Straight from the horse’s mouth
PilotWorkshops ‘Checkride Insights’: Private Pilot annotated ACS
By Tony Stagnito
As a student pilot with my checkride marching ever closer, one resource I struggled to find was a realistic look at what to expect from my first encounter with a designated pilot examiner (DPE).
PilotWorkshops’ new annotated ACS fills this void, giving a detailed breakdown of the airman certification standards, along with helpful tips and tricks, which I used in passing my oral and practical examination.
Broken down by each area of operation and task, Checkride Insights both serves as a more digestible way for a student to read the entirety of the standards without being overwhelmed and acts as a bridge between the practical knowledge a student has learned in their training and how it may be applied on a checkride. This is where the hundreds of comments and stories told by real check airmen, CFIs, and DPEs become invaluable and the highlight of this tool. For example, subskill PA.II.B.S1, “Secure all items in the aircraft,” is expanded upon with an anecdote of a DPE purposely not securing belts or doors fully before departure, which resulted in the student’s checkride ending before they could get off the ground. I found it extremely helpful in painting a picture of what my exam could be like; it made me aware of some of the “gotchas” that could result in a notice of disapproval. It made me rethink how I conduct my before-start and departure briefings and led me to physically help my examiner—and now passengers—properly secure their four-point harness and door.
I also found the annotated ACS helped me decide where to strategically tab my FAR/Aeronautical Information Manual based on mock oral questions asked. The ATOMATOFLAMES memory aid normally is used to answer PA.I.B.K3, “Equipment requirements for day and night VFR flight”; however, a DPE wrote they prefer to see an applicant cite FAR 91.205, airworthiness directives, minimum equipment lists/kinds of equipment lists, and type certificate data sheets instead, as it’s a more comprehensive answer and demonstrates where the acronym originates.
This guide is not a cheat sheet for checkride success, but it supplements the FAR/AIM, Airplane Flying Handbook, Aviation Weather Handbook, and other necessary resources. It provided me, as a student, with points of reference on what to expect from my exam, which increased my confidence going into it. No two applicants’ checkrides are the same, and the editors didn’t cover every question my DPE asked. But as a new private pilot, I believe this resource challenged my understanding and knowledge of the ACS and made me ask questions and research more than I otherwise would have, all helping me earn my ticket.
Tony Stagnito is a private pilot and airport operations specialist at Syracuse Hancock International Airport (SYR).
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