I PASSED!!!!

"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck) 11/04/2018 at 20:17 • Filed to: None

18

15

Of course, there’s a story to go with it. I was supposed to fly before taking the exam. My instructor took my favorite plane out with another student an hour before I was supposed to go up and they managed to knock something loose. After their last touch-and-go the GPS turned off and the radios started cutting in and out. They came back around, landed, and parked it by the shop. No flying for me.

That’s ok, though. The exam proctor was there early, so I just switched into exam mode and got started. For those who’ve never taken a government exam, they are administered in tightly-controlled conditions. They put you in an exam room, take away all of your stuff, fire up the exam computer, and log you in with your special ID. The exam questions are pulled from a questions bank on a central server via secure connection. Once they are downloaded, the proctor starts the exam and retires to another room to stare at you via strategically positioned cameras.

I settled in for a two-and-a-half hour exam.

An hour and a half later, I was done. So, I hit the submit button. What’s supposed to happen is that your answers are supposed to be uploaded to the server, checked against the key, and the proctor is notified. That’s not what happened. I watched as the internet died and my exam went exactly nowhere.

We had to call tech support for some assistance. The options weren’t good. I could choose to wait until they processed the system, discovered whether or not my exam answers were saved, then got back to me via mail (!?!) about whether I passed or whether they were able to save anything at all.

The other option? Take the exam again and hope we didn’t have another internet failure.

An hour and a half later, I was finished. For the second time.

Oh yeah, it was a whole new batch of questions so the second time around was starting from the beginning again.

Oh well. At least I passed!

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/04/2018 at 20:31

1

Well done! It’s been a while since my last FAA knowledge exam but I recall a little case of the nerves almost every time that went away once the test began. Next summer I’m going to start on the ATP, so my plan is to study over the winter and have the written out of the way by the time I start the airwork part.

jminer > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/04/2018 at 20:51

3

Congratulations!!

What’s with all the pilots license activity on Oppo lately? It is not helping with my barely suppressed desire to start the process of getting my own...

TheRealBicycleBuck > jminer 11/04/2018 at 20:58

0

PyramidHat > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/04/2018 at 20:58

0

Outstanding!  What was your score?  Did you do any online practice exams?  Because I have the feeling those are too easy, as they go by too fast...

PyramidHat > jminer 11/04/2018 at 20:59

0

We’re like Amway...we’re here to recruit you, so we can separate you from your dinero...

functionoverfashion > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/04/2018 at 21:00

1

Congrats, that’s awesome. I’ve spent some air time in a friend’s Piper Cub and Champ of his buddy, I absolutely love small planes. Pilot’s license is an absolute bucket list kind of goal for me. Have fun!

TheRealBicycleBuck > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom 11/04/2018 at 21:03

0

I already have my eye on getting an instrument rating. There’s also the complex and high performance endorsements, so I can get one of these :

TheRealBicycleBuck > PyramidHat 11/04/2018 at 21:15

1

The score matters not. As they say, “ D is for Done, ” right?

If you think the online ones are too easy, take a look at Sporty’s test generator: https://courses2.sportys.com/training/testprep#/select?s=false

Obscurity and obfuscation are the names of the game when it comes to the FAA exams. 

OPPOsaurus WRX > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/04/2018 at 21:40

0

i would have lost my mind over that. Th e arch exams were similar , I got patted down entering the room every time, they even counted the number of pencils they gave me, checked my pockets.  nothing was allowed int hat room.

TheRealBicycleBuck > OPPOsaurus WRX 11/04/2018 at 22:15

0

I offered to let her pat me down. She politely declined. She did, however, take away my mechanical pencil.

PyramidHat > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/04/2018 at 22:52

0

I really really want to believe you...now, I’ve heard different things: Jason Schappert/MZeroA says  that the DPE will bust chops on low scores during the oral while other say if you get a 72% some guys will congratulate you on getting 2% more than you need.  I, of course, am over analyzing, as I do...

TheRealBicycleBuck > PyramidHat 11/04/2018 at 23:48

1

As always, opinions differ. We were told by a former FAA examiner that they are allowed to ask as many questions as you missed on the exam. That doesn’t make a lot of sense because if you score 100%, then they couldn’t ask any questions during your check ride. One of the guys said it was good not to score 100% because then the examiner will get on your case about being a “know it all.”

You can’t win.

PyramidHat > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/05/2018 at 00:31

1

Remember the FAA motto: We’ re not happy until you’re not happy...

CaptDale - is secretly British > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/05/2018 at 13:01

0

Congratulations  

TheRealBicycleBuck > CaptDale - is secretly British 11/05/2018 at 13:26

0

Thanks!