Use Study Guides for a Better Check Ride Experience

It’s important to go in well-prepared to thwart the Dunning-Kruger effect.

Tuesday, January 30, 2024 at 04:51 PM ET

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Although many learners don’t pick up a copy of the Commercial Pilot Oral Exam Guide until just before check ride, you may also find it useful earlier in your training. [Courtesy: ASA]

Key Takeaways:

Pilot applicants and even their instructors can suffer from the Dunning-Kruger effect, overestimating their knowledge and competence, leading to unpreparedness for check rides despite passing written exams or ground school.
A common issue is a study approach that prioritizes memorizing answers to pass tests over developing a deep, practical understanding of aviation concepts, systems, and regulations.
Effective study materials, such as ASA oral exam guides, are recommended as they provide subject-specific, Q&A formatted content with FAA references to ensure applicants grasp the required depth of knowledge for successful check rides.

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I spent three hours with a private pilot applicant getting him ready for his check ride. That was an hour longer than we both anticipated, but it was necessary. There was a lot missing from his knowledge base. He told me the fuel gauges of the Cessna 172 were vacuum powered. His nav log was incomplete, and he struggled to identify airspace even when allowed to use the legend panel on the VFR sectional. Yet he told his CFI that he had passed the mock check ride with flying colors.

The CFI didn’t believe the learner for one minute, as we had known each other for years, and he knew I made lots of notes during these evaluations. The debrief is extensive and considerably longer than “passed with flying colors.”