Busted?!

Some quick ways to fail a check ride…

·      Exceed an aircraft limitation (like extending the flaps or gear above Vfe or Vlo)

·      Breaking a FAR (like failing to maintain VFR)

·      Examiner Intervention (Could be something like recovering from an unintentional spin or directing you away from        airspace you where about to enter without authorization).

Not so quick ways to fail a check ride…

·      Consistently exceeding the standards in the PTS.  Busting the 100-foot requirement on a steep turn by 50 feet             may not be a bust if a correction was made smoothly and promptly.  But what about the pilot who doesn’t apply         crosswind correction on takeoff and landing, fails to maintain the proper speed on the soft field landing by plus             and minus 15 knots and misses the touch down point on the short field landing by 600 feet?  Would you issue             the pilot certificate?

The tough calls (aka “in the examiners judgment”)…

·      Would you issue a pilot certificate to a pilot that didn’t do a run-up?

·      Would you issue a pilot certificate to a pilot who told you the carb heat was "electric" or that “air goes through the        pitot tube, the airspeed indicator then though the altimeter followed by the VSI and then out the static port”?

·      Would issue a pilot certificate to a pilot who doesn’t know how much fuel the engine burns or how to lean the            mixture?