Any Tips for FAA checkride..???????????????

It might be insurance to ask another senior instructor to fly with you once and sort of give you a pre test of what the FAA exam will be. Thus you will know that 2 CFIs say you are ready for the test.

If you have a fair minded FAA guy, they will not be looking for a perfect pilot, rather a safe one. Know the manuevers listed i the test guide, know the airplane, and know your area. 

Finally, relax, you can do it. 

Good luck

First I agree with Bill, relax you can do it.   I do an instrument proficiency check once a year though there is no requirement for me to do so.  Did one yesterday for almost three hours (in the air) and never saw the ground.  Fly straight and level, don't chase needles, but correct any variations promptly.  You got here because you are ready, the unknown is worse than the reality.  Don't need to be perfect, just safe.  Good Luck and have fun.

Most check ride guys know that you are gonna be a bit nervous so they are not looking for perfection.  What they are looking for is do you know what you are doing?  For example, if you happen to come in a bit high on final, or a bit fast, you are going to get more points for deciding to go around than you will for 'horsing it in'.  Demonstrating good judgement is much more important than demonstrating excellent piloting skills.  Your preperation is also important - have all your documentation ready and available - saves time and shows the examiner that you are organized and serious about your flying.  Do a good preflight - follow procedures and make believe you are taking a friend for a ride...all will go well.  Let us know how it went.

You are getting very good advice from the guys who replied to your post.  Here's one more tip, the first part of the check ride is a sit down with the examiner who will ask you a ton of questions.  This is typically some of the same stuff you had on the written along with practical knowledge you've picked-up from your instructor.  He may spend anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour.  He may start by going through your log book.  Listen carefully to each question and answer with confidence.  Don't be afraid to expound a bit, if you demonstrate confidence and knowledge you'll make a good impression and things will get off to a good start.  Be prepared for anything, but most examiners will give you a pre-check ride briefing on what your going to do.  Mine had me take-off and put the hood on during climb-out, but he told me before engine start to expect him to take control after lift-off so I could don the hood.  No big deal, he simply wanted to be efficient with our time aloft, so he gave me a heading to turn to and an altitude to level out at before the unusual attitude recovery, which I accomplish to his satisfaction.  This is not a big deal just another flight instructor.

Best of Luck!

Joe

The Purple Board has some good advice from a DPE and a senior CFI stickied. You have to join up, but that only takes a couple of minutes to register and wait for the email confirmation.

http://www.purpleboard.net/forums/showthread.php?t=5602

In a nutshell, remember that it's just another flight. You've done it all before. Just relax and enjoy it. Chances are, you'll learn something. For the oral, if the DPE asks something that you don't know, and he will, don't try to baffle him with BS. Just admit that you're not sure of the answer and look it up. Knowing where to find information is probably more important than knowing it in the first place.

Good luck! We're all counting on you!!

Jonathan-

    Good advice from all above.  Keep in mind that there will be 3 people on the day of your checkride who want you to pass, you, your CFI, and your DPE.  A temporary certificate is much more satisfying to the average examiner than a pink slip!

    On the oral, answer the questions you are asked.  Don't venture off into unknown territory unless you are absolutely sure of yourself.  Keep your answers to the point.  Know where to find the information if you don't know, don't guess- this is an open-book test, use the books if you need to!

   In the aircraft, listen to what you are being asked to do, don't be afraid to ask for clarification.  Make sure you clear the area before maneuvering.  I would recommend you talk your way through what you are doing, if the examiner is not sure what you are up to, letting him/her know what you are thinking/doing may help to keep you on the same page.

   Last but not least, don't forget the safety briefing!   More than one ride has stopped before it started because of this omission.  Seat belts, doors, emergency equipment.

   Come in confident in your abilities, you should know your stuff, this is just a verification exercise!!

                               Good Luck, Tony

Purchase or borrow a copy of the Private Pilot Practical Test Standard.  This spells out all the maneuvers you may be asked to perform on the checkride.

It will help a lot.

Go with confidence but don't plan the party for the same night. Have your CFI accompany you to the check ride for representation. A retired ATP pilot/instructor of mine said he failed a check ride that he felt was one of the best he ever flew. You just never know.

I Just completed the oral and ground part of the checkride today. Some things I learned were (1 this guy isn't some FAA employee who is bent on giving you a hard time. Just the opposite, he really wants this to be as enjoyable and relaxing as possible, and in the end he would rather give you a pilot certificate than a pink slip. Just remember, the examiner is on your side. He wants to see you pass! (2 Make sure you are VERY well prepared. Know your stuff. If you do the checkride will be easy. Remember again, this is not a quiz, well, not really, it's a friendly conversation about all things aviation related whether technical or not. (3 Know the concept behind everything. The examiner is not looking for a wright or wrong answer, necessarily, but more a good understanding of everything related to the question that was just asked. There are wrong answers, but there are many more right answers, for most things anyway. (4 Show the examiner that you have really put a lot of thought into all of this. One way that I was able to do that is to come up with ways to make information more easily and practically available. This consisted of things like going to Wal-Mart and purchasing some Post-it notes and tabbing (and highlighting) the entire FAR/AIM. This not only showed the examiner that I was serious about the FAR/AIM, but also it allowed me to take the time to read the entire FAR/AIM. Sounds like a lot, but if you are serious about flying that shouldn't be too much work. Another thing was to come up with ingenious ways of making information available in the cockpit for the cross-country flight that I was required to plan. In the end, the more ways that I could show the examiner that I had done a thorough and well thought out job, the more he was impressed and pleased with my work.

Good luck on the checkride. Be sure to leave a post about how it went and what lessons you learned. My checkride was for a glider license. I would be exited to hear from you afterwards, so that I can learn from your experiences for when I go to take my checkride for powered planes. Learning from others experience is certainly a helpful thing.