Photography courtesy of Nicole Lund.
The private pilot airman certification standards (ACS) is a guide on how the private pilot checkride will be conducted. Knowing the tasks in the ACS can ensure no surprises on checkride day. Oftentimes, instructors teach the checkride gouge and not the ACS. Checkride gouges are a cheat sheet made by pilots after a checkride that includes maneuvers and questions asked during a checkride. Teaching solely the gouge can leave out other required maneuvers that are not commonly seen on the checkride but are still fair game. The following six tasks are often forgotten about during private pilot training.
1. Emergency Descent
The emergency descent teaches students what to do if the engine starts on fire midflight. The maneuver consists of increasing airspeed while increasing bank to keep the G limits at bay while attempting to extinguish the fire. My first time performing an emergency descent was during my commercial pilot checkride. The examiner had briefed the plan of action for the checkride and we parted for lunch. I spent my lunch looking up videos and calling my instructor to learn how to do an emergency descent. This maneuver is in both the private and commercial ACS. To do this day, the emergency descent is often skipped over in-flight training.
2. Rectangular Course
The rectangular course is a type of ground reference maneuver that teaches wind correction. During flight training, the rectangular course is often forgotten about. Many instructors focus on turning around a point and s-turns. The private pilot ACS requires the examiner to test the applicant on either the rectangular course, turns around a point, or s-turns. Most examiners do not pick the rectangular course on the checkride, but they can.
How to perform a rectangular course. Graphic courtesy of the Airplane Flying Handbook.
3. Unusual Attitudes
Unusual attitudes are a staple on the instrument checkride; however, the private pilot ACS also includes the maneuver. This maneuver simulates spatial disorientation in clouds. The student wears a view limiting device, such as foggles or a hood, and must recover from an attitude.
4. Slip to Landing
Short and soft field landings are focused on much more frequently than the slip to a landing. This is an important landing to be proficient on prior to the checkride. The slip to a landing also teaches the pilot how to land a plane if the flaps do not extend. The landing can be tricky at first as the absence of flaps requires a faster than normal approach speed and more floating in ground effect.
Slip landing technique. Graphic courtesy of the Airplane Flying Handbook.
5. Turning Stalls
A common maneuver many instructors forget to teach is the banked stall. According to the private pilot ACS, power-off and power-on stalls at 20 degrees angle of bank can appear on the checkride. The recovery from these stalls is no different besides rolling out of bank while simultaneously reducing pitch. The applicant must maintain 20 degrees of bank plus or minus 10 degrees. Examiners typically want to see stalls while maintaining a heading, however, turning stalls can appear on the checkride.
6. Post Flight Inspection
The post-flight inspection is the last section of the ACS. This task includes parking, following a checklist to shut down, and a post-flight walk-around. The walk-around identifies any discrepancies that could have occurred in flight. Many instructors do not teach the post-flight walk around, however, it is a required task in the ACS.
These six tasks are commonly missed during private pilot training. All six items are fair game when it comes to the checkride. Whether you are a student pilot or a flight instructor, make sure these six tasks are covered during training.
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