Doctor Bob
Newbie
I have written this for the "non-pilot" as I know there are a lot of lurkers out there that enjoy reading. So forgive my basic story telling to the experienced. I for one, was just a student yesterday and will continue to be a student for life....
So, the winds were calm and the sky was blue....time for my checkride! This was a very grueling "driver's test" that lasted 1.6 hours in the air and another 2+ hours on the ground. They have you fly the plane in all sorts of unnatural positions, stall it, and even make you wear funky glasses so you can't see out of the plane. You have to do numerous take offs and landings simulating hard and soft surfaces, 50' obstacles, and even find an airport that is only by visual references. When I nailed my first landing right at the requested 1,000' mark (they tell you where to land and you have to touch down there) it felt damn good. I thanked the airplane gods. I almost flubbed navigating by VOR (a 1940's technology still in use, but pretty accurate) while under "the hood" (the funky glasses). Once I shook the rust of that skill it came right back (he made me do more). I'll use the high end GPS with satellite radar as my primary, thank you.
I nailed all the other landings spot on and smiled all the way back to Collegedale (near Chattanooga). When I came in for a normal landing the plane picked up a vibration as I was slowing down on the runway. I quickly released the brakes thinking I somehow was braking too hard. Nope, that's not it. I concentrated on keeping the plane straight as the vibration was building and the plane was trying to veer off the runway. You guessed it, I had a flat tire on the mains. I came to a stop and looked at the FAA Examiner and questioned, "Flat?" "Yep," he responded. We tried to taxi the plane to the side but it wasn't going anywhere. So we were stuck on the runway with a flat. I shut down the plane and radioed to the airport our situation. The cavalry came and quickly jacked up the plane and replaced the tire and tube. Planes circled overhead patiently. The FAA guy congratulated me on becoming a private pilot and I whipped out the camera. Nothing like a tire failure on a checkride! My instructor said that has never even happened to him. The FAA Examiner assured my instructor that all my landings were great and that I did nothing to lose the tire.
Enjoy the pictures.
Thanks for allowing me to share,
Bob
So, the winds were calm and the sky was blue....time for my checkride! This was a very grueling "driver's test" that lasted 1.6 hours in the air and another 2+ hours on the ground. They have you fly the plane in all sorts of unnatural positions, stall it, and even make you wear funky glasses so you can't see out of the plane. You have to do numerous take offs and landings simulating hard and soft surfaces, 50' obstacles, and even find an airport that is only by visual references. When I nailed my first landing right at the requested 1,000' mark (they tell you where to land and you have to touch down there) it felt damn good. I thanked the airplane gods. I almost flubbed navigating by VOR (a 1940's technology still in use, but pretty accurate) while under "the hood" (the funky glasses). Once I shook the rust of that skill it came right back (he made me do more). I'll use the high end GPS with satellite radar as my primary, thank you.
I nailed all the other landings spot on and smiled all the way back to Collegedale (near Chattanooga). When I came in for a normal landing the plane picked up a vibration as I was slowing down on the runway. I quickly released the brakes thinking I somehow was braking too hard. Nope, that's not it. I concentrated on keeping the plane straight as the vibration was building and the plane was trying to veer off the runway. You guessed it, I had a flat tire on the mains. I came to a stop and looked at the FAA Examiner and questioned, "Flat?" "Yep," he responded. We tried to taxi the plane to the side but it wasn't going anywhere. So we were stuck on the runway with a flat. I shut down the plane and radioed to the airport our situation. The cavalry came and quickly jacked up the plane and replaced the tire and tube. Planes circled overhead patiently. The FAA guy congratulated me on becoming a private pilot and I whipped out the camera. Nothing like a tire failure on a checkride! My instructor said that has never even happened to him. The FAA Examiner assured my instructor that all my landings were great and that I did nothing to lose the tire.
Enjoy the pictures.
Thanks for allowing me to share,
Bob