Wife agrees to go flying

[Corky Scott]

A little background: my wife *DOES* get motion sickness. She's been
going along with my airplane building project for many years now and
over time has grown comfortable with the concept that building an
airplane isn't so hairbrained after all. I've made sure she's been
informed of all the successful home building projects and continually
show her finished airplanes from "Sport Aviation" magazine. So she's
ok with me building the airplane, and she enthusiastically agreed that
it was now time for me to finish my flight lessons begun so long ago.
But actually flying with me, that was something she didn't really want
to discuss, until now, now that I have my pilots license.

She knew I really wanted her to come with me but I knew enough to not
push it hard. I took a couple of flights since I passed the
practical, one solo and another with a friend/mentor who has many
years of flight experience and once taught flying and who flies a
UPF-7 Waco biplane. He was effusive in his praise of the flight to my
wife. That helped a lot as my wife knows he is a consumate
perfectionist, not prone to praise lightly.

So a couple of weeks ago, in the midst of this stretch of really nice
weather we've been having here in New England, I casually asked her if
she'd like to go up for a little hop. Ooooohhhh, not sure, was her
response. I explained that the winds are very calm and that we could
go during the evening when the winds mostly die to dead calm. She
finally agreed to try, as long as I would immediatelyreturn to the
field if things went bad for her. Of course, I responded.

I knew that the great weather couldn't last and it didn't. I planned
the flight for this Saturday, in the evening, beginning at 5. By
then, the high that had been dominating the northeast for a week had
slid by and we were picking up a southern flow of air and some low
clouds. But the wind was still gentle and the clouds were scattered
at the moment at at a reported 4,000 feet with a broken layer at
6,000. I hadn't planned to climb higher than 3,000, so we were good
to go.

I'd booked the airplane for a 5:00 departure and we headed out at
4:15. She was obviously nervous as we drove in, but typically decided
for us to go grocery shopping after the flight. That was a good sign,
it meant that she considered the flight something that would happen
and be ok.

We arrived at Lebanon around 10 of five and after a bit of banter with
the office at Signal, were handed the dispatch book for the 172 I like
flying. Both airplanes were there but I like the older airplane
better because the controls are less stiff, plus I knew that the newer
airplane had just come in and would be the always problematic hot
start. We walked out to the airplane and I showed her how we untied
it and then went through the preflight, item by item. She watched me
carefully as I walked around the airplane and checked it over. I had
to tell her to duck her head when I dropped the flaps. When all was
done, I explained how she should climb in and how to move the seat up.
I also raised it to make sure she could see easily out through the
windshield. She told me she didn't want to be close to the controls
and didn't want to touch them. I explained that she could move the
seat up a little bit, so she was at least sitting beside me and didn't
push her to hold the controls. Then I climbed in and we both strapped
in and began the starting checklist. Part of that is to explain to
the passengers how to get out in an emergency, how to open the doors
and windows and where the fire extinguisher is and how to operate it.
As we drove home later, I found out that she really didn't like
hearing about emergency egress and the fire extinguisher, it made her
nervous.

The engine fired up without any trouble and I turned on the avionics
and explained how to adjust the headset so she could speak properly,
then went about the instrument checks and got the ATIS information.
It was "Foxtrot". I reported in to ground with location and "Foxtrot"
and requested taxi to takeoff. Ground came back with instructions to
taxi to runway 18. I explained to my wife where 18 was and moved out
turning right to head past the FBO and then turning left on the
taxiway to get to 18. She nervously asked me if I'd forgotten to
close my window, and I explained that I'd left it open for ventilation
and that I'd close it shortly.

I explained that I would now go through the runnup to test the mags,
which meant that the engine would rev up a some. I now closed my
window, then advanced power to 1800 rpm and went through the runnup
check, explaining what I was looking for.

We were cleared for takeoff, whereupon I turned the transponder to
Alt, snapped on all the lights, taxied forward and dutifully turned
left to get to the very end of the runway as taught, then pivoted
around to line up with the centerline. There was a flock of Starlings
crossing the field at ground level not far down the runway. I called
the tower and requested a hold while the Starlings crossed, he replied
that I could hold at my discression. We waited for perhaps a minute
or so, then I called to say that we were now clear and we were given
permission to roll.

I advanced power slowly while holding the centerline and explained
that we would pitch up slightly at 55 knots. That we did and we rose
smoothly into the air. I also explained that at 1100 feet we would
turn right as a part of the pattern, then turned right again to
parallel the runway. I kept an eye on my wife to make sure she wasn't
overcome, or feeling queasy, she said she was ok.

We continued climbing and I called the tower to tell them we would
head north up the Connecticut river, then head northwest for a bit.
We were cleared north. I called in when we cleared the class D
airspace.

We passed the town of Norwich on the left, then Dartmouth College on
the right, and I kept pointing out places on campus that she knew as
she had worked there for the last two years. The air was generally
calm, although there were just a few ups and downs. I leveled off at
2800 feet to stay under some low broken stratus and throttled way back
to 2100 rpm to stay relatively slow so that bumps were minimised and
the engine noise was low. Once past Dartmouth, I turned west at the
Ompompanusuc river and followed it to the Union Village Dam, a feature
she instantly recognized. Then we just tooled along route 132 to the
town where we live and I kept to the left of the road so she would
spot our house when we passed it. She was now actively looking out
the window and did excitedly speak out when she identified our house
set in the hills.

We continued on towards the upper village and then circled slowly
around to the north and back east towards the Connecticut again. I
kept commenting at various places trying to keep her actively
participating in the flight. We passed by Post Mills and I pointed
out the small grass airport there and Lake Fairlee right next to it.
At that point she asked if we could go back.

I asked if she was ok, she said yes but her ears hurt.

So I told her we'd turn south at the river and head back.

I explained that I would now listen to ATIS, and punched it in, it
hadn't changed. So at 10 miles I reported in to the north with
information Foxtrot. Since the winds were calm, I half expected to be
told to come straight in to 18 rather than use 25, which was how
traffic was being routed and there wasn't any activity, but no, the
tower requested right downwind for 25 and report downwind. So I
responded and then explained to my wife that we would be turning left
once we got in close to the pattern and then would turn right and
right again to line up with the runway. At Lebanon, most traffic is
routed in a right hand pattern for 25. Not sure why, but I suspect
it's because left hand pattern traffic ends up being hidden by a hill
through base and the turn to final. Right hand pattern traffic is
visible all the way through the pattern.

From where we were ten mile north up the Connecticut river, the
airfield is hidden by a low hill and I swung gently around to the
right to line up for the 45 to downwind. I explained every maneuver
prior to initiating it so she would not be surprised. I also
explained what the tower had told us to do.

We turned downwind and I reported in and was cleared to land. I then
told my wife that we would begin our approach as we passed the end of
the runway. That happened almost immediately and I reduced power to
1500 rpm and dropped 10 degrees of flaps. I pointed out the landmark
we would use as our turn in point to base (row of "monopoly houses")
and turned in over them. Dead ahead was the church my instructor used
to line up on base which I pointed out, then we turned again for the
runway. Too much talking and not enough flying, we were past the
runway by a little bit, but still plenty high so I just continued the
turn and now dropped to full flaps as I lined up on the centerline.

There was absolutely no wind so all control movement was minimal and
we rounded out over the end of the runway in good shape. Touchdown
was more of a jolt than she had anticipated but it was actually a fair
landing.

As we rolled out the tower contacted us to stay on frequency and cross
the runway to taxiway Bravo, then right turn back to the ramp. I
confirmed crossing the runway and turned right on Bravo.

I explained to my wife that we weren't allowed to taxi on the grass,
so I'd have to turn away from the tiedown area and we'd push back to
the tiedown space.

I lined us up, braked to a stop, turned off the avionics and pulled
the mixture to idle/cutoff, the engine woofed to a stop. We climbed
out and I attached the nose gear guide and we pushed the airplane back
to it's spot together. While I cleaned up the cockpit, my wife pulled
out the tiedown straps and hooked them on without asking.

We walked back together crossing the ramp as a rather loud executive
jet landed and taxied in behind us. I asked how she now felt about
the flight and she enthusiastically responded that SHE HADN'T FELT
SICK, AT ALL. This was great news and I was greatly relieved, as was
she. She thought that all in all the flight was really cool and she
was very pleased with how things went and that I kept her informed
throughout the flight of what I was doing and what would happen next.

I found out that even though I'd kept all banking to a minimum, she
was still a bit unnerved each time a wing went down. My friend with
the Waco told me that for first time passengers, he often rudders
through turns holding the wings level with the ailerons to minimise
exactly the fear my wife experienced.

On the way back from shopping, my wife's ears still had not unclogged,
so I suggested that she hold her nostrils closed and blow through her
nose slightly. Darned if that didn't work and they popped clear.

She's always had problems with her ears, even climbing and descending
hills while driving in the car, so it's not surprising that she would
experience the clogging when in the airplane. Next time, she'll bring
some gum to chew, she said. And that's the great news, there will be
a next time. The foliage is beginning to turn now and the upper
Connecticut Valley is a spectacular Fall scene, with Mt Washington
just 30 minutes flying northeast of us. This is a milestone for us
and I'm really pleased with the results. We called our son, who lives
and works in NYC, my wife enthusiastically predicted that he will
REALLY like flying and will pester me incessantly with questions so
I'd better be ready for a distracting flight. :-) He told me he
wants to see how accurate the flight simulators he's been using almost
all his life are, compared to the real thing.

Corky Scott

[Jay Honeck]

Congrats, Corky!

How long have you two been married?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"


> She's always had problems with her ears, even climbing and descending
> hills while driving in the car, so it's not surprising that she would
> experience the clogging when in the airplane. Next time, she'll bring
> some gum to chew, she said. And that's the great news, there will be
> a next time. The foliage is beginning to turn now and the upper
> Connecticut Valley is a spectacular Fall scene, with Mt Washington
> just 30 minutes flying northeast of us. This is a milestone for us
> and I'm really pleased with the results. We called our son, who lives
> and works in NYC, my wife enthusiastically predicted that he will
> REALLY like flying and will pester me incessantly with questions so
> I'd better be ready for a distracting flight. :-) He told me he
> wants to see how accurate the flight simulators he's been using almost
> all his life are, compared to the real thing.
>
> Corky Scott
>
>
>
>
>
>

[Jay Honeck]

> Ohhhh, let's see, 2003 minus 1975... 28 years now.

Wow -- congratulations! (You've beat the national average by 400%!)

How long have you been flying?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Richard Russell]

On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 14:09:25 GMT,
(Corky Scott) wrote:

>A little background: my wife *DOES* get motion sickness. She's been
>going along with my airplane building project for many years now and
>over time has grown comfortable with the concept that building an
>airplane isn't so hairbrained after all. I've made sure she's been
>informed of all the successful home building projects and continually
>show her finished airplanes from "Sport Aviation" magazine. So she's
>ok with me building the airplane, and she enthusiastically agreed that
>it was now time for me to finish my flight lessons begun so long ago.
>But actually flying with me, that was something she didn't really want
>to discuss, until now, now that I have my pilots license.
>
>She knew I really wanted her to come with me but I knew enough to not
>push it hard. I took a couple of flights since I passed the
>practical, one solo and another with a friend/mentor who has many
>years of flight experience and once taught flying and who flies a
>UPF-7 Waco biplane. He was effusive in his praise of the flight to my
>wife. That helped a lot as my wife knows he is a consumate
>perfectionist, not prone to praise lightly.
>
>So a couple of weeks ago, in the midst of this stretch of really nice
>weather we've been having here in New England, I casually asked her if
>she'd like to go up for a little hop. Ooooohhhh, not sure, was her
>response. I explained that the winds are very calm and that we could
>go during the evening when the winds mostly die to dead calm. She
>finally agreed to try, as long as I would immediatelyreturn to the
>field if things went bad for her. Of course, I responded.
>
snipped good story.....

Congratulations Corky. I got my ticket in early July and took the
wife (married 29 years) for her first flight in late July. She is
claustrophobic, scared of heights and gets motion sickness. For the
six months that I was taking lessons, I tried to get her to go up
with my instructor figuring that that would eliminate the additional
fear associated with flying with a newbee. She refused and said that
she would only fly with me, if at all. Funny what 29 years can do.
She actually trusts me more than the person that I recommend as the
one who should be trusted.

I finally got her to agree to a flight. My first thought was to take
her around the pattern, land and see how she was doing. The more I
thought about that, the more I realized that I would be exposing her
to the most frightening parts of flying without an opportunity to
relax and enjoy the less stressful aspects of flying. So, I arranged
to fly from N10 (Perkiomen Valley, NW of Philly) to 1N4 (Woodbine, NJ)
to meet some friends for lunch.

Bottom line: we made it and she is not refusing to fly again. She
hasn't yet taken her second flight, but she will. She didn't need the
barf bag and eventually looked out the window. That's more than I
could have hoped for. I won't be pushing her too hard, as I am
gaining valuable experience flying without her and hopefully getting
better. In another 29 years I might actually be good.

Rich Russell

[Peter Duniho]

"Corky Scott" > wrote in message
...
> We walked back together crossing the ramp as a rather loud executive
> jet landed and taxied in behind us. I asked how she now felt about
> the flight and she enthusiastically responded that SHE HADN'T FELT
> SICK, AT ALL. This was great news and I was greatly relieved, as was
> she. She thought that all in all the flight was really cool and she
> was very pleased with how things went and that I kept her informed
> throughout the flight of what I was doing and what would happen next.

That's excellent Corky. One of the things I've found is that your technique
of giving a thorough passenger briefing usually helps first-time passengers
feel more comfortable about the flight. It reassures them that I take the
flying seriously, and that their safety is paramount. Her nervousness about
the emergency exit and fire extinguisher is understandable, but I wouldn't
leave that sort of thing out of the briefing.

Thanks for sharing...the leaves will be turning here in another month or so,
and I'm looking forward to similar flights. It's kind of fun to hear other
pilots mentioning similar flights...helps build the anticipation. :)

Pete

[Gig Giacona]

You all did it wrong. Each of you put the cart before the horse. Make sure
the Mrs. will fly before you make her the Mrs.

[Corky Scott]

On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 18:15:02 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
> wrote:

>> Ohhhh, let's see, 2003 minus 1975... 28 years now.
>
>Wow -- congratulations! (You've beat the national average by 400%!)
>
>How long have you been flying?
>--
>Jay Honeck
>Iowa City, IA
>Pathfinder N56993
>www.AlexisParkInn.com
>"Your Aviation Destination"
>
>
Mmmmm, tough question. Started formal lessons with my father (Ex Navy
pilot who'd flown PBY's, PB4Y-1/s -2/s and Neptune P2V's and a CFI,
also had an endorsement for seaplanes, both single and multi) when I
was 15.5. That would have been back in 1963 or so. Soloed at 16 with
around 8 hours logged in a straight tail 172. Had about 25 hours when
I left home for college, never had any money to spend on flying
lessons after that, till now.

Re-engaged in flying lessons this February and soloed for the second
time that month on the 27th. Passed the practical last month on the
25th.

In between those times have been lots of flying with friends. Most of
the flying was in a Waco UPF-7 Biplane. Did not get to land it, or
takeoff for that matter, but I did fly it for a number of hours on
long trips, like the one to the Dayton area Waco fly-in and also to
Oshkosh in '95 when they had the big Waco celebration. It's a long
flight from Vermont to Oshkosh in a biplane.

My log book now says around 78 hours or so, including those I logged
when a young man. I asked, the flight school generously allowed it to
be included towards the necessary total to go for the practical.
Interestingly, the early logbook shows about half an hour flying time
in a DC-3. It was my father's company's corporate airplane and he had
me do the takeoff, plus fly it to Idlewild from North Philadelphia
during a parts pickup. No, my father did not allow me to attempt the
landing. :-) This was after I'd soloed of course <guffaw>. It was
like flying a house. I have two standout memories from flying the
DC-3. 1. I was taught to taxi by lining the airplane up down the
taxiway and then locking the tail wheel. We'd rumble along like that
till we veered off the centerline a bit, then unlock the tailwheel,
straighten out, and relock it. 2. Takeoff, my father neglected to
instruct me in what power setting to use for the 1200 hp radials. I
didn't know any better, since I had piloted only airplanes that you
firewalled for takeoff, so when he said: "Well let's go", I grabbed
the two throttles and pushed them up as far as I could. The engines
BELLOWED. My father quickly grabbed the throttles and pulled them
back to the normal takeoff setting and told me that I ***COULD***
overboost the engines. Well I didn't know that, at least not at the
moment we took off. What did I know? I was just a 17 year old skinny
kid. All this conversation taking place while we gathered speed on
the runway. Couldn't tell you what the power setting was for takeoff
now, but I do remember they can be overboosted. :-)

The FBO requires at least four takeoff's and landings every 45 days to
maintain proficiency. Other than that, I can't plan much in the way
of xcountry because at $99/hr, I can't afford it. So it's just local
putzing around, taking people for rides.

Corky Scott

[Corky Scott]

On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 14:31:28 -0400, Richard Russell
> wrote:
>Congratulations Corky. I got my ticket in early July and took the
>wife (married 29 years) for her first flight in late July. She is
>claustrophobic, scared of heights and gets motion sickness. For the
>six months that I was taking lessons, I tried to get her to go up
>with my instructor figuring that that would eliminate the additional
>fear associated with flying with a newbee. She refused and said that
>she would only fly with me, if at all. Funny what 29 years can do.
>She actually trusts me more than the person that I recommend as the
>one who should be trusted.

>Rich Russell

This is going to sound a bit loopy.

I can hear my wife saying exactly the same thing, but I don't think
it's necessarily because she trusts me, and doesn't trust a stranger.


She'd see no point in going for an airplane ride just to go for an
airplane ride by herself. But going for an airplane ride with ME
satisfies several criteria: She knows how much I love flying, hell,
it's just about the only thing I talk about besides family, so she'd
like to share in that with me, to discover with me what it is I keep
going on about.

But she also doesn't want to outlive a viable life to become an
invalid (both my parents became invalids. She and I both spent a lot
of time caring for them and her mother has advanced Parkinsons) and
for that reason wants to be with me when we crash/burn/die...

It's a sick joke I've heard her mention at parties when people ask her
what she thinks of me building an airplane. But I'm not so sure it's
entirely a joke.

Corky Scott

[Peter Duniho]

"Gig Giacona" > wrote in message
...
> You all did it wrong. Each of you put the cart before the horse. Make sure
> the Mrs. will fly before you make her the Mrs.

Each of who? Who are you talking about?

Not that I've found Usenet to be a terribly useful place for relationship
advice anyway, but I'm curious who you're talking about here, especially
since you replied to my post.

Pete

[G.R. Patterson III]

Jay Honeck wrote:
>
> Make the Mrs. an equal partner and split the PIC time...

Can't afford that one. :-(

George Patterson
A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something that cannot
be learned any other way. Samuel Clemens

[Judah]

Now why d'ya have to go and ruin a perfectly good hobby by gettin' the
wife involved!! Do you have to share EVERYTHING!?!?!?

:)


Nah, congrats on getting the wife up! The first time my wife flew with
me, we got less than 10 miles, and she proudly exclaimed, "OK, I did it!
Let's go back now!" (For those of you who are familiar, we took off from
HPN, got to the Tappan Zee Bridge, and she was ready to turn around. The
ATC people thought I might have had an emergency on board... If they only
knew!)

During the second flight, which lasted about 45 minutes, she actually
enjoyed the scenery and commented on how beautiful it was from the air.
Now, my problem is convincing my 4 year old daughter to come up!!

Happy flying to you and your wife!


(Corky Scott) wrote in
:

> A little background: my wife *DOES* get motion sickness. She's been
> going along with my airplane building project for many years now and
<snip>

[Morgans]

"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

[Peter Duniho]

"Morgans" > wrote in message
...
> 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......"

I guess to each his own. It's my opinion that the "but you never need it"
just encourages the audience to fail to pay attention. Granted, when it's
one-on-one, or one-on-three, you have a better chance of making sure
everyone's awake, but I wouldn't want to mislead a passenger into thinking
that the information I'm providing in the preflight briefing isn't actually
important.

I *do* emphasize that all of the emergency procedures are there for the
HIGHLY UNLIKELY event that we would need them. But I make sure all of my
passengers have at least a passing familiarity with the kinds of things that
are known to go wrong with airplanes, and reassure them that I have been
trained to deal with such emergencies (as opposed to the average motorist,
who has NO idea how to keep control of the car should anything unusual
happen).

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.

Pete

[Jay Honeck]

> This is going to sound a bit loopy.

Doesn't sound loopy at all, to me.

Mary and I have every intention of living life to the fullest, within the
parameters of getting our children safely to adulthood.

Within those limitations, we do everything -- motorcycling, flying, etc. --
in moderation, and together. Neither of us wants to end our days drooling
on ourselves in an infirmary, so I suspect our hobbies -- statistically not
particularly risky, but less safe than most -- may catch up to us someday.

When that happens, it will hopefully be together.

Once the kids are safely on their own, I suspect our risk-taking behavior
will probably increase. Why, we may even (*gasp!*) fly at night regularly,
at that point! :-) Or, (double gasp!) build our own aerobatic plane...

Good luck with the wife, Corky. I'm surprised you've been around airplanes
for so long, and didn't make "love of aviation" a top "wife-priority". She
must be a heckuva lady! :)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[G.R. Patterson III]

Judah wrote:
>
> The ATC people thought I might have had an emergency on board...

You did!

George Patterson
A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something that cannot
be learned any other way. Samuel Clemens

[Sylvain]

"Gig Giacona" > wrote in message >...
> You all did it wrong. Each of you put the cart before the horse. Make sure
> the Mrs. will fly before you make her the Mrs.

yep, and pick one who already owns an aircraft, will save you the
trouble of having to build it yourself :-)

--Sylvain

['Vejita' S. Cousin]

In article >,
>This is going to sound a bit loopy.
[snip]
>But she also doesn't want to outlive a viable life to become an
>invalid (both my parents became invalids. She and I both spent a lot
>of time caring for them and her mother has advanced Parkinsons) and
>for that reason wants to be with me when we crash/burn/die...

That's a beautiful thing :) Actually I would love to find a women/wife
like that. Congrads and good luck with your experimental.

[BTIZ]

congrats Corky... that is a great way to get a nervous spouse interested..
an evening fall foliage trip sounds like a great second trip..

BT

"Corky Scott" > wrote in message
...
> A little background: my wife *DOES* get motion sickness. She's been
> going along with my airplane building project for many years now and
> over time has grown comfortable with the concept that building an
> airplane isn't so hairbrained after all. I've made sure she's been
> informed of all the successful home building projects and continually
> show her finished airplanes from "Sport Aviation" magazine. So she's
> ok with me building the airplane, and she enthusiastically agreed that
> it was now time for me to finish my flight lessons begun so long ago.
> But actually flying with me, that was something she didn't really want
> to discuss, until now, now that I have my pilots license.
>
> She knew I really wanted her to come with me but I knew enough to not
> push it hard. I took a couple of flights since I passed the
> practical, one solo and another with a friend/mentor who has many
> years of flight experience and once taught flying and who flies a
> UPF-7 Waco biplane. He was effusive in his praise of the flight to my
> wife. That helped a lot as my wife knows he is a consumate
> perfectionist, not prone to praise lightly.
>
> So a couple of weeks ago, in the midst of this stretch of really nice
> weather we've been having here in New England, I casually asked her if
> she'd like to go up for a little hop. Ooooohhhh, not sure, was her
> response. I explained that the winds are very calm and that we could
> go during the evening when the winds mostly die to dead calm. She
> finally agreed to try, as long as I would immediatelyreturn to the
> field if things went bad for her. Of course, I responded.
>
> I knew that the great weather couldn't last and it didn't. I planned
> the flight for this Saturday, in the evening, beginning at 5. By
> then, the high that had been dominating the northeast for a week had
> slid by and we were picking up a southern flow of air and some low
> clouds. But the wind was still gentle and the clouds were scattered
> at the moment at at a reported 4,000 feet with a broken layer at
> 6,000. I hadn't planned to climb higher than 3,000, so we were good
> to go.
>
> I'd booked the airplane for a 5:00 departure and we headed out at
> 4:15. She was obviously nervous as we drove in, but typically decided
> for us to go grocery shopping after the flight. That was a good sign,
> it meant that she considered the flight something that would happen
> and be ok.
>
> We arrived at Lebanon around 10 of five and after a bit of banter with
> the office at Signal, were handed the dispatch book for the 172 I like
> flying. Both airplanes were there but I like the older airplane
> better because the controls are less stiff, plus I knew that the newer
> airplane had just come in and would be the always problematic hot
> start. We walked out to the airplane and I showed her how we untied
> it and then went through the preflight, item by item. She watched me
> carefully as I walked around the airplane and checked it over. I had
> to tell her to duck her head when I dropped the flaps. When all was
> done, I explained how she should climb in and how to move the seat up.
> I also raised it to make sure she could see easily out through the
> windshield. She told me she didn't want to be close to the controls
> and didn't want to touch them. I explained that she could move the
> seat up a little bit, so she was at least sitting beside me and didn't
> push her to hold the controls. Then I climbed in and we both strapped
> in and began the starting checklist. Part of that is to explain to
> the passengers how to get out in an emergency, how to open the doors
> and windows and where the fire extinguisher is and how to operate it.
> As we drove home later, I found out that she really didn't like
> hearing about emergency egress and the fire extinguisher, it made her
> nervous.
>
> The engine fired up without any trouble and I turned on the avionics
> and explained how to adjust the headset so she could speak properly,
> then went about the instrument checks and got the ATIS information.
> It was "Foxtrot". I reported in to ground with location and "Foxtrot"
> and requested taxi to takeoff. Ground came back with instructions to
> taxi to runway 18. I explained to my wife where 18 was and moved out
> turning right to head past the FBO and then turning left on the
> taxiway to get to 18. She nervously asked me if I'd forgotten to
> close my window, and I explained that I'd left it open for ventilation
> and that I'd close it shortly.
>
> I explained that I would now go through the runnup to test the mags,
> which meant that the engine would rev up a some. I now closed my
> window, then advanced power to 1800 rpm and went through the runnup
> check, explaining what I was looking for.
>
> We were cleared for takeoff, whereupon I turned the transponder to
> Alt, snapped on all the lights, taxied forward and dutifully turned
> left to get to the very end of the runway as taught, then pivoted
> around to line up with the centerline. There was a flock of Starlings
> crossing the field at ground level not far down the runway. I called
> the tower and requested a hold while the Starlings crossed, he replied
> that I could hold at my discression. We waited for perhaps a minute
> or so, then I called to say that we were now clear and we were given
> permission to roll.
>
> I advanced power slowly while holding the centerline and explained
> that we would pitch up slightly at 55 knots. That we did and we rose
> smoothly into the air. I also explained that at 1100 feet we would
> turn right as a part of the pattern, then turned right again to
> parallel the runway. I kept an eye on my wife to make sure she wasn't
> overcome, or feeling queasy, she said she was ok.
>
> We continued climbing and I called the tower to tell them we would
> head north up the Connecticut river, then head northwest for a bit.
> We were cleared north. I called in when we cleared the class D
> airspace.
>
> We passed the town of Norwich on the left, then Dartmouth College on
> the right, and I kept pointing out places on campus that she knew as
> she had worked there for the last two years. The air was generally
> calm, although there were just a few ups and downs. I leveled off at
> 2800 feet to stay under some low broken stratus and throttled way back
> to 2100 rpm to stay relatively slow so that bumps were minimised and
> the engine noise was low. Once past Dartmouth, I turned west at the
> Ompompanusuc river and followed it to the Union Village Dam, a feature
> she instantly recognized. Then we just tooled along route 132 to the
> town where we live and I kept to the left of the road so she would
> spot our house when we passed it. She was now actively looking out
> the window and did excitedly speak out when she identified our house
> set in the hills.
>
> We continued on towards the upper village and then circled slowly
> around to the north and back east towards the Connecticut again. I
> kept commenting at various places trying to keep her actively
> participating in the flight. We passed by Post Mills and I pointed
> out the small grass airport there and Lake Fairlee right next to it.
> At that point she asked if we could go back.
>
> I asked if she was ok, she said yes but her ears hurt.
>
> So I told her we'd turn south at the river and head back.
>
> I explained that I would now listen to ATIS, and punched it in, it
> hadn't changed. So at 10 miles I reported in to the north with
> information Foxtrot. Since the winds were calm, I half expected to be
> told to come straight in to 18 rather than use 25, which was how
> traffic was being routed and there wasn't any activity, but no, the
> tower requested right downwind for 25 and report downwind. So I
> responded and then explained to my wife that we would be turning left
> once we got in close to the pattern and then would turn right and
> right again to line up with the runway. At Lebanon, most traffic is
> routed in a right hand pattern for 25. Not sure why, but I suspect
> it's because left hand pattern traffic ends up being hidden by a hill
> through base and the turn to final. Right hand pattern traffic is
> visible all the way through the pattern.
>
> From where we were ten mile north up the Connecticut river, the
> airfield is hidden by a low hill and I swung gently around to the
> right to line up for the 45 to downwind. I explained every maneuver
> prior to initiating it so she would not be surprised. I also
> explained what the tower had told us to do.
>
> We turned downwind and I reported in and was cleared to land. I then
> told my wife that we would begin our approach as we passed the end of
> the runway. That happened almost immediately and I reduced power to
> 1500 rpm and dropped 10 degrees of flaps. I pointed out the landmark
> we would use as our turn in point to base (row of "monopoly houses")
> and turned in over them. Dead ahead was the church my instructor used
> to line up on base which I pointed out, then we turned again for the
> runway. Too much talking and not enough flying, we were past the
> runway by a little bit, but still plenty high so I just continued the
> turn and now dropped to full flaps as I lined up on the centerline.
>
> There was absolutely no wind so all control movement was minimal and
> we rounded out over the end of the runway in good shape. Touchdown
> was more of a jolt than she had anticipated but it was actually a fair
> landing.
>
> As we rolled out the tower contacted us to stay on frequency and cross
> the runway to taxiway Bravo, then right turn back to the ramp. I
> confirmed crossing the runway and turned right on Bravo.
>
> I explained to my wife that we weren't allowed to taxi on the grass,
> so I'd have to turn away from the tiedown area and we'd push back to
> the tiedown space.
>
> I lined us up, braked to a stop, turned off the avionics and pulled
> the mixture to idle/cutoff, the engine woofed to a stop. We climbed
> out and I attached the nose gear guide and we pushed the airplane back
> to it's spot together. While I cleaned up the cockpit, my wife pulled
> out the tiedown straps and hooked them on without asking.
>
> We walked back together crossing the ramp as a rather loud executive
> jet landed and taxied in behind us. I asked how she now felt about
> the flight and she enthusiastically responded that SHE HADN'T FELT
> SICK, AT ALL. This was great news and I was greatly relieved, as was
> she. She thought that all in all the flight was really cool and she
> was very pleased with how things went and that I kept her informed
> throughout the flight of what I was doing and what would happen next.
>
> I found out that even though I'd kept all banking to a minimum, she
> was still a bit unnerved each time a wing went down. My friend with
> the Waco told me that for first time passengers, he often rudders
> through turns holding the wings level with the ailerons to minimise
> exactly the fear my wife experienced.
>
> On the way back from shopping, my wife's ears still had not unclogged,
> so I suggested that she hold her nostrils closed and blow through her
> nose slightly. Darned if that didn't work and they popped clear.
>
> She's always had problems with her ears, even climbing and descending
> hills while driving in the car, so it's not surprising that she would
> experience the clogging when in the airplane. Next time, she'll bring
> some gum to chew, she said. And that's the great news, there will be
> a next time. The foliage is beginning to turn now and the upper
> Connecticut Valley is a spectacular Fall scene, with Mt Washington
> just 30 minutes flying northeast of us. This is a milestone for us
> and I'm really pleased with the results. We called our son, who lives
> and works in NYC, my wife enthusiastically predicted that he will
> REALLY like flying and will pester me incessantly with questions so
> I'd better be ready for a distracting flight. :-) He told me he
> wants to see how accurate the flight simulators he's been using almost
> all his life are, compared to the real thing.
>
> Corky Scott
>
>
>
>
>
>

[Kiwi Jet Jock]

> response. I explained that the winds are very calm and that we could
> go during the evening when the winds mostly die to dead calm.

Errrr ... might be best to avoid words like 'die' and 'dead' when trying to
convince folks nervous about flying to ride with you :)

> I asked if she was ok, she said yes but her ears hurt.

It's important to add the question 'Does anyone have a cold / blocked nose /
blocked ears' to the pre-flight briefing (preferable earlier).

Decreasing atmospheric pressure means that the (elevated) air pressure
inside the Eustation tubes (connecting middle ear to throat) equalises
easily - however increasing atmospheric pressure due to descent tends to
clamp them shut to the point where once you feel anything more than slight
pressure it's VERY difficult to equalise them - ESPECIALLY when (a) You've
got a cold and (b) you're not used to having to equalise a lot more
agressively than you would ever do on land. (it's something us pilots do
without thinking - but it catches infrequent fliers out often - you can
easily find your self having to abort an approach and have to climb to
altitude to sort the problem out)

> the runway. That happened almost immediately and I reduced power to
> 1500 rpm and dropped 10 degrees of flaps.

With nervous fliers I make a point of mentioning some of the sensations
they'll feel such as the nose pitching down, and the deceleration as the
aircraft is configured for the approach - also worthy of mention are a
'pre-warning' of such things as hydraulic / undercarriage sounds as the gear
retracts - undercarriage warning systems when doing take-offs with
significant flap (passengers just love a screaming buzzer coming on as the
gear retracts with flap still down) - and reduction of engine sounds as
props are retarded and take-off power reduced to climb power etc (referring
to constant speed / retractables).

All in all I'd say give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done - you
must have the patience of a saint.

I'm reminded of our old-timers 'alternate' passenger brief ...

"Sit down - buckle up - shut up - hang on"

[Kiwi Jet Jock]

> claustrophobic, scared of heights and gets motion sickness. For the

I'm reminded of one chap who felt claustrophobic in the rear of a 172 - but
somehow felt OK so long as he sat next to the door in the front.

I had visions of him having a panic attack and wanting to step out of the
aircraft at 3000 feet (which didn't happen by the way).

Like many - when you take the time to explain things to them - and they see
you controling the aircraft competantly and responsibly - they're usually
happy to fly again.

[Kiwi Jet Jock]

> 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.

[C J Campbell]

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.

[Peter Duniho]

"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

[Jay Honeck]

> 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"

[Judah]

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
>
>

[Dave Accetta]

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

[Brian Burger]

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 -

[Reid & Julie Baldwin]

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

[Jay Honeck]

> 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"

[TTA Cherokee Driver]

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