Passenger Briefing - One More thing to Mention

[Kyle Boatright]

I'm sure most of us have been surprised by a passenger's action at one time
or another, but my wife (Kelly) startled the heck out of me this weekend.

We made a trip to Texas to visit her school (Texas A&M) to see a football
game and to visit with family and friends while we were in the area. At a
stop near San Antonio, Kelly's brother and our 3 year old nephew were
meeting us at the airport. When we landed, it was fairly windy (10+ knots),
and there was a decent crosswind component which added to the unfamiliar
field, relatively narrow runway, and not a lot of set-back between the
runway and various immovable obstacles to make it a higher concentration
than normal landing.

On final, we could see Kelly's brother and our nephew standing on a taxiway,
about 50' off of the runway centerline, right alongside the numbers at the
approach end. I didn't think twice about this, instead concentrating on
making a good landing. So, as I began the flare about 5' or 10' high, right
over the threshold, Kelly started waving like a maniac at our nephew. The
RV-6 has side by side seating, so her hand was very close to my face and
filled most of my peripereral vision on that side. It was extremely
startling, and I put a pretty good crease in my seat in the moment before I
realized what was happening (and that I wasn't being landed on by another
airplane, or hitting a giant bird, or whatever).

The landing was surprisingly good. On the post landing debrief, I mentioned
to Kelly that she probably shouldn't distract her pilot in the landing phase
of flight by waving maniacally right in his face during the flare.

One more thing to add to my passenger brief.

[Jon Kraus]

Great story!! My wife (Kellie also), for some reason on the last
couple of flights has become afraid that we are too low on our
approaches and will not make the runway.... The last time she said "Pull
up you're too low!!" was more annoying than dangerous. I calmly gave her
a quick lesson on what a Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) does
and how the red-over-white means we're all right. :-) As she deplaned
she apologized and gave me a nice kiss... All is right in the world...

Jon Kraus
'79 Mooney 201
4443H @ UMP

Kyle Boatright wrote:

> I'm sure most of us have been surprised by a passenger's action at one time
> or another, but my wife (Kelly) startled the heck out of me this weekend.
>
> We made a trip to Texas to visit her school (Texas A&M) to see a football
> game and to visit with family and friends while we were in the area. At a
> stop near San Antonio, Kelly's brother and our 3 year old nephew were
> meeting us at the airport. When we landed, it was fairly windy (10+ knots),
> and there was a decent crosswind component which added to the unfamiliar
> field, relatively narrow runway, and not a lot of set-back between the
> runway and various immovable obstacles to make it a higher concentration
> than normal landing.
>
> On final, we could see Kelly's brother and our nephew standing on a taxiway,
> about 50' off of the runway centerline, right alongside the numbers at the
> approach end. I didn't think twice about this, instead concentrating on
> making a good landing. So, as I began the flare about 5' or 10' high, right
> over the threshold, Kelly started waving like a maniac at our nephew. The
> RV-6 has side by side seating, so her hand was very close to my face and
> filled most of my peripereral vision on that side. It was extremely
> startling, and I put a pretty good crease in my seat in the moment before I
> realized what was happening (and that I wasn't being landed on by another
> airplane, or hitting a giant bird, or whatever).
>
> The landing was surprisingly good. On the post landing debrief, I mentioned
> to Kelly that she probably shouldn't distract her pilot in the landing phase
> of flight by waving maniacally right in his face during the flare.
>
> One more thing to add to my passenger brief.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

[Margy Natalie]

Kyle Boatright wrote:
> I'm sure most of us have been surprised by a passenger's action at one time
> or another, but my wife (Kelly) startled the heck out of me this weekend.
>
> We made a trip to Texas to visit her school (Texas A&M) to see a football
> game and to visit with family and friends while we were in the area. At a
> stop near San Antonio, Kelly's brother and our 3 year old nephew were
> meeting us at the airport. When we landed, it was fairly windy (10+ knots),
> and there was a decent crosswind component which added to the unfamiliar
> field, relatively narrow runway, and not a lot of set-back between the
> runway and various immovable obstacles to make it a higher concentration
> than normal landing.
>
> On final, we could see Kelly's brother and our nephew standing on a taxiway,
> about 50' off of the runway centerline, right alongside the numbers at the
> approach end. I didn't think twice about this, instead concentrating on
> making a good landing. So, as I began the flare about 5' or 10' high, right
> over the threshold, Kelly started waving like a maniac at our nephew. The
> RV-6 has side by side seating, so her hand was very close to my face and
> filled most of my peripereral vision on that side. It was extremely
> startling, and I put a pretty good crease in my seat in the moment before I
> realized what was happening (and that I wasn't being landed on by another
> airplane, or hitting a giant bird, or whatever).
>
> The landing was surprisingly good. On the post landing debrief, I mentioned
> to Kelly that she probably shouldn't distract her pilot in the landing phase
> of flight by waving maniacally right in his face during the flare.
>
> One more thing to add to my passenger brief.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Yeah, well my husband (a pilot in his own right!) decided when I was on
short final to our NC grass runway that is 175' over the lake (i.e.
there is nothing in front of the runway but a cliff) decided to quite
loudly SCREAM (IMHO) HEY! LOOK! which immediately put me into a slight
panic expecting to see another aircraft in my windscreen. I yelled
"WHAT?!?!?!?). He said "the boat docks are here". I didn't hit him as
I still had to land the airplane and I was WAY OFF my game by this
point. I was a bit fast but still parked in the front yard (1,500' down
the 3,000' runway).

NO YELLING ON SHORT FINAL!!

Margy

[LWG]

Yeah, I had something similar. I think it's kinda sexy when a woman grabs
your arm and pulls up close to you. My girlfriend is a wild Mediterranean
type, and she tolerates flying pretty well. But on the first few landings,
just as I was getting ready to flare, she reached over and put a vice grip
grasp on my right arm and leaned over against me. Although there's still a
little language barrier, I think she understood not to do that again.

> The landing was surprisingly good. On the post landing debrief, I
> mentioned to Kelly that she probably shouldn't distract her pilot in the
> landing phase of flight by waving maniacally right in his face during the
> flare.
>
> One more thing to add to my passenger brief.

[RST Engineering]

You haven't lived until you've been hopping charity rides all day during the
summer and on the last flight of a LOOOONG day you hear a yell from the back
seat, "Hey, Jim" and turn around to get a camera flash right in the face.

Jim



"Kyle Boatright" > wrote in message
. ..
> I'm sure most of us have been surprised by a passenger's action at one
> time or another, but my wife (Kelly) startled the heck out of me this
> weekend.

[Montblack[_1_]]

("RST Engineering" wrote)
> You haven't lived until you've been hopping charity rides all day during
> the summer and on the last flight of a LOOOONG day you hear a yell from
> the back seat, "Hey, Jim" and turn around to get a camera flash right in
> the face.


Tired ...2:00am local time....zzzzz.

....been hopping charity rides all day.....zzzzz

.....flash right in the face ...zzzzz.

http://www.froggifts.com/waycoolfrogs/flasher.jpg
zzzzz ....."Hey, Jim" .....zzzzzz


Montblack

[Bob Noel]

In article >,
"RST Engineering" > wrote:

> You haven't lived until you've been hopping charity rides all day during the
> summer and on the last flight of a LOOOONG day you hear a yell from the back
> seat, "Hey, Jim" and turn around to get a camera flash right in the face.
>

I've been trying to remember who posted a story about their passenger
taking a picture while flying in and out of the soup near embedded
thunderstorms. One problem with that was they used their flash.

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

[Jim Macklin]

Not just passengers. I knew a helicopter pilot who was
hired to fly a newly wed couple from the church/reception to
a honeymoon hide a way. Just as he lifted off to a hover in
the dark parking lot, the wedding photographers snapped a
picture from 50 feet in front of the Bell 47. Those
professional strobes are very bright. Luckily he was able
to close an eye and keep fairly steady until he was able to
fly away.


"Bob Noel" > wrote in
message
...
| In article >,
| "RST Engineering" > wrote:
|
| > You haven't lived until you've been hopping charity
rides all day during the
| > summer and on the last flight of a LOOOONG day you hear
a yell from the back
| > seat, "Hey, Jim" and turn around to get a camera flash
right in the face.
| >
|
| I've been trying to remember who posted a story about
their passenger
| taking a picture while flying in and out of the soup near
embedded
| thunderstorms. One problem with that was they used their
flash.
|
| --
| Bob Noel
| Looking for a sig the
| lawyers will hate
|

[Steve Foley[_1_]]

"RST Engineering" > wrote in message
...
> You haven't lived until you've been hopping charity rides all day during
the
> summer and on the last flight of a LOOOONG day you hear a yell from the
back
> seat, "Hey, Jim" and turn around to get a camera flash right in the face.
>
> Jim

Was this planned to be the last ride of the day, or did you decide that
during the flight?

I think I would have practiced some stalls after that.

[John Clonts]

Kyle Boatright wrote:
> I'm sure most of us have been surprised by a passenger's action at one time
> or another, but my wife (Kelly) startled the heck out of me this weekend.
>
> We made a trip to Texas to visit her school (Texas A&M) to see a football
> game and to visit with family and friends while we were in the area. At a

Heck of a game, sorry about the outcome though :)
--
Cheers,
John Clonts
Temple, Texas
N7NZ

[Rob]

Kyle Boatright wrote:
> I'm sure most of us have been surprised by a passenger's action at one time
> or another, but my wife (Kelly) startled the heck out of me this weekend.
>
> <snip>
>
> The landing was surprisingly good. On the post landing debrief, I mentioned
> to Kelly that she probably shouldn't distract her pilot in the landing phase
> of flight by waving maniacally right in his face during the flare.

My girlfriend once rolled up a newspaper and swatted a fly that had
landed on my shoulder, as I was turning base-to-final. We had a
similar post-landing discussion.

-R

[Jay Masino]

On one flight with my wife and my dog, Zena, I was kidding around and
"briefing" Zena to "tell daddy if you see any other planes". She'll
occasionally notice when a sea gull flys by. Anyway, I was on downwind,
and Zena suddenly jumped up, looked to the right and started barking.
She apparently saw another plane that was on long final. It scared the
hell out of me for a second. :)

--- Jay

Kyle Boatright > wrote:
> over the threshold, Kelly started waving like a maniac at our nephew. The
> RV-6 has side by side seating, so her hand was very close to my face and
> filled most of my peripereral vision on that side. It was extremely
> startling, and I put a pretty good crease in my seat in the moment before I
> realized what was happening (and that I wasn't being landed on by another
> airplane, or hitting a giant bird, or whatever).
>

--

Jay Masino "Home is where My critters are"
http://www.JayMasino.com
http://www.OceanCityAirport.com
http://www.oc-Adolfos.com

[Jay Somerset]

On Tue, 3 Oct 2006 21:03:24 -0400, "Kyle Boatright"
> wrote:

> I'm sure most of us have been surprised by a passenger's action at one time
> or another, but my wife (Kelly) startled the heck out of me this weekend.
>
> We made a trip to Texas to visit her school (Texas A&M) to see a football
> game and to visit with family and friends while we were in the area. At a
> stop near San Antonio, Kelly's brother and our 3 year old nephew were
> meeting us at the airport. When we landed, it was fairly windy (10+ knots),
> and there was a decent crosswind component which added to the unfamiliar
> field, relatively narrow runway, and not a lot of set-back between the
> runway and various immovable obstacles to make it a higher concentration
> than normal landing.
>
> On final, we could see Kelly's brother and our nephew standing on a taxiway,
> about 50' off of the runway centerline, right alongside the numbers at the
> approach end. I didn't think twice about this, instead concentrating on
> making a good landing. So, as I began the flare about 5' or 10' high, right
> over the threshold, Kelly started waving like a maniac at our nephew. The
> RV-6 has side by side seating, so her hand was very close to my face and
> filled most of my peripereral vision on that side. It was extremely
> startling, and I put a pretty good crease in my seat in the moment before I
> realized what was happening (and that I wasn't being landed on by another
> airplane, or hitting a giant bird, or whatever).
>
> The landing was surprisingly good. On the post landing debrief, I mentioned
> to Kelly that she probably shouldn't distract her pilot in the landing phase
> of flight by waving maniacally right in his face during the flare.
>
> One more thing to add to my passenger brief.

Many years ago, I was driving on one of those "single track" roads over in
Scotland, with a teenage (female) cousin in the pasenger seat. Suddenly,
one of the ubiquitous sheep that seem to line these roads decided to cross
right in front of me. The cousin shrieked, turned her head to the side, and
wrapped her arms around my head -- just as I was taking evasive action.

I hate to think what might have happened if this had taken place over the
threshold with a deer, fox, goose, or some other animal crossing the runway.

There are distractions, and then there are DISTRACTIONS!!! :-)

[Jay Honeck]

> NO YELLING ON SHORT FINAL!!

Ha! Now you know why we have the "sterile cockpit rule" in Atlas.

Just ask Montblack what Mary does when we chit-chat too much in the
pattern...

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

[Matt Whiting]

Jim Macklin wrote:

> Not just passengers. I knew a helicopter pilot who was
> hired to fly a newly wed couple from the church/reception to
> a honeymoon hide a way. Just as he lifted off to a hover in
> the dark parking lot, the wedding photographers snapped a
> picture from 50 feet in front of the Bell 47. Those
> professional strobes are very bright. Luckily he was able
> to close an eye and keep fairly steady until he was able to
> fly away.

That's hilarious. He saw the flash coming and was able to close his eye
before it got there? Priceless. I'd love to have reflexes like that

Matt

[Morgans[_2_]]

>> NO YELLING ON SHORT FINAL!!
>
> Ha! Now you know why we have the "sterile cockpit rule" in Atlas.
>
> Just ask Montblack what Mary does when we chit-chat too much in the
> pattern...
>
> ;-)

Jay, now you did it! I gotta know, now.

OK, I'll ask. What does Mary do in response to violating the sterile cockpit?

Let me guess. The ruler on the knuckles, from the Catholic schools trick?
<bfg>
--
Jim in NC

[Morgans[_2_]]

"Matt Whiting" > wrote

> That's hilarious. He saw the flash coming and was able to close his eye
> before it got there? Priceless. I'd love to have reflexes like that

Shoot, my family is famous for closing their eyes while a picture is being
taken! :-)
--
Jim in NC

[john smith]

> Ha! Now you know why we have the "sterile cockpit rule" in Atlas.
> Just ask Montblack what Mary does when we chit-chat too much in the
> pattern...

That's your cue, Paul!

[Roger (K8RI)]

On Wed, 04 Oct 2006 22:28:18 GMT, Matt Whiting >
wrote:

>Jim Macklin wrote:
>
>> Not just passengers. I knew a helicopter pilot who was
>> hired to fly a newly wed couple from the church/reception to
>> a honeymoon hide a way. Just as he lifted off to a hover in
>> the dark parking lot, the wedding photographers snapped a
>> picture from 50 feet in front of the Bell 47. Those
>> professional strobes are very bright. Luckily he was able
>> to close an eye and keep fairly steady until he was able to
>> fly away.
>
>That's hilarious. He saw the flash coming and was able to close his eye
>before it got there? Priceless. I'd love to have reflexes like that

Always close your eyes when you see one of those big reflectors
pointed at you.

My cat seems to be able to detect them. I do not have one flash shot
of him with his eyes open. Well I do have a few from an angle but none
head on Yet without the flash they are *usually* open unless he's
pretending to be a cat... that's asleep with hopes I'll just go away.

My old digital camera used one of those cheap sensing flashes where
it flashes, sets the camera and then takes the photo. The flashes are
so close I've never met any one who could see both but you can
actually hear it.


>
>Matt
Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

[Roger (K8RI)]

On Wed, 04 Oct 2006 18:06:44 -0400, Jay Somerset
>> wrote:

>Many years ago, I was driving on one of those "single track" roads over in
>Scotland, with a teenage (female) cousin in the pasenger seat. Suddenly,
>one of the ubiquitous sheep that seem to line these roads decided to cross
>right in front of me. The cousin shrieked, turned her head to the side, and
>wrapped her arms around my head -- just as I was taking evasive action.
>
>I hate to think what might have happened if this had taken place over the
>threshold with a deer, fox, goose, or some other animal crossing the runway.
>
>There are distractions, and then there are DISTRACTIONS!!! :-)

And some of them make it really difficult to breathe!

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

[Margy Natalie]

Bob Noel wrote:
> In article >,
> "RST Engineering" > wrote:
>
>
>>You haven't lived until you've been hopping charity rides all day during the
>>summer and on the last flight of a LOOOONG day you hear a yell from the back
>>seat, "Hey, Jim" and turn around to get a camera flash right in the face.
>>
>
>
> I've been trying to remember who posted a story about their passenger
> taking a picture while flying in and out of the soup near embedded
> thunderstorms. One problem with that was they used their flash.
>
We weren't in the soup, but had just spent a number of LONG hours in
front of the radar at MGW to see if we could get through. Another plane
decide to FOLLOW us. The damned kid (mine) decided it would be cool to
get a picture of the glory we were about to fly through. FLASH!! If
looks could kill, I'd have one less kid.

Margy

[Paul kgyy]

I turned on my autopilot on a trip with my wife before setting the
heading bug and scared her half to death with the instantaneous bank
and turn to wrong heading. But she got even with me the next day when
her foot slipped while changing seat position and stomped on the rudder
hard while flying straight and level :-)