Mr. Foreman is an extremely pleasant gentleman and sincerely wants to help you achieve your goal to pass the check ride. He does not play tricks or try to trap you into making mistakes. He places a strong emphasis on cross-country planning in his oral examination. In the practical and oral, he looks to see if you are able to think for yourself as the pilot-in-command and assesses your ability to adapt your knowledge and skill to the situation as presented. He places less emphasis on rote memorization of procedures and regulations.
For the oral examination, Pete opens with "This is what you will do for the rest of your life," in reference to XC planning. He stresses that proper planning is the best safety precaution known to aviation. He will review your flight plan and challenge basic values (e.g., true airspeed, fuel burn, etc.) used in your calculations. Be sure to use the actual Pilot's Operating Handbook from the aircraft you intend to use for the check ride. The Cessna Information Manuals are not a proper source of information. Be prepared to explain how you obtained fuel burn rates, true airspeed, etc., from the performance tables in the POH. Also note that if you use full power for your cruise, he will challenge the notion that you will actually cruise at full power, and that it is more likely you will cruise at a lower power setting. Make sure that your true airspeed and burn rates are based on power settings that are lower than full power.
Part Two next month!