Jay Brentzel DPE Checkride Gouges

Across 17 reports, Jay Brentzel comes through as organized, direct, and friendly. He starts the oral by checking your aircraft maintenance logbooks himself, often just asking for an update on recurring ADs since he has data from recent checkrides. Let him go through them and say little, so you don't dig a hole. He briefs his three possible outcomes up front, then asks if you want to begin. Have your IACRA login written down and the exact cash fee ready to count out on the table.

On instrument and commercial orals, he goes deep on weather. Expect him to pull up aviationweather.gov and have you decode a METAR and TAF from his screen. He covers low level prog charts, surface analysis, fronts, high and low pressure rotation, radar charts, PIREPs, and freezing levels. He asks about alternates, temp and dew point spreads, frost on the wing, and convective sigmets versus airmets. He digs into the six pack instruments and how each one works, so know them all evenly.

For commercial multi work, he teaches constant speed propeller systems, critical engine, and factors affecting Vmc straight from the AFH photos. He liked good system photos and stopped one applicant on aft CG. He skipped slow flight, stalls, go-arounds, and the OEI instrument items in the air on one MEI ride.

On CFI rides he runs FOI in a question and answer format, line by line from the PTS. He has you teach the subjects you missed on your knowledge test. Common lessons include runway incursion avoidance, weight and balance, and endorsements. He plays a low time student, wants FAA references open in front of him, and dislikes a Coast checklist. Use ForeFlight, the chart supplement, and the PHAK or 61-65H.

He emphasizes logbook detail hard, so tab every endorsement and hour requirement and log the ground training too.