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Check Rides
Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 4:05 am
by N2540V
Did you have a check ride lately?
Some of us are just a little nervous when the you should be cool and calm..
Check Rides are tough no matter where you are from
This little training video will help.
It is a whopping 22.4 MB and takes a little while to download but worth the wait.
http://www.jimpitman.us/checkride.wmv
Bonus Question of the day.
Which actor is most like George Horn?
Re: Check Rides
Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 4:53 am
by voorheesh
I can't wait for my next checkride. That wouldn't have been George in the right seat would it?
Re: Check Rides
Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 12:32 pm
by W.J.Langholz
N2540V wrote:Did you have a check ride lately
Bonus Question of the day.
Which actor is most like George Horn?
Telly Savalas..........."Who loves ya baby"
do I get 2 guesses ......why not George C Scott "Patton"

Re: Check Rides
Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 6:00 pm
by Bruce Fenstermacher
Love that pen click and the clip board. That was obviously George.
Had my latest check ride just last night. I fly a S-76 helicopter single pilot so an auto pilot is required and if any part of it isn't operating it is an emergency while IMC. The aircraft was just out of maintenance were they fixed a circuit breaker labeled auto pilot that would not reset indicating a dead short. The autopilot worked flawlessly in this condition how ever leading many of us to wonder just what that circuit actually did.
Well after about 6 hours of tracking the wires maintenance found the short and fixed it and reassembled the aircraft. It's was severe VFR so the Check Airman and i jumped in the aircraft and off we go for my check ride. We'll test the auto pilot on the fly.
Well it didn't take but 2 minutes to realize that the only part of the "fixed" auto pilot working was the direction either heading or navigating a nav source. There was no altitude, airspeed, climb or decent. Great. My check ride will now be flown totally by hand or at least the altitude and airspeed will be and for added enjoyment the check airmen will trouble shoot all the autopilot systems both my side and his while I'm doing it. Oh joy.
Well after making 2 pretty good precision approaches, one with a single engine (the auto pilot failure wasn't enough) and 2 non-precision approaches the ride was over. Of course since I landed the aircraft not once but 4 times under what would be an emergency situation had we been IMC, and I was able to reuse the aircraft, I passed the ride.
Re: Check Rides
Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 10:03 pm
by Terk170B
Hi Bruce,
Good to know that I am not the only helicopter guy here. I used to fly a 365 SPIFR for nine years with CJ.
I am flying for CHC now but, two pilot crew. Just so happens I am at HELISIM at Eurocopter in Marseille Fr. right now.
Just finished my recurrent training today with a checkride scheduled on Sat. I will be back home in the good old USA on Sunday night. (I Hope)
What model 76 are you flying? SPZ 7000 or 7600? I am supposed to be going into the C+ on my next tour.
Anyway, nothing like having a engine fire with a partial panel and a LG pump fail while on a ARA radar approach with BAD weather. At least it was in the Sim
this time. They don't call it the hot box for nothing.
My check Airman's name is George, I wonder if ? No, must be a different guy.
Bill Terkeurst
1954 170B
N3453C
Re: Check Rides
Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 12:32 pm
by Bruce Fenstermacher
Bill your not the only helicopter guy in the association though we are few and far in between. Good thing to because it makes it easier to baffle the fixed wing guys with BS.
Flying a S76A++ with the SPZ 7000. We just had a Garmin 400 installed. Oh goodie we actually have a moving map. Appearantly ours is the first such installation of a Garmin product and the SPZ to be done. At least it worked for a few days anyway.

Re: Check Rides
Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 1:52 pm
by GAHorn
Oxymorons: Amicable divorce. Good Lawyers. Military Intelligence. Microsoft Works. Helicopter Pilots.
(Just jealously kidding.)

Re: Check Rides
Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 2:09 am
by Brad Brady
gahorn wrote:Oxymorons: Amicable divorce. Good Lawyers. Military Intelligence. Microsoft Works. Helicopter Pilots.
(Just jealously kidding.)

May i Add JUMBO shrimp and pseudo-intelligence.....nothing against Helo pilots.... just two more Oxymorons
Re: Check Rides
Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 10:50 pm
by N4281V
New link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejnTG7d4DMo
I still don't like taking checkrides. Last one was past Friday - 135 recurrent at George's neighbors across the way. Autopilot was broke in the sim Thursday, so that session was flown by hand. Hate to say I didn't do too bad flying around on one engine by hand. Thank goodness it was fixed since we needed it for Friday's ride to rid any sort of A/P restriction.
I guess we'll be back in 6 months.... *ugh*
