First non-pilot passenger

Took up my first non-pilot passenger today. I've had my private
certificate for almost 3 years now, but never had anyone else in the
aircraft that wasn't a pilot/instructor, etc. My wife will not fly with me,
but I'm still hopeful that that day will be sooner rather than later. Since
we just had a new little one about a week ago I haven't had much chance to
fly lately, but today was looking pretty decent, and I'd done 16 touch &
goes the day before so I figured I'd go up again. This time I asked my 2
year old if she'd like to come with me today. She agreed so I grabbed a
spare headset and we headed out to JeffCo (KBJC). On the way there I
realized that I might have a problem since her carseat is one of those
models with a baseplate that is rather large, and I fly a C152, so I wasn't
sure if we'd both fit. Walked out to the plane (seemed a lot farther away
when walking with a 2 year old and carrying a carseat) and was able to get
her seatbelt secure, did the preflight/walkaround and then hopped in to see
if I'd fit too. It was tight, but I was able to make it work. I also noticed
that her position would make it very easy for her to kick out any flaps I'd
put in, etc. I told her that she wasn't allowed to kick or touch anything,
and she seemed to understand well enough. I was able to better fit the David
Clarks on her head so I grabbed the other headset (some generic brand, cost
me $100) and we were ready to go.
I made sure to tell her what I was doing when I started the plane so the
sudden noises and such wouldn't scare her. She took everything in stride, I
was quite proud of her, and so far she seemed to be enjoying herself. We
taxied out to 29R, completed the run-up and tower cleared me for departure.
The plan was to stay in the pattern for some touch and goes. I've read here
on the group to keep it simple the first few times, so that's what I did.
About 200 feet above the runway she realized we were flying and became
really excited, I took this as a good sign. I made it a point to point
things out to her that she could see out the window, the lake to the south,
the houses, etc. She was doing really well. The winds shifted a bit and we
were told after departing 29L for the second time to do a left 270 and back
to final for runway 11R, we did a few more touch and goes. On the fourth
pattern I looked over and it looked like she was starting to nod off. A bit
later we had been up for just shy of an hour, I figured this was enough time
for a first-timer and informed tower that this would be a full stop. Due to
traffic they weren't able to get me to 11L so I'd have to land long on the
right and wait to cross the left runway and back to the ramp. On downwind my
little girl started throwing up. It's interesting hearing such things happen
when there's a microphone sitting right in the path, makes for interesting
intercom noise. One needs to understand that I'm generally a sympathetic
vomiter, so I figured this was going to create a problem for me as well.
Gratefully it didn't seem to affect me, I'm pretty sure it was just the fact
that I was the sole person in the plane capable of landing it so my mind
just blocked out what was going on just to my right. I made sure she was ok
and tuned a short base. Was able to get the plane on the ground and back to
the tie downs. As soon as I'd pulled the mixture the smell hit me pretty
hard so I had to open the window and hop out of the plane for some fresh
air. I quickly tied down the plane since it was a bit windy and grabbed some
rags that were meant for oil checks and such but were clean and started to
clean her up as best I could. I must say I was tempted to take her carseat
and all over to the aircraft washing area and hose them both off, but
figured that wouldn't look too good grin.
Was able to get her home and cleaned up and when my wife asked her if
she ever wanted to go flying with daddy again she said "Not today anymore,
tomorrow". Hopefully she'll be willing in the future, she's still pretty
excited that we went. Maybe with more positive experiences (it was positive
overall at least) we can convince her mother to go with me sometime down the
road. So all this leaves me with a couple of questions.

1. Do they make anything like Dramamine for kids? If not, any suggestions? I
know it took my awhile to get a stomach that wouldn't get queasy when
flying.

2. I was able to get the foam covering the mike on the David Clarks to clean
it , but can I get the mike itself wet to clean it? Will it damage it in any
way?

--
Louis L. Perley III
N46000

On downwind my
little girl started throwing up.

That's too bad, but she seemed to take it in stride.
I usually limit flights with kids to about 15-20 minutes for their first time
out.

It's interesting hearing such things happen
when there's a microphone sitting right in the path, makes for interesting
intercom noise.

Indeed! While giving rides in warbirds, we had quite a few get sick and some of
them didn't move the mike out of the way. Our flights were video taped with
audio as well.
It usually provided the family waiting on the ground with some amusement.


I'm generally a sympathetic
vomiter

I am too. That was one thing I dreaded when flying the T-6 with rides (which
was my job for two years) But when I am flying the airplane, I get focused on
what needs to be done and that overrides everything else. Once on the ground
the initial shock (or whatever) went away and focused on the customer and their
well being. Except for one time when the person did very well thru everything
and while were standing next to the airplane posing for a picture, he erupted.
I made a hasty departure back to the office!!

but can I get the mike itself wet to clean it? Will it damage it in any
way?

Hmm...have you tried something small and pointy to pick the stuff out? I
wouldn't suggest getting the mike wet.

Overall tho, it sounds like your daughter had fun and I am sure she will want
to go again. Next time, keep the flight short and build from there.


-John
*You are nothing until you have flown a Douglas, Lockheed, Grumman or North
American*

Bet the next aircraft renter loves you!

Peter

2. I was able to get the foam covering the mike on the David Clarks to
clean
it , but can I get the mike itself wet to clean it? Will it damage it in
any
way?

In theory, nothing in an electret microphone will be damaged by water *when
the power is off*. The headset manuals that I've seen recommend wiping with
a damp cloth - they warn against immersing the microphone in water, the
primary concern being corrosion from residual water. I would start with a
cloth dampened with rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol. It will clean better than
water, evaporate faster, and won't leave behind any residual salt. If
necessary, there's no reason why you can't dunk the whole mike in alcohol -
though you might want to save that as a last resort.

Whatever you do, the key is to be absolutely sure that the mike is dry
before plugging it in. Leave the headset in a dry, well ventilated area.
To be safe, leave it for at least 24 hours - longer if you get it extra wet.

Disclaimer: I've never actually done any of this before - so don't come
after me if my recommendations cause your headset to spontaneously combust.

- Ray

"Bushy" wrote in message
...
Bet the next aircraft renter loves you!

Peter



This wasn't a rental, I own this C152, so today I'll be heading back to
the airport with some Febreeze. Whoever came up with that stuff is a
genius!. Overall it mainly stayed in the carseat, so it wasn't as messy as I
feared it would be. It was one of the rare occasions when I was grateful to
have a plane made in the '70s complete with orange seats and carpeting which
will make any stains that much harder to spot.

--
Louis L. Perley III
N46000

Louis L. Perley III wrote:

This wasn't a rental, I own this C152, so today I'll be heading back to
the airport with some Febreeze. Whoever came up with that stuff is a
genius!. Overall it mainly stayed in the carseat, so it wasn't as messy as I
feared it would be. It was one of the rare occasions when I was grateful to
have a plane made in the '70s complete with orange seats and carpeting which
will make any stains that much harder to spot.

First, congrats on your first passenger.

Beyond cleaning up messes, you'll find lots more reasons to be glad about
owning an inexpensive, older plane over the next few years. Of course,
you'll be down to driving speed (or worse) with a headwind, and I'm sure
you've already heard the joke about the Airworthiness Directive for
150/152's requiring you to reinforce the tail against bird strikes, but when
you're paying US $10-15/hour for gas, I bet that you'll be flying a lot
while the gas-guzzling twins and high-performance singles are just sitting
on the ramp (fuel-efficient Mooneys excepted, of course).

You'll probably also love your $500-$1,000 annuals, low insurance costs, and
the total lack of any temptation to go out and spend $20-30K to put in a new
leather interior or a Garmin stack. You also won't always be hovering
around fretting that the line guy is going to scratch your perfect paint
with the tractor or gas nozzle.


All the best,


David

"David Megginson" wrote in message
.rogers.com...
Louis L. Perley III wrote:

This wasn't a rental, I own this C152, so today I'll be heading back
to
the airport with some Febreeze. Whoever came up with that stuff is a
genius!. Overall it mainly stayed in the carseat, so it wasn't as messy
as I
feared it would be. It was one of the rare occasions when I was grateful
to
have a plane made in the '70s complete with orange seats and carpeting
which
will make any stains that much harder to spot.

First, congrats on your first passenger.

Beyond cleaning up messes, you'll find lots more reasons to be glad about
owning an inexpensive, older plane over the next few years. Of course,
you'll be down to driving speed (or worse) with a headwind, and I'm sure
you've already heard the joke about the Airworthiness Directive for
150/152's requiring you to reinforce the tail against bird strikes, but
when
you're paying US $10-15/hour for gas, I bet that you'll be flying a lot
while the gas-guzzling twins and high-performance singles are just sitting
on the ramp (fuel-efficient Mooneys excepted, of course).

You'll probably also love your $500-$1,000 annuals, low insurance costs,
and
the total lack of any temptation to go out and spend $20-30K to put in a
new
leather interior or a Garmin stack. You also won't always be hovering
around fretting that the line guy is going to scratch your perfect paint
with the tractor or gas nozzle.


All the best,


David

This is exactly why I bought a C152 early in my training. I was doing
some calculations and wondered where all the cost of renting came from. Once
I calculated that I found that I could buy a decent bird for around ~25,000
and after that, as you say about the only hourly cost is fuel and oil.
Insurance and Annuals are once a year events that you just suck up and pay.
Simple airplane = simple maintenance and low-cost insurance so that too
keeps costs low. Since a C152 isn't really overpowered for the altitudes I
fly (BJC is 5500 ft) it would also force me to learn how to manage my power
and such much more carefully than if I flew a plane that I could just power
my way out of a problem (although I must admit when I fly the new 172SP I
love the way they seem to leap off the runway compared to what I fly, yes,
it's true what they say, you always want something bigger, faster, etc.) The
plan was to take my checkride in this particular airplane, but I also
quickly learned the hard part of being an owner when my engine started
making metal large enough to punch holes in the paper oil filter. I was
grounded two weeks before my checkride, which was taken in a rental. It took
me awhile due to outside activities to come up with money for a new engine,
but now that I've put her back together, it's like you said. I look outside,
weather is acceptable (and I've done everything on the honeydo list), I'll
go fly. Even with gas prices pretty high, it only cost me $20/hr. to fly,
excluding fixed costs. Those fixed costs I don't ever really figure into my
equation, because they come due regardless of how much I fly and compared to
club dues if I were renting, that pretty much covers insurance, and much the
same those dues would be paid monthly regardless of the amount I rented.
Annuals are a non-event costing $500 or so if I take the time to open up the
plane myself.
Jay Honeck is correct, we need to be better at spreading the word at how
low-cost flying can be. Sure I won't ever do significant business travel
with a C152, then again you can't spin a King Air. Aviation has it's trade
offs. If you can afford a new car (and really even if you can't), you can
get an airplane and really go somewhere. Since I now have two children, I
will eventually need a larger plane, but I don't think I could ever sell
N46000, it's just too much fun! I've now put in some additional avionics and
such, just here and there when money was available, so now I have an
airplane that is IFR capable, once I have the instrument checkride
completed, I'll have a low-cost way to maintain my currency.

--
Louis L. Perley III
N46000

Next time, don't let munchkins eat before flying. That may help.

"...if you can afford a new car, you can afford to fly..."

yup -- that's been my mantra for years. Pick a car. Any car. You
can find an airplane for that price.

It's entirely what you wish to do.

Call Dave Clark and ask what they recommend for cleaning.
You just might be surprised!

Louis L. Perley III wrote:

This is exactly why I bought a C152 early in my training. I was doing
some calculations and wondered where all the cost of renting came from. Once
I calculated that I found that I could buy a decent bird for around ~25,000
and after that, as you say about the only hourly cost is fuel and oil.
Insurance and Annuals are once a year events that you just suck up and pay.
Simple airplane = simple maintenance and low-cost insurance so that too
keeps costs low. Since a C152 isn't really overpowered for the altitudes I
fly (BJC is 5500 ft) it would also force me to learn how to manage my power
and such much more carefully than if I flew a plane that I could just power
my way out of a problem (although I must admit when I fly the new 172SP I
love the way they seem to leap off the runway compared to what I fly, yes,
it's true what they say, you always want something bigger, faster, etc.) The
plan was to take my checkride in this particular airplane, but I also
quickly learned the hard part of being an owner when my engine started
making metal large enough to punch holes in the paper oil filter. I was
grounded two weeks before my checkride, which was taken in a rental. It took
me awhile due to outside activities to come up with money for a new engine,
but now that I've put her back together, it's like you said. I look outside,
weather is acceptable (and I've done everything on the honeydo list), I'll
go fly. Even with gas prices pretty high, it only cost me $20/hr. to fly,
excluding fixed costs. Those fixed costs I don't ever really figure into my
equation, because they come due regardless of how much I fly and compared to
club dues if I were renting, that pretty much covers insurance, and much the
same those dues would be paid monthly regardless of the amount I rented.
Annuals are a non-event costing $500 or so if I take the time to open up the
plane myself.
Jay Honeck is correct, we need to be better at spreading the word at how
low-cost flying can be. Sure I won't ever do significant business travel
with a C152, then again you can't spin a King Air. Aviation has it's trade
offs. If you can afford a new car (and really even if you can't), you can
get an airplane and really go somewhere. Since I now have two children, I
will eventually need a larger plane, but I don't think I could ever sell
N46000, it's just too much fun! I've now put in some additional avionics and
such, just here and there when money was available, so now I have an
airplane that is IFR capable, once I have the instrument checkride
completed, I'll have a low-cost way to maintain my currency.

--
Louis L. Perley III
N46000