dave culbreath

it’s official - i’m now a faa licensed private pilot!

i took my oral exam and checkride today at murfreesboro and i must say, i’m very pumped!! you can browse back all through my flight training (and misc. comments about flying) and see that this has been a awesome adventure.

it wasn’t as bad (the oral & checkride) as i thought it would be… probably because von has me as prepared as i could possibly be for this. talk about an awesome flight instructor!!

i’ve flown with several different instructors - and i’m very thankful to have learned from von. he’s very passionate about flight & has an awesome ability to convey that passion through his instruction. i’m thankful for my excellent instruction, but i’m even more thankful for my newfound friendship. i’ve got a ways to go in my career, but i he’s helped get off to a great start. if your looking for a flight instructor in middle tennessee or a nashville flight instructor, you need to call von. contact me and i’ll get you the info you need.

the oral exam:

i planned, per the examiners request, a cross country flight to huntsville, gathered all my other documentation and headed to the ‘boro. he met me as i stepped out of the plane and we headed inside for the oral exam.

i was most concerned about this aspect of the whole thing… there’s just so much information to know, i didn’t feel prepared (even though i was) and as a result, i was a tad bit nervous. this was evident in my first few answers, but i finally relaxed and knocked it out. questions ranged from airspace, to flight planning, to weight and balance, to cg senarios, and currency.

no one can know everything. if you’re getting ready to knock out your oral exam, just be sure to have a current far/aim & aircraft poh handy (and know your way around them) and you’ll be fine… i’m proof : )

like von said, it’s not that bad.

on to the practical stuff:

we departed mbt and i headed to my first checkpoint, an intersection that was very easy to find, and started on my course. weather was pretty good, visibility was not bad, i had no trouble finding my next checkpoint. after reaching that (my second) checkpoint, i was asked to divert to syi and navigate there using the vor. no problem at all (even though the vor is on the field) - tuned it in and flew right towards it.

i’ve been to syi three times. everytime, i’ve been the only plane in the area. not today! (of course)

there were 3 aircraft inbound from 3 different directions, not including us. so, instead of crossing midfield and entering the pattern, like i was set up to do, i continued south until i had the other traffic insight, then entered the downwind. i performed a soft-field landing (full stop), as requested, then immediately performed the soft-field takeoff he asked for. both were very good - if i must say so myself. i then headed around the pattern again for a full stop, normal landing. we taxied back and set up for a short-field takeoff. at this point, i startled the crap out of the examiner. i was so concerned with the traffic in the area and doing everything exactly right, that i forgot the ‘brake stand’ aspect of the maneuver… and rolled forward a few feet before stating out loud something to the effect of “Woooo!”. at this point, he leaned forward (very rapidly) and his hands instinctively jumped up to take the controls… before he realized, and i clarified, what i had done. i then performed a short-field takeoff correctly : )

as we were heading around the pattern, so i could do a short-field landing for him, an aircraft on an instrument approach called their position on a 3 mile final. upon hearing this, the examiner asked me to proceed to the north and climb to 025. upon reaching the request altitude, he asked me to enter slow flight. i set up, held my airspeed and altitude, made the requested turn perfectly and was ready for more (i like that stuff) - but he must have seen enough cause he asked for a power off stall. did it, recovered. power on stall, no problem - knocked them both out.

at this point, he asked me to pull the throttle to idle and setup for an emergency landing. i hit my best glide speed, trimmed it out, and found my field… there was a great one at my 10 o’clock that i headed for. i was high for that field, but it was perfect, so i successfully slipped to land. he indicated his approval and asked me to recover, maintain a heading of north and take us back to mbt.

we got there, entered the traffic pattern, and i performed a short-field landing for him - pretty well i might add. he asked me to taxi back, and didn’t say much else…

i knew i had passed, but i didn’t get excited until he started talking about the temporary certificate he was going to type up for me. i got it and headed back to m33 as one happy new private pilot!