Tony Gallegos DPE Checkride Gouges
Designated Pilot Examiner • (Anthony Manuel Gallegos)
Preparing for an FAA checkride with Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) Tony Gallegos? GougeHub has 2 first-hand Tony Gallegos checkride gouge reports from pilots who tested. Review oral exam questions, flight test patterns, and examiner insights for IFR and PPL checkrides.
↓ View 2 available gouge reportsTony Gallegos is an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner with two reports on file, one for the private and one for the instrument rating. The instrument report gives the most detail, so most of this brief comes from that ride. The applicant set up for a 7:00AM start, and Tony arrived early despite warnings he tends to run late. Document review and the fee took about thirty minutes, then the oral began.
The instrument oral ran about two hours. He opened with the privileges of an instrument pilot, then how you stay current under 6HITS. He asked when an IFR flight plan is required, how you file one, and how you set equipment codes in the plan. He covered the documents the pilot needs and the documents the aircraft needs under ARROW.
Equipment for IFR flight got real attention. The applicant listed Day and Night VFR gear under ATOMATOFLAMES and FLAPS without naming each item, then listed GRABCARD individually. He also wanted equipment required for the planned routing and approaches. He expected the KOEL items to work and any IFR-related ADs to be addressed.
Planning ran on a real route, KISM to KCRG. He asked how the applicant picked routing and altitude, starting with IFR preferred routes, then the ForeFlight planner and magnetic course. The weight and balance scenario was the sticking point. The load was too heavy for one trip with all the people and baggage. Weather forced an alternate, so fuel for destination plus alternate plus forty five minutes meant a refuel stop or leaving the bags.
He asked bluntly whether the bags were coming, and accepted no as the answer. He also asked when an alternate is required. Come ready to defend your numbers and make a clear go or no-go call.
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
- IFR (Instrument Rating)
- PPL (Private Pilot)
FAA Designee Information
FAA Oversight Office: Delegation And Resource Branch, Afg-970
Status: Active Designee
- Flight Instructor Examiner: Airplane Single Engine, Airplane Multi-Engine, Glider
- Flight Instructor Examiner — Instrument: Airplane Single Engine, Airplane Multi-Engine
- Private Pilot Examiner: Airplane Single Engine Land, Airplane Multi-Engine Land, Glider
- Commercial & Instrument Rating Examiner: Airplane Single Engine Land, Airplane Multi-Engine Land
- CE: Glider
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.