AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2021 - 26

FLYING LIFE
Behind the curtain
DPEs are not all-knowing wizards after all
BY NATALIE BINGHAM HOOVER
IN THE 1939 MOVIE CLASSIC, The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and her
misfit group of travelers seek the help of a great and powerful
wizard. Dorothy needs help finding her way back to her Kansas
home, the lion needs to find courage, and so on. We all know the
story. But the part that you might not remember is that it was
Dorothy's dog, Toto, who pulled back a curtain to reveal that the
great and powerful Oz was really just a little man pushing buttons
on a machine with smoke effects, a light show, and a deep voice
maker. Eventually, Dorothy and her friends realize they had the
answers within themselves all along.
As an FAA designated pilot examiner, people often treat me
like that all-knowing wizard, calling for answers to their questions
about regulations or proper procedures, or a confusing symbol
on a chart. While this is flattering, I cringe a little when they ask
because I often don't know the answer. Seriously, friends, I'm a
slow learner, and I'm running a small circus at my house with three
young children, so most days I have a frazzled memory. However,
I'd venture to say there aren't any walking FAR/AIMs out there
who would possess all the answers to the myriad aviation questions.
Here's what the so-called experts are really good at: using
their resources. If they don't know an answer to a question, they
will research it until they do, and you can do the same.
Let me pull back that curtain for you:
Regulation questions: This is the type of question I get
asked most often. For example, " I'm working on my commercial
certificate. Do I need the 10 hours of instrument training
required by 61.129(c)(3)(i) if I already hold an instrument rating? "
If you read the regulatory text, the answer is a solid...maybe,
depending on the way the training has been logged. Namely, the
examiner needs to see in the logbook-specific things such as partial
panel and unusual flight attitudes. But the reason I am so
confident in this answer is because of a little-known resource,
called FAA legal interpretations, which are readily available to
any internet user. If you wanted to find the answer to the question,
simply search for " FAA legal interp 61.129(c)(3) " and you
will see a letter written by FAA legal counsel covering this topic.
Those analytical minds among you may ask, " But, is the interpretation
binding? " If the legal interpretation is an FAA lawyer
stating their interpretation of the regulations, then I sure don't
want to be doing something that contradicts them-do you?
26
AOPA PILOT / September 2021
Checkride ground questions: I'm going to go out on a limb
here and say it's probably best not to ask the examiner what sorts
of questions they will be covering on the oral portion. The airman
certification standards list everything that is fair game on
the checkride, so once you've fully prepared with your instructor,
use the ACS as your ultimate resource to double-check that
there will be no surprises on checkride day.
Maneuver procedure questions: At the flight school, my
instructors often ask, " How would you like to see that emergency
descent performed? " Truthfully, it doesn't really matter
how I like the maneuver. I'd actually rather my ears not pop
from the steep descent rate, but I don't get to choose. The FAA
does, and the ACS calls for a 30-degree bank, positive load factors,
and manufacturer's recommended speed. If you ever want
more information or pictures on how to perform some of these
maneuvers, the Airplane Flying Handbook is also a great official
resource that's a free document download for ForeFlight subscribers
and on faa.gov.
Discrepancy among instructors: " My instructor taught me
to do the short-field takeoff with 10 degrees of flaps, but another
CFI told me I shouldn't use any. Which way is right? " This is a
question I wrestled with when I worked at an airline as a first
officer on the Bombardier CRJ-200. Every trip, I'd fly with a new
captain who would have his own way of doing things. I found it
stressful to constantly play the learn the new captain game until I
realized that wasn't my job. My job was to do things the right way,
and that meant following the manufacturer's guidelines and company-approved
checklists. As long as you do what the book says,
you can never be wrong. So, I always answer the flap question
with a question of my own: " What does the POH say? " The reason
for the discrepancy here is that different models of airplanes
call for different flap settings. There is no one-size-fits-all answer.
The next time you have a question and you think you need
to seek out an expert, keep in
mind that, just like Dorothy
and the Cowardly Lion, you
probably already have all the
resources you need to find
the answer.
myaviation101.com
NATALIE BINGHAM
HOOVER is an FAA
designated pilot examiner
and chief instructor at
a flight school in the
Memphis, Tennessee, area.
http://www.faa.gov http://www.myaviation101.com
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2021

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