Jose Moreno DPE Checkride Gouges
Designated Pilot Examiner • (Jose Jesus Moreno)
Preparing for an FAA checkride with Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) Jose Moreno? GougeHub has 2 first-hand Jose Moreno checkride gouge reports from pilots who tested. Review oral exam questions, flight test patterns, and examiner insights for CPL and PPL checkrides.
↓ View 2 available gouge reportsJose Moreno comes across as a fair examiner who knows his material well. Two reports are on file, one from a commercial applicant and one from a private applicant. Both describe strict attention to systems and briefings. The common thread is simple: be well read on the ground and fly safely.
For the oral, study aerodynamics, systems, airspace, and symbology. Read your aircraft limitations and know them by heart. Go through your POH yourself instead of relying on what your instructor told you. Have your passenger briefing memorized. Do a taxi briefing every time you taxi.
The flight starts with your cross-country toward your top of climb. He will ask how you know your position without GPS. Have an ETE and ETA ready for each waypoint. Then expect an engine fire scenario, so verify your checklist flow against the actual checklist. The private accounts also describe surprise emergency descents during cross-country legs.
From there you will track the Paradise VOR, then fly unusual attitudes and slow flight. You then head to the lake for maneuvers. Do your clearing turns and keep your radio calls precise. He is not chasing perfection on maneuvers. If you bust a standard, call it out and correct for it.
Back at the airport you fly three landings and a power off 180. If a landing looks unsafe or you will miss your point, go around. He wants to see that decision. He is looking for safe pilots who are knowledgeable, not flawless robots. Make your ground solid and your flying safe, and you will do fine.
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
- CPL (Commercial Pilot)
- PPL (Private Pilot)
FAA Designee Information
FAA Oversight Office: Delegation And Resource Branch, Afg-970
Status: Active Designee
- Private Pilot Examiner: Airplane Single Engine Land, Airplane Multi-Engine Land
- Commercial & Instrument Rating Examiner: Airplane Single Engine Land, Airplane Multi-Engine Land
- Flight Instructor Examiner: Airplane Single Engine, Airplane Multi-Engine
- Flight Proficiency Examiner
- Military Competency Examiner
- Ground Instructor Examiner
- Flight Instructor Rating Examiner
- ACR: FIRC
- Balloon Airman Examiner
Source: FAA Designee Management System · Verify on FAA.gov →
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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.