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Starting your checkride application switches your portal to the applicant profile. The training materials (videos, resources, quizzes, aircraft study guides, and common errors) are part of the student profile, so they will no longer be available. After your practical test, your post-flight briefing notes will appear here.

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Resuming switches you back to the applicant profile — the training material will no longer be available until after your checkride.

No briefing notes yet. After your checkride, your examiner's post-flight briefing notes will appear here.

The checkride that ends before it starts

You're ready to fly, and the examiner finds an expired solo endorsement, an overdue 100-hour, or a cross-country two miles short. The test can't start. You leave with a new date weeks away.

And none of it has to do with how well you fly.

Proving eligibility takes real work

Every “t” crossed, every “i” dotted: each hour requirement, each endorsement, every solo flight, and the aircraft's inspections and ADs.

These problems are easy to fix early, and hard to spot in your own records.

What a postponement really costs

• Fees: many examiners charge a postponement fee.
• A new date: often weeks out.
• Staying proficient: more rental and instruction while you wait.
• Your time: another day off and another round of nerves.

A simple way to look at every detail

Check to Ride reviews your records the way an examiner will. Upload photos of your logbook, endorsements and aircraft records. The report shows every requirement checked, and for each problem, exactly how to fix it.

• Nine checkrides: Private, Instrument, Commercial, Multi-Engine, Flight Instructor, Instrument Instructor, Multi-Engine Instructor, ATP and Type Rating
• Part 61 or Part 141
• $30, with two checks included: run it, fix what it finds, then run it again

That's far less than a single rescheduled checkride.

Or get it free: pass the Common Errors exam

Take a 50-question exam on the Common Errors. Score 70% or higher and your pre-eligibility check is free of charge. Upload your records, I review them, and your report is emailed to you.

Step 1 — Download Muse

Get the Muse app on your phone, or use it on the web:

Step 2 — Redeem Ryan's referral code

Enter code EITJ5G in Muse Settings within 48 hours of joining — you both get 1 billion Muse tokens. muse.ai/join

Step 3 — Select your checkride

Which practical test are you preparing for?

Mode — Training gives you a tip after each answer. Checkride is run like the real thing: no feedback until the debrief.

Step 4 — Set your scenario, then paste the prompt into Muse

Type your aircraft and airports (or roll a random destination), then copy the prompt below and paste it into a new Muse chat:

Deactivate my account

Your account will be deactivated and you will be signed out.

Weather Briefing

Enter departure, arrival, and cruise altitude.

VFR Navigation Log

Enter your route as identifiers separated by spaces — airports (KLGB or LGB), VORs (SMO, LAX), or named fixes. Courses and distances are computed great-circle; headings correct for magnetic variation automatically.

Aircraft Checklists

Pick your airplane, then the phase of flight. Tap each item as you complete it.

Lesson Plan Builder

Autopilot with the Garmin G1000 / G3000

A general guide to flying the Garmin autopilot (GFC 500 / GFC 700) paired with the G1000 and G3000. The two displays work differently — the G1000 uses knobs and softkeys, the G3000 uses touchscreen controllers — but the autopilot logic and modes are the same. Always confirm the details against your aircraft's AFM supplement.

1. Before you ever engage it

• Run the autopilot preflight test on the ground, exactly as your AFM supplement describes. It checks the servos, trim, and disconnect logic. If it fails, the autopilot is placarded inoperative — do not use it.
• Know your minimum engagement altitude. Most installations allow engagement no lower than 200 ft AGL on departure (many pilots use 400–1,000 ft AGL as a personal minimum). On approach, know the minimum use height for coupled approaches.
• Trim the airplane first. Engage only when the airplane is already trimmed and stable. Engaging out of trim causes abrupt pitch changes and can overdrive the trim servo.
• Brief your disconnect. Your thumb lives near the red AP DISC button on the yoke. Know that pressing and holding it also silences the disconnect warning.

2. Loading a flight plan

1. Open the flight plan page. On the G1000, press the FPL key; on the G3000, open Flight Plan on a touchscreen controller.
2. Enter your waypoints in order: departure airport, enroute fixes/airways, arrival fixes, destination. Use the airway tool to insert an airway between two fixes rather than typing every point.
3. Load the departure procedure. With the departure airport highlighted, select PROC → Departure, pick the SID and transition. Verify it connects sensibly to your first enroute fix.
4. Load the arrival and approach the same way (PROC → Arrival / Approach) when you know them. You can change them in flight.
5. Review the full route on the map page — look for discontinuities, wrong-way fixes, and altitude restrictions. A magenta line that jumps somewhere unexpected means a bad entry.
6. Activate a leg if needed. If ATC gives you a shortcut or a vector to rejoin, use Direct-To or activate the appropriate leg so the autopilot has a valid magenta line to follow.

3. Departure — engaging and climbing

1. Hand-fly the takeoff and initial climb. Rotate, establish the climb, and trim.
2. Set your lateral and vertical targets before engaging: dial in the assigned heading with the HDG bug, or confirm the flight plan leg is active for NAV; set the altitude preselect (ALT SEL) to your cleared altitude.
3. Press AP. It engages in the default modes — ROL (wings level) laterally and PIT (pitch hold) vertically.
4. Select your climb mode:
   • HDG — tracks the heading bug. Good for vectors and departures off the SID's lateral path.
   • NAV — tracks the GPS flight plan (or VOR/LOC, depending on CDI source). Press NAV once the magenta line is the path you want. It arms first, then captures.
   • FLC (Flight Level Change) — holds the selected airspeed in the climb. Dial the speed with the pitch wheel or nose up/down; power stays where you set it. Best for climbs: it protects against stall if you get distracted.
   • VS (Vertical Speed) — holds a selected climb rate. Simpler, but watch airspeed — it will happily stall the airplane to hold 1,500 fpm.
5. Confirm on the PFD. Active modes show in green at the top of the attitude indicator; armed modes show in white. If the mode you want isn't in good, it isn't doing it.

4. Enroute — the lateral modes

• ROL — wings-level. The fallback. If you see ROL in green unexpectedly, the autopilot lost its navigation source or you bumped something.
• HDG — follows the heading bug. Your tool for vectors, holds entries, and "fly heading" instructions.
• NAV — tracks the selected CDI source along the flight plan or a tuned navaid radial. For GPS navigation, confirm the CDI is on GPS (magenta needles) before pressing NAV.
• Switching sources: use the CDI key to toggle GPS → VOR1 → VOR2 → LOC. The autopilot follows whichever source the CDI shows. Pressing NAV with a VOR selected tracks the tuned radial, not the flight plan.

5. Enroute — the vertical modes

• ALT — altitude hold. Captures and holds the current altitude when pressed, or captures the preselected altitude automatically when ALT SEL is armed.
• ALT SEL (altitude preselect) — dial the assigned altitude in the ALT window and arm it. The autopilot levels off there automatically. Always set it before you need it.
• VS — vertical speed hold. Dial the rate; the autopilot pitches to hold it. Monitor airspeed.
• FLC — airspeed hold. Dial the speed; the autopilot pitches to hold it. Power controls climb/descent rate. Preferred for climbs and descents in most training.
• VNAV — follows the vertical profile in the flight plan (crossing restrictions, TOD/BOD points). Requires a VNAV profile to be built and enabled; on the G1000 NXi and G3000 it computes a top-of-descent and can fly step-downs. Arm it and confirm VNAV in white (armed) then green (active).
• CWS (Control Wheel Steering, where installed) — hold the CWS button, hand-fly to the attitude you want, release: the autopilot holds the new pitch and roll. Useful for small corrections without full disengagement.

6. Approaches — coupling to final

1. Load and activate the approach (PROC → Approach) early. Verify the IAF, course, and minimums on the chart match what loaded.
2. Set the CDI source. For an ILS/LOC, switch CDI to LOC when cleared for the approach. For RNAV (LPV/LNAV), leave it on GPS.
3. Press APR. Approach mode arms the lateral and vertical guidance together — LOC/GS for an ILS, or the LPV glidepath (shown as GP) for RNAV. Armed modes show white; they turn green at capture.
4. Be established before the FAF with the approach fully coupled, at the right speed and configuration. If APR never captures (stays white), you're not receiving the signal or you're outside the capture envelope — go around or fly it manually.
5. At minimums, disconnect and land — or go missed. The autopilot will not flare or land (unless the installation is certified for it, which training airplanes are not). Your hand should be on the yoke and your thumb on the disconnect well before minimums.

7. Missed approach

1. Press the GA (go-around) button on the throttle/power lever. This commands a wings-level climbing pitch attitude and sequences the missed-approach flight plan.
2. Add power, pitch up, clean up — fly the published missed approach. The autopilot can then be re-engaged in HDG/NAV and FLC/VS once stable.
3. On the G3000 with autothrottle (turbines), confirm the autothrottle went to GA power; be ready to set power manually.

8. Disconnecting — and when you must

• Normal disconnect: red AP DISC button on the yoke. You'll get an aural tone and a flashing annunciation — press and hold to cancel the warning.
• Electric trim on the yoke also disconnects the autopilot on most installations.
• Disconnect immediately if: the autopilot does something you didn't command, trim runs away, modes disagree with what you selected, or you're ever unsure what it's doing. "What's it doing now?" is the cue to take the airplane back.
• Manual override: you can always overpower the servos with firm control pressure, but the correct action is to disconnect, not fight it.

9. The habits that keep you safe

• Announce mode changes out loud — "Heading mode, flight level change, altitude select seven thousand." If you can't say what it's doing, disconnect.
• Green means active, white means armed. Check the PFD annunciations after every button press. The number-one autopilot error is assuming a mode is active when it's only armed.
• One change at a time. Change heading or altitude, verify, then change the next thing.
• Keep hand-flying. The autopilot is a workload tool, not a replacement for proficiency. Hand-fly departures, arrivals, and at least one approach regularly.
• Know your specific installation. Button layouts, minimum altitudes, and available modes (VNAV, autothrottle, ESP) vary by aircraft. This guide covers the common logic — your AFM supplement is the authority.

ACS Oral Review Questions

Oral review questions organized by the FAA Airman Certification Standards. Each question references the specific ACS task and source material. Use these to test your knowledge — not as a substitute for knowing the material.

Compiled from publicly posted checkride reports about other examiners. These are not questions from Ryan's practical tests.

Flight Track

Look up a flight by tail number and date to replay its ADS-B track, or watch a live position. Pick a date and tail, or use Live mode.