One of my check rides

[Fuzzy]

I was an Instructor Pilot and the Test Pilot for the Aeroscout Platoon (OH-58) at Ft. Hood. Time came up for my annualIP check ride. The SIP(Standardization Instructor Pilot) got in the left seat and I took the pilot’s seat on the right. Off we went. I started out with a straight-in-auto and landed on the approach end of the runway. Great auto, smooth touchdown with no ground run. Before the next maneuver, the SIP sai to me, “You are the test pilot too, aren’t you?”. I said “Yes”. He reached over and turned the Hydraulics Switch off.
I didn’t know if he was testing me or just seeing what I’d do. I told him the MOI for the Hydraulics Off maneuver, just in case. He stopped me and said that if I was doing an MTF on an OH-58 in the grass over there and the Hydraulics went out would I land in the grass or hover the 100 feet or so back to the ramp. The OH-58 is not that hard to fly or hover w/o hydraulics. So, I picked the bird up, adjusted a little forward cyclic to about 40 kts and landed a couple hundred feet down the runway. I did the rest of the maneuvers for the ride. I passed with no problem.

 

[Siris]

Reminds me of the story my father tells of his ATP checkride. He tested in a baron and on one of the landings the left rudder pedal broke off as he was breaking and put the plane into the grass beside the runway. He managed to get the engines and everything shut off in time so they didn't hit anything and they pushed the plane back onto the runway and just took off. After the last landing he had to use differential thrust to make the taxi as it was all left turns. The guy passed him after it all based upon the handling when the pedal broke and the fact he knew the freight company he flew for saying "if you didn't know what you were doing you'd be dead."

 

[Fuzzy]

Beautiful check ride. Amazing that when something happens that you don’t expect, you handle the situation like it was nothing. Even if it is a real time Emergency.
I had a young Lieutenant on day on his tactics check ride. We started out doing some NOE(Nap Of the Earth). Don was doing real well down in the trees. All of a sudden, the Master Caution light came on along with the Hydraulic Segment light. I saw it but didn’t say anything. Don sain, “Fuzzy, We got a Hydraulics Caution light!” I calmly replied to him, “It’s your check ride. What are you gonna do?” Don pulled some pitch to get us out of the trees. He then rattled off the Emergency Procedure for the failure and told me to confirm it with the checklist. He was perfect with what to do. He climbed out, called the tower and declared the Emergency.
Don flew to the airfield and landed hydraulics off on the runway. A beautiful approach and landing. We got into our Ops to fill out the paperwork on the Emergency.
He was real unhappy with the check ride since he didn’t finish all the maneuvers and thought he would have to go out again for the rest of the ride. I told him that he passed the ride. I knew he could do all the maneuvers and when he had an actual Emergency he worked safely through the Emergency like it was just another day as a scout pilot.