Passed
 

Hey guys, just passed my Private check ride. The flight went very well, the weather cooperated and everything came together seamlessly (Even when the sun went down near the end of the ride... mental note on that one!)

Thank you to all the frequent posters on here that aided in the learning process!

Congratulations

Congrats, those are good times. I remember mine (a long time ago in a state far far away...) I did my comm/multi/instrument at Spartan.

First solo and first checkride are memories that stay with you. After a few dozen of them, it's almost routine. Even what I did today in the simulator will be forgot soon. Two engine flame out at 10,000', LOC only approach to missed approach, BC approach to landing, rejected takeoff, etc. Good times! :D

Enjoy it. :)

I had occasion recently to fly some dme arcs inbound to a back course localizer approach in a Skyhawk with vertical navigation coupled to a two-axis autopilot. It takes some skill setting it up, but then you just sit back and watch. It must be all the more challenging and fun in that jet sim.

congrats =), passed mine as well about a month ago now, one of the best feelings ever

Hey Otto, did you take your checkride with Abc?

NO, Abcz was my instructor, so I had a different examiner. If you see him, tell him one of his old students is a 737 Captain now.

It's not too hard, unless something is going wrong (single engine, fires, etc). We do all our non-precision approaches with VNAV, so they are all like ILS's, but to higher mins. The CAT III autolands are fun too.

Congrads Spartan! You're on your way. As everybody else said, this is one of those days you will always remember.

for some reason I had a better feeling after doing my 2nd cross country solo than my private pilot checkride though, not sure why =)

Yeah, I agree that solo cross countries are probably the biggest confidence builder in training (For me so far at least). The fact that I can actually plan for and fly to different destinations on my own was a huge boost for me. But now knowing that an FAA examiner says that I'm safe to operate on my own I feel like I'm actually a no-kidding pilot now ;)

Thanks Pip!

I know it was a huge load off my mind right before the holidays! ;)

congrats!

(filler)

First of all congrats on passing... I remember that feeling and its a great one... Even though EVERYONE says it, just remember that your cert. is a license to learn... But it sure is a great feeling to have the freedom of no longer being a "student" pilot.

Good luck to you whatever your aviation aspirations are... And ALWAYS have fun flying, cause if you arent having fun then whats the point right?

Yea. 1st cross country solo was a bit stressful, so I didn't get time to really enjoy it. On the 2nd one I had it more under control and could enjoy the flight, I actually have a recording of me singing in the cockpit, cruising at 4,500 feet ;p. I was literally jumping up and down in my seat on that flight, just pure enjoyment haha.
On my checkride after doing most of the stuff in the pts the examiner said "if you make this short field landing, you have your license". So I made it within limits and flew the airplane back to Daytona as a private pilot (kind of) ;D, however it still doesn't really compare to that 2nd cross country solo, I was in euphoria for days

Always remember that feeling. Its real easy as years pass and you gain experience to lose that joy you felt at first.

I will try to =). Home on vacation right now, and I'm getting a rather strong urge to go flying right now haha. Get me a plane! ;p