“Check rides: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” Hangar Flying Session

“Check rides: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”

Mike Vivion, Alaska Fish and Game-retired

Check rides often strike fear into the hearts of the most stalwart of aviators. While check rides are intended as a tool to evaluate the aviator, significant learning opportunities nearly always occur simultaneously. For over 30 years, the presenter was subjected to anywhere from one to four check rides a year…..and many lessons learned. In this presentation, Mike will discuss some of those check rides, the lessons learned and just how funny some of these things can be—-in retrospect.

Mike Vivion grew up in Montana, but learned to fly in Hawaii in 1969, and his first checkride experience wasn’t the prettiest. He is a graduate of the University of Montana with a degree in Wildlife Biology. He served as a Wildlife Biologist and Airplane Pilot in Alaska for nearly 30 years, working and flying in many remote parts of Alaska. After his retirement from the Fish and Wildlife Service, he accepted a position at the University of Minnesota-Crookston, teaching and advising in the aviation program there. Mike “re-retired” in 2013, and he and his wife Gina moved to Bozeman, Montana, where they currently reside. Mike has been a flight instructor for over thirty years, and has written for numerous aviation publications. He has been a regular presenter at Montana Aviation Conferences for over ten years. Mike kindly became a founding
Board member of the Minnesota Pilots Association, which he serves as Vice-President. He is now our “out state” board member.