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5 Answers

Failing stage checks at a 141 collegiate program

Asked by: 6796 views General Aviation, Student Pilot

I’m a student at a 141 program that’s part of a college and I’m working on my PPL I’m wondering though if this career was right for me? Some background, I’ve failed 3 stage checks already, 1 oral and 2 flights. The first stage check I failed was the stage 1 flight check for power on stalls and normal landing, reflecting on it I failed because I didn’t prepare well enough to know the power on stall setup and recovery and for landing I really didn’t know too well how to land the plane. The stage 2 oral I failed for being unprepared and also had a couple tests same day so I failed to properly adjust my schedule. The stage 2 flight I failed because I had poor ADM on landing and I was rushing through the checklists which led me to forget some things. From all of that I was wondering whether I should quit? I know these stage exams come up during hiring and I’m not sure whether I destroyed my career before it even started. I’ve thought also about switching to part 61 flight training but I’m not sure if it would help. 

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5 Answers



  1. KDS on May 21, 2024

    Absolutely not.

    However, you might consider a change of instructor.

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  2. Mark Kolber on May 23, 2024

    Why, KDS? I guess the OP could have meant either, but I got the impression that “not prepared” was a confession rather than an accusation.

    For some, stage checks, are wake-up calls.

    In either case, I agree it’s not a deal breaker. With your take, it needs a new instructor. With my take, it needs a change in pilot commitment.

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  3. KDS on May 29, 2024

    The instructor should know when a student is prepared and act accordingly.

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  4. Samuel Cobb on Jun 24, 2024

    Failure is often a part of the process of succeeding. It is painful, and it can envoke feelings of self-doubt and fear of the future. That’s all perfectly normal, so don’t let it through you off center. In your post, it sounded like you have already identified some of the things which led up to these failures: Stage 1 flight check power on stalls and landing; stage 2 ground; and stage 2 flight. So, you have already made your beginning.

    Now all you need to do is finnish the process: The second step after having identified the causes of the failures is to develop a plan to prevent it from happening again. After that, step three is to execute the plan. Finally, evaluate the result, and see if it was satisfactory. If it is, you have done your job. If not, then you will have to go back to the drawing board, and work the problem agian.

    To give some specifics on your situation, you may want to start by developing a schedule of all your classes, tests, flights, and deadlines. I use Google Calendar. Then determine what must be accomplished by each deadline, and divide the parts of each task by the amount of days you have avialable to complete it (between now and the deadline). This will help you to get ahead of the situation. Remember, “stay ahead of the airplane”. The same goes on the ground and in life. Also, having developed this schedule, you will always be able to look at the upcoming days and determine what should take priority and what can wait.

    Taking the step mentioned above will get you up on your feet where you can have a little time and space to think which will reduce anxiety and strees. This inturn will make you more effective when studying, working on assignments, and planning your next steps.

    My second recomendation is to do a detailed study on the items that you are having trouble in. This is something you must do always. Write them down; say them outloud; couch fly the procedures; study with classmates. Theses are all effective techniques that I use.

    Third, when you have a flight coming up, try to develop a plan. You may not be able to anicipate everything, but plan for the things you do know about. Just go over the flight in your head. Maybe even discuss it with another person. This will help you to get ahead of the game when you are in the air.

    In closing, you should know that I have dealt with this very problem myself. It sounds like to me that things have just kind of piled up on you, and temporarily caused you to become overwhelmed which in turn led to the failures of the stage checks. Give these strategies a shot and see how you feel aferward.

    Hope this helps.

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  5. Samuel Cobb on Jun 24, 2024

    Don’t allow the failures to get to you. Many times they are a part of the process of succeeding. It sounds like you have already made your beginning by identifying some of the causes of these failures. That’s the first step. Now all you need to do is finish the process: After having identified the causes, develop a detailed plan to prevent it from happening agian. Next execute the plan and evaluate the results. If the results are what you wanted, then you are done; however, if not, then you will need to return to the drawing board.

    Also, it sounds like the situation has kind of piled up on you, and temporarily caused you to become overwhelmed which in turn caused you to fail the stage checks. To prevent this from continuing, you will need to develop a schedule of all of your flights, tests, classes, and other deadlines (preferably on Google Calendar). Then make a detailed account of the workload of each task, such as stage checks, exams, and in-class tests and divide it up across the amount of days that you have avialable ( from present until the deadlines).

    This will give you an advantage by taking everything out of your head and uncluttering your mind and by providing you with an up to date account of exactly how much time you have to work with on each particular area or assignment.

    Also, do detailed studies on problem areas. For example, memorize the procedures for landings and power on stalls by writting them down repeatedly and by saying them outloud. Then chair fly the procedures. It may feel googy at first, but it gets the job done. Also, make sure that you understand the aerodynamics behind each maneuver that you are studying and/or performing. This will make a huge difference when flying the maneuver.

    Finally, make sure that you have a plan of action going into each flight whether it be a lesson or stage check. If you review the maneuvers ahead of time just before the flight and have a plan going into the flight, you will perform at a much higher level.

    Also, make sure that you drink plenty of water and eat a good meal before a flight. Call me crazy, but it’s true. I once thought that water intake and nutrition did not make much of a difference in performance, but I have learned the hard way that the difference is actually night and day.

    If you will implement these practices, I believe that you will see substantial improvement in the results of your stage checks.

    Hope this helps

    Good luck to you!

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