Mark Montague DPE Checkride Gouges
Designated Pilot Examiner • (Mark William Montague)
Preparing for an FAA checkride with Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) Mark Montague? GougeHub has a first-hand Mark Montague checkride gouge report from a pilot who tested. Read oral exam questions, flight test patterns, and examiner insights.
↓ View 1 available gouge reportAs of this writing, only one report is on file for Mark Montague, and it comes from a PPL referral ride. That single account points to a clear set of priorities. The pilot reported a mix of oral questions and practical maneuvers, so come ready for both halves of the day.
On the oral side, control surfaces stood out. Know each one and what it does. Be ready to explain how ailerons, elevator, and rudder move the airplane on each axis. The examiner expects a solid grasp here, not a memorized line.
Weather acronyms were another focus of the oral. Study the common ones you use to read briefings and reports. Practice saying what each letter stands for and how the data shapes a go or no-go call.
Working with ATC came up as a real emphasis area too. Be ready to talk through how you communicate with controllers and follow their instructions. Know your radio work and how you fit into the system as a private pilot.
The practical maneuvers were not spelled out in detail in this report, so plan to be sharp on the full PPL ACS task list. The pilot framed this as a referral ride, which means you should treat every standard as fair game. Bring your knowledge of control surfaces, your weather acronyms, and your ATC habits to the flight, since those three threads run through the whole account. One report is a thin record, so add yours after you fly to help the next applicant.
Examiner Patterns
Preliminary insight — based on 1 report
- Oral style: 1 pilot reported the examiner kept the oral conversational
Based on self-reported pilot submissions. Data methodology
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:
“Explain how you would read this METAR. (Examiner presents a sample METAR.)”
📋 Examiner Insight: A very common question — almost every examiner asks it.
⚠ Common Pitfall: They may ask you to decode the trailing digits of an AWOS group like T00640036. That’s tricky — it isn’t under METAR decoding in AIM 7-1-28. It lives in a separate section, AIM 7-1-10, Figure 7-1-9 (ASOS/AWOS Decode) — the only place you’ll find it.
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: Reno FSDO
Status: Active Designee
- Private Pilot Examiner: Airplane Single Engine Land, Glider
- Commercial & Instrument Rating Examiner: Airplane Single Engine Land
- CE: Glider
- Flight Instructor Examiner: Glider
- Flight Instructor Examiner — Instrument: Glider
Source: FAA Designee Management System · Verify on FAA.gov →
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.