Module MOD-22 · 6 min
The Checkride and What Follows
← Next Steps in Flight Trainingdraft — pending CFI review
The practical test — the checkride — is the final step to your certificate. It has two parts: an oral (ground) portion and a flight portion, both graded against the Airman Certification Standards with a Designated Pilot Examiner. You arrive with the required documents and endorsements, demonstrate knowledge and risk management on the ground, and then fly the required tasks to the ACS tolerances. The examiner is confirming that you can operate safely as pilot in command, not that you are a flawless pilot. Passing earns a temporary certificate on the spot and, importantly, marks the beginning rather than the end of your learning: the certificate is often described as a "license to learn," because the real education continues with every flight afterward.
Key terms
- Checkride
- The practical test with oral and flight portions, graded to the ACS.
- Designated Pilot Examiner
- An FAA-authorized examiner who administers the practical test.
- License to learn
- The idea that the certificate begins, rather than ends, a pilot’s education.
Summary
The checkride is an oral plus a flight portion graded to the ACS with a DPE; passing it begins, rather than ends, a pilot’s ongoing education.
Quick check ▾
One question on what you just read.
Question 1 of 1
Objective mastery: 15%
0 of 1 answered
What are the two portions of the private pilot practical test?
Sources
Every claim traces to a source — paraphrased knowledge elements pointing at the governing FAA publication; not yet verified against a retrieved source.
- Airman Certification Standards / practical test — Private Pilot — Airplane Airman Certification Standards unverified
Community
Ask for more detail or suggest additions to make this lesson better. Community input — not authoritative and not CFI-reviewed.
Sign in or create a free account to join the conversation.
No comments yet — be the first to help improve this lesson.