Taking your mates up!
Join Date: Oct 2001
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Don't feel pressured into flying your mates if the weather is a bit marginal. You may feel OK, but the object is for your friends to enjoy themselves.
Explain the situation, but take the opportunity to sit your mates in the aircraft & show them the knobs & taps. They will probably be keener than ever after that.
(And yes, I do speak from experience)
Explain the situation, but take the opportunity to sit your mates in the aircraft & show them the knobs & taps. They will probably be keener than ever after that.
(And yes, I do speak from experience)
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Reading, Berkshire
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I took my kids up who thought it was great. Trouble is the 5 year-old, who enjoyed it the most, kept trying to imitate my R/T and making engine noises which was very distracting. Get him to use dummy headphones you might say; trouble is, I wanted to be able to talk to him in case he got worried or to point out something of interest.
A gob-full of sweets (his gob not mine) and some stern words sorted it.
I did see a post about six months ago on another forum, in which an attractive female passenger found the whole thing so exciting she tried to fulfil her enjoyment in flight. It's really quite tricky pulling back on the yoke with a head in the way apparently, so keep it as a fantasy.
A gob-full of sweets (his gob not mine) and some stern words sorted it.
I did see a post about six months ago on another forum, in which an attractive female passenger found the whole thing so exciting she tried to fulfil her enjoyment in flight. It's really quite tricky pulling back on the yoke with a head in the way apparently, so keep it as a fantasy.
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Some excellent and very valid points made here....nice one chaps.
One extra comment however thay may help?........
Stick in 10 degrees of flap if you have someone in the back, and go for a rotate speed of 85....for it helps to make a smooth lift off.
Enjoy your flying........I am!
C.N.
[ 22 February 2002: Message edited by: Captain Numpty ]</p>
One extra comment however thay may help?........
Stick in 10 degrees of flap if you have someone in the back, and go for a rotate speed of 85....for it helps to make a smooth lift off.
Enjoy your flying........I am!
C.N.
[ 22 February 2002: Message edited by: Captain Numpty ]</p>
Why do it if it's not fun?
Join Date: Jul 2001
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Good point about take-off distance.
The first (in fact, only) time I put 4 people in a Warrior, I did a W&B calculation, and figured out how much (or should I say how little) fuel I could take to be within max gross weight. I was happy with that, and just about to put the manuals back, when I figured I may as well do the performance calculations "since I've got the manuals handy - it's good practice, and I haven't done one since my PPL skills test." I was shocked to find that I'd be going off the end of the runway taking off at Compton Abbas! Definitely do those performance calculations!
While I was trying to figure out how to get out of Compton Abbas (without the extra acceleration provided by the down-slope a few yards off the end of the runway!) I discovered that the CAA suppliment to the PA28-161 POH contains figures for a standard, no-flaps take-off, but not for a short-field take-off. Don't know if other manuals are the same, but my instructor recommended the following:
In the main manual are the performance figures which Piper published, which the CAA have decided we're not allowed to use. But Piper's figures are far more thorough - they include take-off charts for a no-flaps take-off, and for a short-field take-off. Find out from these graphs the percentage reduction in take-off distance using the short-field technique, then apply this percentage reduction to the numbers you get out of the CAA's graphs. It seemed to work, because we got off the ground shortly before the start of the down-slope!
FFF. .-----------
The first (in fact, only) time I put 4 people in a Warrior, I did a W&B calculation, and figured out how much (or should I say how little) fuel I could take to be within max gross weight. I was happy with that, and just about to put the manuals back, when I figured I may as well do the performance calculations "since I've got the manuals handy - it's good practice, and I haven't done one since my PPL skills test." I was shocked to find that I'd be going off the end of the runway taking off at Compton Abbas! Definitely do those performance calculations!
While I was trying to figure out how to get out of Compton Abbas (without the extra acceleration provided by the down-slope a few yards off the end of the runway!) I discovered that the CAA suppliment to the PA28-161 POH contains figures for a standard, no-flaps take-off, but not for a short-field take-off. Don't know if other manuals are the same, but my instructor recommended the following:
In the main manual are the performance figures which Piper published, which the CAA have decided we're not allowed to use. But Piper's figures are far more thorough - they include take-off charts for a no-flaps take-off, and for a short-field take-off. Find out from these graphs the percentage reduction in take-off distance using the short-field technique, then apply this percentage reduction to the numbers you get out of the CAA's graphs. It seemed to work, because we got off the ground shortly before the start of the down-slope!
FFF. .-----------
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Excellent tip passed to me by an RAF instructor-when flying friends for the first time always make steep turns to the left i.e. when orbiting ground features of interest to the right hand seat passenger.Apparently it is much more reassuring for the passenger to be seated above the pilot in a steep turn & I have to say that even the most nervous of people have not had a problem.Only thing you have to watch out for is the sudden appearance of a camera in the left hand side of the cockpit.
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I would echo all other postings so far.
I always get the pax involved on the walk-round, pointing out such things as:
"two fueltanks, two fuel pumps, two electric systems for added safety - if one fails the other automatically takes over".
I also offer to fly a circuit for someone who is "not sure" - we can land after the circuit if they are not 100% happy - if they say eys then it is a touch and go!!!!!!!
PFO
I always get the pax involved on the walk-round, pointing out such things as:
"two fueltanks, two fuel pumps, two electric systems for added safety - if one fails the other automatically takes over".
I also offer to fly a circuit for someone who is "not sure" - we can land after the circuit if they are not 100% happy - if they say eys then it is a touch and go!!!!!!!
PFO
