Joseph Lawrence Kinzer DPE Checkride Gouges
Designated Pilot Examiner
Preparing for an FAA checkride with Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) Joseph Lawrence Kinzer? GougeHub has 2 first-hand Joseph Lawrence Kinzer checkride gouge reports from pilots who tested. Review oral exam questions, flight test patterns, and examiner insights for PPL checkrides.
↓ View 2 available gouge reportsJoe Kinzer starts the morning by checking that you and the aircraft are qualified. He asks for your ID, student pilot certificate, and medical, then confirms your IACRA is recent. One applicant noted that Joe mentioned hoping the endorsements were current, but he did not page through the logbook to verify them. He went through the aircraft maintenance logbook to confirm the ADs, 100 hour, and annual.
The same report noted that Joe did not check the ELT, altimeter, static system, or transponder inspections. He also did not ask questions about inspection requirements during this exam. He laid out the three checkride outcomes early: satisfactory, unsatisfactory, or discontinuance. The bowling comparison was his way of calming the air before the oral.
The oral leaned hard on the cross country scenario he assigned ahead of time, from 05C to KPIA and on to KPWK. Joe looked at the course drawn on the sectional and asked about course versus wind correction. He pressed on magnetic variation and isogonic lines, plus compass deviation from on board instrument interference.
Most of his attention went to the second leg from KPIA to KPWK. He asked about the planned route and altitude around the KORD Bravo airspace and the delta airspace at KARR and KDPA. The applicant planned to change altitude inside the lateral Bravo boundaries to avoid asking for clearance in busy airspace. Joe asked him to confirm the Bravo shelf altitudes if flying beneath them.
Joe noticed the navlog was highlighted at the points where altitude would change and called that a good idea. As of this writing, two reports are on file for this examiner, and this profile rests on what they show. Add yours after you fly with him so the next applicant walks in better prepared.
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:
“When does your medical certificate expire, and what class do you hold?”
📋 Examiner Insight: A guaranteed question — and examiners have been digging into BasicMed lately, so know that too.
⚠ Common Pitfall: First- and second-class certificates do not lapse into a third-class certificate — their privileges lapse to second and then third class. A first-class certificate that is 59 calendar months old is still a first-class certificate, but its privileges have stepped down to third class, which is valid for private-pilot use.
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
- PPL (Private Pilot)
FAA Designee Information
FAA Oversight Office: Greater Chicago FSDO
Status: Active Designee
- Private Pilot Examiner: Airplane Multi-Engine Land, Airplane Single Engine Land
- Commercial & Instrument Rating Examiner: Airplane Multi-Engine Land, Airplane Single Engine Land
- Flight Proficiency Examiner
- Military Competency Examiner
- Ground Instructor Examiner
- Flight Instructor Rating Examiner
- Balloon Airman Examiner
Source: FAA Designee Management System · Verify on FAA.gov →
Other DPEs in Illinois
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.