Final Review

This flight was actually split into two different flights because we weren't able to finish everything on the first day.

The first flight was a short cross country to Elkins airport. Because the DPE lives in Elkins, it is most likely that I will have to fly down and do my checkride there. So I took this flight to go to Elkins and practice there in order to get a feel for the airport.

Elkins airport is really cool and is nestled in a large valley between two large mountain ranges. Unfortunately, the airport it self is surrounded by smaller hills that psych me out and make me want to fly in high on approach. I have to convince myself that it's okay to fly really close to the mountains on final.



My biggest problem during this flight was the ten knot crosswinds. They made it very difficult to practice short and soft field landings. I only really got one landing at Elkins and then I had to go around twice because I kept coming in too high. This was due to many factors: the mountains, the wind, I was in a different plane than usual, and being unfamiliar with this airport.

After awhile, we decided to practice those another day and headed out back towards Clarksburg. Along the way, my instructor said to go into slow flight, and I did. He then informed me that I would have failed my checkride. I had forgotten to do clearing turns. My instructor said that the DPE will try to trick me this way on my actual checkride and that I cannot forget the clearing turns.

The next flight the following day was with calm winds and very high ceilings, which makes for perfect flying weather. The air was nice and smooth. This time around, I remembered my clearing turns. I practiced stalls, steep turns, slow flight, short and soft field landings and takeoffs, and ground reference maneuvers.

Those were my very last flights with my instructor before my checkride. All I have left to do is my Final Stage Check with the chief flight instructor at the school. He will determine if I am ready, and the I will go take my checkride. I'm very, very nervous.