Checkride Day: What to Expect During Your FAA Practical Test

10 Aug Checkride Day: What to Expect During Your FAA Practical Test

A checkride is the FAA practical test that stands between you and a new certificate or rating. It’s really two exams in one: an oral exam where an examiner probes your knowledge, followed by a flight where you demonstrate the maneuvers and procedures tied to that certificate. Most students find the day itself far less brutal than the anticipation leading up to it. Knowing the shape of the day in advance is one of the best things you can do to calm your nerves.

This walkthrough covers what actually happens from the moment you arrive to the moment you either shake your examiner’s hand as a newly certificated pilot or, if it comes to that, hear what a partial disapproval means and what happens next.

What Is a Checkride and Who Administers It?

A checkride is the practical test required by 14 CFR Part 61 or Part 141 to earn a pilot certificate or rating, conducted either by an FAA-designated pilot examiner (DPE) or, less commonly, an FAA inspector. The examiner’s job is not to trip you up. It’s to confirm, on behalf of the FAA, that you meet the standards laid out in the relevant Airman Certification Standards (ACS) document for the certificate you’re pursuing.

Examiners are typically working pilots themselves, often flight instructors, who have gone through additional FAA training and oversight to hold designated examiner authority. Your flight school or instructor usually schedules the DPE and handles the paperwork logistics, but it helps to understand that the examiner works independently of your school. They aren’t grading your instructor’s teaching; they’re evaluating your performance against a published standard. Students training in a structured Part 141 flight school program often have this scheduling handled as part of the curriculum’s built-in stage checks.

How Should You Prepare in the Days Before?

The best preparation in the final 48 hours is logistical, not academic: confirm your paperwork is complete, your aircraft is airworthy and fueled appropriately, and you get real sleep. Cramming new material two days out tends to create doubt rather than confidence.

Your instructor should sign you off only when they genuinely believe you’re ready, which means the study grind should be mostly finished well before checkride day arrives. In the final stretch, focus on:

• Reviewing your logbook for total times, endorsements, and any required aeronautical experience so you can answer questions about your own training instantly.
• Double-checking required documents: your ID, medical certificate (if applicable), knowledge test report, and IACRA application confirmation.
• Doing a final weather and NOTAM check the morning of, since the examiner may ask you to brief conditions as if planning a real flight.
• Getting a full night’s sleep rather than squeezing in one more study session.

If you haven’t yet sat for the required knowledge test, our guide to the FAA written knowledge test covers the exam you’ll need to clear before you’re even eligible to schedule a checkride.

What Happens During the Oral Exam?

The oral portion is a conversation, not an interrogation, usually lasting one to three hours depending on the certificate. The examiner asks questions tied directly to the ACS to see whether you understand the material well enough to apply it, not just recite it.

Expect scenario-based questions rather than a rapid-fire quiz. An examiner is more likely to ask “you’re planning this cross-country and the weather deteriorates, what do you do?” than to ask you to define a term in isolation. Bring your aircraft documents, logbook, and any required charts or planning materials; a good chunk of the oral often revolves around a cross-country flight you’re asked to plan in advance. If you don’t know an answer, saying “I’m not sure, but here’s where I’d look it up” is a legitimate and often well-received response. Examiners are checking judgment as much as memorization.

What Happens During the Flight Portion?

Once the oral concludes, and assuming you’ve demonstrated the required knowledge, you move to the aircraft for the flight portion, where you’ll perform the maneuvers, procedures, and emergency scenarios listed in the ACS for your certificate. This typically runs one to two hours including preflight.

You’ll do a normal preflight inspection while the examiner observes, then fly a mix of required tasks: normal and crosswind takeoffs and landings, airwork like steep turns and slow flight, navigation, and simulated emergencies such as an engine failure or diversion. The examiner is watching whether you fly within the tolerances published in the ACS and whether you handle the aircraft safely, not whether every maneuver is flawless. A single soft landing or a moment of hesitation usually isn’t disqualifying if you correct it and continue flying safely.

What If You Don’t Meet Standards on a Task?

If you don’t meet the standard on a specific task, the examiner will typically note it and may continue the ride, since a checkride can result in a “notice of disapproval” for one or more specific tasks rather than a wholesale failure. This means you may only need to retrain and retest on the items you missed, not repeat the entire practical test. It’s disappointing in the moment but far less costly than most applicants fear.

What Happens Right After You Pass?

Once you’ve met every required standard, the examiner will congratulate you and issue a temporary airman certificate on the spot, typically printed from IACRA, which is legal to fly under until your permanent certificate arrives by mail. There’s no dramatic ceremony, just paperwork and, often, a handshake.

Many students describe the moments right after passing as anticlimactic because the adrenaline from the ride is still working through your system. Take a beat before you fly solo under your new privileges for the first time, especially if the certificate or rating changes what kind of flying you’re now cleared to do on your own. If your next step is the instrument rating, our piece on why the instrument rating is worth earning walks through how that checkride fits into the next stage of your training.

How Can You Manage Checkride Nerves?

Nervousness before a checkride is normal and doesn’t predict how you’ll perform. The antidote is thorough, honest preparation combined with a few practical habits on the day itself. Treat the oral and flight as a demonstration of skills you’ve already built, not a test of whether you deserve to be a pilot.

A few things that consistently help applicants on the day: arriving early enough that you’re not rushed, eating something before a multi-hour oral exam, and reminding yourself that your instructor would not have endorsed you if they didn’t believe you were ready. If you find yourself chronically anxious about checkrides in general, that’s worth discussing directly with your instructor well before you’re anywhere near test-ready.

Choosing the Right Point in Training to Schedule Your Checkride

Scheduling too early, before maneuvers are truly consistent, sets you up for a rougher ride than necessary. Scheduling too late can mean paying for extra flight time you don’t need. The right point is when you’re flying to ACS standards consistently across multiple lessons, not just on your best days.

This is one of the areas where the structure of your training program matters. A well-sequenced curriculum builds toward checkride readiness on a more predictable timeline rather than leaving it to guesswork. Whatever stage you’re at, talk to your instructor about a realistic checkride timeline rather than guessing at one on your own.

If you’d like a clearer sense of where your own training stands relative to checkride readiness, reach out to Pray Aviation to talk through your training plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a checkride actually take from start to finish?

Most checkrides run somewhere between three and five hours total, including the oral exam, a break, and the flight portion, though this varies by certificate and can run longer if weather causes delays.

Can you fail part of a checkride and still pass?

Yes. Examiners can issue a notice of disapproval for specific tasks rather than the entire test, which means you may only need additional training and a retest on the items you missed.

What should you bring with you on checkride day?

Bring a government-issued photo ID, your logbook, any required medical certificate, your knowledge test report, aircraft documents, and any cross-country planning materials the examiner asked you to prepare in advance.

Do you get your pilot certificate the same day as the checkride?

You receive a temporary airman certificate immediately after passing, usually printed through IACRA, which is legal to fly with until your permanent plastic certificate arrives by mail.

Is it normal to be extremely nervous before a checkride?

Yes, most applicants feel some level of nerves beforehand, and it doesn’t correlate with how well you’ll actually perform. Thorough preparation and honest practice with your instructor are far better predictors of success than confidence alone.