Part 3 Private vs Commercial Helicopter Pilot Check Ride
Oct 16, 2018
Part 3 Private vs Commercial Helicopter Pilot Check Ride
Rachael: He said, "Come out to Vegas, and I'll take you around."
Kenny Keller: Oh, Vegas. Isn't Heli Expo going to be in Vegas Dan?
Rachael: And then he also said, "Can't wait to read the updated books."
Kenny Keller: Dan, I owe you a helicopter ride. I'm sorry I didn't get it done while you were home. I said I promised that to you. I got it in for Gabriel. I owe you a flight in the Enstrom, and it's on me. Your next trip back here, I'll take you up. I owe you that, for everything you've done, for all your ... I was just talking to Gary about you. He's like, "Wow. That guy’s got some ... That guy's got some-"
Gary Cleveland: Credentials.
https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/helicoptertraining/episodes/2017-07-19T07_00_00-07_00
Kenny Keller: "Credentials." I'm like, "Heck yeah." I go, "Flies in the Air Force, flying drones, airplane instructor, helicopter instructor." Heck, I was privileged that he was here with us, talking to me. You know, he's like, "Oh, I'm a H.O.G.S. fan," and here supporting us, but in turn I'm going, "Heck I feel privileged that you're here in front of the camera with us, because you have more ratings than I do, more credentials than I do." So I was thrilled to have Dan here, along with Gabe, and along with Lance, all live a couple weeks ago. It was awesome. Gary couldn't make it because he worked the night before, and he was leaving for vacation, so we left him alone. Still had a great time though.
Part 3 Private vs Commercial Helicopter Pilot Check Ride
Kenny Keller: I'm in here one day building presentations and Gary walks in the door and he goes, "I just had an engine failure." I went, "Really? Are you okay?" And he's like, "Yeah. I'm fine." I go, "How's the helicopter?" And he goes, "It's outside. It's in the hanger." And I go, "You had an engine failure, and it's in the hanger? What are you talking about?" And he goes, "Eh, I started it up after it got to the ground, and it started, so I hovered it back in and pushed it inside." And I went, "I've been flying since '97 Gary. I've never had an engine failure." I mean, I had one in a hover, but never in flight. I go, "What happened?" "Oh, I'm flying along, getting ready to set up for an auto to the numbers two eight, and right as I was ready to enter, it quit running." Gary goes and puts it on the numbers two eight, practice auto turns into a real auto.
So that's one thing I've been wanting to ask Gary to do, once he's here full-time and we have the time. I want Gary to relay his stories because I've had people ask. Dennis, who just flies for the Sheriff's Department down in Louisiana, or Alabama, which one I forget. Anyway, he said, "Hey Kenny, we'd like to hear about a real engine failure." Well I could tell you what I know from practice. I can tell you about the engine failure I had in a hover. I can't tell you about an engine failure at 500 feet. So that's one of the videos that I'd like Gary to do, is what it feels like when you're really out there, flying along, and you don't think it's going to quit, and it quits, because Gary's done it and lived through it, he knows how it feels. He's been there, done that. He's also had a couple other unfortunate things happen, mechanically, and he's pulled through them, and walked away. When he's ready and has the time, those are some videos we're going to add to ground school, because those are things I can speculate on. I can't give you that. I can't tell you that story, because I wasn't there. Those are things that Gary can give you a firsthand account of how it feels when the engine stops, and you have to land. He can tell you what it sounds like, feels like. I can only speculate.
Part 3 Private vs Commercial Helicopter Pilot Check Ride
Rachael: Jim Hardy said, "I was told of that engine out from the factory, but they didn't say who it was." So he was just claiming that he heard the story before.
Kenny Keller: Ah, okay. Yeah. So you'll be hearing more of those stories from Gary. We'll make separate videos on those things, specifically that he's been through. Because how better can you learn, than the guy who's been through it. So we will do those videos, and those will be Gary there to tell his story, the way it happened, what he experienced, and what he felt. So am I missing anything, Steve, that I'm supposed to have talked about or covered? We talked about Gary, talked about the books. So, I want to open up the ... Did you have something else?
Rachael: Let's go to the lesson.
Kenny Keller: Let's go to the lesson. Good idea. So, if you want to, Steve ... You know what, we don't even have to share the screen. Let's just go through it real quick. What I wanted to put in there, before Gary gets started is, right out of the practical test standards, which will soon be the ACS. For a commercial pilot applicant, they should exhibit a significantly higher level of knowledge and skill than the private pilot, and applicant needs to reflect a higher level of competency expected of a commercial pilot applicant in performing these similar TASKs.
The commercial pilot check ride is a private pilot check ride on steroids. People argue with me, and they go, "Oh, no. It's not the same check ride." It is with the exception of you have to know privileges and limitations, which Gary's going to go over, and I'm going to have Gary do it, because Gary has done four commercial check rides in two months. I could do it. I signed off a commercial guy last fall. But I don't think I've done any this year. I think I've done a CFI, and ... Anyway, it doesn't matter what I've done this year. Gary's fresh, four commercials in the last two months. So Gary's fresh on it.
I just wanted to reiterate, you have to know everything that you have to know at the private level. You have to know it at the commercial level. So everything you know at the private level ... At the commercial level, you have to know everything that you knew at the private. You just have to know it to a higher standard. That is the truth. So I also want to add, in the ground school, in the commercial section, we put things that you need to know specifically as a commercial pilot. I don't take every single video from the private and move it over to commercial, because we want you to go through the private material to refresh your memory. Then move onto the commercial section.
Part 3 Private vs Commercial Helicopter Pilot Check Ride
I recently had a member who is no longer a member, and I'm not going to mention his name, who got really rude with me over this in an email. I'm not going to go there other than to say, if you think you're going to find something spectacular and new for the commercial, it's not going to happen. You need to know everything you knew at the private. It's all fair game again.
At the commercial you need to know everything you knew at the private. You need to know it to a higher standard. Where at the private, you could kind of hem haw, and as long as you get to the answer, and explain to the examiner the concept, you're going to be okay as long as you understand how to keep yourself out of trouble, and not get hurt or killed. In the commercial environment you're going out, and you're going to fly hotter, heavier, more often in crappy weather. You're going to have more demands put on you. So at the commercial level, the examiner wants to know, when he asks you a question, he wants to hear, "Boom. Boom. Boom." That same thing you knew at the private, but he wants you to know it really well, to a higher standard. And then the difference is, privileges and limitations.
So Gary's going to cover that now, because he did his commercial just a couple years ago, has done four commercial applicants in the last two months. So I'm going to say Gary's pretty darn qualified right now to go over this with you and give you the insight of what he thinks is important, of what he's went over with his students, and whatever else he wants to add from his commercial check ride. So I'm just going to get out of the way and let Gary do your thing.
Gary Cleveland: Okay. Well, it's interesting you talk about, Kenny, the slight differences between the commercial check ride and the private check ride.
Part 3 Private vs Commercial Helicopter Pilot Check Ride
Helicopter Online Ground School was founded by Kenny Keller in 2012. He is the author of "Helicopter Check-Ride", which made Amazon #1 best seller upon release. His online video courses include Private Pilot, Commercial Pilot, Certified Flight Instructor, and Instrument Pilot. Kenny recognized a lack of quality ground training within the industry and has created a video learning platform to compliment any part 61 or 141 flight school program.
All four of these courses are FAA approved for WINGS and appear on the FAA safety website as approved online courses.
The Certified Flight Instructor membership includes access to all of the Private Pilot and Commercial Pilot videos as well, giving the Certified Flight Instructor membership over 40 hours of video to watch. The courses include information on all subject areas, to include the fundamentals of instructing.
Each course includes both practice written test questions and oral check ride questions.
Members have access to a closed Facebook group to network.
Kenny Keller shares his experience and knowledge with aspiring Student Pilots all over the World
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Gary Cleveland, Chief Pilot
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