CheckList - Review and prepare a Preflight Checklist for the specific Make & Model of the ‘N’#’d PPC that you will be inspecting

Distractions - Know that during a flight maneuver or even when scanning an area for aircraft (i.e., a collision avoidance exercise) - it is OK to ask the Examiner to WAIT (or hold) for an answer to an “in progress” question - until you finish a task or have more time to focus on the question.  (Reminder: Yes, examiners will note if you can be distracted from a task ‘at-hand’; and yes, even after the Oral testing section of the exam has been completed, the Examiner can – and will – continue to ask PTS related questions.)

Landings – Please, if you feel that your current landing setup is “off” (i.e., you perhaps will be going to go too long down the runway before touchdown) or that the weather/winds are currently not favorable for the present landing approach – Please know that you can – yes you really can - without penalty, Abort the landing and do a Go-Around.  Aeronautical Decision Making (ADM) is indeed part of the PTS exam process!  And hence making the smarter – the safer decision to abort a landing will surely gain you more respect from the examiner, than forcing a questionable landing setup.

Traffic Pattern - Know that the preferred method to enter a traffic pattern over the PPC field is, for most (if not all) flight parks, is to enter at a 45º angle on the Downwind leg.  Also, put on your preflight checklist a reminder to ask “What is the normal pattern for this field, a Right or a Left hand pattern?” and “What are the PPC landmarks for the field pattern?”  Because rarely do PPC’s fly a normal traffic pattern at an established (i.e., documented or published) airport.

Rectangular course task – Your intuitive nature from flying a powered parachute – where you can look straight down with an almost unobstructed view to the ground below – your non-structured approach to this task will normally be to fly directly over the rectangular course.  However, you are advised to fly this pattern like a fixed-wing aircraft, from the outside of the rectangle (approximately 100 feet to the outside; pending your altitude) and enter this task again, on a 45º into the downwind leg

"S" turns – This is a task that few – if any – transitioning PPC pilots have practiced.  So be advised to enter the maneuver from the downwind side of the reference line and know that both semi-circles are to be the same size. Also remember that this task contains constant turns (i.e., there are no straight lines in this maneuver once you have crossed the reference line and begun the task).  Practice for a comfortable arc size for your PPC and practice in varying wind conditions.  The examiner is looking for your ability to correct for wind drift during the turns of this task.  Also note that different from fixed-wing aircraft, since we PPC pilots do not commonly have a rudder, our wing is not required to be perpendicular to the reference line when you cross over it.  Only our ground path is required to be perpendicular to the reference line when crossed.

Turns about a Point  Visualize and practice a comfortable size circle (too tight is too much work; and when too big, the task becomes harder to maintain consistency)