A reluctance to take the controls

Mary and I have given rides to dozens of people over the years. I
usually like to let a newbie ride in the right seat with me, and will
usually let them "take the wheel" once we're safely at altitude. Most
people love their new-found freedom, while others are tentative and not
quite sure what to think.

It is a rare person, indeed, who refuses the chance to "steer" -- but
it happened Friday with a 24 year old girl in the right seat.
Actually, Mary was up front with her, while I was in back with her
boyfriend (which is still a very weird feeling, sitting in the BACK of
your own plane, in flight) -- and when Mary offered her the controls,
she politely refused.

What *is* that, anyway? This girl is a wonderfully intelligent, highly
educated young lady, with no tendency toward timidness or air sickness,
yet, when given the chance to try something that VERY few people on
this planet will ever get to do, she refused. Stranger still, she has
flown with us before (albeit in the back seat), so it's not like she's
afraid of flying.

I'm trying to remember if that has ever happened with me in the left
seat, and -- although I've sensed reluctance a time or two -- I don't
think anyone has ever said "No, thanks" to my offer to take the yoke.
Perhaps it's because I give them little choice, and Mary *asked*?

It just seems odd to me, and rather sad. I don't want folks believing
that airplanes fall out of the sky as soon as an experienced pilot lets
go of the controls...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:
Mary and I have given rides to dozens of people over the years. I
usually like to let a newbie ride in the right seat with me, and will
usually let them "take the wheel" once we're safely at altitude. Most
people love their new-found freedom, while others are tentative and not
quite sure what to think.

It is a rare person, indeed, who refuses the chance to "steer" -- but
it happened Friday with a 24 year old girl in the right seat.
Actually, Mary was up front with her, while I was in back with her
boyfriend (which is still a very weird feeling, sitting in the BACK of
your own plane, in flight) -- and when Mary offered her the controls,
she politely refused.

What *is* that, anyway? This girl is a wonderfully intelligent, highly
educated young lady, with no tendency toward timidness or air sickness,
yet, when given the chance to try something that VERY few people on
this planet will ever get to do, she refused. Stranger still, she has
flown with us before (albeit in the back seat), so it's not like she's
afraid of flying.

I'm trying to remember if that has ever happened with me in the left
seat, and -- although I've sensed reluctance a time or two -- I don't
think anyone has ever said "No, thanks" to my offer to take the yoke.
Perhaps it's because I give them little choice, and Mary *asked*?

It just seems odd to me, and rather sad. I don't want folks believing
that airplanes fall out of the sky as soon as an experienced pilot lets
go of the controls...

Different people like different things and not everyone likes flying.
My wife likes to fly with me and ride motorccycle with me, but has no
interest in learning to fly or learning to ride a motorcycle of her own.

I likewise have no interest in going to Avon or Home Interior parties.
If the young lady who refused the opportunity to take the controls of
your airplane had invited you to her next Avon party, would you have
accepted her offer?

Matt

In article . com,
Jay Honeck wrote:

It is a rare person, indeed, who refuses the chance to "steer" -- but
it happened Friday with a 24 year old girl in the right seat.

My wife was a pilot for a number of years before I took up lessons. Not
once before taking lessons did I touch the controls. I just had no
interest. Motorcycles were my thing, flying was hers. My first lesson
this past Spring was the first time I'd touched the yoke. I did it
as a safety thing since we'd been doing regular $100 hamburgers and
flights to her parents with the kids aboard and because I thought flying
would be a nice thing for my wife and I to share.

That first lesson was an eye opener - a plane is like a 3D motorcycle.
Now I'm hooked. I'll be tooling around central Indiana in a J-3 Cub
an hour and a half from now.

--
Scott Post

That first lesson was an eye opener - a plane is like a 3D motorcycle.
Now I'm hooked. I'll be tooling around central Indiana in a J-3 Cub
an hour and a half from now.

That's kind of the effect I'm looking for in people -- and we usually
get it!

What I don't understand is that you never felt the desire to try out
the controls when your wife was PIC. It would have seemed the perfect
opportunity to test the waters, and I (like, I believe most people)
would have jumped at the chance.

In fact, thinking back to my first or second ride in a small airplane,
that's exactly what happened to me. And the rest, as they say, is
history.

You were indifferent before, yet you are now hooked. I believe that
sums up precisely what AOPA and much of the GA world is trying to
comprehend -- and the sooner we "break the code" the better.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote:
[snip]
and when Mary offered her the controls,
she politely refused.

What *is* that, anyway? This girl is a wonderfully intelligent, highly
educated young lady, with no tendency toward timidness or air sickness,
yet, when given the chance to try something that VERY few people on
this planet will ever get to do, she refused. Stranger still, she has
flown with us before (albeit in the back seat), so it's not like she's
afraid of flying.

Why do you automatically think it has something to do with fear,
education, intelligence or experience?

I'm a pilot, and I occasionally decline the offer to fly also. Does that
make me less intelligent or afraid or timid or make you question my
level of education? Shame on you for thinking of only those reasons just
because she declined!

There are MANY elements to enjoy when on a flight in a small airplane,
SOME of which you can't appreciate as fully when YOU are at the
controls, especially when you don't have a clue what you're doing. As a
pilot, I'm still scanning gauges, listening to radio calls, looking for
potential places to land, and watching for traffic (can't help that!)
.... but I don't have to have the controls in MY hands every time to
fully enjoy every flight. Sometimes I like being able to relax a little,
appreciate the scenery a little more, and just be a passenger.

Maybe the intelligent young lady will want to learn to fly one day too,
maybe she will even ASK, specifically, to take a turn at the controls,
maybe not ... but perhaps she likes just being able to relax and enjoy
the ride, with someone capable like you or Mary at the controls. And
that IS why you take her flying, isn't it?

Just because flying is something that very few people ever get the
opportunity to do doesn't mean that *everyone* jumps at every
opportunity to do it.

Jay Honeck writes:

What *is* that, anyway?

When you offer someone the chance to drive your car, do you expect him
to unconditionally accept?

Some people just don't care. How can they sit and enjoy the scenery
if they have to steer the plane?

Perhaps it's because I give them little choice, and Mary *asked*?

Perhaps. They may have sensed that you expected them to be delighted
by the opportunity, and they were too polite to turn you down.

It just seems odd to me, and rather sad. I don't want folks believing
that airplanes fall out of the sky as soon as an experienced pilot lets
go of the controls...

Just because someone doesn't want to do the work of flying doesn't
mean that she's afraid of airplanes.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

Jay Honeck writes:

You were indifferent before, yet you are now hooked.

Some people are indifferent, and remain so even after trying it. Some
people just don't care. Some people don't like motorcycles, either.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

She didn't want to be embarrassed in front of her boyfriend.
Let Mary take her up with just the "girls" along.


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
| Mary and I have given rides to dozens of people over the
years. I
| usually like to let a newbie ride in the right seat with
me, and will
| usually let them "take the wheel" once we're safely at
altitude. Most
| people love their new-found freedom, while others are
tentative and not
| quite sure what to think.
|
| It is a rare person, indeed, who refuses the chance to
"steer" -- but
| it happened Friday with a 24 year old girl in the right
seat.
| Actually, Mary was up front with her, while I was in back
with her
| boyfriend (which is still a very weird feeling, sitting in
the BACK of
| your own plane, in flight) -- and when Mary offered her
the controls,
| she politely refused.
|
| What *is* that, anyway? This girl is a wonderfully
intelligent, highly
| educated young lady, with no tendency toward timidness or
air sickness,
| yet, when given the chance to try something that VERY few
people on
| this planet will ever get to do, she refused. Stranger
still, she has
| flown with us before (albeit in the back seat), so it's
not like she's
| afraid of flying.
|
| I'm trying to remember if that has ever happened with me
in the left
| seat, and -- although I've sensed reluctance a time or
two -- I don't
| think anyone has ever said "No, thanks" to my offer to
take the yoke.
| Perhaps it's because I give them little choice, and Mary
*asked*?
|
| It just seems odd to me, and rather sad. I don't want
folks believing
| that airplanes fall out of the sky as soon as an
experienced pilot lets
| go of the controls...
| --
| Jay Honeck
| Iowa City, IA
| Pathfinder N56993
| www.AlexisParkInn.com
| "Your Aviation Destination"
|

"Jay Honeck" wrote:
You were indifferent before, yet you are now hooked. I believe that
sums up precisely what AOPA and much of the GA world is trying to
comprehend -- and the sooner we "break the code" the better.

Sometimes you do more harm by making someone feel like you are pushing
them to do something they aren't ready to do, Jay. Odd as it may seem to
those of us who are hooked, not everyone gets the same thrill out of
being at the controls of a small airplane.

Many people *are* afraid to go in a small airplane. Some of that is lack
of exposure, but for others, it wouldn't matter, they would never enjoy
it. The way I look at it is that if a non pilot agrees to go for a ride
with me, the best thing I can do is to ensure, to the best of my
ability, that they enjoy the experience. If they like it and are
interested in taking the controls or getting professional instruction as
a result, that's terrific, and I'd feel proud that they enjoyed the
experience that much!...but it isn't MY job to break any "code" or to
get anyone hooked. That comes from within each of us, in our own time.

I hope you didn't make your young friend feel like she disappointed or
even surprised you because she declined to take the controls.

"Jim Macklin" writes:

She didn't want to be embarrassed in front of her boyfriend.
Let Mary take her up with just the "girls" along.

If she's only 24, it's unlikely that she still has a 19th-century
mindset.

She probably just isn't interested in flying a plane.

--
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