement for additional flight privileges. The name refers to the portion of the examination in which the candidate being examined flies in an aircraft with the [[Designated Pilot Examiner]] or other authorized examiner to demonstrate competency in the skills that are required for the certification. Although 'checkride' is the most commonly used term, it is considered informal and is technically known as a Practical Test by the FAA and in all its literature, and the specific objectives which the candidate must meet are called the [[Practical Test Standards]], or PTS.		A '''practical test''', more commonly known as a '''checkride''', is the [[Federal Aviation Administration]] examination which one must undergo in the [[United States]] to receive an aircraft pilot's certification, or an endorsement for additional flight privileges. The name refers to the portion of the examination in which the candidate being examined flies in an aircraft with the [[Designated Pilot Examiner]] or other authorized examiner to demonstrate competency in the skills that are required for the certification. Although 'checkride' is the most commonly used term, it is considered informal and is technically known as a Practical Test by the FAA and in all its literature, and the specific objectives which the candidate must meet are called the [[Practical Test Standards]], or PTS.

	In addition to successfully completing a checkride, one must also complete an oral examination (which happens before, and often, to some extent, during the checkride), and meet certain basic aeronautical experience requirements (such as number of hours flown) as well as pass a separate multiple-choice computer-administered test that is quite consistently called the "written test," even though it involves no writing at all.		In addition to successfully completing a checkride, one must also complete an oral examination (which happens before, and often, to some extent, during the checkride), and meet certain basic aeronautical experience requirements (such as number of hours flown) as well as pass a separate multiple-choice computer-administered test that is quite consistently called the "written test," even though it involves no writing at all.