As a fellow student pilot myself, I’ve been having trouble with scheduling as well. Between maintenance, my instructors schedule, my schedule, the weather. It can get crazy. Stay strong everyone.
As a newly minted DPE Thanks to all 3 of you for a great informational interview of a Very Humble and Pro pilot. Just remember Perfection is the goal, Standards are.
Bro!! Listening to you, it's literally my story 2 months ago, the only thing I could add was I had 1 week for my written to expire cus I took the test a year before starting training. And due to cancelation 7 times cus of weather we split up the oral and practical to different days, and I also passed. Awesome story
I appreciate him sharing this story! I've wasted a lot of flight hours on an unprofessional, bad CFI. Being late, "scheduling Mix-Ups," tentreating students the way I'm sure he was treated at one of the big churn and burn flight schools. Overall, not preparing students for the check ride or procedures in general. For other student Pilots out there fire your unprofessional instructors fast and move on to somebody who is worth the time and money you are going to put into this. It could literally save your life.
@mh8757 thank you! My flight school is not all bad which is why I didn’t mention them by name and try to bash them. Nobody or school is perfect. That’s why I mentioned regardless of how good or bad your flight school or instructor may be, you should always strive to be better than the level they get you as a pilot! To quote Jason Shappert “A good pilot is ALWAYS learning 😜
@@jacobkopacsi8436 my experience has been amazing so far at my location, I go to the Tucson ATP. I came in prepared with at least the PAR,IRA and CAX written finished and so far I’ve been cruising on through. I truly think that most of the bad reviews are from people that didn’t prepare themselves or simply aren’t TRULY passionate about aviation. If you’re passionate, you’ll do just fine.
Thank you @martystern5643! My intention with sharing was honestly to not just help people avoid failing a checkride for the wrong reasons, but mostly to save lives! If I would have passed, some of these lessons I wouldn’t have learned now which could have killed me and my passengers later!
Im getting close to an instrument check ride. But ive taken a different approach thats not common. I chose to not rush my training. I had no goals of checkride as fast as possible, instead, i chose to fly and train as much as i needed to fly safely and know how to fly my best and be safe. Id rarher have sufficient training than brag because i got my checkride at 40 hrs. I think that sets the stage for failure. So many GA pilots die every year for lots of stupid reasons, i have no intentions of being among that group.
Thank you for sharing your story Brandon! Content like this helps prepare fellow pilots for circumstances like these. This will help to make pilots safer which in turn make the community better!
Great interview with Brandon. Amazing awareness and insight. Thank you for sharing. We can all learn from every experience in life. Go Gators 🐊 🤩 Just found your channel and downloaded the app✈️.
Most flight schools are terrible! The planes are in terrible shape and filthy; many are down due to maintenance issues, and most are over 50 years old. If these planes were cars, they would be sold as junk because not even Carmax would sell them. I visited five schools at two airports in my area, and only one promised a decent airplane (describing it as a 'Ferrari' for a Cirrus SR20-G3) at $300 per hour for the plane and $100 for the instructor. They told me it would cost $30,000 to get a PPL. Other schools couldn't even promise a certain plane like the 172S with G1000, as four out of five were down for repairs and maintenance issues. Do you really want to learn how to fly in a 50-year-old junk with a carburetor? My dad did with the Canadian Air Force, but that was back in the '50s :)
Yep, I just have to deal with it. When I get my PPL, I will get my own airplane that I will take care of it. It may be 50 years old but it will be taken care of.
Brandon it’s been great getting to know you on the private calls. I appreciate the advice you have given me there. I am rooting for you to successfully pass your checkride, but also learned a ton from your struggles. Keep up all of your humble hard work!!!
Kudos for persevering with what sounds like a candidate for Worst Flight School Ever!!! Your Instructors blatant disregard for your time, training and safety is astounding. Sorry that you had this experience - not all flight schools are alike.
@jasonjohnston94 You’re welcome! And you and me both! I definitely don’t plan on failing another one especially like this! Remember you can ALWAYS call it if you’re not feeling it. A paused checkride is different than a failed checkride! Come back when the conditions internal/external are better 😉
This sounds so familiar. It’s why I no longer teach primary. It’s a wonder, with all of the potential roadblocks that we ever get anyone across the finish line. I feel for this guy.
When i did my ppl check ride i had exactly 40 hours passed on my first attempt. Myself and everyone else that did the same had the same issues mentioned here The difference is we didnt see it as an excuse but just a hurdle to overcome. If you let issues encountered slow you down, it will.
I switched schools and I’m glad I did. Mom and pop flight schools are hit and miss. My advice is if you’re going 61 go to a school that has both 141 and 61.
I think the lesson that wasn't mentioned is to drop this terrible flight school long before getting into this situation. If they can't do their job, you can't do yours. Beware a school that doesn't have their act together.
I love the humility and learning attitude, but let's keep in mind, most employers will not consider you if you've failed more than one checkride. Don't do so much learning that you learn yourself out of a career
@danielreuter2565 thanks! I hope you realize though that I don’t recommend intentionally failing check rides so that you can learn more 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I did mean, however, to always look for the lessons in good or bad times as a pilot. I could have not learned what I did if I passed the check ride with flying colors because I knew exactly what the DPE would ask me beforehand. But that success could have got me killed later if I didn’t learn when to cancel a flight if it’s not the best time to fly regardless of who I felt I’d be letting down, or if it was inconvenient to me or others. Yes fellow pilots… PASS, PAUSE, or RESCHEDULE your checkride! DON’T FAIL it if you can help it 💀🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@BrandonKendrick25 of course lol. I just wouldn't want anyone to get the impression that failing a checkride isn't a big deal. It's a huge deal if there's a possibility you might want to become a professional pilot at some point. You don't have much control over running into the wrong dpe on the wrong day who decides to fail you over something minor. Now you need to be extra bullet proof for every future flight test and hope you don't roll snake eyes on the dpe.
@@danielreuter2565 for sure! In my case I may have to rely on my sales skills to get that job if they’re hemming and hawing about this failure🤣🤣 I had a billionaire tell me once that in life you get what you want, you get what you negotiate. So I’ll have to close that employer on hiring me if push comes to shove 😎 I’ll control what I can control 😉
@@BrandonKendrick25 the other thing is that from the way you told the story, the examiner was giving you a chance to discontinue the test when he asked you if you want to continue. The rules state that they have to tell you that are unsatisfactory and end the test as soon as you reach that point. So assuming he wasn't grossly breaking a very clear rule, you could have discontinued even after you were on track to fail. The applicant can discontinue the test at any point PRIOR to being told that they've failed. This is a critical item that it seems like a lot of student pilots don't know.
I’m assuming you went to a part 61, not a 141. Based on what I heard, you would have never passed your final stage check at a legitimate 141. Your flight school and your CFI bear the lions share of the blame here. Like you said, ultimately you’re the PIC. Great video, a lesson in the necessity of maintaining control of your flight training. When I was a police officer, I had a supervisor that taught me that sometimes you gotta put your azzhole hat on to get the job done. Being a type A personality is an excellent trait for a pilot. Good luck….
@Ifly1976 you are correct I did go to a part 61 but if I place the blame on anyone other than myself I would be stunting my growth as a pilot. There are a number of reasons that I failed this checkride that had zero to do with my flight school. I was exposed to everything the DPE asked me about, but because I wasn’t thinking as clearly as normal, I wasn’t able to recall everything I needed to in those moments. For example I knew to calculate my eta I could have used my E6B, but in that moment, I just didn’t think about that because I was too busy trying to maintain control of the aircraft in higher winds than I was used to. Being more rested could have helped me to have a more clear head but that wasn’t the case. Here are the reasons that I (not my instructor or flight school) failed the checkride. 1. I should have rescheduled the checkride myself after I saw leading up to the checkride that the weather was forecasted to be higher than I’d ever flown in before. That should have trumped what the DPE or future passenger’s opinions are. If you as the PIC are not comfortable flying in the present conditions, the flight needs to be cancelled period. 2. The day of, I didn’t pass the IMSAFE checklist due to all the factors I spoke about, and I should have terminated the checkride myself after I successfully completed the oral. I did not however because I didn’t know how much longer it would take for me to get rescheduled if I did not do it that day. I also did not want to have to pay more money to reschedule it which I assumed I would have to do. Either way, it was the wrong call to proceed ,and a paused checkride is better than a failed checkride in hindsight! 3. As much as I studied, I could have focused more on cross country specific material because I knew that the cross country would be an area that I was going to be tested on. I could have quizzed myself by pretending to pretending I was on the ground making those calculations and then switching it and pretending that I was at altitude and my electronics/foreflight died. Had I better prepared myself, I would have had a different result and part of that preparation is knowing when to walk away and try again another day
As a fellow student pilot myself, I’ve been having trouble with scheduling as well. Between maintenance, my instructors schedule, my schedule, the weather. It can get crazy. Stay strong everyone.
I feel your pain 😂
Keep pushing!
As a newly minted DPE Thanks to all 3 of you for a great informational interview of a Very Humble and Pro pilot. Just remember Perfection is the goal, Standards are.
Thanks for that!
Bro!! Listening to you, it's literally my story 2 months ago, the only thing I could add was I had 1 week for my written to expire cus I took the test a year before starting training. And due to cancelation 7 times cus of weather we split up the oral and practical to different days, and I also passed. Awesome story
@snowman100 that’s crazy! Congrats
I appreciate him sharing this story! I've wasted a lot of flight hours on an unprofessional, bad CFI. Being late, "scheduling Mix-Ups," tentreating students the way I'm sure he was treated at one of the big churn and burn flight schools. Overall, not preparing students for the check ride or procedures in general. For other student Pilots out there fire your unprofessional instructors fast and move on to somebody who is worth the time and money you are going to put into this. It could literally save your life.
Thanks for the comment!
@mh8757 thank you! My flight school is not all bad which is why I didn’t mention them by name and try to bash them. Nobody or school is perfect. That’s why I mentioned regardless of how good or bad your flight school or instructor may be, you should always strive to be better than the level they get you as a pilot! To quote Jason Shappert “A good pilot is ALWAYS learning 😜
This story literally gives me more appreciation for the structure of my part 141 school. Checkride on sunday.🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿
I’m not 141 but I go to ATP and I was thinking the exact same thing, I appreciate the organization even more now. My check ride is may 25th!
@Pilot_Ty Good luck my friend! I hope mother nature plays nice for us.
@goontube74 & @pilot_Ty go crush it 😎
@@Pilot_Tymy start date at atp is next week. Is it as bad a people make it to be online?
@@jacobkopacsi8436 my experience has been amazing so far at my location, I go to the Tucson ATP. I came in prepared with at least the PAR,IRA and CAX written finished and so far I’ve been cruising on through. I truly think that most of the bad reviews are from people that didn’t prepare themselves or simply aren’t TRULY passionate about aviation. If you’re passionate, you’ll do just fine.
What a humble, introspective person. Thanks for sharing and glad he is is committed learning and staying positive and not making excuses.
Thank you @martystern5643! My intention with sharing was honestly to not just help people avoid failing a checkride for the wrong reasons, but mostly to save lives! If I would have passed, some of these lessons I wouldn’t have learned now which could have killed me and my passengers later!
Well said!
Im getting close to an instrument check ride. But ive taken a different approach thats not common.
I chose to not rush my training. I had no goals of checkride as fast as possible, instead, i chose to fly and train as much as i needed to fly safely and know how to fly my best and be safe.
Id rarher have sufficient training than brag because i got my checkride at 40 hrs. I think that sets the stage for failure. So many GA pilots die every year for lots of stupid reasons, i have no intentions of being among that group.
Good for you! We’re all definitely running our own races!
Thank you for sharing your story Brandon! Content like this helps prepare fellow pilots for circumstances like these. This will help to make pilots safer which in turn make the community better!
First time commenter. Great content. I’m a pilot in training and am coming up to checkride PPL. Great to learn from other’s experiences
Welcome aboard!
Great interview with Brandon. Amazing awareness and insight. Thank you for sharing. We can all learn from every experience in life. Go Gators 🐊 🤩
Just found your channel and downloaded the app✈️.
Most flight schools are terrible! The planes are in terrible shape and filthy; many are down due to maintenance issues, and most are over 50 years old. If these planes were cars, they would be sold as junk because not even Carmax would sell them. I visited five schools at two airports in my area, and only one promised a decent airplane (describing it as a 'Ferrari' for a Cirrus SR20-G3) at $300 per hour for the plane and $100 for the instructor. They told me it would cost $30,000 to get a PPL. Other schools couldn't even promise a certain plane like the 172S with G1000, as four out of five were down for repairs and maintenance issues. Do you really want to learn how to fly in a 50-year-old junk with a carburetor? My dad did with the Canadian Air Force, but that was back in the '50s :)
Yep, I just have to deal with it. When I get my PPL, I will get my own airplane that I will take care of it. It may be 50 years old but it will be taken care of.
Thank you Brandon for sharing this experience.
Happy to @alr5373!
Brandon it’s been great getting to know you on the private calls. I appreciate the advice you have given me there. I am rooting for you to successfully pass your checkride, but also learned a ton from your struggles. Keep up all of your humble hard work!!!
Lot of similarities to my situation.
Multiple trainers leaves gaps, you’re very fortunate if you had the same instructor all the way through.
Kudos for persevering with what sounds like a candidate for Worst Flight School Ever!!! Your Instructors blatant disregard for your time, training and safety is astounding. Sorry that you had this experience - not all flight schools are alike.
I hope to learn from the mistakes of others so I never have a check ride failure of my own. Thanks for this great content!
Happy to help!
@jasonjohnston94 You’re welcome! And you and me both! I definitely don’t plan on failing another one especially like this! Remember you can ALWAYS call it if you’re not feeling it. A paused checkride is different than a failed checkride! Come back when the conditions internal/external are better 😉
This sounds so familiar. It’s why I no longer teach primary. It’s a wonder, with all of the potential roadblocks that we ever get anyone across the finish line. I feel for this guy.
@johnwise497 I appreciate that, but rest assured this won’t stop anything! I’m headed for the top 😎
When i did my ppl check ride i had exactly 40 hours passed on my first attempt.
Myself and everyone else that did the same had the same issues mentioned here The difference is we didnt see it as an excuse but just a hurdle to overcome.
If you let issues encountered slow you down, it will.
Thanks for sharing this!❤
Who else liked the video before even seeing it? 🤘
Always 💯
We appreciate the comment and you watching the video!
As always !
I switched schools and I’m glad I did. Mom and pop flight schools are hit and miss. My advice is if you’re going 61 go to a school that has both 141 and 61.
Thanks for sharing Brandon.
Ben
I think the lesson that wasn't mentioned is to drop this terrible flight school long before getting into this situation. If they can't do their job, you can't do yours. Beware a school that doesn't have their act together.
The school should of endorsed you to fly to the other airport with the DPE
Amazing content from you guys, thanks a lot!
Thanks for watching!
I love the humility and learning attitude, but let's keep in mind, most employers will not consider you if you've failed more than one checkride. Don't do so much learning that you learn yourself out of a career
@danielreuter2565 thanks! I hope you realize though that I don’t recommend intentionally failing check rides so that you can learn more 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I did mean, however, to always look for the lessons in good or bad times as a pilot. I could have not learned what I did if I passed the check ride with flying colors because I knew exactly what the DPE would ask me beforehand. But that success could have got me killed later if I didn’t learn when to cancel a flight if it’s not the best time to fly regardless of who I felt I’d be letting down, or if it was inconvenient to me or others. Yes fellow pilots… PASS, PAUSE, or RESCHEDULE your checkride! DON’T FAIL it if you can help it 💀🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@BrandonKendrick25 of course lol. I just wouldn't want anyone to get the impression that failing a checkride isn't a big deal. It's a huge deal if there's a possibility you might want to become a professional pilot at some point. You don't have much control over running into the wrong dpe on the wrong day who decides to fail you over something minor. Now you need to be extra bullet proof for every future flight test and hope you don't roll snake eyes on the dpe.
@@danielreuter2565 for sure! In my case I may have to rely on my sales skills to get that job if they’re hemming and hawing about this failure🤣🤣 I had a billionaire tell me once that in life you get what you want, you get what you negotiate. So I’ll have to close that employer on hiring me if push comes to shove 😎 I’ll control what I can control 😉
@@BrandonKendrick25 the other thing is that from the way you told the story, the examiner was giving you a chance to discontinue the test when he asked you if you want to continue. The rules state that they have to tell you that are unsatisfactory and end the test as soon as you reach that point. So assuming he wasn't grossly breaking a very clear rule, you could have discontinued even after you were on track to fail. The applicant can discontinue the test at any point PRIOR to being told that they've failed. This is a critical item that it seems like a lot of student pilots don't know.
QUESTION: What state/city has the most DPE's??---Seems that should be apart of the criteria before selecting a school.
I would of just asked to discontinue with all that what happened. No way would I fly with all of that happened including a death.
Okay but what was the weather that day?? 😂
Dude, I do not think I got this. Not flying in that crazy wind.
I’m assuming you went to a part 61, not a 141. Based on what I heard, you would have never passed your final stage check at a legitimate 141. Your flight school and your CFI bear the lions share of the blame here. Like you said, ultimately you’re the PIC. Great video, a lesson in the necessity of maintaining control of your flight training. When I was a police officer, I had a supervisor that taught me that sometimes you gotta put your azzhole hat on to get the job done. Being a type A personality is an excellent trait for a pilot. Good luck….
Thanks for watching!
@Ifly1976 you are correct I did go to a part 61 but if I place the blame on anyone other than myself I would be stunting my growth as a pilot. There are a number of reasons that I failed this checkride that had zero to do with my flight school. I was exposed to everything the DPE asked me about, but because I wasn’t thinking as clearly as normal, I wasn’t able to recall everything I needed to in those moments. For example I knew to calculate my eta I could have used my E6B, but in that moment, I just didn’t think about that because I was too busy trying to maintain control of the aircraft in higher winds than I was used to. Being more rested could have helped me to have a more clear head but that wasn’t the case.
Here are the reasons that I (not my instructor or flight school) failed the checkride.
1. I should have rescheduled the checkride myself after I saw leading up to the checkride that the weather was forecasted to be higher than I’d ever flown in before. That should have trumped what the DPE or future passenger’s opinions are. If you as the PIC are not comfortable flying in the present conditions, the flight needs to be cancelled period.
2. The day of, I didn’t pass the IMSAFE checklist due to all the factors I spoke about, and I should have terminated the checkride myself after I successfully completed the oral. I did not however because I didn’t know how much longer it would take for me to get rescheduled if I did not do it that day. I also did not want to have to pay more money to reschedule it which I assumed I would have to do. Either way, it was the wrong call to proceed ,and a paused checkride is better than a failed checkride in hindsight!
3. As much as I studied, I could have focused more on cross country specific material because I knew that the cross country would be an area that I was going to be tested on. I could have quizzed myself by pretending to pretending I was on the ground making those calculations and then switching it and pretending that I was at altitude and my electronics/foreflight died.
Had I better prepared myself, I would have had a different result and part of that preparation is knowing when to walk away and try again another day
in this competitive invironment where pilot jobs are hard to get, failing a checkride can be a career ending event..