Flight Training - June 2014 - 51

CHECKRIDE PREP

No time for blank stares

Are your students prepared for the practical test?
» By Alyssa J. Miller

LAST-MINUTE CRAM SESSIONS and
aircraft logbooks with neatly tagged
inspection entries don't cut it with
Indianapolis veteran designated
pilot examiner Robert Duncan.
After giving practical tests for 31
years, Duncan recognizes whether
pilot applicants truly understand
and can apply the items required in
task areas.
During a visit to Indianapolis in
advance of AOPA's May 31 FlyIn, AOPA interviewed Duncan, a
lawyer and executive director of
the Indianapolis Airport Authority, for tips for flight instructors
to help ensure their students are

it? He also likes to ask students if
someone can sit in the back seat of
a Cessna 172 when it's being flown
in the Utility category. Applicants
often don't understand the utility
category or how to find its requirements in the pilot's operating
handbook. "They have it, they carry
it, but do they actually know what's
in it?" Duncan said. "It always
helps if you know where to look."
He's also had plenty of blank
stares when he asks applicants
questions about what's in the
aircraft logbooks, other than the
required inspections marked by
Post-it notes.

HE'S ALSO HAD PLENTY OF BLANK STARES WHEN HE
ASKS ABOUT WHAT'S IN THE AIRCRAFT LOGBOOKS,
OTHER THAN THE REQUIRED INSPECTIONS.
ready for the practical test. Duncan
considers students' risk management abilities and whether they
know the aircraft's capabilities. He
wants to make sure that students
have learned the material with full
application, not by memorizing a
self-study book.
One startling anecdote of a
student's lack of understanding
that Duncan shared: He asked an
applicant what would happen if he
turned off the master switch during
flight. The applicant responded
that the engine would turn off.
"It's a matter of preparation,"
Duncan said. A common problem
is that many flight instructors don't
spend enough one-on-one ground
time with students to make sure
they have a thorough understanding
of how the aircraft works, he said.
Duncan's favorite question: If
you get in a Cessna 172 and all
of the seats are removed except
the pilot seat, can you legally fly

Duncan, who will celebrate 52
years of flying in June, is careful
to distinguish between mistakes
caused by the nerves associated
with the practical test and actual
gaps in knowledge. "Do you pink
slip someone for missing one
question? No, but go and ask more
questions to ensure competency
and understanding." His goal isn't
to purposely trip up applicants, but
to determine their understanding
and application of the material.
"What makes a good, safe pilot is
what's going on between the ears."
Duncan acknowledged that
flying is also a mechanical skill.
Even though the industry has tried

to standardize technique, there
are still variations. But, Duncan
said, he's noticed problems in the
instruction students have received.
For example, applicants haven't
been taught turning stalls. "That's
an instructor issue," he said. Stalling in a turn is an important skill to
learn in order to be able to recognize the conditions that lead to
them, and prevent scenarios such
as the fatal stall-spin from poor
base-to-final turns.
Duncan also combines tasks on
checkrides, for example, asking
students to do a forward slip to a
no-flap landing with a soft-field
touchdown technique. "I might
as well get my rocking chair out
waiting for them to land," Duncan said, referring to students'
airspeed being too fast during the
maneuver.
"I can see what's coming before
it comes," Duncan said. He said
that if the applicant recognizes the
error and takes prompt, appropriate action to correct it, the exam
will continue. If Duncan has to take
the controls, then the applicant will
have failed.
On the ground or in the air, it
comes down to safety and whether
the applicants have the understanding and decision-making
abilities to apply what they've
learned to be safe. And no amount
of logbook organization or lastminute memorizing will cover up a
lack of understanding.

AOPA FLY-IN MAY 31
Come to the AOPA Fly-In at Indianapolis Regional Airport
(MQJ) on May 31 for a day of fun, food, and endless learning
opportunities. RSVP at www.aopa.org/fly-ins.

JUNE 2014 FLIGHT TRAINING

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