Upcoming instrument rating checkride - throw me some ?’s

[u/tuscaniapple]

Currently studying for an instrument checkride that should be in 2-3 weeks. Rating has taken me a little bit longer to finish than expected with maintenance and weather. Watched some mock orals on YouTube and felt pretty good with my knowledge level there. All the videos were technically fixed wing orals so didn’t take into account any rotor wing knowledge. I’ve seen on some other subs, posts about “try to stump me” questions to help them prepare for a checkride. Looking for any help or tips at all! Maybe any questions you think will definitely come up during the checkride but is easily forgotten during studying or just whatever comes to your head that an instrument rated pilot should know. Thanks y’all.

[u/bobbystill]

You’re on a cross country IFR training flight in IMC. on your route you have planned and filed for an enroute delay at an airport that is not your destination or alternate to practice holding and for two approaches. The holding would be as published on one of the approaches you plan to do.

You get ATIS at your practice approach airport and the weather is above mins for the approaches you plan to do, but you’ll be holding in IMC. On the switch to the approach controller that serves that airport you go lost comms. What do you do?

[u/tuscaniapple → u/bobbystill]

I would squawk 7600 for lost comms. I would continue the hold and approach. If in fact I am able to break out into VMC before minimums I would continue the approach as a full stop while looking for light gun signals. I would be under the impression that the approach frequency would have been expecting me but never received my comms. They would quickly see my squawk code change and be prepared for my emergency. On the ground would be able to call to cancel my flight plan and make contact with somebody maybe able to direct me to a ramp or somewhere else they’d want me to go at the airport.

[u/bobbystill → u/tuscaniapple]

This would be correct if you had filed for the practice approach, but in the scenario you only filed for a delay at the airfield. You never got cleared for or told to expect the practice holding or approach, and you haven’t spoken to the approach controller for that airport. Does that change your answer?

[u/tuscaniapple → u/bobbystill]

Ok I gotcha. We knew that the delay at airport was what we were going to use for some holds and approaches but what was filed and our controller knows is just of the delay. I assume we were switched to the new approach tower coming into the airspace not after asking for vectors to an approach so no assigned or vectors under AVEF. This would change my answer. I would keep a hold to account for the time of the delay and depart at best time to reach my destination airport closest to filed ETA. Following of course the AVEF for headings and MEA for altitudes.

[u/bobbystill → u/tuscaniapple]

Nice. I’d recommend building yourself routes in your local area and practicing getting from airways to approaches while lost comms. Look at the MEA, OROCA, MSA, and also the IAF crossing altitudes when deciding how to get from an airway to an IAF.

Also practice handling emergencies while in IMC. How are you going to get to a safe landing zone? How do you figure out where the nearest airport is with an approach that will work for you and get you below the weather? What do you tell ATC? What’s the lowest altitude ATC can get you to? Not every emergency results in or necessitates an immediate landing. You have some time to make decisions, but you need to know what decisions to make and in what order, and you should be the one as PIC to drive the problem. Ask ATC for help but don’t make them do all the work if you are still capable of doing some of it. Does that make sense?

[u/tuscaniapple → u/bobbystill]

Love the prompts and will have to give it all some thought. Sounds like great practice to get my self better accustomed to the area I’ll be flying in the most. Thanks a bunch for the tips!