Originally Posted by
rickair7777
This.
I've know FSDO feds who hated doing GA checkrides so much that they intentionally cultivated a reputation for brutality... very rare for any applicants to make it to the flight test. If they somehow passed the oral, they would fail something on the pre-flight walkaround (ex. loose rivet).
Exactly what happened to me. It took over a month to get the checkride scheduled, and when the day finally came I was handed a letter of discontinuance and a ferry permit to get home because the TSO stamps on the seat belts were faded, among other petty things.
Just pay for the DPE and get it over with.