Your gonna pay near that for almost every checkride you do. No one said this is a cheap profession to get into. The ONLY free checkride I had was my CFII initial which had to be done at the FSDO. Every other ride ranged from 250 - 375. (More than you'll make in a week at a regional)

1. Pay for the damn Checkride...its a checkride after all, you carry the result with you the rest of your career.

2. Avoid the FAA at all costs...just think, what miserable SOB would do checkrides for free when everybody else is raking in $300 per?

3. Find an Examiner that knows your CFI by first name.

4. If you bring an expired Sectional, choke yourself.

Also, make sure that you don't have an FAA inspector sitting in on your ride. I had one sitting in on my instrument, and it basically causes a chain reaction. The FAA examiner is only there to examine the DE, however the DE will be hard on you so they look good. It happened to me, and the end result wasn't what I had hoped for.

I've heard about this situation.

Would a failure result by telling DE and FAA guy sorry I'm not flying?

"Hey I don't feel comfortable having my examiner examined while he's examining me."

I guess the competent pilot can/should perform with this type of stress.

You would probably have to part with your DE dough either way.

I knew about the FAA guy sitting in beforehand. I feel you have the right to say no to the check ride, but like MikeInTX said, you will have to part with your dough. The DE should tell you if he is being examined when you schedule.

If the FAA guy just happens to show up then you're screwed. They can do it whenever they want.

Pay for the checkride! One of the local DE's does at least 50% of my schools rides and know all of us instructors (most of us did our rides with him). The other guy is a retired 727 pilot who loves to tell you stories.

My one experience with an inspector was for my CFI ride. He was the POI for our school (where I worked line crew). He knew me and still grilled me for at least 5 hours and a 1.3 flight full of maneuvers. Not fun.