The first tip is to try not to become anxious about the check ride. Put yourself in a positive mood. The only result you can receive from a test by a DPE is a "pass" or a "try again." A DPE cannot take away your certificate (an FAA Inspector can, but not a DPE). Relax and enjoy the day.

One big advantage you have is the FAA makes a copy of the test available to you ahead of time. The FAA’s Practical Test Standards (PTS) describe exactly what is on the test. Unfortunately, people put themselves at a disadvantage by not reading the PTS. You should go over it page by page with your flight instructor. Ensure you understand and can do every task.

If you are an airplane pilot transitioning to gliders, know what the words "category" and "class" mean and what the currency requirements are related to the different kind of aircraft you can fly. (Does a BFR in a glider meet the requirements for airplanes? If you fly an airplane for a living, does that mean you are current to carry passengers in a glider?)

Know where the aircraft documents are and how to read them. Be able to show that the glider is legal and airworthy. For goodness sake, know where the glider’s weight and balance papers are and don’t use the sample glider in the pilot’s handbook.

Because of the geographic location where we fly, most of us are proficient in thermal soaring. You need to study ridge soaring and wave soaring in preparation for the check ride. Because we don’t do them in Illinois, they are the ones people don’t know during the oral.

You will probably take your practical test in a glider without flaps, but you need to understand the effect flaps have on performance. Be prepared to compare and contrast flaps and spoilers.

Know the sectional chart. Be able to talk through an imaginary cross country flight using the sectional. Be able to discuss the different classes of airspace along the way.

Some FARs are more likely to be the source of questions than others and some are quite prone to misunderstanding. Make sure you have a good functional knowledge of these FARs: 61.51, 61.56, 61.57, 91.107, 91.113, 91.125, 91.155, 91.211, 91.303, 91.307, and 91.309. That’s really not a very long list but they are the core area for a lot of confusion. Be sure to look in FAR 1.1 for the definitions used in the FARs.

Be prepared to act the part of the PIC in every regard. Brief the DPE. Ensure he straps into the glider and do not forget to tell him how to unstrap himself (FAR 91.107). When a situation develops, take charge and do not look to the DPE to tell you what to do.

Some pilots believe it is easier to fly behind one tow plane versus another. If you do all your training behind your favorite tow plane, then on the day of your check ride you take off behind a different one, you will be in the "learn as you go" club. You can avoid this problem by making sure some of your training takes place in as many different situations as are available to you.

Most applicants can recover from stalls without a problem, but there is one problem area. That exception is stalls with the spoilers in the open position. This maneuver seems to be one that few people practice. That’s unfortunate because the most dangerous stall we are likely to encounter is the one close to the ground. This is also the time we are most likely to be flying with the spoilers open. To make sure you don’t have a problem with this maneuver, practice it with your instructor (and close those spoilers quickly during the recovery).

Another area that needs special attention is "speed-to-fly." You should know whether to fly faster or slower than maximum L/D given a head wind, tailwind, sinking air, or rising air. That sort of knowledge should be well ingrained in your knowledge. Then, given a glider’s performance curve (such as the one on page 2-8 of the Soaring Flight Manual) be able to determine the best speed-to-fly in specific conditions. For example, what is speed-to-fly with a 25 MPH head wind and 100 FPM rising air? If you can answer that and explain your answer, you understand the material. During the flight you should be able to demonstrate the application of those principles.

Now the only item left to cover is the landing. You should understand the PTS standards and practice landing to those standards (200’ for private, 100’ for commercial). You should be ready for a simulated emergency of a spoiler failure on one of your landings. You don’t have to meet the accuracy standards during the spoiler failure simulation to pass the check ride. But, if you can successfully handle the simulated stuck spoiler approach and meet the 100’ commercial standard on the same landing, then you and your flight instructor have earned the right to brag.