Spousal checkride -- any suggestions?

I recently received my license and I am taking my somewhat nervous wife
up for the first time. I am aiming for a clear, reasonably smooth day.
Any suggestions for making this flight as positive as possible for her?

Thanks much,
Eric Ross

Eric Ross ) wrote:

I recently received my license and I am taking my somewhat nervous wife
up for the first time. I am aiming for a clear, reasonably smooth day.

When I first received my PPL my goal was to introduce my very nervous wife
to flying in a small aircraft and hopefully win her over.

To do so, I started the process by taking up eager neighbors. These people
then reported back to my wife (at various social gatherings) on how much
fun they had.

After a few months of this, I asked my wife if she would be willing to come
along with a friend of hers on a twilight flight around the Finger Lakes of
Central NY.

She agreed and I set out to find the perfect windless, clear evening to
ensure there would be no turbulence and a great view. We took off about 45
minutes before sunset and flew over a couple of scenic areas. We then
landed at a small, quiet airport to hit the restrooms and grab a soda. The
return flight was just after sunset and the approach lights of our home
class C airport capped off a very memorable flight.

The total time in the air was about 40 minutes.

Any suggestions for making this flight as positive as possible for her?

From this, I learned the following:

1) The flight should be short, of 45 minutes or less. Leave her wanting
more.

2) Twilight flights work very well, as the afternoon heating has ceased and
wind speeds typically falls off. You do not want turbulence, if you can
help it.

3) Fly somewhere scenic, or fly over your house, if practical.

4) Return to your home airport so that the approach, taxiway, and runway
lights are on and noticeable.

My wife commented that she really enjoyed listening to air traffic control
as she perceived a higher level of safety knowing that they were there
talking to us.

--
Peter














----== Posted via Newsfeed.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 100,000 Newsgroups
---= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers - Total Privacy via Encryption =---

"Peter R." wrote in message
...
Eric Ross ) wrote:

I recently received my license and I am taking my somewhat nervous wife
up for the first time. I am aiming for a clear, reasonably smooth day.

When I first received my PPL my goal was to introduce my very nervous wife
to flying in a small aircraft and hopefully win her over.

To do so, I started the process by taking up eager neighbors. These
people
then reported back to my wife (at various social gatherings) on how much
fun they had.

After a few months of this, I asked my wife if she would be willing to
come
along with a friend of hers on a twilight flight around the Finger Lakes
of
Central NY.

She agreed and I set out to find the perfect windless, clear evening to
ensure there would be no turbulence and a great view. We took off about
45
minutes before sunset and flew over a couple of scenic areas. We then
landed at a small, quiet airport to hit the restrooms and grab a soda.
The
return flight was just after sunset and the approach lights of our home
class C airport capped off a very memorable flight.

The total time in the air was about 40 minutes.

Any suggestions for making this flight as positive as possible for
her?

From this, I learned the following:

1) The flight should be short, of 45 minutes or less. Leave her wanting
more.

2) Twilight flights work very well, as the afternoon heating has ceased
and
wind speeds typically falls off. You do not want turbulence, if you can
help it.

3) Fly somewhere scenic, or fly over your house, if practical.

4) Return to your home airport so that the approach, taxiway, and runway
lights are on and noticeable.

My wife commented that she really enjoyed listening to air traffic control
as she perceived a higher level of safety knowing that they were there
talking to us.

--
Peter



----== Posted via Newsfeed.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet
News==----
http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 100,000
Newsgroups
---= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers - Total Privacy via Encryption
=---



I took my wife up for the first time a couple weeks ago.
She had a really good time. I followed much of the advice offered here.

Tomorrow I am taking my wife, my friend and his wife for a night flight.
My friend (student pilot) and his wife are really nervous.
But I assured them that night flight is really relaxing. Flying over the
city at night should be breath-taking.

Best advice:
Stay really calm, and explain everything along the way.
Don't play any cruel jokes, like "Whoa! What was that?... Just kidding...
Hahaha"
I have to agree that talking on the radio in class C helps.
I'm in Minden, NV and flying over Reno.

The main reason my friends are nervous is that there have been two crashes
at Carson City (CXP) in the last month.
One just two days ago, and it was fatal.

Adam

Here's what I'd suggest from personal experience:

Pick a good time. The first time I got my wife to fly, we'd just come
home from Oshkosh. Even she was on an airplane high.

Have her join you for part, if not all of the pre-flight, explaining
what and why you are doing stuff. Be positive; i.e. say your

Sit with her in the cockpit and explain what stuff does and what kinds
of procedures you'll be following such as communications, run up.

Try to take some time to taxi around the airport a bit. It'll give her a
chance to get used to the sounds and feel of the airplane.

Fly to a place that she will recognize from the air. Don't buzz it.

DON'T do anything funny. Maybe someday, if she embraces flying she'll
want to see what a stall is like. Not on her first flight.

Be very, very patient. The first time I flew with my wife, I promised
we'd turn back if she was uncomfortable. We took off, got out of the
pattern and she said, "go back." I did. She was testing me. We turned
around and took off right away for about an hour of flight.

Good luck.

JJF

Eric Ross wrote:
I recently received my license and I am taking my somewhat nervous wife
up for the first time. I am aiming for a clear, reasonably smooth day.
Any suggestions for making this flight as positive as possible for her?

Thanks much,
Eric Ross

Oops, forgot to complete one point ...

Foster wrote:



Have her join you for part, if not all of the pre-flight, explaining

what and why you are doing stuff. Be positive; i.e. say you're
checking for proper elevator operation, not making sure it doesn't fall
off in flight.

On Fri, 18 Jun 2004 10:59:22 -0700, Eric Ross
wrote:

I recently received my license and I am taking my somewhat nervous wife
up for the first time. I am aiming for a clear, reasonably smooth day.
Any suggestions for making this flight as positive as possible for her?

Thanks much,
Eric Ross


Here a few simple suggestions:

1. Early morning or evening in smooth conditions.
2. Explain what you are doing, without overdoing it. An example
of the kind of things to tell her is that you are going to pull the
power abeam the numbers while landing. This one freaks out a lot of
people that don't know what's going on.
3. Shallow and coordinated turns. She doesn't need to know that
you can perform a 45 degree turn to PTS standards.
4. Keep it short.
5. Have fun.

Rich Russell

On Fri, 18 Jun 2004 10:59:22 -0700, Eric Ross
wrote:

I recently received my license and I am taking my somewhat nervous wife
up for the first time. I am aiming for a clear, reasonably smooth day.
Any suggestions for making this flight as positive as possible for her?

Thanks much,
Eric Ross

Go in the morning or evening (when the winds are lightest). Should
make for the smoothest ride.

Bela P. Havasreti

Eric Ross writes:

Any suggestions for making this flight as positive as possible for her?

Fly her to dinner someplace nice on a beautiful day. Done correctly, this
can become a very expensive habit.

Take along your flight instructor for the first trip as a "thank you" and
as a way to ease your wife's concerns (and to make the trip easier for you.)

Or...you could go up on a bouncy summer day and do stalls with her. I know
someone who did that and cut his flying expenses to $0/year.

--kyler

Kyler Laird wrote:

Fly her to dinner someplace nice on a beautiful day.

Hmmmmm.....

I would suggest the flight take place on a kinda empty stomach.

And after the plane has been put away then take her out for a nice meal.

"Shiver Me Timbers" wrote in message
...
Fly her to dinner someplace nice on a beautiful day.
[...]
I would suggest the flight take place on a kinda empty stomach.

And after the plane has been put away then take her out for a nice meal.

I don't disagree, but I do think how important that is depends on the
weather.

I advise passengers to not fly on a completely empty stomach, to make sure
they've had a snack or something light. 100 calories worth or so is
sufficient, just to stave off the angry grumbling.

I also advise them to not eat heavily when we fly for lunch or dinner.
People have a tendency to overdo it when dining out, and this is a big no-no
for most folks in airplanes, especially if it's bumpy. On the other hand,
I've had some very satisfied passengers on smooth nights with the sun
setting, as they sit peacefully in their seat with a well-judged meal
resting in their stomach, watching the sun go down. In the right
proportions, food can be quite calming.

Pete