Greg Porter DPE Checkride Gouges

Oral Emphasis

Greg's CFI ground portion (~2.5 hours) focused heavily on teaching ability rather than rote knowledge recall. Key areas included:

• Fundamentals of Instruction (FOIs): He selected Task E (Professional Development) for direct questioning, which played out as a conversational discussion about professionalism rather than textbook recitation. Tasks D and F were noted as things he would observe throughout the checkride rather than quiz on directly.
• Runway Incursions: A major teaching topic. He wanted a focused lesson specifically on runway incursion concepts — not a broad overview padded with tangential material.
• National Airspace System: He narrowed the scope to the skills section listed under Section G of the ACS. He did not require coverage of chart symbology, currency of publications, or speed restrictions associated with airspace classes.

Common Questions

Rather than firing off quiz-style questions, Greg set up a role-play scenario. Pilots reported being told to treat him as a student they had already flown with several times (3-4 flights). This means you should be prepared to:

• Tailor your teaching to reference shared "experiences" from prior lessons rather than starting from scratch.
• Ask your "student" questions during the lesson to check understanding — he noticed and appreciated interactive teaching.
• Expect him to give specific, constructive critiques on your lesson delivery and materials after each topic.

Examiner Style

Greg comes across as conversational and collaborative. He's not trying to trap you — he's evaluating whether you can actually teach. Key traits pilots noted:

• He gives real-time feedback and teaching tips, like suggesting you use relatable terms (e.g., "parking lot speed" for taxi speed instead of a specific number, to avoid student fixation).
• He's detail-oriented about what tools you use — one pilot was told to switch from Jeppesen charts to FAA charts since those are what most students will encounter.
• He's direct about trimming excess content. If your slides have too much information, he'll tell you to cut them down to what's essential for the topic at hand.
• His critiques are practical and delivery-focused rather than punitive — he's coaching you on how to be a better instructor.

What Surprised Pilots

• The FOI portion was surprisingly brief (~10 minutes of direct questioning) and felt more like a discussion than an exam. Two of the three FOI tasks were simply observed during the rest of the checkride.
• He significantly narrowed the scope of teaching topics — for NAS, he only wanted the skills section covered, not the full breadth of the ACS task. Pilots who over-prepared broad lessons found they needed to adapt on the fly.
• The scenario-based setup (pretending you've already flown together) caught some pilots off guard. It changes how you frame your lessons and requires you to think on your feet about referencing prior "shared" flight experiences.