If it were any other test, getting a good look at it ahead of time might easily be considered an act of cheating. However, getting a sneak peek at your FAA practical test is exactly what the practical test standards (PTS) offers, and far from cheating, both your CFI and the FAA call it proper preparation. In fact, as part of the required pretest briefing, your designated pilot examiner (DPE) is required to mention that the practical test will be conducted in accordance with the appropriate PTS while confirming that you are familiar with its contents.
When properly used, CFIs will frequently consult the PTS as training progresses to confirm their students are performing consistently within the stated tolerance limits as established for each of the required tasks, remembering that the stated tolerance limits are the minimum acceptable standards—not the desired target levels. The DPE also refers to the PTS when developing his or her plan of action, an examiner tool similar to a checklist, that ensures a complete, efficient, and fair checkride for the applicant. In this way, the PTS guards against an overenthusiastic DPE who might have otherwise created an unfair test by throwing in a few extra tasks.
The PTS defines the responsibilities of not only the applicant, but also the CFI and the DPE. Being familiar with each person’s role and responsibilities will help the applicant to better understand and prepare for what is truly important to becoming a safe pilot. For example, since the private pilot PTS repeatedly refers to the importance of proper visual scanning and collision avoidance, demonstrating these important skills will carry considerable weight throughout the test.
Additional special emphasis areas are listed that highlight the responsibility of the DPE to evaluate an applicant’s operation of the aircraft in areas the FAA has determined to be especially critical to flight safety. Awareness of these special emphasis areas helps to eliminate potential weak spots in the training and confusion during the test.
Also highlighted are several actions that would constitute an unsatisfactory performance. A thorough knowledge of these disqualifying behaviors early in the student’s training helps to permanently establish good habit patterns that lead to long-term safe flying skills. Remember, the checkride is not a good time to be trying out new and improved ways of operating the aircraft. Train the way you should fly—and always fly the way you were trained.
The PTS requires the handling of in-flight distractions shall be evaluated. These can be anything from simple distractions that often normally crop up during any given flight, to more pressing distractions the DPE might ingeniously create. Either way, don’t panic—just deal with the problem by employing the three basic rules of aviation: Aviate, navigate, communicate—in that order.
Much of what has already been discussed here is described in just the first several pages of the PTS. This might lead you to believe the introductory section is not especially important, although nothing could be further from the truth. Do not shortcut this section as it provides the foundation to what the checkride will really be addressing.
From the DPE’s perspective, it is not unusual for an applicant to appear surprised by a request to perform a particular maneuver that is clearly addressed in the PTS. This symptom often indicates incomplete or unsatisfactory preparation efforts by either the applicant or the CFI—or more likely, both. The checkride is no place to be figuring out how to properly perform an unfamiliar, never-before-attempted maneuver.
From the DPE’s perspective, it is also not unusual to observe that a particular maneuver—like forward slips or S-turns across a road, for example—might be less-perfected. For whatever reason, every student has his own weak spots. It’s up to the student and especially the CFI to discover and correct these weaker areas so that consistent PTS-level performance becomes routine for all required tasks before the checkride day arrives. And don’t simply practice a maneuver until you finally get it right—practice it until you can’t get it wrong! Once a student and instructor become confident that better-than-minimum PTS tolerances can be consistently achieved, confidence levels soar and the checkride becomes a pleasant walk-in-the-park experience.
Bob Schmelzer is a Chicago-area designated pilot examiner and a United Airlines Boeing 777 captain and line check airman. He has been an active flight instructor since 1972.
