Experience Question

"Greg Farris" wrote in message
...
Looks like I'm in the minority here, but I think some self-imposed limits
are
in order. Yes, I would take family or friends up immediately after getting
the
ticket, IF it's a short ride, in good weather near your home field. If
you're
talking about going places though, I would be concerned about an
inexperienced
pilot placing unneeded performance pressure on himself. If you offer to
fly
your family to the inlaws' house, 200nm away, and they accept - then by
the
time they get belted in they have their minds set on getting there. This
is
the time when the less experienced pilot could make judgement errors,
particularly regarding weather.

That kind of judgment error can be made by any pilot, any time.
Furthermore, perhaps I'm an anomaly (though I don't think so), but I made
just those kinds of decisions when I was a fairly new pilot myself. In one
case, we were at the airport practically ready to depart, with my friend and
his friend. The weather was great, and we'd planned a flight north to
Vancouver BC from Seattle. But his friend showed up with some kind of sinus
congestion. Having made the mistake of flying once during my training with
a cold, I knew what the potential harm might be, and scrubbed the flight.
The entire day's plan was a bust.

Performance pressure exists no matter how extensive your flight experience.
If anything, the more experienced pilot is expected to be able to do more.
At least a brand new pilot can use the more easily-understood (by non-flying
public) excuse of "I'm just not comfortable with that". Coming from an
experienced pilot, the passengers may not be so understanding. Even
children understand that when you are new to something, it's harder to do.

If performance pressure is the only reason you can think of for a new pilot
to avoid taking his children flying, local flight or no, I remain utterly
unconvinced.

Pete