This is a write-up and review of my experience for my FAA Instrument Checkride/Flight Test and Oral Exam.

The PIlot:  I went straight from my Private Pilot checkride into my instrument training.  I passed my PPL with 65 hours logged and one of the first apparent obstacles I encountered was that I needed 50 hours of PIC Cross Country flight time.  I thought up a strategy that wouldn't break the bank, and that was, to take lots of my friends flying.  I even convinced my parents to fly with me!  Some helped with costs, others bought me lunch, and one friend even took me out to his country club for a really fancy evening.  I ended up getting about 10 hours of that 50 Cross Country PIC time during my instrument training, and I had about 5 from my Private Pilot training, so all I needed was 35 hours on my own time.  I completed my instrument training with just over 41 hours of instrument time logged.  The aircraft used was a 2003 Cirrus SR20 with the Avidyne Entegra glass cockpit.

Here is a summary of my FAA checkride and oral exam that took place on 8/05/2008 at KPAO. My FAA examiner's name is Tom.

Preparation: I had logged 150 hours of flying time before this checkride, of which 41 was composed of: actual instrument, simulated instrument, and flight training device (FTD) time. Outside of that, I spent about 20 hours in one-on-one ground instruction, and 40 hours or more studying on my own. My self-study included using the Jeppesen Instrument Commercial textbook, other Jeppesen Materials, Sporty's Instrument Pilot DVD Course, and general reading both online and on hard copy.

The Format: There are three FAA exams as far as the final tests of getting an Instrument Rating.  First was the FAA Written exam for the Instrument Rating. I completed this about two weeks before my checkride date, and scored a 88%.  On checkride day, there is an oral exam before the flight, and the flight test.

The FAA Examiner: Tom was also my checkride examiner for my Private Pilot's License so he already knew me from our previous encounter.  I called him the day before to get my assignment, and he asked me to prepare an IFR flight plan from KPAO to KSCK.  He also told me to expect certain approaches in the East Bay area here in the San Francisco Bay.

The Oral Exam: Tom used a set of questions based on his laptop, and I did not get a chance to see what materials he was using on his screen.  He asked a series of questions on various topics, including:

- Situational question: "You have filed an IFR flight plan, and you are en route here (he pointed to a position on the low-altitude en route chart we had out on the table), and you lose communications, what do you do if it's VMC?  How about IMC?"  He was very specific with regards to several variables: What if you were cleared to this fix?  How about if you were cleared to an airport?  What if your altitude was xx,xxx feet and you lost communications, when could you descend to the next altitude at the IAF?  He got very detailed with this so I ended up pulling out my FAR/AIM in which I had bookmarked 91.165 and was able to provide a very detailed answer to his satisfaction.

- Situational question: "You embark on your IFR flight with an MEA of 5000 ft.  You take off and the weather at the time said the freezing level is at 6000 ft.  Is your flight legal considering your aircraft equipment?  What do you do if you came across en route weather information that said the freezing level now extends up to 22,000 ft.?  Is it still legal?  What if the en route information said the freezing level had dropped to 5000 ft.? Then what do you do?  What is the difference between de-ice and anti-ice equipment?"

- General knowledge questions: Airport signs, alternate minimums, requirements to file for alternates, altimeter questions, compass errors, chart knowledge, approaches, currency requirements, safety pilot requirements, communication protocols, ILS components, navaid service volumes and limitations, WAAS and GPS topics, and all the areas you encountered on your written exam.

- Oral exam exercise: Tom gave me a clearance and asked me to copy and read back, then explain exactly what each element means and what I would do about it.  Make sure your shorthand is good to go.

- He then went through the flight plan that I had prepared, checked to make sure it was done correctly, then asked me some questions about minimums and alternates and other flight planning issues.

In just under 30 minutes, he told me that I did very well and that the oral exam portion was over.  Before we started, he basically hinted at the underlying testing philosophy with, "You know the drill right?"  And by that, I think he meant what I did last time with my oral exam during my Private checkride.  If I get all the questions right and answer is full complete responses with factually-accurate details, the oral portion becomes very short.  If I demonstrate I know where to find specific things in the FAR/AIM, the oral portion becomes very short.  If I stumble and answer questions without confidence, it could be a very long long oral exam.  My advice is the same as for my Private write-up: Study hard, get it right the first time.

The Flight Test: The flight plan I prepared was from KPAO to KSCK but it was not necessary to file it nor did he ask me to fly it.  Instead, Tom gave me his own simulated ATC clearance and asked me to fly that.  He was a little bit tricky because he vectored me on a path that could have taken me through a restricted area if I had not paid attention and demonstrated situation awareness.  He did not vector me directly to it, but he put me at SUNOL intersection and if I had flown directly to my first IAF, I would have busted restricted airspace.  He commented that he had someone recently fail because the pilot failed to notice the restricted area and flew right through it.

He instructed me to do three approaches, and I had to do 100% of the coordination with ATC.  He only helped me with traffic advisories when I was under the hood and would help me report if traffic was in sight.  The second and third approaches happen in very quick succession because of geography so one technique my CFI taught me was to get the ATIS/ASOS information during my en route portion of the flight.  This helped me save lots of time during the crucial phases of flight.  The three approaches were:

1) KSCK - GPS 29R

- I did this using my own navigation starting at OXJEF with a procedure turn with partial panel.  I prefer own navigation over radar vectors because I am in full control and awareness of my situation.  ATC had told me to expect one circuit in the hold at OXJEF for spacing, but it turned out to be unnecessary.  This terminated in a full-stop on the ground and I was able to prepare for the next two approaches while sitting in the run-up area.

2) KTCY - VOR A

- This is done using VOR only... and I mean VOR only.  While I am legally allowed to use GPS for DME information, MAP identification, and the moving map for situational awareness, Tom didn't let me do any of these things.  He told me afterwards, that I could have used those aids, and I would have passed.  But he wanted to see how good I was ... and with some luck, I didn't disappoint.  Every map was off in the glass cockpit, no MFD, no 430's, nothing.  Just two needles on my HSI, including for the missed approach portion, and the hold after the missed.  I went above the published hold altitude, and even though this is not illegal because we were VFR, I owned up to it and immediately corrected the mistake.  I was about 180 feet above and the tolerance is 100 feet.  Tom was ok with this as it was my only deviation during the entire checkride, and he was happy that I owned up to it and immediately corrected it.

3) KLVK - ILS 25R

- I requested own navigation starting at TRACY intersection.  This was my easiest approach as I really enjoy hand-flying ILS approaches and I've gotten quite good at them.  On my way in, I tuned the tower frequency into standby and didn't hit the <-> button to switch it when advised.   I called NorCal Approach by mistake and was slightly embarrassed when Tom exclaimed, "YES!  Finally you did something wrong!!"  He seemed to get a kick out of this.  Luckily it was not a fail-able offense, and I wished the NorCal controller a good day along with my apologies and finished the approach.

After the approaches, we did the other required maneuvers in the air and returned home.  Tom shook my hand after we landed and said, "Congratulations, I'll see you inside."  Hobbs time was 1.8 hours.

I'm very happy I passed but I know I still have a lot to learn.  My CFI showed me a statistic where GA pilots with more and more instrument time end up in fewer and fewer weather-related accidents.  So I know I have to stay current, and continue to build my instrument experience.  Two mornings later, when a marine layer moved in over SF Bay, I did my first solo IFR flight and completed two approaches in actual IMC to KHAF and KPAO.  I felt so proud of my progress ... this has been a highly rewarding road.  I plan to continue to seek out IFR conditions in the coming months, and years.  My goal is to fly safely with purpose and determination in seeking continual improvement.

My CFI was:
Darryl Kalthof (West Valley Flying Club)

- Kendrick