Spousal checkride -- any suggestions?

[Eric Ross]

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

[Peter R.]

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














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[Foster]

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

[Foster]

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.

[Richard 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


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

[Bela P. Havasreti]

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

[Kyler Laird]

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

[Shiver Me Timbers]

> 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.

[Peter Duniho]

"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

[Peter Duniho]

"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

[Henry Kisor]

Going low and slow on the first flight (1,000'-1,500' AGL) may help ... that
is what I did with my wife after she refused to fly with me for six years.
Staying low makes the ground "unroll" underneath faster and more
interestingly. Later on you can explain that higher altitude is a bit safer.
Worked for me.

Henry

[Jim Weir]

->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.

It also helps if you show her how to help you with the written checklist. Mine
has a "challenge" and "answer" ... if she doesn't get the exact answer to her
challenge, she gets to call you on it. It becomes a game, albeit a very serious
game. You also explain WHY challenge "Aileron hinge security" is answered One,
pin; two, pin; three, pin. Much more confidence when she becomes part of the
process.


>
-> * 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 explanation, "coasting downhill" always works for me.


->
-> * 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.

I prefer "the about to land horn" to "stall warning".


Jim
->

Jim Weir (A&P/IA, CFI, & other good alphabet soup)
VP Eng RST Pres. Cyberchapter EAA Tech. Counselor
http://www.rst-engr.com

[Andrew Gideon]

Kyler Laird wrote:


> 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.)

Hmm. "I don't trust myself"? Not perhaps the best message.

- Andrew

[gatt]

"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?

Tell her what to expect beforehand, and--this is what I've found most
helpful with skittish passengers--describe a little of what you're doing as
you're doing it. All you really have to do is think out loud. ie, "10
degrees of flaps, pitching for 70 knots...." or, during the runup, read the
checklist "to yourself" out loud. "flight instruments set, oil pressure and
temperate looks good..."

If a passenger is the curious sort, explain a couple of instruments..."this
instrument shows how many feet per minute we're descending." ... "This is a
standard-rate turn which means we will make a complete circle in exactly two
minutes."

People tend to "disasterize" if they don't know what's going on, and imagine
worst-case scenarios. Give their minds something to think about and their
anxiety will move further back into their thought processes.

-c

[Peter Duniho]

"Henry Kisor" > wrote in message
...
> Going low and slow on the first flight (1,000'-1,500' AGL) may help ...
that
> is what I did with my wife after she refused to fly with me for six years.
> Staying low makes the ground "unroll" underneath faster and more
> interestingly. Later on you can explain that higher altitude is a bit
safer.

It might help or it might hurt. It depends on the passenger and on the
weather. Low and slow often correlates to bumpy, with higher altitudes
being smoother. Also, for some people who may be nervous about heights, low
altitudes are actually worse...once you get high enough, you're not close
enough to the ground for there to be good height references, which actually
can alleviate a fear of heights.

For some passengers, low and slow is the perfect recipe for entertainment
and distraction from things that might otherwise cause the flight to be no
fun. But this is a "bag of tricks" suggestion, in my opinion, rather than a
"this works for everyone".

Pete

[EDR]

And a couple one-gallon, zip-lock freezer bags, each in in its own
brown paper bag... just in case.

[Chris Ehlbeck]

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

[Jeff]

it took me about 5-6 flights for my wife to make it over the mountain, the
mountain is like 4500 ft off the end of our runway to the SE, now she has a
few hundred hours under her belt she does good. But the key is for you to
never act nervous and to be in control and to have good answers to any
questions she has for you.

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

[zatatime]

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


Early morning or just before sunset are generally the least turbulent
parts of a summer day and offer great beauty. As far as the flight is
concerned, keep it short. I know you'll be fine for an hour or more,
but she's scared and doesn't have any control over the situation.

20 minutes is a good first flight. If she's still having fun go an
extra 10. 30 minutes should be about as long as you want to keep her
up (hopefully there will be a next time, so she'll see more in
eventually).

DON"T DO STALLS. Also avoid touch and gos they aren't much fun for
the passenger. If at all possible keep banks on the shallow side 20
degrees is good even though it seems like it takes for ever to make a
heading change with such little bank. 30 is ok, but don't go beyond
that. Stuff starts "spinning" too fast for non-pilots and they
generally don't like it (unless they're roller coaster freaks).

I personally like the sunset flight, and would probably throw a little
romance into the deal. Take the short flight and then take her out to
dinner. At dinner thank her for sharing with you your passion. It
will make her feel good and may improve your chances of a second date
er, I mean flight.

This may sound hokey, but psychology works and the whole idea is to
get her comfortable with the process. A reward at the end aides in
achieving that goal.

Sorry for the book, I only planned on a couple sentences. Hopefully
this helps and you have a GREAT time introducing your wife to the
friendly skies.

Good Luck,
z

[zatatime]

On Fri, 18 Jun 2004 12:25:38 -0700, "Peter Duniho"
> wrote:

>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. :)


I generally agree with your statement, but think the first flight
should be just that, with the dinner after a successful landing.

z

[Philip Sondericker]

in article , Peter Duniho at
wrote on 6/18/04 12:25 PM:

> "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

One tradition I've never understood is the "$100 hamburger". Why not the
"$100 bowl of soup", or the "$100 lightly-buttered toast"? Why the hell
would anyone want to tempt fate by stuffing themselves full of a big, greasy
hamburger and then go flying?

[G. Burkhart]

"Philip Sondericker" > wrote in message
...
> One tradition I've never understood is the "$100 hamburger". Why not the
> "$100 bowl of soup", or the "$100 lightly-buttered toast"? Why the hell
> would anyone want to tempt fate by stuffing themselves full of a big,
greasy
> hamburger and then go flying?

During the summer there are usually fly-in breakfasts somewhere within 100
miles on any given Sunday. Getting filled up with pancakes, sausage, et al,
is better than burgers...

For anyone interested in Midwest fly-ins this Sunday: Rock Rapids, Maquoketa
and Harlan, IA and Dodge Center, Hutchinson and Lake Elmo, MN.

http://www.fun-places-to-fly.com/events/default.asp

[Shiver Me Timbers]

> Philip Sondericker > wrote:

> One tradition I've never understood is the "$100 hamburger".

This is the burning question that is keeping you awake at night is it.

> Why not the "$100 bowl of soup",

Whatever floats your boat Phil.

> or the "$100 lightly-buttered toast"?

Whatever floats your boat Phil.

> Why the hell would anyone want to tempt fate by stuffing
> themselves full of a big, greasy hamburger and then go flying?

Why the hell would you tempt fate by climbing into an airplane
and hurling yourself down a runway and into the air.

Better yet.... Besides you.... who cares.

Here's an idea..... Next time your about to go flying why don't
you forget about a bowl of soup or toast and eat a couple of
pieces of X-Lax instead...... Then go flying.

[Philip Sondericker]

in article , Shiver Me Timbers at
wrote on 6/18/04 8:19 PM:

>> Philip Sondericker > wrote:
>
>> One tradition I've never understood is the "$100 hamburger".
>
> This is the burning question that is keeping you awake at night is it.
>
>> Why not the "$100 bowl of soup",
>
> Whatever floats your boat Phil.
>
>> or the "$100 lightly-buttered toast"?
>
> Whatever floats your boat Phil.
>
>> Why the hell would anyone want to tempt fate by stuffing
>> themselves full of a big, greasy hamburger and then go flying?
>
> Why the hell would you tempt fate by climbing into an airplane
> and hurling yourself down a runway and into the air.
>
> Better yet.... Besides you.... who cares.
>
> Here's an idea..... Next time your about to go flying why don't
> you forget about a bowl of soup or toast and eat a couple of
> pieces of X-Lax instead...... Then go flying.

Hey "Shiver"...the next time a completely innocuous post from somebody
inspires you to write a lot of semi-literate rubbish, why don't you go
flying instead? Just a suggestion..."Shiver".

[Eric Ross]

Thank you so much -- these are all great suggestions that I will
incorporate into the experience. Wish us well.


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

[Peter Duniho]

"Philip Sondericker" > wrote in message
...
> Hey "Shiver"...the next time a completely innocuous post from somebody
> inspires you to write a lot of semi-literate rubbish, why don't you go
> flying instead? Just a suggestion..."Shiver".

Heh...your post did sort of seem to go over his head, I think. :)

[The Weiss Family]

"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
>

>
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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

[Kyler Laird]

Andrew Gideon > writes:

>> 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.)

>Hmm. "I don't trust myself"? Not perhaps the best message.

Then don't send that message. I took flight instructors out with us on
lots of flights. My wife liked it and we had a great time. Having someone
around to file IFR sometimes comes in handy for a new PP.

--kyler

[The Weiss Family]

"Andrew Gideon" > wrote in message
online.com...
> Kyler Laird wrote:
>
>
> > 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.)
>
> Hmm. "I don't trust myself"? Not perhaps the best message.
>
> - Andrew
>


I actually took my wife on one of my dual cross-country flights when I was a
student.
She enjoyed it. But she enjoyed it much more the first time she went after
I got my license because she was in the front seat.

[Henry Kisor]

I agree, Pete, and I offered the suggestion in that spirit.

I should also have added that an early morning hop in velvet-smooth air,
before the bumptious turbu-imps have come out of their hidey-holes, is a
great time to introduce many people to flight. Low and slow is delicious at
such a time.

Henry

"Peter Duniho" > wrote in message
...
> "Henry Kisor" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Going low and slow on the first flight (1,000'-1,500' AGL) may help ...
> that
> > is what I did with my wife after she refused to fly with me for six
years.
> > Staying low makes the ground "unroll" underneath faster and more
> > interestingly. Later on you can explain that higher altitude is a bit
> safer.
>
> It might help or it might hurt. It depends on the passenger and on the
> weather. Low and slow often correlates to bumpy, with higher altitudes
> being smoother. Also, for some people who may be nervous about heights,
low
> altitudes are actually worse...once you get high enough, you're not close
> enough to the ground for there to be good height references, which
actually
> can alleviate a fear of heights.
>
> For some passengers, low and slow is the perfect recipe for entertainment
> and distraction from things that might otherwise cause the flight to be no
> fun. But this is a "bag of tricks" suggestion, in my opinion, rather than
a
> "this works for everyone".
>
> Pete
>
>

[Henry Kisor]

And one more thing, Peter. Never, with a green passenger aboard and when
suddenly realizing that you've screwed up the approach and will have to do a
go-round, say "Oh, ****!"


"Peter Duniho" > wrote in message
...

[Paul Anton]

Being as I had my first flight several months ago, I too, was somewhat
nervous. However, I had complete faith in my husband. He, however, had
gotten his license when he was 16, before he even had a driver's license.

Knowing he had been flying for a long time, eased my fears as did my trust
in him.

Just tell her to relax, and if she starts to become scared, to bear down
with her stomach and believe it or not, just like a roller coaster, your
fear just seems to go away.

Flying in a small plane is just like an airline, and so much more fun.

Best wishes

Winona Anton


> 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?
>

[Robert Easton]

That brings back memories! I remember when I got my PPL, my wife didn't
want to go up with me at first. I think she and most women suffer somewhat
from "Carolyn Bessette Kennedy Syndrome", (fear of flying with your
husband). I took a few friends first and they gave her good reports, so
eventually she went up. Pick a CAVU day. I remember one flight out of TOA
in So Cal it was kinda smoggy and my wife didn't like it cause she couldn't
see that well, so I had to return to the airport and let her out. So what
you might feel comfortable with as PIC, your wife/passengers might not. My
wife doesn't like night flying either and now that I'm instrument rated, she
has no desire to go into the clouds. It doesn't bother me though, cause
flying is supposed to be about fun, not making people uncomfortable. We've
had some fun flights, most notably Oahu Hawaii. Good Luck to you!
Robert


P.S. Tell your wife you are going to buy her a (Sporty's) Little John with
the Lady-J adapter for Xmas. That should go over real good too! Ha ha!



"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

[smackey]

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

Hope yours goes better than this:
Just after I got my PPL I took my wife up to the airport for her
first flight with me, we crammed into the mighty C152, and after the
runup and instruction from the tower to hold short, we watched a
Cessna 180 come in for a landing. "See, honey, how easy this is!"
Whoops! The C180 caught a gust and crashed from about 10 ft off
the runway, bent wing and the whole ugly mess closing the runway.
Fortunately, no one was hurt (except, perhaps, the 180 pilot's pride).
"Heh, heh, heh... Let's try this tomorrow"; and we taxied back to
the FBO.
Actual flight the next day went without incident.

[Andrew Gideon]

The Weiss Family wrote:

> I actually took my wife on one of my dual cross-country flights when I was
> a student.
> She enjoyed it.

Well, that's completely different. I actually tried to do that too, but our
schedules never synched sufficiently.

> But she enjoyed it much more the first time she went
> after I got my license because she was in the front seat.

I'm sure.

- Andrew

[Andrew Gideon]

Robert Easton wrote:

> My wife doesn't like night flying either and now that I'm instrument
> rated, she
> has no desire to go into the clouds.

I finally had my wife in clouds for a nontrivial amount of time a couple of
months ago. I wasn't cotton ball (which would just be dull for her, I'd
expect), but in-and-out near the tops. I could have gone above, and I also
knew that there was enough room below the ceiling for VFR if necessary.

But she liked it. It was as beautiful to her as it has always been to me.

It was also interesting explaining the instrument scan to her, almost
serving as a mini-lesson for myself.

She's pretty comfortable at this point, though. She's even taken a few
lessons herself, and had no problem using a camera as I did steep turns
over our house.

- Andrew

[Dan Truesdell]

Had a similar experience at BED. Was taking my wife for some
sight-seeing (it was our first or second time out). During our taxi,
the ground controller announced that all traffic must come to a stop.
SHe asked, "Why did he say that?" I responded with, "I believe there
was just a crash, and we will not be doing any flying today." Turns out
a pilot lost an engine on take-off, but somehow managed to make it back,
and crashed on landing. Pilot and pax were a bit shaken, but were fine.
(BTW, my wife is fine with flying as long as we're actually going
somewhere faster and with less hassle than driving. My 7 year old rides
shotgun, so mom is relegated to the back seat.)

smackey wrote:
> 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
>
>
> Hope yours goes better than this:
> Just after I got my PPL I took my wife up to the airport for her
> first flight with me, we crammed into the mighty C152, and after the
> runup and instruction from the tower to hold short, we watched a
> Cessna 180 come in for a landing. "See, honey, how easy this is!"
> Whoops! The C180 caught a gust and crashed from about 10 ft off
> the runway, bent wing and the whole ugly mess closing the runway.
> Fortunately, no one was hurt (except, perhaps, the 180 pilot's pride).
> "Heh, heh, heh... Let's try this tomorrow"; and we taxied back to
> the FBO.
> Actual flight the next day went without incident.


--
Remove "2PLANES" to reply.

[Peter Duniho]

"Henry Kisor" > wrote in message
...
> And one more thing, Peter. Never, with a green passenger aboard and when
> suddenly realizing that you've screwed up the approach and will have to do
a
> go-round, say "Oh, ****!"

Well, I'm not inclined to say stuff like that anyway. :)

I did, however, accidently panic a passenger once shortly after takeoff,
when someone else's radio started beeping on the tower frequency (to which I
was still tuned, of course). I had another friend, also a pilot, in the
right seat and he and I both had a brief "what the heck is that?"
discussion, as he fiddled with the radio knobs to verify that it was indeed
coming over the radio.

What was to us a simple curiosity was to my other passenger a "uh oh...two
pilots up front, and they both seem confused...this can't be good".

So remember, just as "oh, ****" isn't something that passengers like to
hear, neither necessarily is "I wonder what that is". Passengers like to be
under the impression that you have EVERYTHING completely under your control,
whether you do or not. :)

Pete

[Jim Weir]

The first time I took my wife up flying, all I heard was "You're fifty feet
below altitude...you're half a mile right of course...you're in a half-ball
skid...trim for airspeed..."

Then again, she IS a CFI ...


{;-)


Jim


Jim Weir (A&P/IA, CFI, & other good alphabet soup)
VP Eng RST Pres. Cyberchapter EAA Tech. Counselor
http://www.rst-engr.com

[[email protected]]

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

Yes, I'm in the same situation. Nervous wife, inner ear problems (can
get airsick) plus, her ears clog and hurt her when altitude increases.
She can feel discomfort just going up hills in the car.

I picked a windless day for the first flight and tried very hard to
keep all turns extremely gentle. I explained every turn and every
situation we would encounter. When we approached the airport I told
her what was happening and explained what the tower was telling us.

Turned out, even the tiny dip of the wing for the gentlest of turns
scared her. She was thinking "Oh god, there goes the wing down, it's
going to continue to go down and we'll end up upside down then CBD
(Crash Burn Die).

She was extremely reluctant to move her seat up close to the
instrument panel because she did not want to touch anything and cause
CBD.

She also was unnerved a bit by my explanation of the cockpit emergency
procedures, but I felt it was necessary to go through everything.

She's been up twice now and casually mentions it to friends, says it
was cool.

Both flights were limited by her ears hurting though. I heard her
talking on the phone with our son last night mentioning that I'd gone
flying in the evening and that she didn't go because there was some
wind and she did not want to spoil the flight by puking all over the
nice plane. ;-)

Corky Scott

[Eric Ross]

We took the flight on Sunday. The whole experience went well but not
completely smooth.

My wife is disabled so I have to help her into the plane. She bumped
her head on the door frame when I helped her a bit excessively--ouch. I
was thinking, well this is over before we even started. I asked her if
she wanted to stop, she said to continue. After we settled into the
cockpit she suddently asked "what's this, what's that?" I had to do a
full instrument intro to her. I was thrilled. She was extremely
interested.

Before taxi I checked the intercom. It seemed to work fine. We did the
runup and takeoff very smoothly. With the full engine noise she had
trouble hearing me. The intercom squelch didnot work very well and
picked up the noise as well as our voices. The rest of the flight was
"blah blah blah. What did you say? I said BLAH BLAH BLAH"
Once we were at cruise, she noticed that the instrument panel was too
high and she couldn't see out the view out front. Then when she tried
to look out the window the excessively high shoulder strap was in her
face. Since we were at cruise I removed the strap. The rest of the
flight I did a lot of shallow S turns to show her the views.
We flew over our house on the way and back from the Columbia River
Gorge. She enjoyed the sight. I should mention the weather was
perfectly clear, sunny, and the morning air was still smooth. We had a
great view of Bonneville dam with flood gates wide open.

As the flight continued the intercom became increasingly worse. Since
we could only talk by shouting or using sign language we decided to head
back home.

Afterwards, as she was rubbing her head, she said that she felt very
safe with me flying(in contrast to my driving the car); I acted very
professionally and when I flew without her she would not worry as much.
She also, is willing to fly again with me(maybe with a bike helmet on
during loading) and despite the difficulties enjoyed flying. Her final
comment was the she was very impressed with the landing. Actually it
was a bit fast and long, but it was very smooth.

I found out later at the FBO that the airplane we flew was notorious for
its intercom.

We will do one more local flight to work out the bugs and then do a
cross-country to visit a friend we haven't seen in a couple of years.



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

[Paul Sengupta]

"Paul Anton" > wrote in message
...
> Being as I had my first flight several months ago, I too, was somewhat
> nervous. However, I had complete faith in my husband. He, however, had
> gotten his license when he was 16, before he even had a driver's license.
>
> Knowing he had been flying for a long time, eased my fears as did my trust
> in him.

Some people ask me before they go up for the first time:
"Is it safe?"

I just shrug my shoulders and say I haven't crashed so far. They
think about that, think about the time I've been flying and how
often, and a look of realisation comes over their face. Then if they're
interested, I sometimes go into what are the main causes of fatal
accidents and how none of those factors apply on that particular day.

Paul