Michael Gwinn DPE Checkride Gouges
Designated Pilot Examiner
Preparing for an FAA checkride with Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) Michael Gwinn? GougeHub has a first-hand Michael Gwinn 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 Michael Gwinn, and it comes from a private pilot applicant. The theme is clear from the start. Mike cares about your written score. If you scored less than a 90, expect him to grill you on the weak spots. Come in ready to back up whatever the test says.
On the oral, know your six pack instruments and how to explain them. The applicant impressed him by naming what all the different colored arcs on the airspeed indicator mean. He is used to testing Liberty students who fly the G1000, and many of them cannot answer that, which surprises him. If you fly steam gauges, use that to your advantage. The report does not mention him digging deep into weather or weight and balance.
Your cross country planning matters, and he watches your waypoint choices. The applicant picked landmarks that were hard to spot from the ground, and Mike called it out. Pick clear features like road intersections, rivers, and lakes instead. He turned the mistake into a teaching moment and let it slide, but plan yours right the first time.
The flight covered steep turns, turns around a point, and a power on stall. It also included soft field and short field landings plus a slip to land. He is very big on the slip to land, so practice it until it is smooth. Expect a full workout of ground reference and landing tasks.
The applicant found him very fair and would happily fly other rides with him if possible. He wants the checkride to be an exam and a lesson at the same time. Show up prepared, explain your thinking, and treat his corrections as free instruction. Good luck.
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:
“What weather briefing did you get for today’s flight, and how did you get it?”
⚠ Common Pitfall: ForeFlight and other EFBs can count as a standard brief, but they must meet 91.103. See AC 91-92 for what belongs in a standard brief. ForeFlight keeps a record of your briefing for 120 days — not required, but useful to prove you were briefed if it’s ever questioned.
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)
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.