Juan Rivera DPE Checkride Gouges

Juan Rivera examines out of KGPM and has a strong personality you should expect going in. He is quirky and opinionated, and applicants found him hard to understand at times. He gets frustrated when you do not follow his questions, so listen closely and ask for clarity. He lectures a lot and shares his instructing experience with younger pilots. He will not fail you over a few wrong answers, so stay calm under his style.

On the CFI ground, he drilled the fundamentals of instruction hard. He asks from a list of about 40 FOI questions and hit one applicant with roughly 15 of them. He asked the first thing an instructor must gain, which is trust. He wanted the seven parts of a lesson plan and the steps in the teaching process. He likes the AAVIATE mnemonic for airworthiness and prefers annual inspection first.

The commercial oral leaned heavily on regulations and required equipment. He uses ATOMATOFLAMES, FLAPS, and GRABCARD for day, night, and IFR equipment. He also tells applicants to check the KOEL for their specific aircraft. He covered wake turbulence, including how wingtip vortices form and their sink rate near 500 feet per minute. He wants you to stay above the flight path of heavier aircraft.

He pushed inspections and logbook records using the AVIATES mnemonic, then looked at the actual logbooks. He asked for the regulations behind logbook endorsements, the pilot certificate, and the medical. He cited practical test prerequisites under part 61 and the knowledge and proficiency sections. He also covered the types of NOTAMs, including FDC, D, pointer, and military.

Weather scrubbed the flight portion for the CFI applicant, who planned to return within a week or two. If you train at Spartan Flight Academy, formerly Aviation Air, ask Peirce, Ryne, or Matt about the flight.