Eric,

As many others have said, I would recommend early morning or evening (when
still light enough). The winds are lighter and the air generally smoother.

Do not hound her about going, let her want to go when she wants to go.

My wife was my first non-pilot passenger. I did take her over areas she was
familiar with, one off them where she worked which is right next to another
local airport. Don't do a lot of turns. I did so trying to stay close to
airport, "just in case" but was told all the turning bothered her and got
the "go someplace" statement. Have her watch the preflight. I even offered
to let her read the checklist to me to give her something to do and relieve
any apprehension. She declined. Explain things but not too much. Never
say "it's never done THAT before" or anything close (even if it hasn't).
When I asked her if she was ready to go back I got the reply, "Only if you
want to." Landed just about sunset. She even helped push the airplane into
the parking spot! Now she is waiting for the next AOPA pinch hitter course
to come to the area. She wants to learn how to tune the radios and
transponder (but not use) for me. She even wants to learn the GPS to help
me out. She knows not to ask questions when we're approaching the airport
but looks for traffic. She tells me about airliners she sees that aren't
even a factor, but I'm not going to stop her. We then went out to dinner
afterwards so she could ask any questions.

I may have had an advantage though. My CFI recommended she come on a cross
country (when we wouldn't be doing maneuvers or stalls) with us. He
explained a lot of the things we were doing to her. She went on my night
cross country. When I found our home airport I was close to it and did a
forward slip, forgetting she was in the back. She later said "that sideways
thing was cool!" She also helped with my training, quizzing me from the
training materials.

--
Chris Ehlbeck, PPASEL
"It's a license to learn."

"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?

Thanks much,
Eric Ross