Taylor Deley DPE Checkride Gouges
Designated Pilot Examiner
Preparing for an FAA checkride with Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) Taylor Deley? GougeHub has 2 first-hand Taylor Deley checkride gouge reports from pilots who tested. Review oral exam questions, flight test patterns, and examiner insights for CPL and PPL checkrides.
↓ View 2 available gouge reportsTaylor Deley is a current American Airlines 737 pilot based at LAX, and he has been flying since he was a kid at AJO. As of this writing, only one report sits on file for him, and it covers a commercial checkride. The pilot noted that he only does PPL through CPL. He came across as a great guy who puts you at ease, so don't get in your own head.
The ground runs through the ACS line by line. He is very thorough with the logbook, so have all your requirements ready, especially cross country PIC time. He builds a cross country scenario, so prep a paper NavLog and VFR sectionals and keep ForeFlight as backup. Be able to explain why you got your answers. He also asked about taking money on a flight, airspace, basic systems, currency, and how to get a type rating.
The flight starts at KAJO with a short field takeoff and landing, so practice the POH short field checklist if you fly the 172. He had the pilot do a soft field takeoff, a power off 180, and a normal takeoff. Then the cross country scenario begins, and you start the clock on the climb.
He points you toward Lake Mathews for maneuvers. Expect stalls to first indication only, steep turns, a chandelle, an emergency descent for an engine fire, and an emergency landing into the flat fields. For eights on pylons, use the tip of the jutland on the southwest end and the pier on the northwest end as your points. The route includes a soft field landing at KRAL, then a normal takeoff and landing back at KAJO.
The pilot failed early on the power off 180, then passed a quick, smoother recheck. If you do not know an answer, know exactly where to find it in your pubs.
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:
“Walk me through your weight and balance calculation for today’s flight.”
⚠ Common Pitfall: Using ForeFlight or another EFB isn’t wrong, but you must understand how it calculates W&B. If you can’t show the examiner that the EFB uses the latest weight-and-balance record and follows the POH procedure, it’s better to use a paper log.
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
- CPL (Commercial Pilot)
- PPL (Private Pilot)
FAA Designee Information
FAA Oversight Office: Delegation And Resource Branch, Afg-970
Status: Active Designee
- Flight Instructor Examiner: Airplane Single Engine
- Private Pilot Examiner: Airplane Single Engine Land, Airplane Multi-Engine Land
- Commercial & Instrument Rating Examiner: Airplane Single Engine Land, Airplane Multi-Engine Land
- Flight Proficiency Examiner
- Military Competency Examiner
- Flight Instructor Rating Examiner
Source: FAA Designee Management System · Verify on FAA.gov →
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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.