Kenny Keller (HOGS) explains Step 6 in a multi-step series on becoming a private pilot: use the FAA Airman Certification Standards (ACS) to prepare for the practical test (checkride). He emphasizes ordering/downloading the ACS (free PDF), studying its knowledge areas, maneuvers and tolerances, and following the practical test checklist to avoid denials on test day. Keller also links a free "Top 10 Checkride Tips" PDF compiled with an experienced instructor, and urges viewers to complete written/solo requirements and review ACS‑identified deficiencies before the oral/practical.
Chapters
Sam, We're going to roll. Step private pilot. Step number six, about the ACs. Go ahead and roll that. Well, we have two left of our seven steps to private pilot. So remember, step one, get that intro and just get started. Otherwise, paralysis by analysis. You keep thinking and thinking and you never do it. Get started. Step number two, chart your course. Figure out your study resources. What are you going to use? You're going to use all manual stuff. You're going to pay one on one. You're going to do hogs, online ground school. You're going to use a combination of them above. But do something, you got to study, you got to apply yourself. Step number three, pass the FAA written test. I know it's a pain in the rear, but you want to start early. Get that stupid thing done so you can move on to the next steps and make the best use of your time and your money. Build your hours, complete your FAA and article requirements. You go into part 61. Part 61 is how we get our license. Make sure you're getting those requirements done in a systematic fashion, solo, with confidence. Finish solo helicopter time efficiently. Efficiently. You want to have a good plan to get it started, keep working through it, get it done. So the 10 hours is done and you can put that behind you and move on toward getting the rating finished again. We see people because we're finishers. We finish ratings. People call, I'm all done. I'm ready, but my written is not done. Well, you're not ready. Well, I'm ready, but I don't have my solo. No, you're not ready. Well, I still got to do a cross. No, you're not ready. Get everything done so you can move through in a systematic fashion. Make the best use of your time and your money. So number six, my favorite ace the standards prepare with the ACS people. I harp it, been harping it and I got to continue to harp at it because people don't want to use it, instructors don't want to use it, applicants don't want to use it. You need to order a copy of the acs. You can go on the FAA website and download it for free. That won't cost you anything. So what's your excuse? Why you're not looking through one? Do you have one? Or better yet, get the free PDF and order one of these so that you can study anywhere, anytime. You don't have to have your electronic device with you. But the ACs for private pilot lays out the knowledge areas that the examiner is going to ask you about during the practical test. It also lays out the maneuvers with the tolerances. It also has a super important page at the back that my examiner of 24 years says the most important page in the book, the practical test checklist. This is everything you have to have the day of the test. If you don't have one of the items on this list, he can deny you the test. You're frustrated, he's frustrated. The flight schools, everybody's frustrated because you had the whole day set, you've worked for months, you've spent 20 grand, and then you can't take the test because you forgot one stupid item. Okay? And also on your written test, whatever you miss, you can look up the codes in here to know what's the areas that you need to review. And our examiner will tell you. He comes with what he calls his plan of action. And it's a big binder, but he'll explain. My book says plan of action, but understand that it's taken from the acs. So he has the sections taken from the ACS put in his plan of action. And he's added the written test questions that you failed. He's added questions that are going to be asked during the oral to make sure that you've been over those areas. And your instructor must go over the things that you were deficient on on the written test. So it's laid out. And when I first started HOGS years ago, I remember being up in Michigan doing some flying, and I met this examiner that I didn't know, and I was there doing some testing for something, and this gentleman just asked me what it was I did for a living. And I go, I have this little thing called helicopter and ground school. He's like, oh, well, what do you base that on? I go, what's based on the PTS at the time, which before it became the acs. And he went, oh, really? Tell me more about that. So when I finished, he had to say, well, I've been an examiner for 40 years, and you know what? People continually neglect using the pts. And again, this is years ago. Not having it, not using it, not going by it and getting their training, you know, in the preparation of their training. So good for you for making that a part of your training. Again, it's free from the faa. And you sit down and you open the thing and you start working through it and you go step by step. And then let's just. We'll just. I'll pick something here. Like right in the beginning, the applicant demonstrates understanding of certification requirements, recent flight experience, Record keeping. You take a look at that and you go, oh, I got down certification. I got down recent flight experience. But record keeping? What exactly do I have to have for record keeping? I'm not sure. Then you go look it up. You go watch a Hogs video, or you go to YouTube or you open up a book and you figure out what do they mean by record keeping. Use a reference and find out. And you work through this book step by step by step by step. That is how you're going to ace the checkride. We harp on it all the time. I can't tell you how important it is. You must have a copy. This is a good time. Good time to introduce top 10 checkride tips. We put this together for you, Taz Crispin. I put this together. I've been teaching 24 years. He's been teaching, I think probably 30. So it's more than 50 years of experience. He does airplanes and helicopters. It's not just 10. There's the top 10 chapters, but then there's a bonus section in the back where Taz went out and interviewed examiners and said, what are people doing that's causing problems with checkrides? And so there's bonus tips in there as well. These are the top things that we see people mess up on a checkride or getting ready for a checkride. This is a free PDF down below. You can go down, sign up, download it for free. And at this point in the game on step six, you definitely should be using this again. It's free. You can go down and grab it along with this and going and putting your finishing touches on your checkride. So those resources down below, we got one more video to go number seven. And do us a favor, if you're on YouTube, go below right now, subscribe to the channel, click the bell, and do us a favor in return for our 14 years of free contact, or 13. Well, it's 15 years on YouTube. Do us a favor. 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