I Got My Pilot License

Look out world! I got my Private Pilot License! If you have been reading these blogs of mine you would know that I have been working on my Private Pilot License for many years. About 15 months ago I restarted my efforts to obtain a Private Pilot License and I have worked hard with my mind set to complete this task. As money permitted, and sometimes when money did not permit, I flew and flew and flew. Finally, I was able to take the check ride and passed.

This is a big day for me. One of my dreams has always been to obtain my pilot’s license. I dreamed that I would someday fly among the clouds and watch the world pass by underneath. Many times I thought this dream would never come. But, it did.

I felt prepared for my check ride. If you do not know, a check ride is just like a driving test, except it takes a little longer. I know, many of you went to your DMV and waited HOURS to take your driving test, but I am just thinking about the test itself, not the wait.

A check ride for a Private Pilot License consists of 2 parts. There is an oral exam and a flight test. I was told the oral exam could take up to 2 hours and the flight test the same amount of time. Now there is a third part, which has to be done before the check ride which is the written test. You have to pass the written test before you can schedule your check ride (which I did).

The oral exam is to allow the flight examiner to determine if you have a basic understanding of flight, aeronautical terms, aviation charts, aircraft operations, and have a well rounded understanding of all aspects involving flying. After the examiner is comfortable with the answers given during the oral exam (and the examiner can stop the test and fail the applicant if the examiner feels that you are not ready), you move to the flight test.

The flight test requires a few takeoff and landings plus demonstration of several maneuvers in the air. I was told this portion of the exam could take more that 2 hours. After a couple of takeoff and landings we headed away from the airport and I performed the various tasks presented. I had to do turn to a heading, intersect and track a radial (air navigation), climbs, descends, stalls, slow speed, S-turns, steep turns and a few others. After about an hour away from the airport we returned and did a few more take off and landings. Finally we were done and we landing and started to taxi back to the terminal.

My examiner was very pleasant to talk to and an interesting individual. He always kept me at ease and offered suggestions now and then. When we landed and started to taxi back to the terminal he told me of things I needed to work on. My short field landing was sloppy and I didn’t use the rudders as much as I should have, among other things.

Now here I am, in the pilot seat, taxiing back to the terminal and the examiner is telling me things I need to work on. I was wonder if I failed the test and I was starting to get really worried. Finally, as we parked the plane he said the magic words. He said, “Now, as a Private Pilot, you can practice these things on your own.”

It took a few seconds to sink in. I know I needed to practice these skills that I did not perform well, but didn’t he just say, “Now, as a Private Pilot ...”? I thought about it and thought about it. Finally, an alarm inside my head was going off and my mind was yelling, “I PASSED! I PASSED! I PASSED!” We shutdown the plane and walked into the office. There, we filled out the paperwork then he stood, put out his hand. I stood and shook his hand as he handed me a piece of paper titled, “Temporary Airman Certificate”.

I am officially a Pilot.