Today has been a very long day. I met my examiner at 8am to start the oral. I remember being told the oral should only last 45 minutes. Mine lasted two and a half hours! I'm glad a read way too much about the systems the Duchess has. Imagine going for a drivers licence and having to know if you have an electrical or mechanical fuel pump, what the ratios in your gear box are, what the heat output of your heater is and what suspension configuration you have... Then add aerodynamics questions.

After that ordeal was completed the flight part was a relief. OK, maybe not. I'm really pleased with how well I flew those manouvers. All that practise really paid off. The only thing I had a problem with was the steep turns. As I rolled into the first 360 degree turn to the left, my door popped open. There are a few aircraft here where the door pops open on almost every flight and this was one of them. It's not dangerous, but it is very distracting, and I couldn't hold the altitude within the required 100ft. I rolled out after 180 degrees and tried again, and eventually got it on my third attempt, before reversing to a perfect right 360. I'm told if you don't complete a manouver you can't be failed on it, and it worked!

Then it was back to the traffic pattern for normal, short field and single engine landings. This was the serious difference of opinion I had with my examiner. My idea of a short field landing, is a landing right on the numbers, with maximum breaking effectiveness, simulating the kind of landing you would have to do on a very short runway. This opinion is shared by my instructor, the chief pilot and everyone else I've asked. I have this kind of landing nailed. A steep approach at 75KTs, touching down with the main gear on the paint of the upper part of the '9' on the end of the runway. My examiners opinion is that this is a simulation of a 50ft obstacle (The FAA DOES like those!) at the end of the runway, forcing you to land further down at the 1000ft markers. I had to repeat this part to his requirements, but all I really need is a point to aim for! The single engine landing also went well. I was a little low on base, added power and ended up a little high on final. Not a perfect touchdown, but safe and not uncomfortable, so a pass!

I'm now qualified to fly multi-engine aircraft as well! Bring on instrument training!