Airmanship 2.0 by PilotWorkshops
Aug 10, 2026 · 29 min · 12 segments
Checkrides are stressful. Discover the mistakes examiners see again and again, the strategies that make checkrides successful, and the lessons that really should be taught better. Then see how all of…
Catherine CavagnaroPanelist
So if I had a few minutes to instruct on a check ride, it would also be about energy management, but it would be about landing.
One of my pet peeves is when we get too fixated on doing the checklist items when the checklist says to do them.
And one of my sort of, um, pet peeves is when folks, you know, throttle back at the same time every time, they put their flaps down at the same time every time, no matter what the atmospheric conditions are.
So first of all, you gotta know where's the wind coming from, and what is it gonna be doing to me? When I turn base, is it gonna be pushing me away from the airport? Is it gonna be pushing me toward the airport? Those sorts of things.
And one thing that really, um, Kind of amazes me is when folks put flaps down, say, on final, and then they have to put power in to make it to the runway.
So if, for example, on a power off 180, that's, that's something that I'll see.
They'll put flaps down at a certain point because they typically put flaps down at a certain point.
Well, the power off 180, you got one shot, and it's a precision maneuver.
You need to put the mains down at a certain point on the runway, and every single power off 180 you will ever do is different.
So you need to really let the conditions speak to you and put the drag, add the drag, whether that's a slip or flaps, when you need it.
So I would definitely talk about energy management in the pattern itself.
I've had applicants who will go for full flaps, and it's very obvious we're not gonna make it with full flaps, and we end up going around, and then in the go-around, I said, "Why didn't you clean the flaps up?" "My instructor told me once I put the flaps in, I'm done.
So if I had a few minutes to instruct on a check ride, it would also be about energy management, but it would be about landing.
One of my pet peeves is when we get too fixated on doing the checklist items when the checklist says to do them.
And one of my sort of, um, pet peeves is when folks, you know, throttle back at the same time every time, they put their flaps down at the same time every time, no matter what the atmospheric conditions are.
So first of all, you gotta know where's the wind coming from, and what is it gonna be doing to me? When I turn base, is it gonna be pushing me away from the airport? Is it gonna be pushing me toward the airport? Those sorts of things.
And one thing that really, um, Kind of amazes me is when folks put flaps down, say, on final, and then they have to put power in to make it to the runway.
So if, for example, on a power off 180, that's, that's something that I'll see.
They'll put flaps down at a certain point because they typically put flaps down at a certain point.
Well, the power off 180, you got one shot, and it's a precision maneuver.
You need to put the mains down at a certain point on the runway, and every single power off 180 you will ever do is different.
So you need to really let the conditions speak to you and put the drag, add the drag, whether that's a slip or flaps, when you need it.
So I would definitely talk about energy management in the pattern itself.
I've had applicants who will go for full flaps, and it's very obvious we're not gonna make it with full flaps, and we end up going around, and then in the go-around, I said, "Why didn't you clean the flaps up?" "My instructor told me once I put the flaps in, I'm done.
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