PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Would you be happy for a loved one flying with a brand new PPL?
Old 2nd May 2012, 21:50
  #66 (permalink)  
flyinkiwi
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: New Zealand
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My wife was adamant that the first passenger I took up who wasn't a pilot was her, and I obliged. Fortunately for me, she is a tough sort who loves turbulence more than I do!

I have also flown my sister, my brother in law, my sister in law, my nephew and my niece without incident. Their parents trusted me with their child(ren) and I had less than 100 hours total time when I took them up for the first time. I really like the eggs analogy, because I have the same attitude. Flying in poor visibility or severe turbulence can cause even the most ardent aviation nut to want to call it a day, so why expose non fliers to that environment? I try to shoot for the best weather possible. Aviation is there to be shared and enjoyed by all, and nothing gives me a greater buzz than seeing non fliers break into a smile and ask me when they can go up again just after I shutdown.

As for the thread drift question:

Apart from the current Orbit topic, what is the one thing (if any) you wish you were taught as part of your PPL but you weren't?
I would have loved to have done VOR/ADF/DME tracking, and I guess I still could, but where I fly it is not a part of the PPL syllabus. I did however do a lot of other extracurricular flying, and I strongly recommend to all low time pilots to seek out as wide a range of flying experiences as possible, even if it is one where you are not hands on. I learned a heap of useful stuff just sitting in the back watching a lesson in progress (flying in the back seat of a twin IMC asymmetrically and a night VFR trip for someones CPL were the two real eye openers for me).
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