On Tuesday, December 8, 2015 at 3:16:26 PM UTC-5, Charlie M. (UH & 002 owner/pilot) wrote:
On Tuesday, December 8, 2015 at 2:13:44 PM UTC-5, wrote:
Is it much more difficult to pass the powered pilot test? I understand that it can be used in lieu of the glider test.

I "believe" you can't take the power written & use it for a glider rating.
The power test's cover things NOT needed in the glider written.

You CAN get a (say) private SEL rating, then do a minimum (of flying time, knowledge) in a glider & do an add-on for the glider.

If you will only do glider flying, then do a glider written and glider check ride.

If you do a glider rating and want power later on, you need to do the written & check ride (sorta from scratch, although some glider time transfers over).

Right, exactly. If you have the SEL rating you are exempt from taking the
glider knowledge test before you add on the glider rating. You are not
exempt going the other way.

I managed to take the written (as we called it back then) THREE times:
1. I was a glider student, but took a ground school at the local community
college over the winter. The CFI was only rated for airplanes so I took
the airplane test.
2. I stopped flying for a while, but when I finally was getting ready
for a checkride it was for glider, so this time I took the glider written.
3. Next I added on an airplane rating so I had to take the power written
again (more than 2 years had passed since the previous time I took it).

Whew. Of course all that was followed by the commercial written and then
the FOI and Analysis of Maneuvers for the CFI, so I got to do it a lot!

Our experience with students at our club has been that the knowledge test
becomes a stumbling block. The college kids are all practiced up at
studying for and taking tests, but people that have been out of school
for a while get all stressed out over it. I try to get them to relax
and not worry over much since a lot of it really has nothing to do with
glider flying these days (at least they got rid of the NDB navigation
questions!) and they just need 70% to pass.

Matt