Originally Posted by N9373M

When you go for your check ride, your instructor will not be in the plane. You'll be paying a Designated Pilot Examiner about $400 dollars and he/she will expect you to have your "dung in one pile".

An alternative to a DPE is an actual FAA dude, and he'll be free, but he/she may be less tolerant of a deviation.

You'll be expected to perform all maneuvers to PTS standards.

The check ride is about a half-day ordeal.

You'll start by showing the DPE your documentation (logbook, test score, etc), then he'll ask you to plan a x-cty, which you'll go over, explaining why you chose the route, and anything to look out for, places to divert, etc.

Next comes the oral portion. The DPE will ask a myriad of questions, some straight from the book, some common sense.

If all is well at this point, you'll head to the plane and take the ride. If you fail a maneuver, the DPE will give you the option of continuing - that way you'll only be retested on the failure - or if the failure was bad enough, the DPE may stop the exam and have you (or worst, him) land.

You may want to talk to your instructor as to what you're really doing - stage check or a practice check ride. This does not sound like a PPL ride.