Checkride Done.... Umm... Sort of... Half Way
Today was suppose to be my FAA Private Pilot Practical Examination (aka checkride). I was scheduled for 10am with Smitty. An 86-year-old FAA Examiner who has been flying since before World War II.
I say "suppose" because it didn't quite happen. The ceilings were low (clouds broken at 1700 feet AGL) and I just didn't feel comfortable flying from McKinney to Addison without being able to approach the airport below an altitude of 2500 feet. Instead, I drove down to my Designated Examiner's office and performed the oral portion of the exam.
The oral exam took about 45 minutes to an hour and in that time Smitty looked at my paper work, started additional paperwork, and began to tell stories about flying. His stories served three purposes. First, he was trying to set me at ease with his conversational style. Second, he testing me. As he is relating these stories, he's asking me questions. After I answer, he'll add useful information to the answer and to his story. This brings me to the third reason. He's actually teaching me... making me think and giving me pointers and things to remember.
Anyway, I passed the exam and since I decided to scrub the flying, we went to his schedule book to see when he was available for the flying portion. Sadly, I gotta wait until June 6. Eh... I guess that's okay. It gives me a chance to sharpen up some of my maneuvers.
After I got out of the exam I saw that the ceilings were a bit higher (3500 feet), so I went out to McKinney and decided to fly. I got up in the air and it was really windy and really bumpy and tried a couple of maneuvers and didn't do them well at all. After about 20 minutes I decided to quit for the day, so I came in and greased a really good landing. I had a left crosswind and upwind wheel on the main gear gently kissed the pavement first, followed by the downwind wheel, then brought the nose down right on the centerline. I was able to roll out to Taxiway C without having to apply the brakes much at all.
I now have 42.4 hours of flight time and by the time I actually take the practical exam my guess is I'll have another 4 or 5 hours, weather permitting.
