Oral exam place and questions

>> If I'm asked how long it will take to go 84 nm at 120 kts, I know that it's
>> about 40 minutes, but if an exact answer is required I don't see how I
>> could practically provide that without a calculator.
>>
> Whizwheels were the classic, calculators are acceptable.

I learned to fly in France in the mid-80's, and all student pilots were taught
to do these calculations mentally, using the "facteur de base" = 60/TAS. It
takes practice but works really well.

> >
> > > Traditionally the students were told what calculations to do ahead of
> > > time and would arrive with a flight plan, W&B, performance, balanced
> > > field, etc asked for by the DE the night before the ride. However, the
> > > FSDO is now asking the examiners to throw those out and make the
> > > student do another one right there to ensure the CFI isn't doing it
> > > for them. Usually the DE will ask the student to plan some sort of
> > > cross country (complete with runway requirements, performance, etc),
> > > then go get coffee and 1/2 watch the process but then go over the
> > > results. A great DE sets aside the entire day for the checkride to
> > > avoid rushing the student, although 1/2 a day is probably the most
> > > common.
> >
> > > -Robert, CFII
> >
> > I had only ever heard of the 1/2 day scheduling--so now I'm curious:
> > Does a geate DE actually use the entire day, or just have it available?
> >
> > Peter- Hide quoted text -
> >
> > - Show quoted text -
>
> As a CFI I appreciate it when a DE only does one checkride per day
> because it puts less time pressure on the student. Sometimes things
> don't work out right and extra time is needed. If the checkride is at
> 9am and the DE has another at noon, the DE will be more pressured.
> About 1/2 the DEs will only schedule one per day because of this.
> However, at $400 a pop, I can see why someone would want to do more
> than 1 per day. Around here the DEs are scheduled pretty far out. Many
> schedule 40 days out (which is REALLY hard as a CFI to ensure the
> student "peaks" at the right time, accounting for illness,
> maintenance, etc). Other DEs will only work out of certain airports
> (simply because they dont' want to drive far from their house). We
> have a great bunch of DEs out here (don't get me wrong) but the more
> flexibility they give the student, the easier it is for me to make the
> stars align at the right time.
>
> -Robert
>
Thanks, that's a lot of good information that I never knew.

Peter