Michelle Patrina DPE Checkride Gouges

Oral Emphasis

Michelle works through the ACS or PTS line by line, asking one or two questions per item. She hits the standards hard on aircraft systems, regulations, and weather. Across multiple checkride levels, these topics came up repeatedly:

• Aircraft knowledge: Oil type and weight (know the exact grade — e.g., 25w60 — not just "ashless dispersant"), minimum oil quantity, alternator/battery failure scenarios, and SAM battery specifics (Cirrus applicants).
• Regulations: Medical certificates and expirations, BasicMed limitations, common carriage vs. private carriage (scenario-based), Part 135 vs. 121 differences, currency vs. proficiency, high-altitude endorsements, and type ratings.
• Weather: Cloud clearance minimums asked randomly throughout the oral, and she expects you to have called a weather briefer before arriving — know the correct order of information to give the briefer.
• Weight and balance: She'll ask scenario questions — can you add a passenger and their luggage, do you need a fuel stop, and how does loading affect CG? She prefers the answer of a fuel stop over departing with partial fuel.
• Endorsements and paperwork: She inspects every endorsement carefully. Spell out "Airplane Single Engine Land" — do not abbreviate as ASEL. She also reviews airworthiness certificates, registration, and maintenance inspection records before the oral even begins.
• Flight planning: She scrutinizes your navigation log and expects waypoints to be labeled with recognizable landmarks, not raw latitude/longitude coordinates from ForeFlight.

Common Questions

Pilots reported a mix of direct-knowledge and scenario-based questions. Her style is to work through each ACS/PTS section and ask whether you're within standards before moving on. Common formats include:

• Scenario-based endorsement exercises — she gives you a pilot profile (e.g., a helicopter-rated pilot wanting an airplane add-on, or a private helicopter pilot seeking a commercial airplane certificate) and asks what written tests, flight hours, and endorsements are needed. Don't forget solo endorsements for a different category.
• "What if" equipment failure scenarios — alternator failure, both alternator and battery failure, how long batteries last.
• Random cloud clearance and weather minimums questions woven into other topics.
• Questions drawn from missed knowledge test codes — if your written scores are high, she may skip these or let you choose your teaching topics (CFI rides).
• Performance data walkthrough — she wants you to show how you derived numbers from the POH, not just present the final answer.

Practical Focus

On the flight portion, Michelle briefs all maneuvers and their standards on the ground before you fly. Across ratings, pilots noted:

• PPL: She may offer you the choice to start with landings or depart for maneuvers first. Landings include short field and normal. The cross-country flight plan is followed for several waypoints before transitioning to instrument work (foggles), then maneuvers, emergency scenarios, and return to the airport. Flights ran approximately 1.5 hours.
• CFI: A typical sequence included a short-field takeoff, short-field landing on the 1000-foot markers, then departure to a practice area for chandelles, steep turns (she flies while you teach and correct verbally — no touching the controls), power-off stalls into secondary stalls (she wants gentle inputs on the upset recovery push), eights on pylons with emphasis on picking easily visible reference points, and S-turns where she flies and you talk her through it. Simulated engine-failure emergencies use the ABCDE method, briefed on the ground beforehand — she expects you to monitor instruments, verify best glide, and always have a backup landing spot.
• General: She wants maneuvers done over a safe, recognizable area (green fields, not over hazards), and she emphasizes proper foot positioning during taxi and no riding the brakes.

Examiner Style

Michelle is generally described as fair, organized, and clear about expectations. She rewards preparation — if you arrive with annotated ACS/PTS documents, a printed personal minimums sheet, a plan of action tied to your missed knowledge test codes, and a binder of aircraft documents (including photos of placards), the ride tends to go smoothly and her demeanor stays relaxed and encouraging. She has brought donuts to checkrides and takes breaks to make sure applicants stay fed and hydrated.

However, multiple pilots noted she can shift tone quickly if she encounters disorganization, missing paperwork, or incorrect answers on topics she considers fundamental (like oil type). She uses written test scores to calibrate difficulty — high scores earn a lighter touch; lower scores mean deeper questioning. She expects the IACRA 8710 form submitted at least two days before the checkride. She prefers paper logbooks or, at minimum, a clean printed version of digital logs.

The overall pace is methodical. Ground portions typically run 2–4 hours (longer for CFI rides, which can reach 9 hours total). She lets applicants set the pace on some sections and gives breaks, but she is thorough and will not rush through items.

What Surprised Pilots

• The oil question: Multiple pilots across different ratings were caught off guard by how seriously she takes knowing the exact oil grade for your aircraft. One PPL applicant was made to retrieve a quart of oil from the ramp and write the weight on a whiteboard five times — and was told it would have been an automatic failure if the rest of the oral hadn't been going well.
• Endorsement formatting: She will not accept abbreviations in endorsements. "ASEL" must be written out as "Airplane Single Engine Land." This tripped up multiple applicants.
• ForeFlight waypoint formatting: One commercial applicant was told their nav log waypoints — generated as lat/long coordinates by ForeFlight — were unacceptable, even with a separate page translating them to landmarks.
• She calibrates to your preparation: Pilots who showed up with annotated standards documents, organized binders, and high written test scores consistently reported a more relaxed experience. Those who were less polished described a noticeably tougher ride.
• Professionalism standards extend to the ramp: One CFI applicant reported friction over footwear (open-toed sandals on the ramp), harness wear, and deviations from briefed sequences during the flight. Applicants should be ready to assert safety standards diplomatically.