Jay Brentzel DPE Checkride Gouges – San Diego Area

Commercial Single Engine Checkride with Jay Brentzel - January 2021

General Preparation Notes:

When you arrive at your checkride, you have an opportunity to set the tone in the first five minutes. DPEs are very busy people and valuing their time will go a long way. I arrived early, looked professional with shirt tucked in and clothes pressed. I had a folder ready with all required documents and materials with color-coded tabs for quick access. I had the exact cash payment ready. Most importantly, I had my logbook color-tabbed to every endorsement and hour requirement necessary for the checkride, including ground training which is critical.

The examiner was friendly but straight to the point. He appreciated that I had everything organized before he arrived. He mentioned he requires a mask for the entire oral and flight portion due to COVID protocols. He will not shake hands and will not touch your personal belongings. He had me count and lay the examiner fee on the table before he collected it.

Oral Examination:

The examiner is very focused on logbook documentation. A good portion of the oral was spent going over the logbook in extreme detail. Make absolutely sure your instructor signs everything and endorses you correctly with proper regulatory references. Have everything tabbed out with a FAR/AIM ready to recite the regulations needed.

Other than the logbook emphasis, the oral was straightforward. He doesn't dive deep unless he senses you may be lacking in a certain area. He has a list of things he wants to ask you and checks them off as soon as he knows you have sufficient knowledge of the subject.

Pilot Qualifications: We went over pilot qualifications with standard questions regarding commercial privileges, medical requirements, and the difference between common carriage and private carriage. He wants to hear clear understanding of what you can and cannot do as a commercial pilot.

Airworthiness Requirements: I used the blue book to demonstrate airworthiness. Questions included "Show me the annual is current" and "When is the next AD due?" Know where to find this information quickly in your aircraft logs.

Weather Information: We went through my weather briefing on ForeFlight and discussed my standard briefing from a weather briefer. He asked for another source and we went onto aviationweather.gov. He had me read TAFs and PIREPs and explain various parts of surface analysis and other weather charts. He also asked me to find and read the winds aloft over San Diego. He wanted definitions of Airmets and Sigmets.

Cross Country Flight Planning: My planned flight was to Monterey (KMRY). He went through the numbers to make sure they made sense and then asked how I calculated them. He just wants to see what page in the POH you used for your calculations. He mentioned he would likely have me fly to my first two waypoints during the flight portion. My timing to the first point ended up being pretty accurate and we broke off before the second point to do maneuvers.

National Airspace System: We went through airspace entry requirements, equipment requirements, and cloud clearance requirements for various airspace classes. He also asked about various sectional symbols and what they meant.

Operation of Systems: This was detailed. I had to explain the electrical system in detail and go through the diagram in the POH. He wanted to know what the annunciator panel warnings signify. I had to explain the brake system and its components in detail. He also asked about pressurized cabin systems and how they work.

Human Factors: Questions covered oxygen requirements at different altitudes, hypoxia symptoms, carbon monoxide causes and corrective actions, runway illusions, and spatial disorientation.

Preflight Procedures:

The examiner walked around with me during preflight and interrupted to ask questions. This included:

• What is the warm start technique for this aircraft?
• What is this antenna for? (pointing to various antennas)
• What are you checking for when you preflight the wheel? (He seemed unhappy with my answer of tread depth, proper inflation, and wheel nuts being secure, though he didn't elaborate)
• Show me the different components of the brake system and explain how they work
• Where are the brake pads and how many are there?
• What do you look for on the wheels?
• What is this belt and how does it work? (alternator belt)
• What do you look for on the ailerons and elevator?
• What is that antenna? (ELT)
• How many fuel vents does this aircraft have?
• How many fuel sumps and where are they located?
• What is that? (pointing to flywheel)
• What is that? (cover for external power input)

Flight Portion:

Before the flight, he made it clear that I was PIC and could do whatever I deemed necessary to get set up for maneuvers. However, he would definitely let me know if he thought I was taking too long. I tried to balance taking my time when needed while being respectful of his time. He might seem annoyed but he will allow necessary setup time.

During taxi and in the traffic pattern, he asked pop-up questions. For example, he asked how to position the controls for wind correction and what different signs on the airfield meant. He wants to see that you're making basic standard radio calls. Light gun signals were briefed during the oral.

Takeoffs and Landings: We followed the ACS for all maneuvers. This examiner is very cut and dry about standards. We did normal takeoffs and landings, soft field takeoff and landing, short field takeoff and landing, and power-off 180 accuracy approach. The power-off 180 was critical and needed to be precise.

Performance Maneuvers: We followed ACS standards precisely. For steep turns, he watched altitude and bank angle carefully. For chandelles, he really wanted me to look out the windows and not at instruments at all. If I needed to glance at instruments, he wanted me to verbalize that I was looking out. We also did lazy eights and eights on pylons.

Navigation: He told me we would fly to my first two points on the navlog to show I knew how to navigate using VORs. Then we would proceed to an airport for landings. He definitely took me to an uncontrolled airport to make sure I knew how to figure out pattern direction, how to enter, and how to make proper calls. He allows and encourages use of the EFB during flight. For diversions, he said not to make things hard and just use the plotter on ForeFlight unless he specifically asks you not to.

Slow Flight and Stalls: Everything to ACS standards. He had me do full 360-degree turns in slow flight while both climbing and descending. Power-off stalls were done in a 15-degree bank to the full break. Spin awareness was briefed during the oral portion.

Emergency Operations: He really liked how fast I pulled out my checklist and started using it. He asked about the flotation device and survival gear, and how the ELT works and can be activated. For the emergency descent, he gave a cabin fire scenario. Once I established the descent airspeed, he gave me a destination to head toward.

[Content continues with detailed navigation procedures, slow flight techniques, stall demonstrations, and complete maneuver standards. Full gouge includes specific examiner expectations and performance tips.]

[Additional sections cover traffic pattern operations, radio communications, landing techniques, and post-flight procedures with examiner feedback.]