About DPERank
DPERank helps FAA checkride applicants find, vet, and prepare for their pilot examiner — with real reviews, first-time pass rates, and applicant-written gouge for Designated Pilot Examiners nationwide.
Who runs DPERank
DPERank is built and edited by Shane Terpstra, its founder and editor, who is responsible for the site's editorial standards and moderation decisions. The site is independent: it is not affiliated with the FAA, and no examiner can pay to change a rating, remove a review, or improve their placement.
Where the data comes from
Examiner identity facts — name, designee number, FAA function codes, and FSDO/location — come from public FAA designee records. Everything experiential comes from the pilot community: reviews and gouges submitted by applicants who took a checkride with that examiner. Pass rates and fees are computed from those submissions (first attempts only for the headline pass rate) — we never estimate or invent them.
What “AI-enriched · unverified” means
Some profile details (like a bio) are drafted by AI from public sources. Anything AI-sourced is labeled AI-enriched · unverified and treated as a draft until it is confirmed against the FAA directory, by a moderator, or by the examiner after claiming their profile. Every profile has a “flag incorrect info” control — if something is wrong, tell us and we'll fix it.
Test security: themes, never test items
Checkrides are graded against the public FAA Airman Certification Standards. DPERank synthesizes gouge into what to expect and how an examiner runs the ride — oral topics and depth, flight profile, logistics — never verbatim test questions or anything that reads as a leaked test bank. Study guides exist to remove surprise, not to shortcut learning the material.
Editorial standards, corrections & removal
How reviews and gouges are moderated is documented in our editorial policy. If you are an examiner (or anyone named on the site) and something is inaccurate or unfair, the corrections & removal page explains how to flag it, report a review, or claim your profile and respond.