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#11
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Passenger Safety (Generic) Briefing Card
Wise words Cindy! I think it's clear you've done this a few times!
A few extras. Every flight has a purpose. The purpose of the first flight is to become accustomed to the sighs, sounds, and feeling of motion of a glider. A lot of airsickness comes from nervousness. They don't know that the bump you just felt is meaningless. The main point of the first flight is "mind, tell stomach that everything is OK" The point of the briefing is to give them the knowledge to help them digest that everthing is ok. My briefing is "what to expect." I explain that we will roll down the runway, and it will be a bit bumpy. We're driving down a grass runway without suspension at 40 mph after all. I explain that a bit of bumpiness and G forces are normal, not endangering my control of the glider at all. I explain what the liftoff will look and feel like. I explain it will be a bit bumpy for the first few hundred feet of tow but then will smooth out. As we near tow release I tell them they will hear a noise and the towplane will depart, this is normal. I point out the quiet once we've released tow. I explain there is nothing -- nothing -- they can do to the controls that I can't recover from (so long as they let go when I ask!) I explain the extra noise and turbulence of dive brakes, so they don't think something went wrong. Our job is to anticipate all the things they don't know about a glider that will make them nervous about the experience. Do first flights early or late, in smooth air. Do not thermal. Do not exceed 20 degrees bank. Nobody has ever failed to take a second flight because the first one was boring. Many have sworn off gliding forever because they got sick. Like Cindy, I don't even explain the instruments. I want them looking outside. I point out interesting things to look at. I don't allow cameras or video. There is no way they will produce any pictures or video of any value at all, and they may lose it or get it jammed in the wrong place. They are sure to get sick staring through a lens. Trying to do airborne photography on a first flight interferes completely with the purpose of the flight -- getting used to the sights, sounds, and feelings of being in a glider. Giving rides is only done well if it is supremely boring for the pilot. At best, flying so as to minimize g loading is a fun exercise. My one failure was with a kid. The vario beeped slightly. He asked what that meant. I answered "that's an instrument that says we're going up, so everything is great." The vario went silent. He interpreted that as "now, we're not ok", became very nervous and eventually sick. Big lesson learned! John Cochrane |
#12
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Passenger Safety (Generic) Briefing Card
John Cochrane wrote:
My one failure was with a kid. The vario beeped slightly. He asked what that meant. I answered "that's an instrument that says we're going up, so everything is great." The vario went silent. He interpreted that as "now, we're not ok", became very nervous and eventually sick. Big lesson learned! You do need to be careful in what you say.During a CFI refresher clinic, the instructor told the following: When flying power in the pattern, he liked to set flaps and engine on downwind, abeam the numbers, so that he would make his turns and nail the numbers without further touching the engine or flaps. One day, he was giving a ride to 3 non-flyers and the pattern wasn't quite working out the way he planned. What he said was "aw, we're not going to make it". Tony |
#13
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Passenger Safety (Generic) Briefing Card
Agreed, One of our instructors had an elderly (80 years young)
woman on a first ride in a blanik L 13 on a winch tow! When they were about 600 feet the winch quit. Now that in itself was not the problem, you see he found himself in a litttle thermal and being the good glider pilot he was he declared " I think I can save it!" She simply said "do you best" and profusely thanked him when the eventually landed for "saving her life"! A matter of semantics! out the way he planned. What he said was "aw, we're not going to make it". Tony |
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