#219

Nightmare Helicopter Check Ride with DPE Examiner Yelling at applicant
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Nightmare Helicopter Check Ride with DPE Examiner Yelling at applicant
"FYI, I scored an 86 on the commercial written exam. I am 64 years old. 600+ hours flying helicopters. 3,000 hours in fixed wing, flown in all 50 states in experimentals, VFR only. I fly relief missions in my own helicopter including flood relief in Nebraska and Hurricane Harvey, drowning victims body recovery, delivered food, water, meds, police, firemen, etc. I need my commercial so I can accept donations for relief efforts.
I was asked questions during my oral for commercial helicopter pilot that have never been brought up before and was hoping for an explanation, or a shoulder to cry on.
I admit I was not prepared. I asked the examiner for 3-4 days so I could study, but he insisted on 48 hours and take the exam, but I said yes.
Questions of Concern.
1. I was given medical symptoms of a passenger that I was expected to diagnose. I am not a doctor, and I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn Express. I am a first responder and first aid trained. I told the examiner I would land and call 911, but that wasn’t good enough. I have searched FARs, called my CFI, and posted questions to Helicopter forums. How / why does a commercial helicopter pilot have the responsibility to diagnose and treat medical condition in flight?? Was this covered in your videos?
2. I was told I was flying with passengers and the rotor system loses rpm. The governor quit. Rotor RPM was degrading. The question was what happens when the collective is lowered. I told him the angle of attack is lowered, and that I would immediately roll on the throttle to maintain the rotor RPM system. That wasn’t the answer he was looking for. He wanted to know the collective was connected to the correlator and lowering it would close the throttle. I said; “The throttle would remain open because I would be adding power. I also told him if rotor rpm is degrading, in flight, with passengers, the last thing I would be concerned with is the engine / throttle correlator. Passenger safety would come first, always comes first, and the throttle engine correlator wouldn’t even be on my mind or in my report to the FAA. He was not happy and yelled.
3. The examiner has a history of yelling at students. This is totally unacceptable and incompatible with any teaching standards or oral examiner standards. I wasn’t about to sit there and have someone yell at me because I didn’t understand the question or needed to look something up. I was told this was an open book exam! He got pissed off when I Googled “Calibrated Air Speed”.
4. The exam was in the man’s house. He is 80 years old. I was greeted at the door with 5 full sized mongrel dogs sticking their noses up my ass and in my crotch, and a goat. Yes, I said goat. One dog with oral hygiene issues insisted I play with him during the exam, another one stared at me. When I mentioned the staring to the examiner he said “This is the dog I wouldn’t leave you alone with. He protect my wife when I’m gone and he would fight to the death”. “Nice to know”; I said. “Why is he staring at me?; I said.
5. There was zero room for me to set my books and materials on. His office was a hoarder’s dream I had to use the floor and my lap. It seemed inconvenient to him that I even used a chair. My requests for space went unanswered as he tried to access my IACRA application. His wife came into the room and collected 8 bottles of water of varying levels of fullness and commented about his water bottles being “something special”.
I literally thought I was in the twilight zone.
I admit I am not your normal student that can be intimidated. I get that, and I speak my mind. I don’t care about the 4 airspeeds in an airplane, I’m wanting to be a commercial Helicopter Pilot. I don’t care about pressure altitude. Never have, never will. It’s too inaccurate and only serves to start arguments hangar flying. The GPS will soon take over for all altitude reporting. Hello ADSB! Why don’t we make the switch now and stop with the 1900’s technology?
Evidently, the examiner didn’t like my answers and he and I “discontinued” the exam. He said I needed to find another examiner. I totally agreed with him and literally walked out being followed by the goat and 3 dogs back to my helicopter. I should have kicked his goat.
What are my options?
Can I cancel the application in IACRA and start over?
I found another examiner. Do I have to tell him about the first horror story or about the goat?

[@SmittySmithsonite]

HAHAHA! Oh wow, nobody could make that story up! Helicopters and farm animals - wouldn't have been able to put all of that together on my own, lol! Thanks for sharing, Kenny - that was great! Hope the guy finds a new instructor, and everything ends up well in the end.

[@HelicopterGround]

That's what I thought, I couldn't even make that shit up haha!

[@jimmcneill3831]

Kenny, as you know I'm a retired DPE. That examiner is an embarrasment to the profession. Examiners are taught to evaluate to the ACS standards. They're expected to develop scenarios to evaluate the applicant's level of comprehension but it sounds like this guy has gone overboard and the testing environment and his behavior is less than expected of a good examiner. He should be immediately reported to the local FSDO. The FAA is actively working to weed out bad examiners. This guy sounds like a prime candidate. One point: CFI always know who the good examiners are in their surrounding area. Why did his send him to this examiner?

[@HelicopterGround]

Thanks for sharing your experience Jim as a retired DPE!

[@PilotCristina]

I’ve had one on my instrument rating. He screamed and belittled me the whole time. I know I was doing well and didn’t know why he acted like that. He does it to everyone and idk why he still has his job. From what I heard he does this cuz with the extra stress he adds then he knows you can do well on an emergency. 😒 I passed but I came out of that checkride feeling like I didn’t deserve it with all the things he has said. I also knew he was like that but I had no choice as I went to ATP. What an experience that was!

[@HelicopterGround]

Thanks for sharing!

[@pjmtts]

I could only imagine this story as a Sunday comic played out over weeks and months

[@HelicopterGround]

Thanks for commenting!

[@brianrutledge1646]

All I can say is......WOW!

[@HelicopterGround]

Thanks Brian!

[@SurfCityVideo]

Sometimes you just have to walk away. Every oral portion of a check ride I have taken has been in the conference room of a airport FBO.

[@HelicopterGround]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@markmcdaniel3975]

That was a riot! 😁

[@HelicopterGround]

Thanks Mark I got a kick out of it!

[@wesleykicker4996]

I would never use anyone with a reputation as you described here. You are paying a person for an evaluation of your knowledge and flying skills. It should be performed by someone that provides a clean and professional setting and that NEVER yells at you. Yelling is reserved for those who are ignorant of mind. Do not descend to such a low level. I’ve been told that having a Commercial License is the equivalent of possessing a Masters Degree. That being said, don’t you think you deserve the best “Testing environment and the best Examiner”? I do and I hope everyone else does also.

[@HelicopterGround]

Thanks for commenting Wesley!

[@backthebadge4009]

I agree with some of the stuff this guy is saying....The FAA Written exam still has weather depiction chart questions for charts that aren’t used anymore....Why? Those stupid VOR, “where are you” questions, have nothing to do with how we pilots use them in real life. They make this whole process so stressful it’s unbelievable. I had two separate students actually throw up on check-rides, because they were so nervous and stressed out. Both finished the check-rides (always carry large Zip lock baggies in your aircraft-Keeps the smell and chunks out of the cabin). Both passed, but really is all this stress necessary? Flying is supposed to be fun, and enjoyable.

[@HelicopterGround]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@DavTen10]

I had a DPE that I kicked out of my Baron on the taxiway. He was so old I worried about him walking back but didn’t want him in my airplane anymore. He was dangerous. This man actually grabbed my hand on a take off roll to kill power on an engine. He was confused about what was throttle and mixture. We argued for a minute. Restarted the take off roll and he did it again. I exited the runway and kicked him out of my airplane.

[@HelicopterGround]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@rn2811]

If a DPE started to yell at me then it’s game over for me and request a discontinuance.

[@HelicopterGround]

I wouldn’t sit by and let a DPE yell at me either. Thanks for commenting.

[@johnreed8872]

This DPE obviously doesn't care at all about developing a reputation or maintaining the appearance of being professional. I don't believe that reporting him is in order , or would do any good in changing his behaviors. I personally wouldn't hesitate to share my experiences with him with others as I'm sure that other applicants have probably had similar problems. I also think that this applicant should brush up on exactly what tasks and knowledge are required for the checkride\exam. Thanks for the video! Blue Skies!

[@HelicopterGround]

Thanks for commenting.

[@johnreed8872]

@@HelicopterGround you know , this kinda stuff really isn't all that unusual among the helicopter community! At least from my experiences , quite a "different " breed of aviator! Although I did contemplate building a Rotorway when they first came out. Ended up going with experimental fixed wing. Maybe I'll find my way over to the dark side someday! Thanks again for the video!

[@kimberlychavez1773]

Hi Kenny how are you what's new with you and Just let you know today is my Birthday and Iam 54 years old Kim Belovic

[@HelicopterGround]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@lookingforwookiecopilot]

Well, yeah, if he gives you the symptoms of say, hypoxia (like blueness of the lips/fingers, euphoria, dizziness, etc...) , or hyperventilating (the two most common ones) you should be able to recognize them and take corrective action. Calibrated airspeed is indicated airspeed corrected for instrument and installation error,...I'm pretty sure of that, haven't looked it up in years, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, so,...:-) I don't care how many gps satellites there are, but I still know its 24 (at least that's what it was in '02 when I was asked on the written test) but I do care about pressure altitude,...just set the altimeter to 29.92, it ain't rocket science,...come on dude. Little bit of that anti-authority attitude (we all get it every so often, especially when they change something we've done a certain way for years,...R22 clutch light procedure hint, hint) but yeah, that dpe wasn't much better either,...yikes!

[@HelicopterGround]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@lookingforwookiecopilot]

32 huh? Well, given how long it takes them to update the chart, I wouldn't be surprised if on the test its still 24,...ha, ha, ha :-)