Scott Worthington DPE Checkride Gouges

Scott Worthington worked for the FAA for a few decades before becoming a DPE in the San Diego area. He took the job to help with the local examiner shortage. He charges the going rate for the initial checkride, then 100 dollars per hour for any rechecks. On the commercial rides he assigned a cross country plan ahead of time, such as KCRQ to KHND, with a full weight and balance that includes his weight, yours, the flight bags, and fuel.

The oral runs deep on aircraft documents, maintenance logs, and inspection intervals. One commercial applicant got asked how long each inspection is good for and what is needed to fly that day. Scott covers commercial privileges and limitations, the difference between common and private carriage, and medical durations. He digs into placards, asking whether you are legal with a missing fuel placard and where the required placards are listed. The answer lives in the POH Section 2 Limitations. He also covers inoperative equipment flow, the KOEL, and preventative maintenance under Part 43.

Weather is a heavy focus. Be ready to read a PIREP, TAF, and METAR and state their valid times when he asks at random. Know cold, warm, occluded, and stationary fronts and their weather. Know how highs and lows move, what AO2 means, and how to decode SLP, where SLP162 reads as 1016.2 millibars.

For planning, he likes to see written calculations on paper alongside any app. One applicant got an overweight scenario requiring a passenger to stay home. He then asked for time, distance, and fuel climbing from 6500 to 10,500 feet at 28 degrees above standard, interpolating every POH line. He used a paper sectional to quiz airspace and cloud clearance at given points and altitudes.

On the IFR ride, expect a standard loop with clear expectations. Know your weather products and do not bust minimums. Scott is flexible on scheduling and will start the oral while waiting for fog to clear.