On Apr 9, 8:52 pm, Mxsmanic wrote:
Luke Skywalker writes:
In your hypothetical if I gave you a question like the one you possed
and you gave me the "ball park" answer my next question "might" be,
"if you wanted a more precise one how would you figure it out?" and
then that would go to the "computing" device...I would probably feel
it necessary (grin) to show you how to use an E6B if all you have is
an electronic one (kind of a whiz bang thing)...

I don't think that would be a problem. The ASA E6-B I bought is inexpensively
made, though, and it's really hard to turn the wheels; it would be a pain to
actually have to fumble with it in a cockpit.

A nice Pickett steel or bamboo circular slide rule would be ideal--one of the
rare situations in which a slide rule is probably superior to a calculator (no
electricity, extremely fast and easy to use, more than accurate enough for its
purpose, good at simplifying specific problems). Alas! Nobody seems to make
slide rules any more. I saw a few other circular slide rules at the pilot
store, but they all looked like the same thing in different materials,
although I didn't look that closely.

I"ve done "part" of the oral in and around an airplane before...but I
dont like to. The environment is not controlled etc... It usually
doesnt do what I am trying to do and that is put the applicant at
"ease"...

The only time I'm at ease during an exam is if I don't care if I pass.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

heh...

I would share three things with you.

First if your instructor sends you then most examiners assume that you
are going to pass...you might not buy this but your instructor has as
much on the line as 'you' do in an exam and few just toss a hail mary
pass...

Second what most examiners are looking for (there are some turds but
most are not) is competence and a good grasp of the subject. AS I
tell people "the only one who gives a perfect checkride is me" (humor
is good) and I am not looking for perfection but competence...I dont
want to see to many mistakes but I certianly woudl rather see someone
who made a mistake or answered something wrong and recognized it do a
bit of self correcting...then simply "hope" I didnt catch it or dont
care.

Third part of that look for competence is that the student "believes"
that they are competent and acts that way. I understand what you mean
by "at ease" so dont take this wrong...but my guard gets up if I see
someone who is not so confident in their ability to pass...There is an
old saying "people who think that they are going to fail usually
do"...

If your instructor sends you then sit back, do your best, learn from
it and you will be proud of the result. Dont think that the task is
all that difficult...I made it!

Robert