Brandon Ayers DPE Checkride Gouges
Designated Pilot Examiner
Preparing for an FAA checkride with Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) Brandon Ayers? GougeHub has 2 first-hand Brandon Ayers checkride gouge reports from pilots who tested. Review oral exam questions, flight test patterns, and examiner insights for IFR and PPL checkrides.
↓ View 2 available gouge reportsAs of this writing, one IFR report is on file for Brandon Ayers. The pilot described the oral as scenario-based but friendly. Brandon builds a conversation around each ACS task instead of firing rapid questions at you. The applicant picked Option 1 for the scenario flight, running from GLE to KHOU.
Brandon opened with a ramp check scenario on pilot qualifications. He asked what documents you carry: pilot certificate, government photo ID, and medical certificate. He covered required aircraft documents using ARROW and AVATES. He went through IFR inspections: altimeter and transponder at 24 calendar months, the static system, and the VOR check at 30 days. He also covered the 6-HITS rule for instrument currency, the grace period, and when you need an IPC.
Weather was a strong focus. Brandon asked about TAFs, NOTAMs, freezing levels on winds aloft, and the coverage areas for AIRMETs and SIGMETs, including Sierra, Tango, and Zulu. He asked about weather sources and personal minimums, then shared his own experiences. For cross-country planning, he pushed the pilot to justify the filed route, altitude, and fuel burn. He knows real-world ATC routes, so he will ask why you filed direct versus avoiding busy airspace.
Brandon covered alternate requirements with the 1-2-3 rule and the 600-2 and 800-2 minimums. He went over normal departure procedures, including the turn at 400 AGL, obstacle clearance, and the 200 feet per nautical mile climb gradient. On the Low Enroute chart, he pointed out symbols and asked what protection each provides: MEA, MOCA, MRA, and MCA. The pilot brought up the SNDAY arrival into KHOU, and they discussed speed restrictions.
The report covers the oral in detail and trails off as the conversation moved into filing IFR. Come ready to explain your decisions, not just recite rules.
Analyzed across 113 site-wide Private Pilot checkrides in the GougeHub database, the same questions keep coming up. Here’s one of the 37 in the guide:
“How do you determine if your aircraft is airworthy right now? Walk me through the required inspections.”
⚠ Common Pitfall: Use a real airworthiness checklist — there are too many details to hold in your head. Not captured in AV1ATE: all ADs must be complied with, and life-limited parts must be current (e.g., a Cirrus parachute). A classic trap is an aircraft current on its annual and 100-hour, but with an expired AD — making it unairworthy. An STC is an amendment to the type certificate and carries its own airworthiness requirements.
All 37 questions, ranked by frequency, with Examiner Insights and Common Pitfalls from 113 real checkrides — written and reviewed by Andrew Gray, CFI-II.
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Ratings & Checkride Types
- IFR (Instrument Rating)
- PPL (Private Pilot)
FAA Designee Information
FAA Oversight Office: North Texas FSDO
Status: Active Designee
- Sport Pilot Examiner: Airplane Single Engine Land
- Private Pilot Examiner: Airplane Single Engine Land
- Commercial & Instrument Rating Examiner: Airplane Single Engine Land
Source: FAA Designee Management System · Verify on FAA.gov →
Other DPEs in Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
Transparency Disclaimer: This page summarizes patterns reported by applicants. It is not an endorsement, prediction, or guarantee of checkride outcome. Every checkride varies based on the applicant and circumstances.