Your article is great!
Your first section is exactly what we do with kids or anyone not really into the details. Even before I became a pilot, I would head out 30min early, check tires, sump, install gadgets and headsets and pull the plane out. Then my wife would do a preflight while I walk over with my daughter to the little FBO building to use the bathroom and get a drink of water. So instead of the daughter waiting 40min, she maybe waits 15 minutes and she's busy.
For passenger comfort in summer heat, one of the most uncomfortable times is right after getting in until up at cruise. So we have a small handheld fan with a rechargeable battery. People love it to get some fresh air on their faces.
Most GPS and ADS-B devices support multiple tablets at a time. We always carry two. Usually our daughter watches movies on the second one. However, for some flights we've handed it to more interested passengers in the back so they can follow along with the moving map. Some really like this. But I would not advise it for kids or those prone to motion sickness as they will just be heads down focusing on it and until touch down and get more uneasy. Great for techies and the millennials who think a PPL is just like a drivers license and that the tablet actually is doing everything
And in a few cases it seems to increase interest in flying vs ho-hum.
We have always shown riders that we have a puke bag and a pee bag. We make a lot of fun about it and then get it out is sight. Have never had to use them but it eases the minds of those are worried about it in advance - especially those wonderful people who are actually worried about getting puke all over the plane.
Airplanes can smell, well, yucky after getting 40yrs old. The worst is fuel smells that probably got in the headliner area after bladder leaks, etc (182 Brad!). This is my daughter's #1 nemesis. That small handheld fan and little bottle of smelling oil (spearmint) have really helped.
For some passengers I believe I will pick them up at a rather nice FBO. The gas price is only 5c more than my local field. But the passengers get to park 200ft away from the plane at a nice busy Delta, walk into a modern/comfortable FBO and will probably get to walk by a TBM or a Citation or maybe even a Global Express on the way out to the plane. So they will associate the flight with modern aviation, etc. There will be very little pre-flight if I've just arrived 10 minutes earlier and their overall day will be much shorter by sparring them the long drive out to the rural airport and back. When I am done the FBO can top the plane off while we say goodbye and then its a 14min flight back home where I can take my time putting everything away and not feel rushed to get going with them.
We ask kids to name lakes based on what they look like....that lasts for about 4 minutes!
We have had to yank the mic jack for a kid that starting screeming the entire flight right after take off...at a Delta!!! So it pays to know which jack is the mic - LOL
And be prepared for passengers to not be 100% after a flight, even those who don't get sick. They often come back at like 89%, a bit tired and don't want to just run out, eat or do something crazy or physical right afterwards.
All passengers generally like to look for traffic...except my mom!!! When she first saw near traffic it freaked her out. She hasn't wanted to go up in the plane ever since
For older people, have a small (and strong) plastic kiddie step. That one extra step really helps them for high wing planes (except those darned Cardinal owners!).
