My First Passenger

[Lister Noble]

This morning I took my first passenger flying in almost perfect conditions.
The passenger was a very experienced pilot who has given me many hours of flying in the Chipmunk and Tiger Moth over the last couple of years, he would always refuse any form of payment, which I found more than a bit embarrassing at first.
One day as I was trying to get him to take something he got quite upset and told me he was going anyway and if he didn’t want me with him I wouldn’t be sitting in the passenger seat!
Anyway today we took off from Old Buck in a PA28 with a light crosswind and flew down to the coast at Felixstowe then followed the coastline all the way up to Great Yarmouth with me pointing out various salient points from my sailing years, then south of Norwich back to Old Buck.
It was a day when all went well, he reckoned I did a good take off and landing, good nav en route and flew the aircraft accurately with good R/T procedure,all of which pleased me somewhat as this is the first feedback from an "outside" source.
As I was filling out the Tech log the CFI came up and said "Nice landing" which was great because earlier he had told me with his wry smile and a big wink
" You are now history,space cadet Noble,just a bundle of progress markers lying on my desk" .

The passenger was really pleased that I had got my PPL and I am really happy that at least I have managed to give him something back, I’m actually more chuffed than after my first solo!
Lister:)

[Keygrip]

Nice one - welcome to the fold...Captain.

[Gingerbread Man]

Well done, Sir.

My first passenger was my sister. I actually had one whilst training, but she was my first after passing the skills test. The plan was to fly from Thruxton to Bembridge because I like dealing with the Solent CTA and going somewhere that isn't the mainland seems quite exciting for some reason. Unfortunately, the weather on the day was really hazy and the visibility was terrible, but it was a scorcher. We had to be content with some circuits at Thruxton instead, but she still enjoyed it and found it "really weird" considering she's only ever flown in airliners. So i'm glad the weather was good for yours - it's always nice to show of your skills :ok: .

Ginger ;)

[Confabulous]

I can only echo Keygrip... well done Commander! :)

[stiknruda]

Lister - old bean,

Well done!

R, the girl who fought in Vietnam, called to tell me that her exams were going well, all 90% +.

My offer still stands, I'll show/educate you how to roll and loop. Your Chippie was parked next to me yesterday at an airshow in a neighbouring county , some chap with "egg" was flying it :cool: :cool:

And you and your chums ARE needed 26/8. Perhaps a pint this week rather than Pprune to sort our lives out?


Stik

[Halfbaked_Boy]

Lister, very well done indeed - that is your second milestone as a pilot and I found it a huge confidence booster the first time I took passengers. Incidentally they were my grandparents who - when I couldn't drive - always took me the fifty miles to the airfield and back and it felt really great to be able to show them what all the hard work had been for and that it really had paid off. :)

All the best and good luck with your flying, Jack.

[S205-18F]

Well done Captain Lister, My first passenger was my son last December on a Saturday morning on a flight to Inverness. He had been out partying the night before and fell asleep part way up the Glens awakening to announce he was feeling unwell (a delicate shade of puce) so it was a rapid but smooth about turn back to Perth.:ugh:

[Humaround]

First time i took a passenger other than other pilots, was in a glider. Other glider pilots will know that you have to be able to demonstrate a quite a high level of skill and experience to be allowed to take a passenger in a glider, compared with flying solo. You need a P1 rating (essentially a series of checks with the CFI), on top of around 100 hours experience and a Silver C award (varies a bit between clubs).
My wife bravely agreed to be my first passenger. It was a beautiful day and we towed to 2000 feet above the Cotswolds. The thermal god was kind and we were soon at 5000 feet with fantastic views. We meandered around (I didn't feel confident enough go far from the field - decided that landing out might well make this our last joint flying experience...)
After about 1/2 hour, she said "we seem to be going round in circles a lot - does it go in straight line as well?"
Landed safely after an hour (both of us felt quite tired) and she admitted to really enjoying the flight - she felt a bit nervous during the approach and landing, but willing to try it again.
That was three years ago, I went on to get the PPL and we now enjoy flying together regularly in a shared 50 year old aircraft out of farm strip 5 miles from our home.
One of the main reasons I went for the PPL was because i had done a lot of gliding on my own and really wanted company. I could see that taking my wife gliding was going to be of limited interest to her, whereas trundling down to Bodmin, staying overnight in Port Isaac and then returning along the south coast via Compton Abbas (a favourite of both of us) as we did last week is enjoyable for both of us. This year we plan to get to the Scilly Isles and maybe France.
I seldom go flying on my own now. I find that having someone to share the experience enhances the enjoyment greatly.