Lesson 36-37: Final practice sessions!

Today and Wednesday the 11th were my last practice days before my stage three check ride! I put myself through soft and short field take-off and landings, steep turns, cross wind take-off and landings, stall work, cross country and deviation practice. I chose to go to ESN for my check point work and then deviated towards GED. I deviated from GED back to W29 as I was making my check points on time and with great accuracy.

These two days I also worked on my reaction timing based on the results of my stage two check. I was feeling confident and scheduled my stage three check ride with an FAA examiner. I was prepped that I would have a few hours on the ground covering all the knowledge I should have gained throughout my training. If that went well, we would head for the practical portion of my exam. I made sure to brush up on my maintenance records as I felt that I was rusty on some of the terminology, time frames of inspections, etc. so I made sure to review that with my instructor beforehand.

After topping off the tanks, I quietly and calmly pulled my Sky Arrow back to be tied down in front of Chesapeake Sport Pilot. I felt very proud of how far I had come and all that I had learned. I was also nervous about proving I could handle all that I should know in front of the FAA examiner. After packing up the Sky Arrow, I walked into the CSP office. I talked with a veteran pilot about my upcoming check ride and how nervous I was. He reminded me that I should have a healthy respect of fear and should be aware of my abilities, though if I am nervous because I am uncertain, then I should speak up now and ask for help and to certainly postpone my check ride. I knew I was confident and only nervous about the situation of performing well for the FAA examiner. Dan agreed, we shook hands and I left CSP for the last time as a student pilot.