I wrote the following blog the day after my checkride in 2016. I am actually publishing it now since I finally found my original post:
On Saturday
January 30, 2016, I took my ATP Multi-Engine Check ride in Janesville,
Wisconsin with Chris Anderson – Designated Pilot Examiner. Start time – 9am.
I departed
with my mentor and the instructor that had instructed me for just about every one of my ratings - John “Doc” Magon - and a good friend of mine of many years, Ken Cooper from KGYY at 8am for an arrival at 8:50am
in Janesville. Doc was instrumental in
giving me the training I needed in order to get this whole thing accomplished,
and Ken was unbelievably generous in allowing me to use his Cessna 310 for the training
and test.
Other than
the directional gyro acting a little goofy, the morning couldn’t have been
nicer – it was smooth as silk, and there was nobody in the pattern or on the
frequency when we arrived in Janesville.
Meet Chris
Anderson – designated pilot examiner for the FAA. Truth be told, this is actually the third
time we have met, which I will get into shortly. Preflight
was completed and we got into the plane.
Startup sequence went well, and we received our taxi clearance for
runway 22. Upon heading for taxiway D,
from the ramp, the tower called and said that we had passed taxiway D and it
was behind us. I stopped the plane and
asked point-blank – “did I just fail the check ride?” Not a good way to set the stage for the rest
of the morning.
After being
reassured that we were fine and I could proceed, we finally got to Runway
22. Before takeoff items all checked out
and I was given instructions to turn right heading 280 and intercept V97 –
Maintain 2700. I was also instructed to
get the IFR hood on and to be on instruments at 100 ft. after takeoff.
Takeoff went
fine and I got the hood on at about 100 ft.
At 400 ft, he failed the right engine on me. I went through the memory checklist and
simulated feathering the engine.
Everything successful so far. The examiner
told me to climb to 2700 ft MSL and expect Radar Vectors to the RNAV 22
approach at JVL. I was about 12 miles
southwest of TEGGU, and it took every bit of that distance to get up to 2700ft. With only about 300 fpm climb, I was sweating
it. I arrived at 2700 ft just as I got
my first vector on the final approach course – about 3 miles outside of the
Final Approach Fix. GPS locked and
loaded – I almost forgot to switch from VOR/LOC mode. We had to make one landing with no flaps, so
I declared that I wouldn’t use any flaps on this approach especially with the
failed engine. The approach was
uneventful, and we taxied back to runway 22 for another take off. That approach was so intense, I had to ask
the tower twice for taxi instructions back to runway 22 (Taxi back via alpha –
cross runway 32).
Instructions
upon take off were just the same as before – right turn to 280 and intercept
V97 – climb to 4500 ft. We did that
without incident and after a few minutes, we started to do the stall
exercises. We did three of them – one
straight ahead, one to the right, and one to the left - both at 20 degrees of
bank (One with flaps down and gear down).
We then did unusual attitude recoveries – one nose high, and one nose
low – Both with no attitude indicator.
Recoveries on all were a success.
I started to feel a lot better about how the check ride was going. He then said that he would vector me in for
the ILS 4 at Janesville.
I received
vectors to the northwest of the airport, which took me off guard since the ILS
extends to the south west, then I realized what he was doing. He wanted me to perform the DME Arc to the
ILS4. Oh boy, I haven’t practiced one of
those in a couple of years, and I certainly didn’t really know how to work it with
the navigation equipment on-board the aircraft (A Garmin GNS480 – no, not a 430…
It was a 480), so I set up the GPS with what I thought was correct, and also
set up all of the old school equipment (DME and VOR) for a backup. The GPS worked well until I was about a mile
from the ILS intercept, so while I was trying to decipher what was going on, I
just started to turn inbound ILS (a little late since I didn’t have my lead
radial set up either). Just as I turned
on to the ILS, he failed an engine. I continued
the approach down to about 1400 ft and I had to do a missed. New instructions were climbing right turn to
the JVL VOR. After trying to climb a
couple of hundred feet, I got my engine back.
He wanted full cruise speed to the VOR and wanted me to set up for the
VOR approach at Beloit, Wisconsin.
I had been
to Beloit a couple of times before, so from memory, I set up C44 in the GPS and
to my dismay an airport in Connecticut came up!
I went back to the approach chart and found out I was dyslexic – it was
actually 44C. Perfect! I didn’t need the GPS, but I wanted to make
sure that I had everything setup on the navigator so that I had the best
situational awareness possible. I got to
the VOR, did the outbound leg, turned inbound (Almost missed doing an ATC call
on the procedure turn inbound) and did the approach to the missed approach
point – performed missed approach – no failures on this approach. Missed approach instructions were to climb to
3100 ft and expect the ILS 32 at JVL and circle to runway 22.
I was
supposed to navigate to TIRRO, but because of other traffic inbound to
Janesville, I needed to do a 360 for spacing, and I got a vector on the final
approach course. I needed to report
JODER inbound. Just after passing JODER
as we were flying down the glideslope, he failed an engine on me. I had mentioned that our altitude for
circling was 1900. He told me to look
again – Ugh – almost screwed that up – the Altitude to break off was 1260
because I was able to identify the FOGAS intersection. I still don’t exactly know why approach is
set up that way. I broke out at
minimums. I needed to maintain +50 and
-0 on this approach – the tightest tolerances and I was rock solid at 1280 the
whole way in.
We made a
circling approach to runway 22 and did our final landing. His hand was still on the throttle that he
failed, so the landing wasn’t the prettiest, but we did it.
Once turning
off the runway and doing the after landing checklist, I asked him how he
thought it went. He said “the check ride
is not over yet”. So, not feeling too
great, I taxied in to the Janesville Jet Center and shut it down. He finally said – “good job – you passed.” We debriefed on a couple of items (mostly him
noticing me fumbling on the DME ARC, and also continued follow-up counseling on
how crappy light planes perform on only one engine. Point well taken.
Two hours of
flight - Temporary flight certificate issued – Success!
Well, the
story did end there, but it actually started way back on December 10th,
where I actually met the examiner for the first time. We did the oral examination, which was
actually quite tough. I thought I was
well prepared for the oral, but I really just stumbled through a lot of the
scenario questions.
I had a
problem with explaining the fuel system. I prepared a beautiful
explanation of the Beechcraft Baron fuel system and then realized my error. I re-explained things, describing the Cessna system satisfactorily. He asked if I need to do a RAIM check before departing if
expecting an RNAV approach at the destination. I said yes - Wrong.
He said if you have WAAS, you don't need to do a RAIM check. He asked how to perform a RAIM check. I explained the
procedure on the Garmin 480. He asked if there was any other way. I
said that there was a function on the FAA website (I had barely remembered this).
I guess I remembered correctly.
Since you have WAAS and you don't have to do a RAIM
check - What are you required to do before departing IFR and expecting to do an
RNAV approach at the destination? Check for GPS NOTAMs. I honestly
couldn't believe I remembered this one.
Do you have to have a current database to do an RNAV approach?
I said no. He asked me to walk through what you would need to
do. I mentioned that you would need to make sure there were no changes to
the approach since the last revision. I referenced the AIM where it
mentions that. ON A TECHNICALITY - he corrected me and showed me that all
Garmin equipment have a statement in the pilots operating manual that says
"Approaches may
not be flown with an expired database.". This supersedes what the AIM says - He let me
off on that one.
Is the STEC 55X approved for single engine approaches? I
said that we have used it for single engine approaches in practice, and has
worked well when trimmed properly. I said that since we had a failed
engine and it was an emergency condition, I would use it if I needed to.
He told me to look this one up and we moved on. (Most GA autopilots have a notation in the operating manual of whether this is approved or not)
We talked about how the STEC is driven (Turn coordinator), and he
asked some questions about the gyro for the HSI. I mentioned that it was a
remote and located in the nose. - He asked me to get this clarified. I did get it clarified and its actually in
the tail.
Do we need to do a VOR check? I said no because we have WAAS.
Correct answer, but he asked if we need to do a VOR check if we are
planning on doing a VOR approach? The answer was yes.
Total Electrical failure - Name everything that
dies. This was a hard question to answer only because it was hard to
catalog everything in my mind. I got everything he was looking for but I
forgot about the flaps not working. Ok, now what do you have left / what
still works? Name them -- Including instruments, systems, etc. UGH!
Total Electrical Failure scenario -- would the boots still
work? I said no because there was an electronic system that controlled
how the boots inflate and deflate.
Spin recovery - We discussed
the negative effects of spins in a twin - he wanted to know the recovery
procedures. I gave him the typical answer of opposite rudder, power off,
nose down to break the stall. He wanted the proper sequence - which comes
first. I admittedly stumbled through this and said that I would do them
all fluidly and at the same time. He didn’t like that and was looking for
the FAA official procedure - He mentioned the mnemonic PARE - Power off,
Aileron neutral, Rudder opposite, Elevator down. The second he said PARE, I rattled it off.
Discussion of the effects
of Forward and aft CG on aircraft performance, stall speed, Vmc. Performance discussion was OK / Vmc discussion OK / I screwed up on the
effects on stall speed and didn't explain it correctly at first, but got through it.
A laborious part of the
oral started with the following question: What is my single engine rate
of climb today. Simple enough, but then he asked if I would be able to
meet obstacle clearance requirements for IFR departure. I was having the brain fart of the century - I had 400 ft per nautical mile in my head. It’s
actually 200ft per NM up to 400 ft. It took me forever to calculate the
200ft per NM to rate of climb - I couldn't find the conversion chart that I usually used and ended up fumbling with my calculator. We eventually walked through the scenario, but because I didn't fluidly explain everything and found myself fumbling, I thought I failed right there, but I guess I
didn't.
We talked about take-off
and landing at Denver and considerations for single engine operations / flight
over mountains / flight at 16K ft. and what would happen if I lost an engine /
Effects of altitude on Vyse / estimating Vyse at 16,000 ft. - All of that was
OK.
Went over all the
performance charts in the book and reviewed the Accelerate-go and
Accelerate-Stop charts closely. Did
weight change to Weight and balance - added 250 lb person. No problem.
He asked me to show him that the airplane was airworthy, so we
looked through the logs and I walked him through the logbooks. He asked me to explain Airworthiness
Directives, and he picked a random example.
Oddly enough, he picked one that there was no documentation for – an
aftermarket cabin heater. Long story
short, the mechanic had the copies of the “accessories” documentation, but the
examiner said that we are going to have to get the paperwork figured out before
we go on the check ride. The mechanic
was prepared to fax whatever we needed, but I was actually ok with stopping the
examination since I was totally played out from the oral exam, which took close
to three hours.
The aircraft’s annual inspection was scheduled for the next day,
so we flew to Lansing and dropped the airplane off for its annual
inspection. Because of the inspection,
and the holidays, I rescheduled the flight portion of the test for January 10.
January 10th brought some poor weather in the morning,
but since my check ride was scheduled for 1pm, we had some time to wait for it
to move out of the area. Our noon
departure saw low clouds on the south side of Chicago, but it was clear in
Wisconsin. We were able to get on top
and make an uneventful flight to Janesville for the flight portion of the test.
Meeting Chris Anderson once again, we got started on the flight briefing. We were to perform stalls, unusual attitude recoveries, approaches, failed engines, precautionary shutdowns, missed approaches, and a whole variety of emergencies.
We taxied out to runway 32 for departure. I was asked to set up to intercept the 360-degree radial from the JVL VOR and fly it inbound – Maintain 3500 ft.
We started the take-off roll, and the examiner simulated an engine failure with his foot pressing on a rudder pedal. We recovered with closed throttles immediately and stopped on the runway. We then took off from that point and I was under the hood for the remainder of the check ride.
I set up the number 1 VOR for JVL and set up the HSI to track the radial inbound. I initially thought I set the HSI incorrectly, so I spun it around 180 degrees to show 360. It still showed the same deflection, which confused me, and I ended up putting it back on the original setting of 180. That should have been a clue. After some time, I noticed on the moving map that we weren’t really flying toward the VOR. I had thought I blew past the radial after take-off and started a turn toward 150 degrees to re-intercept. No needle activity. After spinning the HSI around to see what radial I was on, I wasn’t getting any indication. But, I did IDENT the VOR and everything else was fine! It was the OBS/CDI selector on the GPS – it was in GPS mode and not VOR/LOC. I think at that point, I failed, but I wasn’t sure. The examiner told me to go direct to JVL now that I had it figured out and set up for the VOR approach at Beloit. No sweat.
I was about 12 miles away from the VOR and I was able to set up a
course of 270. Once I got to the VOR, I hit
the timer and descended to 2700 ft.
After about a minute, I turned left to 253 for the procedure turn
outbound. One minute later, I turned
inbound at 073 to intercept the final approach course - 118, which I set up on
the OBS. Oh no…. I couldn’t believe what I had just done. When I was approaching the VOR, I SHOULD HAVE
turned to intercept the 298 degree radial outbound. I didn’t even turn and followed some
imaginary 270 degree radial outbound.
Recognizing my mistake, I made an aggressive intercept to actually get
to the 298 degree radial for my inbound leg.
I did the approach, circle approach and missed.
We then climbed up to do the air work. Steep turns – Went well. Stalls – He felt that I lost too much altitude
(which he was right) on all of them
(four). Truth be told – I hadn’t
practiced them under the hood, so I actually didn’t know what to expect. I mis-read the Practical Test Standards and
didn’t realize that these needed to be done under the hood. The last time I did stalls under the hood was
about 15 years ago – at least! The
unusual attitudes were just OK, and on the nose low recovery I didn’t bring
back the power quickly enough. At this
point, I was just done. We did an engine
shutdown (scenario – he says uh oh, it looks like we have a pretty serious oil
leak over here, what are you going to do) and that went well, other than the
restart took forever. Pushing the
propeller full forward did the trick. The checklist says to just bring it
forward of the detent.
At this time, I noticed that we were getting a little low on fuel
in the mains, so I switched to the AUX tanks.
We had at least three approaches to do, and I wasn’t sure what the
examiner wanted to do, but I was pretty much done – my performance was subpar for my standards and this caused me to want to conclude the checkride.
He told me to set up for the ILS 32 at JVL and failed the engine
on procedure turn outbound. I did the
approach with the needles perfect. A few
moments before decision height, he asked if we are allowed to land on the AUX
tanks. I didn’t do the GUMPS check to
see that I never switched back to the main tanks. We landed and he gave me my well-deserved
pink slip. The first one ever.
On the debrief he mentioned that he wanted me to make all radio
calls as though I was actually with a controller, and he wanted me to make all
calls while at non towered airports (Beloit approach – I had the Unicom up, but
didn’t make any radio calls. We didn’t
brief on how he wanted to handle that.
My fault). Additionally, when
experiencing an engine failure, you actually go through the motions. Instead of just touching the Prop lever, he
wants you to start to bring it back toward feather (which surprised me). He
will grab it before you get to feather.
That way, there is no question on what Prop lever you were “going to”
use. He then sets up zero thrust for
you. He fails the engine by throttle
only and makes you do the actual shut down.
He didn’t use mixture or fuel selector to fail an engine.
As I reflected on the check ride, I made a list of things we needed to accomplish on the re-test. I then looked at my logbook and realized that it had been 62 days since I had flown last! The holidays took my mind away from the test and the gap in flying made it practically impossible to take one of the most challenging check rides I’ve ever taken.
Chris Anderson was great – he was very helpful, and tried to make
the environment as relaxed as possible. The only thing that was unsettling on the check
ride was that he was unusually silent. I
think he wants to give you the opportunity to figure out your mistakes, but it
also creates an environment where you doubt yourself. As an example, he let me go quite a long time
on intercepting the 360-degree radial. I
ended up about 15 miles west of the JVL VOR.
He will not answer (won’t even respond to) questions and mainly just
acts as a controller on all of the approaches - That’s it – and I totally
understand that and that's the way it should be.
It truly was the toughest check ride I’ve ever taken in my life,
and I have taken 9 of them. I didn’t
need the rating, and I never even planned on doing it, but I’m glad I did!