From: wd@cs.tu-berlin.de (Wolfgang Diestelkamp)
Subject: nice Christmas gift
Organization: Technical University of Berlin, Germany
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 10:02:19 GMT


Last Sunday I got the nicest Christmas gift I could ever think of:
*I passed the IFR checkride*.

The ride was scheduled for 11 a.m. I arrived at the school at about 9.30.
A coldfront had passed through during the night/early morning, clouds
were 4-5000 feet, FZL 2000 feet, very low variable winds, so generally
very good conditions, and forecast to be like this for the whole day.
A few little problems came up before the ride actually started:
The weather at the usual alternates for Hamburg (EDDH), namely Bremen (EDDW)
and Hannover (EDVV) still had said coldfront passing through, with low
ceilings (not too low for approaches, but wrt. icing); so while I legally
didn't even need an alternate (VMC forecast for destination for time
of landing plus/minus 2 hours), you would want to have one anyway. We
(the instructor and I) decide to take Kiel (EDCK), but I have no charts
for Kiel. OK, instructor says you get a Jepp when you go.
Second problem: Thanks to the xerox machine, there are only unreadable
copies of the W&B form. I fill in one, carefully crosschecking with the
original one (that's fortunately readable :-).
The instructor arrives at the terminal about an hour early; consequently
I haven't preflighted the aircraft; he is getting a little angry, but the guy
who is scheduled after me gets the aircraft and preflights it ...
When browsing through my flight preparations, everything seems OK until
we get to the W&B; what's that, why is the CG so far aft with only two
people in a Beech Bonanza (BTW is that normal or do we have a particular
model ?). I have no proof, that my calculations are correct, go get the
POH to crosscheck; finally he is satisfied, but I get the impression that
he is getting a little more angry.
We go to the aircraft, I check fuel and oil again, still hoping the instructor
would show up with the Jepp ...
Of course he does not, so we have to go back in, find someone with a Jepp and
copy the Kiel charts (fortunately the FAX machine for transmitting flight
plans has a copy feature that is not disabled :-). The examiner (as it later
turns out only pretends to be) exploding; not a very good precondition for
a checkride, I think for myself.
Anyway, at 12.15 local we are in the air; I had filed for 4000 feet, but was
cleared for 5000 feet, so to avoid any contact with clouds I requested and
was recleared for 4000 feet after intitial contact with Hamburg Radar.
We headed off to the training area and started airwork; everything went
fine (slow flight clean, approach, clean/approach stall, steep turns; we don't
need to do abnormal attitudes here, don't ask why, but I got some training for
that in the US). Then limited panel; I was used to check the compass first, then
only look at the turn indicator and time the turn, then check the compass again.
The examiner wanted me to turn by time and compass, a little confusing for me
as I was not used to it. While I did get the compass errors right, I confused
the turn direction once or twice; some more turns that I got right made him 
comfortable again.
Then two approaches; first one ILS with go around. The wind was really calm,
I was vectored for a 13 mile base, so I had lots of time to settle everything
(finla approach point at 10.5 miles). The needles were really centered all
the way down to 800 feet (DA is 232), when a Lufthansa had for some reason
*not* reduced to minimum clean and was getting too close. Radar says pull
up climb to 3000, and the examiner says the ILS was good, no need to do
another one :-)
Last one NDB DME; did some more limited panel while being vectored to final
and got a *really* long final this time (~18 miles). Everything works out just
great (I think I have never flown better approaches), and as there is no wind,
and the QDR at MDA is correct, he doesn't even ask on which side the runway
is before taking off the foggles. Intercept the VASIS, land, taxi to the
ramp, no word from him.
Go back into the terminal building, sit down, then he asks: "Now you tell me .."
I try to explain why I blew the limited panel, and didn't comment on the
other things. He says that's OK, and the other stuff was pretty good,
I passed, and merry Christmas. Great !
Time in the air for the checkride: 1:07.
As you may have noticed, the checkride itself is not so extensive as it is
in the US, but the requirements for the training cover the rest:
200 hours groundschool, 30 hours simulator, 30 hours flight training,
5 hours night VFR (the night rating is not included in our PPL).
Then the written, the simulator check, and the flight check.
Training times are close to minima for me, but I had some IFR training
when I got my multi rating. Total time ~275 hours.
Thanks for all advice (talking about P-factor in the oral no problem ...-).
And I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy new year, and
lots of safe flying.
-- 
Wolfgang Diestelkamp
wd@cs.tu-berlin.de
wolfgang@first.gmd.de

Xref: sparky rec.aviation.ifr:559 rec.aviation.student:411 eunet.aviation:151