What is the checkride like?
The FAA checkride (which is actually called a “practical test”) is broken down into two parts, an oral quiz, where the examiner will ask about knowledge you learned in ground school, and the flight test, where you will demonstrate your ability to perform the skills you have learned in the aircraft. The test is given by an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner: a highly experienced pilot, usually with tens of thousands of hours of experience, whom the FAA has authorized to give checkrides. But don’t be intimidated. The examiner isn’t out to fail you–in fact, unless you give the examiner reason to think otherwise, he or she assumes you are qualified, or else we would not have recommended you for the test. The examiner wants to ensure, just as your instructor did, that you are a safe pilot. And although it’s not the examiner’s job to teach you, you can’t help but learn something useful from flying with a pilot of that caliber.
