Russ DeFrancesco — DPE
★★★★★4.7 · 3 reviewsFlag incorrect info
Recent reviews
Write a reviewRelaxed environment and lets you teach. FOI was conversational (Maslow, laws of learning, transfer of learning). Runway-incursion avoidance as a full scenario-based lesson. He talks a lot — let him lead.
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Friendly, non-adversarial oral. Heavy on weather products (TAF/METAR/winds aloft), pitot-static and gyro theory, lost-com at CRQ/MYF, holds and alternates. He prompts you rather than trapping you.
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Extremely fair and clearly wants you to succeed. Very big on scenario-based teaching — expect to be asked how you would tailor a lesson to different students. Knows systems cold and expects you to as well. Rescheduled me kindly when my lesson plans were not ready the first day.
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Checkrides conducted
3Pass rates
Russ is friendly and non-adversarial and genuinely wants safe, capable instructors. He is a strong believer in scenario-based teaching, so frame answers as how you would teach a real student. He talks a lot and will often lead you toward the answer — let him.
- Typical start: 0700, paperwork and fee first
- Locations: KMYF (Montgomery), KCRQ (Carlsbad)
- Duration: Long orals — often 4-6 hours before the flight.
- Fees: Standard DPE fee; confirm when scheduling.
Conversational. FOI first, then a taught lesson (often runway-incursion avoidance), systems, required inspections/documents, and an emergency-approach lesson.
Teach to correlation; tailor to different students.
- Maslow hierarchy applied to a student
- Positive vs negative transfer of learning
- Teach systems to a librarian vs a CEO
A complete scenario-based lesson hitting all points.
- Taxi scenario at KMYF with hot spots
- Famous incursion case studies
Explain mechanically, not just what the gauge reads.
- How a magneto makes spark
- 172RG hydraulic gear system
- Preflight and taxi with incursion awareness
- Airwork and required maneuvers
- Emergency approach and landing
- Incomplete runway-incursion lesson (missing ACS points)
- Weak systems explanations
- Forgetting ACS standards and common errors in a taught lesson
- Let him talk — he often leads you to the answer
- Frame everything as scenario-based teaching
- Know systems well enough to draw them
Aggregated from 3 gouges (2017-2019). Derived “what to expect,” not verbatim test items.
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