FAA Wants Your Checkride Feedback

The FAA has announced plans to roll out a new post-checkride survey for pilots and is seeking comments.

If you’ve ever walked away from a checkride thinking “That was fair”—or “That didn’t feel right and I want to report it”—the FAA wants to hear from you.

The FAA has announced plans to roll out a new post-checkride survey for pilots, designed to collect feedback on checkride experiences with Designated Pilot Examiners (DPEs). Before the survey becomes official, the agency is asking for public comment, and pilots have a chance to shape how this works.

What’s the survey about?

After a practical test with a DPE, pilots would be invited to complete a short, voluntary survey—about a dozen yes-or-no questions—covering topics such as:

• The examiner’s professionalism
• The testing environment
• Whether the exam content felt appropriate
• The length of the oral and flight portions

The FAA says the goal is to track the performance and consistency of DPEs, not to evaluate pilots.

This effort stems from the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which directed the agency to improve oversight of examiners and create a system to evaluate examiner performance using pilot feedback.

Why this is important

Checkride availability, consistency, and fairness have been hot-button issues in flight training for years. While the FAA already oversees DPEs, this would be the first formal, nationwide system that collects direct feedback from applicants after every practical test.

In theory, that means a clearer picture of examiner consistency, better data on checkride duration and scope and a tool to identify outlier behavior.

FAA seeking comments

The FAA is asking for input on:

• Whether the survey is necessary
• Whether the estimated time burden on pilots is reasonable
• How the survey could be clearer or more useful
• How to minimize hassle while still collecting meaningful feedback

How to comment

Comments must be submitted by February 27, 2026 and you can submit by the following methods:

Online: via Regulations.gov

Email: [email protected]

Mail:

Christopher Morris
Flight Standards Service
800 Independence Ave. SW
Washington, DC 20591

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Eric Radtke

It was his first airplane trip at age seven that made Eric decide to become a pilot. "While boarding the airplane, a flight attendant noticed my interest in the flight deck and urged me to go talk to the pilot. I give a lot of credit to that pilot for my career choice." Eric earned a bachelor’s degree in finance and went on to an airline career. He learned to fly at Sporty’s as part of the University of Cincinnati’s Professional Pilot Program, an initiative he later directed.Eric now manages Sporty’s media network including FlightTrainingCentral.com. In addition, Eric serves as a Captain in a Cincinnati-based corporate flight department.

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