Experience Question

Thank you for all the comments. I want to say that there is no question for
me as to what I will do, but I was curious about the general feelings in the
aviation community.

One of the biggest motivations for getting my license, was to enjoy the
experiences with my kids. My 9 year old daughter was completely thrilled
when she was sitting right seat, scanning the sky for other aircraft and
picking out landmarks. I am hoping that she will be inspired to pursue
aviation at a young age, rather than waiting until later in life, as I did.

As far as experience, most of you have stated exactly how I feel about it.
CERTAINLY, I have much to learn, and I look forward to learning it. But, as
with most everything else, learning is more fun when you can experience the
ups and the downs with those you care about. Making sound decisions is part
of being not only a pilot, but a parent as well. We all make the decision
to put ourselves and our kids at risk everytime we go to the grocery store
in our vehicle....(yes we have all heard that before).

I think the thing that struck a chord with me in this case, is that said
In-Laws are both aviation people. One was a multi engine, IFR rated pilot
(he hasn't flown for years however), and the other never finished. Thier
son is a captian of an ERJ-145 on the East Coast. They have many friends
that are pilots. So the comment made to me struck me a bit odd, and just
made me think about hidden adjenda's and things like that.

Thank you all for your comments, and support. My daughters birthday gift
this year will be her own flightbag and headset for those short hops with
Dad.

Looking forward to read more comments........thanks again.

Fred

I think the thing that struck a chord with me in this case, is that said
In-Laws are both aviation people. One was a multi engine, IFR rated pilot
(he hasn't flown for years however), and the other never finished. Thier
son is a captian of an ERJ-145 on the East Coast. They have many friends
that are pilots. So the comment made to me struck me a bit odd, and just
made me think about hidden adjenda's and things like that.

Sounds like you've got a tough row to hoe ahead with the in-laws...
Something ain't right there.

To answer your initial question, though, my first passenger was my wife,
Mary, the day after I got my ticket. My next passenger(s) were my kids,
ages 4 and 1.5... Been flying with 'em every since. (They're now 14 and
11)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

The main reason for this is because your relatives have known you for a
long time as a non-pilot. It is difficult for them to change how they
view you. It is the same with friends. Those who knew you before you
were a pilot may have a hard time accepting that fact. It will be
different with friends you meet after you become a pilot. I face the
same situation with my relatives. I have been flying for 10 years, and I
am an accomplished CFII. Yet, when I tell my relatives that I am a
pilot, the most common question they ask is if I have soloed yet. My
advice is don't let their ignorant comments discourage you. This is your
time, your money, and your kids. Do what you think is best.





"Fred Choate" wrote in
:

Thank you for all the comments. I want to say that there is no
question for me as to what I will do, but I was curious about the
general feelings in the aviation community.

One of the biggest motivations for getting my license, was to enjoy
the experiences with my kids. My 9 year old daughter was completely
thrilled when she was sitting right seat, scanning the sky for other
aircraft and picking out landmarks. I am hoping that she will be
inspired to pursue aviation at a young age, rather than waiting until
later in life, as I did.

As far as experience, most of you have stated exactly how I feel about
it. CERTAINLY, I have much to learn, and I look forward to learning
it. But, as with most everything else, learning is more fun when you
can experience the ups and the downs with those you care about.
Making sound decisions is part of being not only a pilot, but a parent
as well. We all make the decision to put ourselves and our kids at
risk everytime we go to the grocery store in our vehicle....(yes we
have all heard that before).

I think the thing that struck a chord with me in this case, is that
said In-Laws are both aviation people. One was a multi engine, IFR
rated pilot (he hasn't flown for years however), and the other never
finished. Thier son is a captian of an ERJ-145 on the East Coast.
They have many friends that are pilots. So the comment made to me
struck me a bit odd, and just made me think about hidden adjenda's and
things like that.

Thank you all for your comments, and support. My daughters birthday
gift this year will be her own flightbag and headset for those short
hops with Dad.

Looking forward to read more comments........thanks again.

Fred

"Fred Choate" wrote in message
...
[...]
I didn't even respond. My question to you folks is simply, how long did
you all wait before you decided it was safe to fly with your family?
Myself.....my kids were the first passengers I took up, and I felt
completely safe, prepared, and at ease with them in the aircraft with me.

Good! I suppose a little bit of worry is a healthy thing, but the best
thing is for a new pilot to not only be competent and safe, but to FEEL
competent and safe. One of the worst things about new pilots is that they
don't have enough confidence in the skills that they actually DO have.

Comments?

Your friend makes an excellent point. It is true that new pilots, having
less experience, are at greater risk for certain kinds of accidents. The
same thing is true of new drivers, of course.

So, it clearly follows that when your children obtain their respective
driver's licenses, you would NOT want them riding in a car with such an
inexperienced driver. So, if you refrain from flying with your children so
soon after getting your pilot certificate, make sure you are consistent and
refuse to let them be in the same car with themselves when they are driving
so soon after getting their driver's license.

If you can figure out how to do that in a practical way, let us know.
Otherwise, I think the bottom line is that many of the things you may do
with your children are probably dangerous, including driving around town or
on the highway in a car. For any given exposure, its' pretty well
established that driving carries a lower risk than flying, but your children
probably have a much greater exposure to that risk than they do to the risk
during flying.

In any case, life is not without risks, and if there were enough reason to
worry about killing your children in a plane crash, there would be enough
reason to worry about leaving your children fatherless in a plane crash.
IMHO, the solution is not to avoid the risk, but to do what you can to
minimize it. That means flying carefully, using good judgment to decide
when and where to fly, and to not push the limits too far, whether you are
solo or with your children.

As far as your in-laws are concerned, if they consider it reasonable for
them to second-guess your parenting decisions, it seems to me they should be
expected to submit to you their planned weekly activities, so that you can
review them and make sure they aren't exposing their children to any
significant risk.

Remind them that taking their children on one car ride per day exposes them
to roughly the same risk as you flying with your children on one flight per
week. That the playground is a very dangerous place and should be avoided
at all costs. That restaurants are known to violate (intentionally or not)
health code designed to protect them from food-borne pathogens and toxins.
That their children should not be drinking from any water source that has
not been tested thoroughly by them, whether that's a water fountain, bottled
water, tap water, or whatever.

Or, they can keep their mouths shut and let you make your own decisions
about raising your children. If and when your in-laws themselves are
pilots, and they have informed themselves about the risks involved, then
they *might* have reason to comment. In the meantime, they can safely be
told that they don't actually have any justification for thinking you flying
with your children is a bad idea, other than their own invalid
preconceptions about just how dangerous flying is in the first place.

It's not like you're taking them rock climbing, for crying out loud.

Pete

Rock climbing is definitely out of the question........

Fred

"Peter Duniho" wrote in message
...
"Fred Choate" wrote in message
...
[...]
I didn't even respond. My question to you folks is simply, how long did
you all wait before you decided it was safe to fly with your family?
Myself.....my kids were the first passengers I took up, and I felt
completely safe, prepared, and at ease with them in the aircraft with me.

Good! I suppose a little bit of worry is a healthy thing, but the best
thing is for a new pilot to not only be competent and safe, but to FEEL
competent and safe. One of the worst things about new pilots is that they
don't have enough confidence in the skills that they actually DO have.

Comments?

Your friend makes an excellent point. It is true that new pilots, having
less experience, are at greater risk for certain kinds of accidents. The
same thing is true of new drivers, of course.

So, it clearly follows that when your children obtain their respective
driver's licenses, you would NOT want them riding in a car with such an
inexperienced driver. So, if you refrain from flying with your children
so soon after getting your pilot certificate, make sure you are consistent
and refuse to let them be in the same car with themselves when they are
driving so soon after getting their driver's license.

If you can figure out how to do that in a practical way, let us know.
Otherwise, I think the bottom line is that many of the things you may do
with your children are probably dangerous, including driving around town
or on the highway in a car. For any given exposure, its' pretty well
established that driving carries a lower risk than flying, but your
children probably have a much greater exposure to that risk than they do
to the risk during flying.

In any case, life is not without risks, and if there were enough reason to
worry about killing your children in a plane crash, there would be enough
reason to worry about leaving your children fatherless in a plane crash.
IMHO, the solution is not to avoid the risk, but to do what you can to
minimize it. That means flying carefully, using good judgment to decide
when and where to fly, and to not push the limits too far, whether you are
solo or with your children.

As far as your in-laws are concerned, if they consider it reasonable for
them to second-guess your parenting decisions, it seems to me they should
be expected to submit to you their planned weekly activities, so that you
can review them and make sure they aren't exposing their children to any
significant risk.

Remind them that taking their children on one car ride per day exposes
them to roughly the same risk as you flying with your children on one
flight per week. That the playground is a very dangerous place and should
be avoided at all costs. That restaurants are known to violate
(intentionally or not) health code designed to protect them from
food-borne pathogens and toxins. That their children should not be
drinking from any water source that has not been tested thoroughly by
them, whether that's a water fountain, bottled water, tap water, or
whatever.

Or, they can keep their mouths shut and let you make your own decisions
about raising your children. If and when your in-laws themselves are
pilots, and they have informed themselves about the risks involved, then
they *might* have reason to comment. In the meantime, they can safely be
told that they don't actually have any justification for thinking you
flying with your children is a bad idea, other than their own invalid
preconceptions about just how dangerous flying is in the first place.

It's not like you're taking them rock climbing, for crying out loud.

Pete

In article ,
"Peter Duniho" wrote:

Your friend makes an excellent point. It is true that new pilots, having
less experience, are at greater risk for certain kinds of accidents. The
same thing is true of new drivers, of course.

otoh - new drivers have not received much training nor have they been
tested to any meaningful standard. Pilots have (or should have).

--
Bob Noel
no one likes an educated mule

"Bob Noel" wrote in message
...
otoh - new drivers have not received much training nor have they been
tested to any meaningful standard. Pilots have (or should have).

Well, a) the comparison was at least 50% facetious (the following paragraph
should have illustrated that), and b) regardless of the training offered, a
new pilot or driver is at greater risk for certain kinds of accidents than a
more experienced one. You can't necessarily compare a new driver to a new
pilot, but you can easily compare a new driver to an experienced driver, and
a new pilot to an experienced pilot.

Peter Duniho wrote:


One of the worst things about new pilots is that they
don't have enough confidence in the skills that they actually DO have.

IMO, being humble about one's piloting skills is not a detriment. Having
too much confidence in the skills one doesn't have is arguably much worse.

--
Peter
























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"Peter R." wrote in message
...
IMO, being humble about one's piloting skills is not a detriment. Having
too much confidence in the skills one doesn't have is arguably much worse.

You're reading things into my post that I didn't write. I'm not talking
about being humble. I'm talking about being needlessly paranoid.

Likewise, I'm not talking about being OVER-confident. I'm talking about
having an appropriate and correct assessment of one's own skills.

Peter Duniho wrote:


You're reading things into my post that I didn't write. I'm not talking
about being humble. I'm talking about being needlessly paranoid.

Oh? When you typed "don't have enough confidence" you meant "needlessly
paranoid?" Ok, I'll take your word for it now that you explained it.

You have to admit that there was some wiggle room there.



--
Peter
























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