Michael Phillips DPE Checkride Gouges

Oral Emphasis

Pilots report the oral can be short, especially for retests, but Phillips is thorough on preparation and documentation. Key areas include:

• Cross-country flight briefing — expect to discuss pilotage and dead reckoning in detail.
• He wants exact, confident answers and expects your paperwork and documents to be organized before you sit down.
• He'll brief you clearly on what's coming: which stalls will be to first indication vs. full break, and how scenarios and questions will be presented in the air.

Common Questions

Phillips uses a layered approach during the flight rather than a long oral grilling on the ground:

• He issues "questions" in flight and expects answers within a reasonable timeframe, workload permitting.
• Questions are tied to the scenario or maneuver at hand — they're practical, not trivia.
• On the ground, he may let you choose between maneuver options (e.g., chandelles or lazy eights, steep turns or steep spirals), so be comfortable with all of them.

Practical Focus

The flight portion is scenario-driven from the moment you leave the pattern. Highlights from pilot reports:

• Departs Glendale and follows your XC navlog. At or near your first checkpoint, expect an immediate diversion scenario (e.g., divert to a nearby airport to pick something up, then continue to original destination).
• Maneuver sequence reported: slow flight transitioning into power-off stall, chandelles, power-on stalls, steep turns, accelerated stalls — flowed together efficiently.
• An emergency scenario is given in flight (e.g., engine fire requiring an emergency descent). He explicitly briefs that you should not cut the mixture or turn off the fuel selector during simulated emergencies.
• Eights on pylons were performed near the glider port area after the emergency descent.
• Altitude restrictions were issued for the return to Glendale (e.g., maintain at or below 3,000).
• Power-off 180 was the final maneuver — be prepared to evaluate and execute a go-around if ATC changes your expected landing clearance.
• Luke Approach was contacted for navigation within the SATR, so be ready for ATC communication in that airspace.

Examiner Style

• Phillips is direct, structured, and genuinely wants you to succeed. Pilots describe him as fair and honest — no trick questions or gotcha moments.
• He tests strictly by the ACS but doesn't go beyond it. If it's in the ACS, know it; if it's not, don't stress it.
• Expect aggressive but supportive coaching — he'll push you with scenarios and rapid-fire questions, but it's to evaluate your decision-making, not to rattle you.
• He clearly briefs everything beforehand so you know what to expect, which pilots appreciated.
• Gives you a pin when you pass — a small but memorable touch.

What Surprised Pilots

• The immediate diversion scenario right at the first checkpoint — it comes fast, so have your diversion planning skills sharp and your GPS flow ready.
• The explicit briefing about not touching the mixture or fuel selector during simulated emergencies — suggests someone may have actually done this in the past. Take the brief seriously.
• Being given a choice between certain maneuvers (chandelles vs. lazy eights, steep turns vs. steep spirals) was unexpected — but don't assume you'll get the easier option. Be proficient in all of them.
• The checkride flowed efficiently and logically — pilots noted it felt like a real-world flight with tasks layered in, not a disconnected checklist of maneuvers.