A reluctance to take the controls

Chris W writes:

How is not wanting to embarrass yourself in front of your significant
other, a "19th-century mindset"?

Wanting to do things "among the girls" would be a 19th-century
mindset.

In any case, her reason for refusing is a matter of total speculation.
It could have been anything. Why not just accept it and move on,
without casting aspersions upon her simply because she is different?

Not wanting to look stupid in front of other people seems
to be a pretty timeless concept to me.

My own guess is that she simply wasn't interested in flying a plane.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

Jay Honeck wrote:
It just seems odd to me, and rather sad. I don't want folks believing
that airplanes fall out of the sky as soon as an experienced pilot lets
go of the controls...
--

One EAA Young Eagle flew, like a fair % of them, love (even if
reluctant at first) to take controls for a little while once in
cruise. But once on a calm, summer evening, this kid (about age
11) was loving it so much, I "vectored" him back to the
nontowered airport. He couldn't see my periodically nudging the
trim wheel, and visible, periodic throttle reductions got us down
to pattern alt, and he steered us pretty good to direct enter the
downwind. Thence he turned base as instructed; no need to touch
throttle after base, just trim; so he got us lined up perfect on
final, glidepath and ASI nailed though not any of his doing. I
hadn't intended to let it go this far, but the kid was doing so
well in the calm conditions. Only one hand on the wheel as
directed. Hey, that is easier, he had earlier said.

I was about to take control 1/2 mile final as the rwy was looming
larger, and kid finally looks up at me and suggests I better land
it. Roger, and excellent job there, Mr. First Officer. On the
ground, the kid runs to his Mom all excited and told her what he
just did!

I've tried this in MSFS, and it's not that easy. Is there
someone out there who can tell me what I'm doing wrong?

Fred F.

Jay:
You would do well to concentrate on the topic at hand, rather than
making gross generalizations and speculating about things I personally
might have said or done.

TROLL ALERT !!!

"Morgans" wrote:
I think there is another interloper in our midst. Anyone else
notice that, from the few posts already made?

Not you, Jay ! g

Since Jay's quote above was in response to me, are you referring to me?
Did I say something wrong?

Not everyone posts here every day, or even every week. I've posted once
in a while, and I know the group's other "Jay" IRL. You guys complain
that there aren't enough women in aviation ... if this is the way you
welcome us (by sounding a "Troll Alert"), what do you expect? And why
would you sound the alert anyway? Did I say something wrong? or
uncivilized? or out of line?

This was a topic I have had personal experience with -- being a woman, a
pilot, having people so eager to want you learn to fly that you feel
like they're trying to *convert* you to a religion (!), and having a
strong passion for flying, but knowing what it feels like to be pushed
into something you simply aren't ready for...yet. Thankfully and
happily, I made it through in my own time, not being egged-into doing
things I wasn't comfortable with just to *prove* to someone that I was
interested or serious.

That may or may not have been the case with the young woman in Jay's
post, but it is another perspective than the one Jay came away
with...and that is, after all, the topic of his post, isn't it? He did
say he didn't "get it", so I offered some other reasons than all the
negative ones he offered.

So, if you don't post often or agree with you regulars, you're a troll?

In article ,
john smith wrote:
That first lesson was an eye opener - a plane is like a 3D motorcycle.
Now I'm hooked. I'll be tooling around central Indiana in a J-3 Cub
an hour and a half from now.

Scott, are you Time Pieces members?

Don't know what that is, so I assume I'm not a member. :-)

I just got back from the field and can't believe how much fun the Cub is.
Fly a 500' pattern, one big swooping turn to final from abeam the numbers,
chop the throttle once clear of the power lines then drop like a rock until
leveling out and touching the grass soft as you please. Couldn't figure
out the portable radio so just did without. Visited a couple grass strips
then a big paved runway for some crosswind wheel landing practice. I've
only flown the club's Champ from the front and just can't feel what the
tail is doing so I end up watching the ball too much. From the back of
the Cub I can feel slip/skid in the seat of my pants and any passenger
in the front seat blocks the instruments anyhow. After 7 hours carting
the family to the inlaw's for Thanksgiving in a Skyhawk it felt good to
fly something with character. I passed 70 hours in my log book today.
I think I'll use the Cub to build some of the 50 x-country hours I need
for the IR. Won't get very far, but the FAA counts hours, not miles.

--
Scott Post

In article . com,
Jay Honeck wrote:
That first lesson was an eye opener - a plane is like a 3D motorcycle.
Now I'm hooked. I'll be tooling around central Indiana in a J-3 Cub
an hour and a half from now.

That's kind of the effect I'm looking for in people -- and we usually
get it!

What I don't understand is that you never felt the desire to try out
the controls when your wife was PIC. It would have seemed the perfect
opportunity to test the waters, and I (like, I believe most people)
would have jumped at the chance.

I think it's because I knew it would be a sham - I wouldn't really be
flying the plane, so why bother? It would have felt patronizing. I'd
flown with my wife enough to know how much is really involved with flying
a plane and I had great respect for her skills. Taking the yoke for a
bit after she'd trimmed for straight & level wouldn't really be flying
so it didn't seem worth doing.

--
Scott Post

In article . com,
"Jay Honeck" wrote:

Mary and I have given rides to dozens of people over the years. I
usually like to let a newbie ride in the right seat with me, and will
usually let them "take the wheel" once we're safely at altitude. Most
people love their new-found freedom, while others are tentative and not
quite sure what to think.

It is a rare person, indeed, who refuses the chance to "steer" -- but
it happened Friday with a 24 year old girl in the right seat.
Actually, Mary was up front with her, while I was in back with her
boyfriend (which is still a very weird feeling, sitting in the BACK of
your own plane, in flight) -- and when Mary offered her the controls,
she politely refused.

What *is* that, anyway?

don't know. I took a co-worker up for a ride, and it turns out that
she is a bit of a timid flyer. She wouldn't touch the controls and
asked me to end the flight early (which, of course, I did). I took
an old college roommate flying once and he wouldn't take the
controls either - in his case I think he was intimidated by all
the stuff, the instruments, the radios, not understanding ATC, etc etc.

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

"Scott Post" wrote in message
...
I think it's because I knew it would be a sham - I wouldn't really be
flying the plane, so why bother? It would have felt patronizing. I'd
flown with my wife enough to know how much is really involved with flying
a plane and I had great respect for her skills. Taking the yoke for a
bit after she'd trimmed for straight & level wouldn't really be flying
so it didn't seem worth doing.

While I'm a strong supporter of your right to your own opinion , I'd still
like to point out that there is a difference between "flying" and
"piloting".

IMHO, the point of offering the controls to a passenger is to allow them to
"fly". That is, there really is something enjoyable about simply being in
control of an aircraft, and this can be shared with passengers. It's not an
act of patronizing on the pilot's part, nor should the passenger feel that
their control of the aircraft is in any way diminished by their lack of
training.

To be a *pilot* does require quite a lot of training, as well as good
judgment and a variety of other personal qualities. But I don't see that as
any good reason for a passenger to not find *flying* "worth doing". And
even as a passenger without all the training and practice required to be a
"pilot", you certainly would have been "flying" the airplane, had you
accepted the opportunity to do so.

It's a moot point now, but I'll point out that you were probably flying the
airplane in your very first lesson (as all students do). The lack of
training should not have diminished the fact that you were flying, and just
as it shouldn't have then, it shouldn't in a non-training situation. The
only real difference between the two situations is that in one, a qualified
instructor is providing training. What *you* are doing is the same, and
that is flying.

Pete

TxSrv writes:

I've tried this in MSFS, and it's not that easy. Is there
someone out there who can tell me what I'm doing wrong?

What trouble are you having?

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

"Morgans" wrote in message
...
TROLL ALERT !!!

I think there is another interloper in our midst. Anyone else notice
that, from the few posts already made?

Your troll-o-meter alarm is set WAY too low.

Before you go accusing someone a troll, you might think about at least
double-checking your impressions with Google first. Your last two
pronouncments (including this one) are easily disproved simply by looking at
what those posters actually post.

... and that is what we are trying to tell you. Not all of us are as
keen on [certain] things as you are. If I gave you a chance to make a
pot on a potter's wheel, or to run spotlight at the community theater,
would you be "all over it like stink on you-know-what"?

And that's the point you're not getting. The answer to both of your
questions is a resounding "yes!".

Life is about new experiences. To pass them up is to deny being alive.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"