Wife agrees to go flying

I think it's unfair to a passenger imply to them that there's nothing that
can go wrong. Even if you are dealing with someone nervous about flying,
telling them that there's no risk is just plain lying and in the long run,
I
don't think it's the right choice.

I've found it best to modify the safety / pre-flight briefing depending on
the passengers. For example - if I have a fellow pilot (or trainee) in the
front right-hand seat, I'll review such procedures as actions I'll be taking
in the event of an engine failure in a twin at various stages - but I won't
for non-pilot folks.

For nervous passengers I've found it best to keep it too the basics
(location of first aid kit + fire extinguisher and how to get out) -
unfortunately if you load them up too much you 'over teach' and retention
goes right down to the point where they can't remember anything, let alone
everything.

My wife simply hates flying, no matter what kind of airplane she is in. It
took me a year to get her to fly with me and so of course we had smoke and
fumes in the cockpit that first flight. Since that time she has warmed up to
flying a little more, especially if we are going to visit relatives.

"Kiwi Jet Jock" wrote in message
...
For nervous passengers I've found it best to keep it too the basics
(location of first aid kit + fire extinguisher and how to get out) -
unfortunately if you load them up too much you 'over teach' and retention
goes right down to the point where they can't remember anything, let alone
everything.

No argument from me there. But one still needs to provide the basics. And
one still needs to be up-front with the passengers regarding the risk of the
activity in which they have agreed to participate.

Pete

My wife had no idea I was so afflicted when she met me, I didn't
really understand it myself. But over the years with the "project"
growing in the shop, she's gotten used to the concept that people do
build airplanes and they do fly places in them, and now she knows how
indescribably beautiful the scenery is from a few thousand feet up.

Great story, Corky.

Mary and I were much the same -- together for 18 years before the
long-suppressed urge to fly was released...

Thankfully, she has always been an adventuresome soul, accompanying me on
all of my ill-thought-out adventures -- including flight!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Generally, I start with, "Federal Aviation Regulations require me to tell
you that your seatbelt is required during taxi, takeoff and landing. And
since there are no port-a-potties on this plane, your pilot recommends you
leave your seatbelt on at all times..."

Then I go on with describing how to open the seatbelt, and how to lock and
open the door. Then I segue into, "I am also required to tell you that in
the highly unlikely event of an emergency, you should remain calm and let
me get us to safety. I have been trained to handle various emergencies...
Etc. Etc. Etc."

"Morgans" wrote in
:


"Peter Duniho" wrote in message

Her nervousness about
the emergency exit and fire extinguisher is understandable, but I
wouldn't leave that sort of thing out of the briefing.
Pete


A better way of doing that is prefaceing it. Say something like, "you
know when you fly on the airlines, they have to give you a safety
briefing, but you never need it? Well, us small planes have to do it,
too. So here goes......"
--
Jim in NC

Ironically, that is why I came to this newsgroup today, for the first time
in ages. I own no plane and I have no license, but I asked my wife if she
would be interested in taking a flying lesson.

I have set her up through BeAPilot.com for an introductory flight. I think
a lot of wives, or rather the ones I know through friends, would get a bit
more out of the experience if they thought there was a "Professional": in
there with them. Not like there ******* Husbands that never listen to them
and will probably do stuff they don't want to do and get upset with them
etc.

She goes up next weekend. If this works the way I think it will I look
forward to many many trips with my wife and future co-owner/pilot ; )

--

--
Dave A.

Yes I have stopped long enough to start and my car is back in that gear.

"Corky Scott" wrote in message
...
A little background: my wife *DOES* get motion sickness. She's been

On Mon, 15 Sep 2003, Tim Bengtson wrote:

Corky Scott wrote:

A great first-flight-with-wife story (Thanks!)

She told me she didn't want to be close to the controls
and didn't want to touch them.

I find that there are two types of passengers: those who won't touch
the controls under any circumstances whatsoever, and those who you
practically have to break their arms to get the yoke back when landing.
Curious.

There is (sort of) a third type: the front-seat passenger who isn't
handling the yoke but does mess with the rudder pedals! Worst I've had so
far is a friend & I in a 152; as I started maneuvering for the approach to
land I realized that he'd locked his legs against the rudder pedals so I
couldn't use them at all... A quick shove on his thigh got that sorted,
but we talked about leaving the controls free before flying home...

If I ever take that friend flying again, he's going in the back seat of a
172, where he can be as nervous as he likes without locking my controls!

Brian - PP-ASEL/Night -
- ~170hrs TT -

Congrat's on your wife's successful first flying experience. Make sure
you take just as much care on her 2nd, 3rd, 10th, 100th ...

My wife's first time flying with me was not all that different than what you
described. We were still dating at the time. Subsequently, I was an
inactive pilot for 12 years for financial reasons. When I resumed flying,
I joined a flying club associated with my EAA chapter that operated a
1943 Taylorcraft L-2M. Most of my flying was in the Taylorcraft, although
I was checked out in a 172 at the local FBO.

My wife, who was very nervous about flying in general, refused to fly
in the Taylorcraft. An airplane that old with fabric covering and no
electrical
gizmos simply didn't intuitively seem safe to her. When she did agree to go
flying with me again, she insisted on taking the 172. Then I made a big
mistake. I should have gone out with the 172 by myself or with an instructor
first to re-acquant myself with it before taking her. But I figured I had
flown
172s enough that I didn't need to.

Since the Taylorcraft has no electrical system, I have to hand prop it.
Therefore, when I do my pre-flight, I leave the tail tied down. Out of
habit,
I did the same with the 172. Attempting to taxi away from the parking spot
with the tail still tied down did not give an initial impression of high
competence.
Once I figured out the problem, I sheepishly shut down, got out and untied
the
tail, and then proceeded.

The airport we visited had a grass runway, so I used a soft field take-off
technique.
I executed it fine, lifting off quickly and then gaining speed in ground
effect
before climbing out. However, I left out one very important step - I didn't
describe what I was going to do in advance. My wife didn't understand
about accelerating in ground effect. What she observed was simply that we
were headed toward some power lines and we were NOT climbing. The
power lines were several miles away, but her judgement of that sort of thing
had not been calibrated by any experience.

The flight ended on a bad note, also. In my time flying the Taylorcraft,
which
has heel brakes, I had developed the habit of pushing the pedals with my
toes.
When I landed back at our home airport, which has a paved runway, I touched
down with the brakes applied. Of course, the tires squeeled loudly until I
figured
out what I had done. My wife, like many passengers, judges a pilot's ability
primarily by the smoothness of touchdown. I did not score well that time.

None of my mistakes were safety critical, but they left her with the
impression
that I was not in control of what was going on in the airplane. The process
of
re-building confidence has been very long.

The flight I described above was several years ago. She only recently flew
with
me again. This time, it was in the Taylorcraft. As we rolled out after
landing, she
complimented me on the smooth touchdown. I was actually embarrased by my
landing because I was way off centerline. She told me later that she didn't
notice
that because she had her eyes closed until she could tell we were on the
ground.

Reid Baldwin

As we rolled out after
landing, she
complimented me on the smooth touchdown. I was actually embarrased by my
landing because I was way off centerline. She told me later that she
didn't
notice
that because she had her eyes closed until she could tell we were on the
ground.

Great story, Reid!

Maybe that should be part of my pre-flight briefing: "All passengers should
keep eyes closed until impact with the ground is perceived..."


--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:

As we rolled out after
landing, she
complimented me on the smooth touchdown. I was actually embarrased by my
landing because I was way off centerline. She told me later that she

didn't

notice
that because she had her eyes closed until she could tell we were on the
ground.


Great story, Reid!

Maybe that should be part of my pre-flight briefing: "All passengers should
keep eyes closed until impact with the ground is perceived..."



With stress on "impact" ???

--
PP-ASEL
PA28-161
http://www.wingsofcarolina.org
Note: email invalid. Respond on newsgroup