"Mark" wrote in message
om...
I have a touchy issue I need guidance on..

Without going into any specifics, how can I advise a student of mine
about problems he/she is facing while working with a Designated Pilot
Examiner towards a rating? Seem this particular DE is using
'questionable' tactics and being unnecessarily difficult with dealing
with this student?

Should I advise the student to voice their concerns towards the DE or
contact the local FSDO? From information I have gathered from other
instructors and students in my area, they all agree that this DE is
not using standard evaluation methods.

Mark, it very probable that the problem above is not the same as the
one I'm going to tell about below. I'll get to that in a minute. But first,
maybe you are getting only one side of the story(s, sic). Have you thought
about going to the DE and talk to him/her?
When I went for my check ride in 1973, I made a big mistake with my DE.
When I talked about my problems with my CFI later, and in reflecting back on
it through the years, I I know I created the problem.
My problem? I couldn't keep my mouth shut. I was cocky, over-confident,
and a smart-ass. For instance, in the midst of demonstrating recovery from a
departure(accelerated) stall, I said I couldn't see how anyone could get
into that condition, much less a secondary stall, without doing it
deliberately -- certainly not if they were awake and paying attention. The
DE gave me the 'look.'
Next on the agenda came recovery from unusual attitudes. I didn't think
anything about the DE asking me to climb an additional 2,000 feet above what
was already a safe altitude. And I have no idea what he did to wind me up
and tumble my internal gyros. All I remember is when he said, "Recover," I
stalled in less than 5 seconds. In attempting to recover from that, I did a
secondary stall... then a tertiary stall!! Only by going to the gauges did I
ever get the airplane flying again.
I came close to puking all over the cockpit. In spite of having
completed an aerobatic checkout in a Citrabia when I was still logging time
as a student.
The DE let me fly around for fifteen minutes or so before continuing
the checkride. That checkride, by the way, lasted 2:40. Other than him
telling me what to do next, we didn't exchange more than ten words during
that time. He did sign me off that day, in spite of the stalling incident.
So, talk to the DE, if you haven't already. Tell him or her about your
concerns. Get the other side of the story. Just because other students are
having trouble, doesn't mean something is wrong with the DE.