You have been studying your systems, airspace, regulations, and weather both with your flight instructor and on your own for weeks. Every good weather day, you have been at the airport practicing steep turns, slow flight, stalls, and landings in your favorite Piper Archer. You could probably do it all blindfolded (though not recommended). You picked a perfect day to take off work to meet your Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) for the much-anticipated practical test, known in the industry as a checkride.

After a restless night and a shot of Pepto, you meet the DPE the morning of the test. Ten minutes later, you are in your car driving home because you were not qualified for the test.

What happened?

The number of applicants who arrive for the checkride unqualified would surprise you. How does this happen? Despite your instructor's best efforts and intentions, there are several “gotchas” when verifying applicant eligibility. These pitfalls can appear in the applicant’s logbook, on IACRA (the electronic web-based application for a pilot certificate or rating), or in the applicant’s personal/airplane documents. Let’s begin by looking at a private pilot applicant’s logbook.

1. Cross-Country Requirements

Forty total hours? Check. Ten hours solo? Check. Three hours cross-country training? Hold on. You and your flight instructor flew from Burlington, N.C., (BUY) to Raleigh, N.C., (RDU) to Greensboro, N.C., (GSO), and back to BUY. BUY to RDU is 35 nautical miles (NM). RDU to GSO is 58 NM. GSO to BUY is 23 NM. The total trip distance was 116 NM. The DPE says, “I’m sorry, but you are not qualified for the test.” An angry and confused flight instructor says, “But there was a 50 NM leg on that trip!”

If we examine the regulations a little closer, we see why this trip is insufficient. Open your trusty FAR/AIM to 14 CFR 61.1 for a definition of cross-country time:

Cross-country time means—

…

(ii) For the purpose of meeting the aeronautical experience requirements …, for a private pilot certificate … a commercial pilot certificate, or an instrument rating, …

(B) That includes a point of landing that was at least a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles from the original point of departure; ….

You never flew more than 50 NM from BUY; thus, this trip was not a cross-country. Expensive mistake, isn’t it?

2. Instrument Training Requirements

Other common “gotchas” for private pilot applicants appear in the required instrument training and ground training. Your flight school has a fantastic Advanced Aviation Training Device (AATD), commonly called a simulator. You did your last hour of instrument training on the simulator because your flight instructor said, “If you can fly the sim, you can fly the plane.”

But if we look at 14 CFR 61.109, it states that a private pilot applicant needs [three] hours of flight training in a single-engine airplane on the control and maneuvering of an airplane solely by reference to instruments. Notice that it states in a single-engine airplane. Not in a single-engine airplane or simulator. In fact, this regulation does not even reference a simulator.

3. Ground Instruction Requirements

The last big logbook pitfall is missing ground instruction. 14 CFR 61.107 states:

General. A person who applies for a private pilot certificate must receive and log ground and flight training from an authorized instructor on the areas of operation of this section that apply to the aircraft category and class rating sought.

This regulation is not about the aeronautical knowledge elements found in 14 CFR 61.105. It is about having ground training on all the areas of operation that will also be covered for a private pilot. No logged ground training, no checkride.

4. Solo Time, View Limiting Devices, and Logbooks

Instrument, commercial, and flight instructor applicants encounter the same issues plus others. To meet certain specific experience requirements, a commercial applicant must have 10 hours solo or 10 hours performing the duties of Pilot-in-Command (PIC) with an authorized flight instructor on board. You may not mix and match solo and PIC duties. A commercial applicant’s instrument experience must also occur while using a view-limiting device and must come from a flight instructor with an instrument rating.

Flight instructor applicants are often missing required ground training and endorsements. Nothing is worse than arriving for a flight instructor test with an incorrect logbook. The day is almost assuredly doomed from the start.

5. IACRA

IACRA is the next place where we see checkrides come to halt before they even begin. Every single item on IACRA is a common deficiency. From having the wrong place of birth (such as Detroit, N.C., instead of Detroit, Mich.) to having incorrect/missing times, to applying for the wrong rating (airplane single-engine land, not sea), errors can stop the test from starting if your flight instructor is not immediately available to help correct the issues.

You can correct a few problems immediately without a flight instructor present, but that is not always the case. To stop these issues before they stop your test, the DPE needs your IACRA information and FAA Tracking Number (FTN) before the test. Having IACRA and your FTN also allows the DPE to review your knowledge test results and create a custom exam/scenario for you. Most DPEs will ask for this information at least 24 to 48 hours before the test. Failure to provide this information in advance can and should result in a canceled checkride.

6. Personal and Airplane Documents

Next are the pilot’s personal and airplane documents. Too often, an applicant will arrive with their driver’s license or passport, pilot certificate, or medical missing or expired. A picture of your passport on your cell phone does not qualify you for the test.

Imagine this: You flew to meet the DPE for checkride. After reviewing your documents and logbook, you head to the break room for coffee while the DPE reviews your plane’s maintenance logs. When you return the DPE has unwelcome news: Your plane is not airworthy. Often it is going to be due to missing airworthiness directives. Applicants have in fact arrived with airplanes missing annual inspections! Not only are you not taking your test today, but you must catch a ride home and arrange for a special flight permit to get your plane to maintenance.

As you can see, you can bring your checkride to a full stop before you even hear “the test has begun.” In part two of this blog, we will explore common errors during the ground and flight portions of the practical test with advice on how to impress your DPE.

As a child, Chris Whittle knew he would fly someday. After he completed his first solo at age 16, Chris' flying career has quite literally taken off. In his nearly 20 years of training countless students, he is among the most respected flight instructors in North Carolina. The Alamance County native and East Carolina University graduate has amassed more than 12,000 hours of flight time and has been identified by the FAA as a Designated Pilot Examiner. He has administered more than 1,500 checkrides since becoming a DPE. Learn more about Chris and the rest of the Elon Aviation staff at www.elonaviation.com.