Flight maneuvers

The checkride was scheduled for Wednesday, but I had to reschedule to Friday in order to get the maintenance logs for the airplane. So, on Friday, I got up early to fly to GLX, cram some more, and then meet the DE.

He started off asking me to show the aircraft was legal. So I showed all the required documents, including the maintenance logs. Luckily I spent some time going through those logs since he wanted me to show him everything was in order. Then we went over the flight plan. He chose a route that went through a wide variety of scenarios, and I seem to have accounted for everything to his satisfaction. Just a couple of little things though: I didn't catch the fact that the destination airport didn't have refueling services, but I found an airport nearby to get fuel at. And he wanted to know why I was flying under a MOA. He says he's gone through that MOA hundreds of times and never saw a military aircraft. I just told him I've never been in one, and know what the hazards could be, so I chose to fly under it. Then we talked about air space, and then he had me work on a runway length problem with all kinds of conditions for take-off length, and take-off length with a 50' object. The problem required two interpolations, one for altitude, and one for headwind speed. I came up with the answers and showed it to him. He says "You mean the 50' length is about twice the regular take-off length?" "Yes - that's about what it shows for the other altitudes." He smiled and said I got it right lol.

So I passed the oral... Yes! Then we went on to the flying portion. That did not go so well actually. He started off with stalls, and of course I knew stalls in general. But he called for a 'departure stall'. I heard that term once in my practice checkride. Otherwise known as a full power stall. So I went full power, brought the nose up, and stalled the plane while controlling with rudder. No, I am told. I need to slow down to departure speed first. Ugh, in the practice checkride I didn't have a full lesson on them and my CFI didn't cover this with me! After explaining all he expected, then I did it. Then he asked for an 'approach stall'. Crap! Now this one I have not heard of. But I deduced that I needed to slow to approach speed first since I had to slow to departure speed in the other one. I did a horribly sloppy stall as I was trying to guess what the steps were for an approach stall. That was it for the checkride. The DE was dumbfounded that I didn't know these, and I was rather pissed and embarrassed that I hadn't been taught these specific stalls that show up on a damn checkride. Yes my CFI did go over stalls. But they were slow flight stalls, which would also be called an approach stall by some DEs. My CFI did not go over the textbook step by step execution of an approach stall that the DE wanted to see.

When we got back the DE said he knows I can fly, but I have to know the procedures. He wanted to know when I wanted to reschedule. I said I would get with my CFI and make sure I am ready first, then schedule a ride with him again. I do NOT want to go through that embarrassment again. I got a book called Flight Maneuvers. I'm going to go over that, with a list of required maneuvers for the checkride. Then do it on MS Flight Sim where I can practice doing procedures, then do solo flight(s) to practice more, and then go up with my CFI until he says I'm ready. And try the checkride again.