Most checkride prep books stop at the oral exam. This one starts where they leave off. CHECKRIDES by veteran flight instructor Jim Davis is the practical flight test guide focused entirely on what happens in the aircraft - from the preflight walk-around to the post-flight shutdown drill. While other guides prepare you to answer questions on the ground, this one prepares you to perform in the air, where the test is actually won or lost. Davis has spent four decades testing candidates and watching some fail checkrides that they should have passed - not because their flying was weak, but because they didn't know how to demonstrate competence to an examiner. The difference between a pass and a failure often comes down to checks, procedures, radio technique, airmanship and the ability to show the examiner you are in command of the aircraft and the situation. This book covers all of it, exercise by exercise, in plain language. Compatible with FAA Private and Commercial practical tests, and applicable to Flight Reviews for already-licensed pilots. Covers:
Preflight inspection and cockpit checks - what to do, what to say, what examiners notice first
Ground handling, run-up, and vital actions
Takeoff, climb, turning, and cruise - with common faults identified
Stalls, incipient spins, steep turns, and spiral dive recovery
Engine failure during and after takeoff
Forced landing and precautionary landing with full pattern procedures
Crosswind operations and sideslipping technique
Basic instrument flying under the hood
Cross-country navigation, VOR use, diversion procedures, and flight log keeping
Normal pattern, joining the pattern, and landing - what the examiner is marking at each stage
Full post-flight and engine shutdown procedures
Mnemonic checklists for every phase of flight
Standard FAA handling tolerances by maneuver
Four editions. Four decades. Pilots who read it pass. If you've put in the study hours and you're ready to fly the test - this is the book that closes the gap.
