"Eric Ross" wrote in message
...
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?

In addition to the other good suggestions already posted...

Make sure you do a thorough passenger briefing, while emphasizing that being
prepared does not mean you actually expect something bad to happen. As part
of the briefing, provide a brief description of what you expect to happen on
the flight, from takeoff to landing.

A couple of non-obvious points that I have found helpful to mention to
first-time passengers during the briefing:

* The airplane gets very quiet during the last stages of the pattern,
final approach, and landing, due to the very low power setting. This is
perfectly normal, and doesn't indicate anything went wrong with the engine.

* The stall warning horn will likely go off during the very last moments
of landing. Again, this is perfectly normal and in fact suggests a
well-executed landing in most airplanes.

Things that I task passengers with:

* Looking out for traffic. Explain what the difference between
airplanes that are "near" and "far" is, along with ways to point out
direction and altitude. I like to use the other airplanes around the ramp
to help passengers learn how large an airplane looks at various distances.
I explain that any airplane that looks as large as one parked on the ground
is pretty much "near", while those seen in the pattern are either "medium"
or "far".

* Keeping quiet in the terminal areas, except to point out something
important for the safety of the flight.

* Enjoying the flight, and letting me know if there's *anything* they
are uncomfortable with, no matter how small.

Congratulations on your new pilot certificate!

Pete