Comm Checkride Today

I never think that any flight in particular reflected the best of my abilities. There is always something that I could
have or had done better. I think that part of proficiency is seeing where there is room for improvement..

Well, there is somewhat of a balance required -- on the one hand, it's
good practice to continually grade yourself. On the other, if you
never have a benchmark flight where you put the chocks in and think
"Now, that's the way to fly!" you don't know what you're capable of
accomplishing.

The more frequently I fly, the more often I have a good feeling
walking away. That's not to say everything was perfect -- rather, I
knew I was flying proficiently and capably and no safety, control, or
system issue was ever raised.

I grade myself pretty hard and most flights I give myself 85-90%. On
the checkride I felt like I was at 70%.

I have those days (we all do), but I suppose I should feel that if
those are the gotchya days, and I don't have any safety, control, or
system issue, then my overall proficiency is acceptable (at this
time).

By the way, this line of thinking needs to be stressed much more in
the primary training curriculum. I can't believe how many "I didn't
crash so it's all good" GA pilots are out there.

Dan