any last minute advice?
 

Final check-ride for my PPL tomorrow. Any last minute encouragement/words of advice??

Thank you so much! very nervous!

Don't fail.

Fly it like the DPE isnt there. You will do fine. Remember also that going 110ft high, or 10+ off heading isnt an auto bust. I have never had a DPE fail me or one of my students for being a little high/low or off course as long as they IMMEDIATLY correct the trend. The DPE wants to see you being proactive and fixing things when you are a little off. In fact I i know of people who went 200 feet high on initial altitude assignment but since they immediately corrected they weren't failed. Also, the DPE will likely make any slight mistake you make a lesson. I have had DPE's ask for the controls, but they didnt fail me. He just wanted to show me something he though I could do differently. Now if he TAKES the controls from you in order to save you from a safety issue then thats a failure. Just dont confuse the two in case the DPE wants to "show you something" as many have done with me before.
Lastly. Just be CONFIDENT! You are PIC, he is just observing. Dont ask him if his seat-belt is on during the engine start checks, tell him to keep it on at all times as if he was a passenger. Dont ask him what runway to land on, choose one. Like i said, show some authority to the operation of the AC. Also, do taxi route briefs including holdshort signs and runway crossings, basically any hotspot. My DPE always loved that.

Yes, get off this website and get some sleep.

Good Luck!

Thanks!

it was actually a lot different than I imagined it. It really just seemed like another lesson rather than a test. But it was good. I didn't actually get to finish the whole thing because my instructor forgot his foggles so we weren't able to the instrument work.

All of my maneuvers were good except for short-field landings. We diverted to a small airport around some mountains and I was having a lot of trouble on the approach. When I chose the runway to land on I'm pretty sure I picked one with a tailwind by accident so i was not able to slow the plane down enough. He gave me 3 chances and the 3rd one ended up being semi-decent. He said when we go out to do the instrument tomorrow he want's to see a good short-field landing coming back in.

Other than those approaches, it all went well.

Thanks for the advice guys.

Foggles
 

This sounds fishy, or at least a "in my day".

Foggles were the responsibility of the student. Not having the foggles, correct and current charts, E6B, etc was a failure. Even my instructor had me wash the plane/Pluxus the glass prior to riding with the DPE.

Not picking the correct runway would also be a failure - unless there were overriding circumstances.

Are you sure this was the PPL Checkride and not a "stage check"?

Good Luck!

I see, hmmm, well I do know it was my final check ride. As far as the foggles go, the instructor left them in his desk. I was unaware that I needed to remind him or make sure that I had them. I guess just an oversight on my studying. It makes sense though that all materials even ones such as foggles are my responsibility.

I guess I should elaborate on the runway choice that I mentioned. When listening to the ATIS, it said winds were variable @ 3 knots (There was only 13/31). So I chose the runway that appeared to be the easiest to approach. However, based on how the plane was reacting, I think that the wind ended up being more behind me than in front of me.

Perhaps you should read the Private Pilot Practical Test Standards before you go fly again.

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.