Moving right along

Today I passed my checkride for my commercial certificate in the Seminole. I’m very pleased with the progress up until now and I’m looking forward to the last two weeks of the program in Las Vegas.

I was originally supposed to take my checkride last Saturday and then go to Las Vegas for the CFI course Monday the 6th. However, there were a few problems during the checkride. For one, there was a date that was incorrect on my application which the examiner caught and therefore we had to redo the application. This particular examiner is adamant about the paperwork being correct and ready upon the beginning of the checkride. He’s known to have charged people for them not correctly filling out their application. Luckily, he didn’t charge and we were able to redo the application and move on. The second problem occurred when he was checking my log book for the appropriate entries to be applicable for the commercial checkride. One of the flights my instructor and I made a few months previous had not been signed. The other flight that same day was signed, but not this particular flight. It is part of the regulations that this flight be completed before taking the commercial checkride, and with out a proper flight instructor endorsement, the flight is void. So, the examiner said that we’d have to reschedule and the earliest time was the following Thursday.

I was very disappointed because I was set on going to CFI school on the 6th, expecially because I had prior engagements the week after I would have been done. I’m over being upset about it now, there’s nothing I really can do. And I’m happy that I’m a commercial pilot now. Strangely enough, I’m only a commercial pilot in a twin engine plane, not a single engine plane. But I will get that certificate later during CFI school in Las Vegas.

Rumors are that the initial CFI certificate is the most difficult checkride yet. I’m not looking forward to that, but I’m sure I’ll get through it fine.