Have you ever...

"Jay Honeck" wrote:
...refused to fly with someone you felt was not entirely safe?

Yes, I have declined.
Being a woman, it's hard to say if it was uneasiness about the man/woman
issue or about piloting skill, but something was definitely saying
"don't go", and he looked pretty shocked when I said, "No thanks, I
don't know how you fly!" It always amazes me how people just assume that
all pilots are *SO* desperate to be up in the air that they'll accept an
flight invite from ANYONE, regardless of how little they know about the
person, their piloting history, etc. Most self-respecting, reasonably
intelligent women won't get into a car with a man they just met and know
nothing about; why do men think asking a woman they just met to get into
an airplane with them is any different?

I have also declined a few invites from people I frequently fly and have
confidence with, when wind or other weather has been beyond what I feel
is safe.

1 and he looked pretty shocked when I said, "No thanks, I
1 don't know how you fly!"

2 After a rather heated
2 discussion he ended up taking remedial training.
2 We don't speak much anymore...

3 I told him that no way was I going to fly with him. He was
3 insulted and wouldn't acknowledge me after that.

Whoa! Aren't there other ways of getting out of a risky flight?? You
know, think back to your dating days..."oh, I can't go out with you
then, I'm cleaning out my cat's litter box that night..."

Or was it only me?

and he looked pretty shocked when I said, "No thanks, I
don't know how you fly!"

Bob Fry wrote:
Whoa! Aren't there other ways of getting out of a risky flight?? You
know, think back to your dating days..."oh, I can't go out with you
then, I'm cleaning out my cat's litter box that night..."

Or was it only me?

It would have been different if I kind of knew this guy or knew others
who know him. I'd only seen him at the airport once before ... he pulled
up in his car to talk with me (translation: interrupt) while I was
preflighting. I was courteous and stopped for a few minutes to talk,
even though I don't interrupt others when I see them preflighting,
especially people I don't even know. When he walked up the second time,
and just ASSUMED that because we'd talked once, I would go with him--
"SO, when are we going flying??"--I could have made a nicer-sounding
excuse, but my deliberate curt response hopefully conveyed that just
because we had one "good morning, nice day isn't it?" conversation
doesn't mean that I'm going to climb into an airplane with what is
still, when you think about putting your life in their hands, a TOTAL
STRANGER. Again, it's a no-brainer that you don't take *car* rides from
total strangers ... why are airplane rides any different?

wrote in message
...
[...]
doesn't mean that I'm going to climb into an airplane with what is
still, when you think about putting your life in their hands, a TOTAL
STRANGER. Again, it's a no-brainer that you don't take *car* rides from
total strangers ... why are airplane rides any different?

Be careful about your generalizations. In the scenario you describe, I see
no reason to accept a ride. But there are plenty of examples of passengers
who are total strangers to the pilot accepting rides, as are there examples
of taking car rides from total strangers, all in very reasonable, accepted
situations.

Pete

"Peter Duniho" wrote:
Be careful about your generalizations. In the scenario you describe, I see
no reason to accept a ride. But there are plenty of examples of passengers
who are total strangers to the pilot accepting rides, as are there examples
of taking car rides from total strangers, all in very reasonable, accepted
situations.

I didn't make any generalizations. In the scenario described, I knew
*nothing* about this person, not even his name, and he was not an
acquaintance of anyone I knew ... just a man driving through the airport.

I don't know what examples there are of people taking car rides or plane
rides from total strangers--no one I know gets into a car with a person
they don't even know. I'm not talking about taxicab drivers, limo
drivers, courtesy rides from maintenance shops, charter pilots or CFIs
doing Discovery Flights...that's a completely different scenario where
the passenger has initiated the ride/flight as part of a service they
are paying for. I was talking about a total stranger assuming you would
have no qualms about hopping into an airplane with him.

wrote in message
...
I didn't make any generalizations.

I guess it was someone else who wrote: "it's a no-brainer that you don't
take *car* rides from total strangers". Sounds like a generalization to me.

[...]
I don't know what examples there are of people taking car rides or plane
rides from total strangers--no one I know gets into a car with a person
they don't even know.

One of the volunteer things I have done was to drive total strangers. They
didn't know me, I didn't know them.

Last I heard, EAA was still doing Young Eagles flights. Again, total
strangers.

And believe it or not, there are people who still hitch-hike. Some risk?
Sure. But flying with someone you know doesn't preclude risk either.

I would say the issue is only a "no-brainer" for someone without a brain.
Otherwise, there is some thinking involved. You have to weigh the various
aspects of the situation.

Pete

"Peter Duniho" wrote:
I guess it was someone else who wrote: "it's a no-brainer that you don't
take *car* rides from total strangers". Sounds like a generalization to me.

Take one sentence out of context, and of course it sounds like a
generalization. In context, however, I was referring to situations like
the one described -- someone you don't know walks up to you and assumes
you're going flying together.

One of the volunteer things I have done was to drive total strangers. They
didn't know me, I didn't know them.

Did you just pick people at random on the street that you assumed needed
rides? or were you a volunteer with some sort of program that matched up
drivers with people needing rides? -- two very different things. In
fact, in some parts, a man offering rides to people at random,
especially ladies, may well prompt someone to call the police.

Last I heard, EAA was still doing Young Eagles flights. Again, total
strangers.

Again, that's a completely different situation that what I was
discussing. Young Eagle flights and the EAA are established programs.
Those participating, on both sides, may not know one another, but there
is at least an *implied* understanding of that program. That's one notch
up from being a "total" stranger and different than some stranger
offering you a ride at random.

And believe it or not, there are people who still hitch-hike. Some risk?
Sure. But flying with someone you know doesn't preclude risk either.

EXACTLY. That was the point!
In the scenario being discussed, I wasn't hitching an airplane ride.

You have to weigh the various aspects of the situation.

Yes, and that was Jay's original question, if anyone has ever refused to
fly with someone.

wrote in message
...
I don't know what examples there are of people taking car rides or plane
rides from total strangers--no one I know gets into a car with a person
they don't even know.

If my car was broke down on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere
and someone offered me a ride, I wouldn't have a problem with it... Of
course, I always carry a .45 with me so that might affect my judgement
somewhat...