It’s completely normal to feel a case of the nerves or jitters as the day of the checkride approaches. Here are my “Top 10” suggestions for managing those concerns.
- Relax. Although it’s difficult, consciously controlling your breathing and thinking calm and peaceful thoughts will go a long way towards those final weeks, days, and hours leading up to your checkride.
- Envision a positive outcome. Your flight instructor signed you off for the checkride; chances are, you’re ready, and the checkride is merely a formality to make sure it’s so.
- Remember: your examiner wants you to succeed. Expect your checkride to be thorough, but fair. Although examiners are impartial, we’d much rather see you succeed than fail.
- Know the ACS/PTS. The Airman Certification Standards and Practical Test Standards are the documents by which practical tests are conducted. There’s no need to wonder what the test will be like; it’s all spelled out in black and white.
- Perfection is not required. All humans make mistakes; the chance of perfection on a practical test is zero. If you don’t know the answer to a question, know where to look it up and offer to do so. If you find yourself drifting out of standards on a maneuver, verbally identify the deviance while applying a correction.
- Keep the answers simple. Remind yourself that simple questions deserve simple answers. As you prepare for your oral exam, practice providing simple and concise answers to questions.
- Don’t cram. The night before your scheduled practical test, you should be done studying and doing your best to let your mind relax and recuperate. The time to “study hard” is during the weeks prior to the checkride, not the night prior.
- Quiet confidence goes a long way. When you take an FAA practical test, you are being evaluated on your Pilot in Command authority and Aeronautical Decision Making. A quiet sense of confidence will do wonders. You made it this far; believe in yourself.
- Be honest about your strengths and weaknesses. As the big day approaches, spend more time on the areas in which you know you could use improvement.
- Have fun. This is your moment. Enjoy it!
Safe Flights!
-Ryan
