Phew! That was crummy.

Well, the good news is that I passed my commercial glider pilot written exam!  That's one major paperwork detail that had to be taken care of before I could progress to setting a date for my flight exam.

To get your commercial glider pilot's license, you have to pass two tests.  One is a written knowledge test that is proctored by an FAA authorized testing facility.  They're dead serious about it, too.  I've seen less security at an airport checkpoint than at the test facility.  The 100 question test has about 90 questions that don't seem to have much to do with flying a glider in a commercial setting safely but nevertheless it is required.  So, I studied for it and now I have passed it.

Next up is to set a date for my commercial flight check.  You have to have an oral question and answer session with a designated examiner from the FAA and then take several flights with him/her to get their endorsement for your commercial rating.  That's the test that makes the most sense to me.  I'd rather go through an exhaustive Q&A in person than a computerized test that seems designed to trip me up than test my knowledge.

My focus now is to fly with Ron Ogden, my instructor, to brush up on my flight maneuvers, emergency procedures, etc. and get ready for that in-person test with the examiner.

I've been using the Practical Test Standard guide from the FAA lately and trying to fly all my maneuvers in accordance with that guide.  Earlier this week I flew at minimum controllable speed for about 30 minutes in ridge lift, practicing my turns to the left and right without stalling.  I've practiced a few stalls, done some steep turns, and I've also been letting my son sit in the front of the glider while flying it from the back.  It's actually kind of fun to fly from back there.  Definitely more room in the back.

Amazingly, now I'm almost (almost) looking forward to the check ride.  I got some practice flying a passenger last week when one of our club members had a relative visiting and he asked me if I'd take her for a ride as he was busy doing his flying duty.  I had a chance to preview my technique giving a ride to a stranger and I had a good time doing it!

I'll continue studying for the oral test but there's no reason except for the examiner's schedule, that I can't get my rating by the end of July as long as I demonstrate that I know what I'm doing.