Taking your Checkride

For every student pilot, the checkride is the moment you’ve been working toward since your very first flight lesson. It’s a big day! Exciting, nerve-wracking, and rewarding all at once. At Gomez Aviation, we know how important this milestone is, and we want you to feel confident walking into it. So, what exactly should you expect when you take your first checkride? Let’s break it down.

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A Checkride, or Practical Test is administered by a Designated Pilot Examiner, otherwise known as a DPE. It consists of an Oral Ground Evaluation and a Flight Test. The DPE will base the checkride off of the Airman Certification Standards (ACS) which list all of the standards regarding flight maneuvers, ground knowledge, and decision making that is required to become a licensed pilot. 

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A good checkride starts with arriving prepared. This includes arriving with: 

• Your student pilot certificate and photo ID

• A valid medical certificate

• Your logbook with instructor endorsements

• Your written exam results

• A well-prepared aircraft (airworthy, inspected, fueled, and ready to go)

Pro tip: organize your paperwork ahead of time. Nothing helps calm nerves like knowing everything is in order. Plus it shows the DPE that you decided to prepare ahead of time!

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The oral exam usually lasts 1–2 hours and happens before you ever step into the airplane. The examiner will ask you about topics like:

• Flight planning and navigation

• Weather interpretation

• Airspace rules

• Aircraft systems

• Aeromedical factors and decision-making

Here’s the good news. You don’t have to memorize everything. The DPE wants to see that you know where to find answers and how to apply them. Bringing your charts, FAR/AIM, and aircraft manuals isn’t just allowed, it’s encouraged.

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The Flight Exam usually runs between 1-2 hours of flight time, where you'll be expected to demonstrate everything you've learned over the course of your training to the applicable standard. You can expect to be tested on:

• Preflight inspection – showing you can spot safety issues before takeoff

• Takeoffs and landings – including short-field and soft-field techniques

• Navigation – flying a planned cross-country and handling diversions

• Maneuvers – stalls, slow flight, steep turns, and ground reference maneuvers

• Emergency procedures – demonstrating calm, smart decision-making

• Instrument work – maintaining control using only your instruments

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There are 3 outcomes of a Practical Test. The most common outcome is Satisfactory, where you demonstrate the ability to not only meet the ACS, but the capability to make safe decisions and earn the title of Pilot In Command! The next outcome is a Discontinuance. A discontinuance is not a fail, rather it happens when the checkride cannot continue for reasons other than unsatisfactory performance. This could include weather (most common), aircraft maintenance issues, illness, or other reasons. The last outcome is an Unsatisfactory. This simply means that you either didn't perform your best that day, or need more training to get up to the level of passing a checkride. Many great pilots didn’t pass their first checkride. If that happens, you’ll train a bit more and try again.

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Examiners set their own avalibility and pricing, and in the So-Cal Area, a Checkride typically costs between $800-1500. Gomez Aviation has connections with mutiple DPEs in the area and schedules checkrides ahead of time to minimize waiting. 

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After you pass your checkride, you'll be among the ranks of Pilots with the privilege of Flight!