Understand Your Why

As some of you know, I’ve been neck-deep in my instrument rating. After scoring a 90 pecent on the written exam in November—thanks to the wonders of Sheppard Air—this rating has become the center of my universe, alongside my duties at Plane + Pilot.

My original goal was to take my check ride by the end of January. However, once flight training began, I was quickly humbled by the sheer volume of wisdom and technical understanding required. Despite flying four to five times a week, attending ground school, and studying at home, I realized that a three-month timeline was unrealistic. I refused to rush toward a check ride that would likely end in failure.

After a chat with my flight instructor and DPE, I decided to push my check ride back to give myself more time. But that’s where things went sideways. After talking to friends who had taken condensed courses or tested under the old PTS standards, I fell into a trap: I started believing that study guides and rote memorization were enough to pass. I was focusing on the “what” without ever truly understanding the “why.”

Luckily, my wake-up call came in the form of a mock oral exam with instructor Ken Wittekiend. I walked in thinking I was ready. I walked out two hours later fighting back tears. However, the session did exactly what it was designed to do: It exposed my weaknesses. Aside from the shaky, rote-memorized facts, I realized I knew relatively nothing about how to apply that knowledge in a practical, real-world setting. After a somber drive home, I slowly realized this “failure” was the best thing that could have happened. It saved me from flying all the way from Texas to Louisiana just to fail the actual check ride.

Thanks to Wittekiend’s willingness and support, we began ground school sessions of a slightly different nature. We started by changing our entire approach to the material, beginning with the fundamental differences between the old Practical Test Standards (PTS) and the current Airman Certification Standards (ACS). While the PTS leaned heavily on basic memorization and piloting ability, the ACS is designed to test a pilot’s foundational knowledge through the lens of situational awareness, risk assessment, and, of course, the ability to fly the airplane within a specific set of standards.

Simply put, the ACS isn’t interested in whether you can recite a regulation. It wants to know if you understand how that regulation affects a flight in the “big picture” sense. With Wittekiend’s expertise guiding me toward becoming a safer, more well-rounded pilot, I’m finally grasping the “why” behind the “what.” This process has even forced me to dust off VFR knowledge that’s been sitting untouched in the back of my mind for eight years.

Whether you are preparing for a check ride or are a seasoned pilot crisscrossing the country, I encourage you to stop and ask the questions I was once too afraid—or didn’t know how—to ask. When we truly understand the why, the what becomes second nature.