Ground School
- Flight Safety's recurrent ground school is very easy. As I had never been to FS before I thought I would have gone through an initial course but Silverhawk sent me for a Recurrent which is shorter than an initial. Their is a short quiz at the end of the main and differences courses but they basically give you the answers ahead of time as you go through the course.
Simulator Prep
- I found the simulator to be very intense. I started by asking to see how the Flight Director and Autopilot worked which were rather old and counterintuitive. They aren't too difficult to learn but its important to understand that when you load and transfer a navigation source from standby to active you lose whatever was in the active. The training in the simulator is good but I found the simulator to be very squirley in roll. Its also a handful on the runway on takeoff and landing and found it required very small and gentle rudder inputs. The simulator handles worse in an engine failure than the real airplane in terms of maintaining directional control. The graphics in the sim are also older and rather dim so I found them to be a hindrance.
- The sim training started with airwork and found the profile numbers to be spot on to handle steep turns. Be very precise with pitch during a steep turn, two degrees nose up to the left and four degrees pitch up to the right. The autopilot works decently well and can handle the airplane fine under normal power and with one engine out. Biggest issue with engine failures is maintaining wings level and then making sure you are moving carefully and methodically through cleaning up the airplane. In terms of cleanup make sure you always clean up the highest drag item first. If the flaps are at approach and the gear is down, gear comes up first and then flaps. If flaps are full and gear is down, pitch for 100 KIAS, raise the flaps all the way up, and then raise the gear. Their is no "flaps gear flaps" in the C90.
- Training then headed to instrument approaches which were fairly straight forward. I used the plates provided in the briefings which were already ordered and stapled in the order they were used. I took lots of notes on them along with reminders to always identify ILS stations, to announce leaving MDA on the circle, and when to expect engine failures. This helped a lot to stay ahead and know what would happen next. I also backed up every ILS or LOC with the GPS which they like and is a good habit anyway.
- The following are hints for the oral portion of the checkride. The examiners are not limited to information discussed in class. I found studying chapters 1,2 and 8 of the AFM helped provide answers to questions I missed my first time at FlightSafety.
- Glide distance still wind and headwind
- Two engine Vx and Vy
- Should the landing gear be cycled with the "Batt Tie" light on? No - doing so closes the "Batt Tie" relay and reintroduces the short which caused the light to come on in the first place.
- GPU Amp Limits 1000 500 300 amps - Know circumstances for all three limits. The 500 amp limit is in the AFM.
- Min and max Oil temp for takeoff
- Minimum airspeed non training flight for autopilot. Ref speed
- What if boots won’t close? Pull surface deice relay breaker
I have had Malcom French as my examiner all three times I have been to FlightSafety. The following is a brief description of his standard ATP checkride.
- Start and Taxi - Guaranteed hot or hung start mixed in here. The moment you think something is wrong, go to cutoff. Don't wait for the needle to reach the higher starting ITT limit to cut fuel.
- Instrument Departure on 27 at MEM - Gotcha here is to activate the leg from the VOR to the first fix WTREE. "Direct" "Direct" "Enter" solves this problem on the 430.
- ELVIS 4 Departure - Very simple departure. Make sure to brief it.
- Stalls - Don't smoke the engines on the recovery. If flaps are at "land" wait until 100 KIAS to retract. Gear up at positive rate.
- Steep Turns - Trust the pitch settings below and call out your headings every ninety degrees to not get lost.
Left 2 Degrees pitch
Right 4 degrees pitch
- Unusual Attitudes - Don't smoke the engines here either. Don't be shy on the pull up from a nose low unusual attitude once the wings are level and power is idle.
- Direct LAURI for the RNAV 18C LNAV Minimums - Use 600 ft/lb of torque. No need to go faster than you can think.
- RNAV 18C LNAV Minimums
- Brief the Category B Airspeed and stick to it
- This approach will be to a missed with an engine failure.
- First and main issue with an engine failure. Use the following statement to remind yourself what to do. "Pitch and bug, Pitch and bug, Pitch and bug". In short be sure to actually raise the nose to go around pitch and step on the accompanying rudder on the side to which the heading bug is out. This will help maintain directional control and also identify the dead engine.
- Raise the high drag first. If at flaps approach raise the gear at positive rate. If at flaps to land raise the flaps first and then the gear at 100 KIAS and positive rate, respectively.
- OBS Suspend - To get the autopilot to suspend the approach and conduct the missed you have to remember to push suspend on the 430.
- KEEZE and HOLD - If you don't have a reason not to attempt a restart, attempt to start once established in the hold. Use the acronym VFR to consider if a restart is recommended. "Vibration Fire Rotation".
- Vectors for ILS 36L
- Right base entry
- Apch to minimums and land
Make sure to do after landing AND line up checklists. If you forget this you could miss raising the flaps and engaging autofeather.
- Instrument Departure ILS 36L
- V1 cut - "Pitch and bug" confidently and quickly to maintain control. First priority is to maintain control and you want the control inputs to have died down and you are fighting the airplane with aggressive inputs to maintain control.
- Vectors Northwest
- Secure Engine with the V1 Cut checklist
- ILS 18L Single Engine to a Landing - Make sure you use the single engine approach and landing emergency checklist.
- Night Departure into IMC
- Night LOC 27 Circle 18R
- Make sure to add power quickly and sufficiently when leveling off at the MDA or else you could get slow.
- Coming abeam 18L announce leaving MDA and roll to a 30 degree bank
- Only use minimum back pressure necessary in the descent. They want to see the approach speed maintained throughout the maneuver.
- No more than 1000 fpm and 850 fpm is perfect.
- Normal VFR night takeoff.
- Flap Failure - keep you hand on the flap handle when adding flaps as a split flap condition can roll the airplane on its back very quickly if not caught. Raise the flaps and land visually with the No Flap Landing checklist.
- Taxi clear and shutdown - Checkride complete!
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