Your Private Pilot Checkride

If you ask every student pilot what makes him anxious the most, you’ll find that most of them will tell you that it’s the private pilot checkride. There could be some nervousness in takeoffs and landings but once one has gotten the hang of it, it’s just something routine that they do. With the private pilot checkride, however, an understandable amount of anxiety is generated. After all, the private pilot checkride is the one standing between a student pilot and his private pilot certificate.

It is one thing to feel anxious about your private pilot checkride, but it is another thing to be totally consumed by it. When that happens, you won’t be able to think clearly and thus you are not able to assume the mindset needed to ace the private pilot checkride and skill test. So, how can a student pilot like you overcome the nervousness that you feel and ensure that you are able to pass the private pilot checkride with flying colors?

Mix Study With Some R&R

Have you tried studying past your limit and you find that you’re not understanding anything past a specific duration of time? That’s what happens when you are cramming. Unfortunately, most students – and not just budding private pilots – tend to do that especially when the day of the test draws near. It’s actually counterproductive, because you’re not learning anything. It would be a good idea to give your brain and also your body a brief rest from all that studying.

So what’s the right way to do that? First you study for sometime and, when you feel tired, take some time off. Play the guitar, watch TV, do anything that takes the stress away. It’s like bodybuilding; after every set of repetitions, your body becomes stressed and you need to take a short break before beginning to lift again.

Prepare What You Need Beforehand

We are all trained to be ready ahead of time, but in the case of the private pilot checkride, how early should that be? To be specific, you have to get the things you need hours before the checkride is to take place. This means that you should spend half the day working out the things that you will need, like flight planning and other important information that you should prepare.

It would be wise to prepare a checklist, as this would help you look over the list and double check what you have prepared and what you lack. Even your choice of clothes could have an impact on the FAA examiner, so you really have to get up early to get those ready too.

Rod Yeager Jr. is an aviation enthusiast and private pilot. Visit and take a look at the Online Ground School from whom he is taking lessons in addition to his flight training.

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