Took the wife flying...

[MikeeB]

Took the wife and child(4) flying yesterday for the first time. We were scheduled to go next Saturday, but she said, "why don't you ring up and see if they have a plane available".

So I did, and I got one.

I sat them down the club house while I went and checked the aircraft out and blagged a couple of of headsets etc.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I flew then down the River Ouse and Humber Estuary to the bridge and back to Sherburn.

It got a bit bumpy to the south side of Drax P.S and she was glad when we all landed safely back at base.

Quote: "I won't be coming again for a long time"

She doesn't see why I enjoy flying and found the whole thing quite boring. James (child) didn't say much at all, which was strange. Although he did ask who the man was talking in the headphones once or twice.

He was well behaved and sat good as gold. I tried to involve him by asking him to tell me if he saw any other aeroplanes (which he did), but I'm not sure if he'll ask to come again either.

I'm glad I've taken them, because they were my first passengers after getting my licence a few weeks back. I was probably more nervous than they were ;)

Is this kind of response normal ?

http://nysd.co.uk/~mike/FLY/jamesfly.jpg

At least he had a smile on his face :)

[shortstripper]

VERY ! :{

IM

[knobbygb]

Hi, and belated congrats on getting the license from a fellow Sherburner.

Is the response normal? Yes and No.

My wife came up once (sat in the back during training with an instructor up front) and also doesn't plan on ever coming again. The instructor in question (JC) did his best to chat her up, err, I mean talk her round, but to no avail. She screamed every time we hit even mild turbulance...

On the flip side, my daughter (8 year old) loves it and has been up several times. She's mad for it and demands we do stalls and steep turns on each flight. She likes to take control but can't actually see over the 'dashboard' yet. She wants me to learn aerobatics so we can go upside-down! Perhaps it's the age difference - 4 is probably a bit young to appreciate the experience fully.

Another early passenger was Mum - who threw up over the Humber Bridge (not literally!) on the same trip you did.

[Tall_guy_in_a_152]

In summary, wife hates flying unless there is a worthwhile destination, at least two engines, a drinks service and I am not in the front. Mum and Dad both love it.

I have given up trying to predict who will enjoy a flight and who won't.

TG.

[MikeeB]

I think that bridge will wear out soon ;)

I'm planning on learning aero's, but need to save up that > 8hrs dual on the Cap first, and get some hours built.

Be next year now.

My "trial" flight was in the Cap, it's what got me started on all this. As one person said, "I'm suprised that didn't put you off for life"

I'm hoping to get there on this Thursday night, but have to see what kind of progress I make on getting back from Reading.

[Deano777]

I also took my wife flying for the first time yesterday LOL

We took off from Bristol Intl and the wind was pretty vicious over the Mendip hills and the turbulance on takeoff was pretty bad LOL, she was a bit pale and every time the plane bumped, which was every 2 seconds she was grabbing my arm which I had to tell her NOT to do :D, once we settled down on our route north over Wotton Under Edge she spotted our house which settled her down a bit, she got the camera out too, I tried to climb out the turbulance and succeeded but only just at 2,600ft, the cloud was at 2,700ft, then when we went over to Lydney to route to Hereford there was even worse turbulance over the hills there LOL, on the way back was smooth down to Chepstow and the view of the severn bridges was quite stunning yesterday, then in via Portishead to Bristol, the landing was good too, and to top it all off......






































she said she'd go again :D :ok:


Dean.

[Whirlybird]

Well, I find flying fairly boring too...unless I'm in control, or navigating at the very least. Just looking at the view is nice, but gets monotonous after a while.

Along similar lines, I have a helicopter student who tells me she did everything including the take-off and landing on a f/w trial lesson. I suspect that because she's getting on a bit, the instructor made it look as though she did, to make her feel good. It had the opposite effect - she thought it was boring and no challenge. She's now struggling hard with helicopter flying, and saying it's really difficult and a real challenge, and she LOVES it!

Among other things, proof that everyone's different.

[WeatherJinx]

I have found that female friends are far more likely to:

a) Turn up in the first place

b) Enjoy the experience

Ever since I got my licence, most of my male friends asked to come along for a flight at some point, but the majority of of them called with excuses at the last minute.

The girls however were completely different - all of 'em turned up, all thoroughly enjoyed the flight (even the nervous ones) and some of them have come back a second or even third time - 'When are we going to go flying again?'

I find this a little strange - without wishing to generalise, my experience has always been that women tend to be a little more risk-averse than men, but in this respect the roles have completely reversed :confused:

Anyone else experienced this?

[Fuji Abound]

Sorry, I don’t mean to highjack your topic, but it got me thinking about why we like to fly.

For me there is immense satisfaction in flying an aircraft well in an environment that potentially always has something new to throw at us. Of course this is very much a hands on thing. If I am P2 I still get almost as much enjoyment watching the scenery pass by. Finally because I use the aircraft for business as well I get some satisfaction from how much more relaxing a journey is by air compared with sitting down there in the traffic! So how does that work for passengers. Well, I reckon if possible stay low and encourage them to recognise landmarks and other sites of interest and let them do some map reading, even if you know perfectly well where you are! If you are sufficiently confident let them have a go on the controls - that will keep them involved. Finally point out that they could be sitting in a traffic jam down there. Whatever, I think with wives and partners the trick must be to take them somewhere worthwhile if they don’t enjoy flying for its own sake.

[CPilotUK]

So how does that work for passengers. Well, I reckon if possible stay low and encourage them to recognise landmarks and other sites of interest and let them do some map reading, even if you know perfectly well where you are! If you are sufficiently confident let them have a go on the controls - that will keep them involved. Finally point out that they could be sitting in a traffic jam down there. Whatever, I think with wives and partners the trick must be to take them somewhere worthwhile if they don’t enjoy flying for its own sake.

Well said Fuji.

[flyingfemme]

Agree that you can never tell who will love the experience and who will be unmoved.........

My Mother-in-law (overweight, disabled pensioner, walks with crutches) absolutely LOVES it and will cancel anything at the last moment if there is a chance of flying anywhere. She contorted herself into a C150 for the pleasure of ferrying to Blackpool and driving 4 hours to get home! My own mother can take it or leave it......

Took a female neighbour up (in the same C150) on a sunny summer's evening. She is an ex-showjumper, so hardly risk-averse. She enjoyed the experience and the views and was surprised (when I gave her the controls) at how a small aircraft felt to fly - when you see them on the movies there is always a big, butch pilot wrenching at the yoke with both hands! I'd never thought of it in those terms - no wonder the non-flying public are a little apprehensive.

[jackyboy]

My wife was sick on her first trip and is still willing to fly with me having got some advice from fellow ppruners.

Dunno if it will help but the topic was - Air sickness advice on remedies.

[Blind lemon]

I took my partner flying a couple of times when we first met and she has never been since. I have never managed to entice her back in the air as she not only found it quite boring, she was also quesy on both trips.

I had great ideas about flying off to nice places for lunch but when it made her feel ill the last thing she was remotely intrested in was eating.

So that was the end of that.










:ugh:

[MikeeB]

She didn't dislike it, she just couldn't see the point in it.

Will be interesting if, come next year, she wants to visit her sister at Coventry, and I feel like I'm upto the job of flying it.

[Wrong Stuff]

I'm with Fuji - for most people flying is a means to an end - they've got to want to get somewhere to get in an aeroplane.

With my other half I purposely didn't ask her, but started doing trips I thought she'd enjoy and waited for her to ask to come along. One sunny Sunday I went to Shoreham and lay on the beach for a couple of hours. The next weekend I flew to Norwich and went round to her mum's for a cup of tea (excellent PR!). A couple of weekends later when I mentioned I was off to Le Touquet for the day she was dead keen to come along.

As it happened, she was REALLY nervous on the flight out - and I think if that had been the only flight she would never have come again. Inevitably though, we had to get back from Le Touquet and by the end of the second flight she was a lot more relaxed. Now she tends to fall asleep on climbout and wake again on finals.

[DRJAD]

Mrs DRJAD has been flying with me from Sherburn on several occasions since various licences came my way. I think her attitude can be summed up in a few sentences:

a) she can take it or leave it: flying is enjoyable but non-essential

b) she's happy to fly with me if i) I'm properly qualified for the type of flying we are to do, and ii) I'm in current practice.

And, no, I haven't put words into her mouth, she's a very logical person and said these things to me, entirely unprompted!

Sister-in-law and her husband have been up, too: he was very interested in the rotorcraft at Sherburn, and I would not be surprised if he decides to take lessons at some point.

Parents-in-law adamantly refuse to get anywhere near any kind of aircraft no matter who is flying it!

[VFR800]

Dudes,

Reading this thread has struck a chord with me. I bounded home (after a number of pints with my instructor), to tell her the happy news that my GFT was booked for 1st November. Was she impressed with my offer for her to be my 1st passenger (once I've passed)? Err, no, actually !

Her exact words were thus:

"As I think your driving is terrible, I'm hardly likely to want to go up in the air with you"

I've managed to marry one of the most anti-avaition women in the UK! :ugh:

[Mike Cross]

I have found that female friends are far more likely to:

a) Turn up in the first place

b) Enjoy the experience
One of the unmarried members of our group has remarkable success in finding very personable young ladies who want to fly with him. Must find out how he does it!

Re family members
My wife has for many years been scared of flying, needs hand holding in a 747-400. Took her in the back of a 172 in the USA a few years ago with me and an instructor in the front on a sightseeing trip over a friend's house in Cape Cod. She did not like it.

However she went with me in the Luscombe to Kemble yesterday and says she is now cured of her fear of flying! She reckons it's sitting in the front with a cushion and a good view. Maybe she was claustrophobic in the back of the 172 and appreciated an exit all to herself!

My 16 year old daughter has been up a few times but lost interest. She also seems to have a pathalogical inability to recognise when she's one wing low. She now wants me to teach her to drive the car......... aaaargh!:uhoh: :uhoh: :uhoh:

Mike

[HelenD]

I have taken my husband flying, he loves it and steals the map from me, thankfully he can spot where we are so I dont have to grab the map back. I took 2 passangers for the first time on Sat and I found it rather hard going as I had to keep telling the one in the back to be quiet so I could talk to ATC, it is all a learning experience though.

[Phoenix09]

I took 2 passengers for the first time on Sat and I found it rather hard going as I had to keep telling the one in the back to be quiet so I could talk to ATC, it is all a learning experience though.
This is something that I've often thought about but have never yet got round to asking the question!

In the past I've always told any passengers to be quiet when I need to talk on the radio. However, I have been wondering for sometime whether when I press the PTT it cuts out the other microphones and just picks up mine or can ATC hear everything that is being said?

Probably ought to start a new thread to ask this question but HelenD has got me thinking now... :O

[221B]

Similar to others my wife can take it or leave it - but is happy to come along if we are going somewhere (preferably somewhere with shops). She also much prefers having something to do, such as following the route on the map and reading out the radio frequencies.

In the aircraft I fly the PTT isolates the pilot's mic so that it is the only one ATC can hear. The other option is to turn off the hot mic and enjoy the peace and quiet!

[Circuit Basher]

I believe that it's pretty much standard that whichever PTT is pressed (left seat or right seat), that mike is the only one connected to the Tx. There may be exceptions to this rule, so don't assume anything!

Mrs CB has been flying often with me - doesn't enjoy coming up on check rides with instructors where there's lots of circuits. steep turns and a stall or 2!! ;)

Enjoys it when there's food and refreshments at the end of the journey!! :D

[Kolibear]

Mike Cross said:-

However she went with me in the Luscombe to Kemble yesterday and says she is now cured of her fear of flying! She reckons it's sitting in the front with a cushion and a good view.


Thats an interesting point Mike. Mrs K. flew with me once or twice in the Club 152 and hated it. As she is only 5' 2" and the IP in a 152 is quite high, she couldn't see in front and had to look sideways. She claimed it made her airsick.

In the Koliber, the view is much much better and she can see ahead. Consequently she is happy to come along with me now.

[TangoZulu]

My wife has been flying with me - we went all the way from EGHH to EDRF (Bad Durkheim in Germany) in the summer for a few days and she enjoyed the trip - although the actual flying was quite boring - 170nm in a straight line from L2K before turning was fairly boring for me - especially as there is not a huge amount to look at over Northern France.

She seems quite happy to come on trips if there is something to do when we get there - or even to visit friends for a weekend.

That being said, she cannot really see what all the fuss is about - but then again she really enjoys skiing and I cannot really see etc etc etc . . . . . . . .

TZ

[S-Works]

Nice flight the LFAT to EDRF if a little bland until you get over the hills. You must have found a wormhole to get it down from 260nm to 170nm though!

My wife has started to enjoy the passenger flying after more than 400 hours of persuasion but will only go if there is something at the end like a weekend away!

She prefers it in the Twin as there is more room for her to stretch out!

[Mike Cross]

TZ
but then again she really enjoys skiing and I cannot really see etc etc etc . . . . . . . .
Now don't start knocking skiing!

Sitting outside the Alpage at Megeve guzzling oysters in the sunshine.

Put your skis back on and take a few lifts (well more than a few actually:\ ) and you get to the altiport, where you can aviate and ski at the same time. I suggest you take your ski boots off first though, otherwise the yaw control might be a tad iffy.

Interesting that many flyers also sail or ski, all pasttimes that involve going up down and sideways simultaneously, and seldom travelling in the direction in which you are pointing.:E

Mike

[Fancy Navigator]

My other half quite likes it...:) However, her first flight with me was on a C152 and she did not thoroughly enjoy it 'cause it was a bit bumpy....She was closing her eyes saying "I want to go back...."
On the other hand, she loves flying on a PA-28...;) '
I think she loves the scenery, the flight itself, but she has not shown an interest in taking the controls yet...!!! Maybe next time, who knows?

[Arclite01]

Don't know anyone who likes flying in the 152 from a comfort or visibility point of view.............

When ever I have flown passengers (female) they all really enjoy the experience although some are nervous of handling the controls.

Most male passengers fly like they are mixing cement.........

My wife, alas has not yet experienced the joy of powered flight with me......but maybe someday:E

Arc

[Air Born]

My husband would happily give up his day job to come flying with me anytime...if I didn't need him to keep the day job to keep me in the air!!!!!

Recently took my daughter (who has been up quite a few times) and her best friend (also 5) along with his Mum up for a quick jaunt over their house and back. He is still beaming and talking about it days later. After landing he was writing down aircraft registrations (help, I've spawned a plane-spotter!) and drew the most fantastic thankyou card of me in a plane - complete with rivets along the airframe, beacon and anticol lights, stall warner and the 'knobbly lever' (mixture) - yes, we did do the preflight together and he paid very careful attention!

I guess I am VERY lucky to have friends and family who are all aviation nuts...however my mother does seem to defer her place in the plane to just about anyone else. My sympathies to those who have earthbound partners - there really is nothing better than sharing the thrill.

[Rod1]

This is actually Rod’s wife speaking… I love flying with my husband, with or without an exciting destination. (Though I must admit to getting a taste for those bacon butties, all the little clubs make!) I’ve flown front or back, and had the occasional go at the controls. I’ve been across the channel with him, and tried some light aerobatics- Great Fun! Perhaps this is partly because I absolutely trust his flying.

If I didn’t, I would not have let him take our 2 kids, since they’ve each been old enough to communicate earache. They also both love it. Tim, (now 12, then 18m,) sang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang throughout, whilst Dominic, (now 7, then 14m,) giggled and shouted for more, more!

Unfortunately, whilst Dominic is fine, Tim & I suffer from occasional airsickness. It makes no difference if I sit front or back, or even how bumpy it is, - it was only predictable whilst I was pregnant. Anyone out there know a cure for this? It isn’t a big problem; Tim just quietly gets on with it, with sickbag, but it makes it less enjoyable. When I tried it, Microlight flying, out in the fresh air, was totally sickness free!

I would recommend any landbound partner/kids to give it a go. That moment when the wheels leave the ground and you tell gravity to go suck… Wow!

[flyingfemme]

Hi Rodswife!

I, too, suffer from the odd bit of airsickness. Difficult to say why but I NEVER feel ill when I'm in command. So get your mitts on the yoke!

[gatfield]

My husband doesn't mind coming flying with me-

but, he usually falls alseep!

[flyingfemme]

he usually falls alseep!

Gatfield - I'd take that as a tremendous compliment (he trusts you).