First non-pilot passenger

Airliners aren't airplanes. They are aparatment buildings with wings on
them.

Jose

I wouldn't even go so far as calling them apartment buildings, since at
least an apartment (even a studio) has some room. There is a reason one
large manufacturer calls itself Airbus and Boeing is just the sound your
back makes after extracting yourself from a coach seat on a 737 (although I
must admit I do like the 777 much better).

--
Louis L. Perley III
N46000

My wife is the opposite. She'd much rather fly in a high wing than a low.
She sat in an Archer once, and although she liked the roomier cockpit she
didn't like the wing being in the way of looking down at the ground. But,
she wasn't comfortable with the size of a C152 cockpit either, but said
she'd give it try.
--
Chris Ehlbeck, PPASEL
"It's a license to learn."

"Louis L. Perley III" wrote in message
...
My wife will not fly with me,
but I'm still hopeful that that day will be sooner rather than later.

This is so sad, but not uncommon. Care to elaborate on her reasons?

My wife doesn't like the idea that she cannot just get out if she
feels
uncomfortable, ie. in a car, you just pull over to the side of the road
and
get out, one cannot do this in a plane. I've often thought that the only
way
to get over this fear/issue is to have her learn to fly a plane, this way
she'd know exactly what is going on. She's never sat inside my C152 (too
small) and I don't thing she's that fond of a high-wing, since you're
hanging below the wing. She's been inside an Aztec and a Beech Travelair
and
those she felt a bit better in, but she never actually flew. I think I'll
need a low-wing before she'll go up with me. I think a bit of
claustrophobia
as well, so it would need lots of windows, or at least large ones. She's
said that the Trinidad looked like a nice airplane (because of the large
windows) but that's a bit out of the price range right now.

On Sun, 30 May 2004 12:40:06 -0400, "Chris Ehlbeck"
wrote:

She'd much rather fly in a high wing than a low.

Very sensible of her. She knows that it's much safer being suspended
from a beam than balancing on top of it.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com

You might sign her up for an AOPA Pinch Hitter Course
if you can find an instructor to teach her.

You can get the course materials from AOPA.

This is a start on a pilot license and will give her a feeling
of control if something untoward happens.

The full course is 4 hours flying and 4 hours ground
during which time she learns to tune the radios, call for
help from Flight Service/ATC, keep the plane right
side up, read the maps and hold a heading and make
an approach and a landing.

When AOPA was having their clinics, it was a very
popular course among wives and the comments I received
was that it made them better flying companions.

Fred Quarles,
"Chris Ehlbeck" wrote in message
.. .
My wife is the opposite. She'd much rather fly in a high wing than a low.
She sat in an Archer once, and although she liked the roomier cockpit she
didn't like the wing being in the way of looking down at the ground. But,
she wasn't comfortable with the size of a C152 cockpit either, but said
she'd give it try.
--
Chris Ehlbeck, PPASEL
"It's a license to learn."

"Louis L. Perley III" wrote in message
...
My wife will not fly with me,
but I'm still hopeful that that day will be sooner rather than
later.

This is so sad, but not uncommon. Care to elaborate on her reasons?

My wife doesn't like the idea that she cannot just get out if she
feels
uncomfortable, ie. in a car, you just pull over to the side of the road
and
get out, one cannot do this in a plane. I've often thought that the only
way
to get over this fear/issue is to have her learn to fly a plane, this
way
she'd know exactly what is going on. She's never sat inside my C152 (too
small) and I don't thing she's that fond of a high-wing, since you're
hanging below the wing. She's been inside an Aztec and a Beech Travelair
and
those she felt a bit better in, but she never actually flew. I think
I'll
need a low-wing before she'll go up with me. I think a bit of
claustrophobia
as well, so it would need lots of windows, or at least large ones. She's
said that the Trinidad looked like a nice airplane (because of the large
windows) but that's a bit out of the price range right now.

We're a step ahead. She has already considered taking the Pinch Hitter
course. The last time it was here there was a scheduling conflict. While
she says one pilot is enough, she is interested in doing more like tuning
the radios, etc and will probably order the video and material for at least
that!
--
Chris Ehlbeck, PPASEL
"It's a license to learn."

"Helix" wrote in message
.net...
You might sign her up for an AOPA Pinch Hitter Course
if you can find an instructor to teach her.

You can get the course materials from AOPA.

This is a start on a pilot license and will give her a feeling
of control if something untoward happens.

The full course is 4 hours flying and 4 hours ground
during which time she learns to tune the radios, call for
help from Flight Service/ATC, keep the plane right
side up, read the maps and hold a heading and make
an approach and a landing.

When AOPA was having their clinics, it was a very
popular course among wives and the comments I received
was that it made them better flying companions.

Fred Quarles,
"Chris Ehlbeck" wrote in message
.. .
My wife is the opposite. She'd much rather fly in a high wing than a
low.
She sat in an Archer once, and although she liked the roomier cockpit
she
didn't like the wing being in the way of looking down at the ground.
But,
she wasn't comfortable with the size of a C152 cockpit either, but said
she'd give it try.
--
Chris Ehlbeck, PPASEL
"It's a license to learn."

"Louis L. Perley III" wrote in message
...
My wife will not fly with me,
but I'm still hopeful that that day will be sooner rather than
later.

This is so sad, but not uncommon. Care to elaborate on her reasons?

My wife doesn't like the idea that she cannot just get out if she
feels
uncomfortable, ie. in a car, you just pull over to the side of the
road
and
get out, one cannot do this in a plane. I've often thought that the
only
way
to get over this fear/issue is to have her learn to fly a plane, this
way
she'd know exactly what is going on. She's never sat inside my C152
(too
small) and I don't thing she's that fond of a high-wing, since you're
hanging below the wing. She's been inside an Aztec and a Beech
Travelair
and
those she felt a bit better in, but she never actually flew. I think
I'll
need a low-wing before she'll go up with me. I think a bit of
claustrophobia
as well, so it would need lots of windows, or at least large ones.
She's
said that the Trinidad looked like a nice airplane (because of the
large
windows) but that's a bit out of the price range right now.

This time I asked my 2
year old if she'd like to come with me today. She agreed

Is that a typo? You *asked* your 2-year old, and got a cogent answer?

My granddaughter is three. When I ask her if she wants to go to the
airport, she says: "I'd LOVE to!"

(Of course, what she really loves about the airport is the toy box and
the Belgian waffles, but that doesn't lessen the cogency of her answer


all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com

Congrats!

I took my first non-pilot up today, too.
My first passenger was last week and was a student pilot friend of mine.

Today I took my wife for a $100 burger (BTW Hangar Cafe at O43 is awesome!).
It was perfect.
30 minutes each way. Just up and over the mountains.
She was a bit nervous to start out, but we just held a conversation
throughout the flight.
I told her everything that was going on. She even kept an eye out for
gliders for me.
There was some mild turbulence, but it didn't bother her.

She asked what the rudders did, so I showed her, and that kind of scared her
a little ;-)

I've been thinking about taking my kids, too. I have three daughters: six,
three-and-a-half, and one.
The six-year-old gets really car-sick. On long trips we give her childrens
Dramamine (yes they make it and it works well).
It doesn't really make her drowsy or anything either.
She's getting better the older she gets, so sometimes we skip the Dramamine,
but we ALWAYS bring a bag.
When she starts feeling a little sick, we give her the bag. She does pretty
well at keeping it all in the bag.

I'm pretty sure my six-year-old will get sick, but she REALLY wants to go.
Not sure what I'll do. Maybe a quick 15-minute flight.
The 3-year-old will probably do OK. Not sure what to do about the
1-year-old. That seems a little young...

Anyway, if you can get your wife to go, It's awesome. My wife said she
wouldn't fly with me when I first started.
Now, she wants to go again. She had a really good time.

Congrats again!

Adam

"Louis L. Perley III" wrote in message
...

Next time you might try just one takeoff and landing and lots of straight
and level in between except to circle around and let her see your house or
playground or other landmarks to interest her.

The odds of getting motion sickness are likely reduced as well if you can
negotiate a long straight-in landing rather than a standard traffic pattern.


--------------------
Richard Kaplan, CFII, M.D, AME

www.flyimc.com