Steve Buckenroth DPE Checkride Gouges

As of this writing, only one report sits on file for Steve Buckenroth, and it comes from a CFI applicant. The oral leaned heavily into aerodynamics, so build your study around that. Steve opened with practical ground awareness, asking what you watch for while taxiing. The answer covers ramp traffic like other airplanes, people, animals, fuel trucks, and vehicles. During taxi, he wants the diagram, known hot spots, and areas of runway and taxiway confusion.

From there the questions go deep on lift and pressure. Be ready to state the two theories of lift, meaning Newton's third law and Bernoulli's principle of differential pressure. Steve asked for the definition of pressure as force per unit area applied perpendicular. He covered pressure altitude and standard values of 29.92 and 15 Celsius. Know both ways to find pressure altitude and the standard temperature lapse rate.

Density altitude got real attention, including how it cuts power, thrust, and lift in thin air. Steve also asked whether temperature or pressure affects performance more, and the answer is pressure. Expect the chord line, angle of attack, and the critical angle near 16 to 20 degrees. He asked when the stall horn sounds, roughly 5 to 10 knots above stall speed.

Know your aircraft well, since the report names the DA-20 and DA-40 directly. Have Vr, Vx, Vy, and stall speeds ready to recite. Steve asked how an airplane turns, looking for the horizontal component of lift. He went into the anti-servo tab on a stabilator, its movement, and how it reduces pitch sensitivity. Flap types came up too: plain, split, slotted, fowler, and slotted fowler.

Spins closed out the recorded portion. Steve wanted the definition, the four stages, and the recovery. Entry and incipient phases were the focus the applicant captured. Study these areas cold and you will track with how Steve runs his oral.