Ted
The pilot formerly known as Twin Engine Ted
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2007
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iFlyNothing
While getting far off topic in the Spin Training poll, we got to talking about rules for discovery flights, or whenever we, as advocates of flying, get the opportunity to expose someone new to our world. I thought that they were definitely worthy of reposting and discussion under a new topic. See here:
The breath mints I can definitely say are a plus. We've all been in planes with people who need them. Planes are crampt enough as is, and frequently people want to get out anyway. No need to give them another reason.
I'd add/modify a few things to this.
Figure out, probably by both reading the person and asking him or her, what kind of flight he or she wants. I've taken up a few people who are more racing types and are more interested in seeing steep turns, slips, the sort of "fun stuff" (at least to me). But for the most part, people, even those who are the self-proclaimed adrenaline junkies, tend to have some apprehension their first time in a small plane. Thinking back to my first lessons, it took me a bit to just get used to the fact that I was up in the air, and the ground was way down there.
Explaining everything is good. Leaving out some stuff can also be good. On Sunday, I took a friend up for his first flight. This was more of a selfish thing for me, because I had to get him from Williamsport to Binghampton. 40 minutes each way in the Archer, about 2 or 2.5 hours each way in a car. There was some mild turbulence and the weather wasn't great. For example, when I took off I maintained higher speeds in case of a wind shear since there were some gusts down low. Explaining that to him, all well and good. I probably would have been better off leaving out the bit about how if the wind gust is strong enough to get the air speed below stall speed, then the plane stalls. He wasn't exactly comforted by that bit of information. If it wasn't for the fact that we had a purpose in mind (saving me driving time) I wouldn't have taken him up that day, but it was good to learn. Overall I must not have scared him too much; he said he'd like to go up again.
The turbulence, I have discovered, is the big thing that most people don't like. Even if they don't get motion sick, it's too much for most people to want to deal with on their first flight. It really ought to be a perfectly smooth day.
For people who want the nice, easy ride, keep climbs and descents below 700 fpm and try to keep all turns staandard rate. Steeper changes in altitude can bother ears, and steeper turns can just make people uncomfortable. A friend of mine pointed this out after we went flying with someone who is not a pilot and is more just getting used to the whole flying thing. I did a bad job of adhering to those, and she wasn't too thrilled with the ride. Thankfully, though, it didn't scare her, but it wasn't the good experience I would have liked to have made it. I realized I was doing some of the showmanship bit, rather than trying to impress the passenger by making it the kind of flight that she wanted. What I can do with the plane is irrelevant in this case if it makes for an unhappy passenger.
Another thing that is neat is if you actually have a purpose in mind. Although I over-explained stuff to my friend on the trip up to Binghampton, when he saw how quick of a trip it was vs. driving and the view he got on the flight, he certainly enjoyed that. I have friends who'd like to come out to visit my house from New York, but don't have cars. They can, however, get up to HPN and I can pick them up and fly them back. I am hoping to get to give some more friends some good introductions to flying that way.
Biggest thing seems to be reading your passenger and figuring out what each one wants. I get people who want to ride in the Jag pretty frequently. Some just want to ride around in it, some want to actually see what it can do. Failure to correctly recognize the difference leads to someone who is unhappy at the end of the ride.
Who else has thoughts?
I made up a Discovery Flight Syllabus and added it to my CFI binder.
Front and center is this section, which applies to any first time flight, not just an "Official Discovery Flight."
Considerations
- Clear morning (avoid thermal turbulence)
- Well maintained and clean airplane
- Short (avoid possibility of motion sickness)
- Comfortable, clean headsets
- Breath mints for the CFI
- Explain everything that will happen before it happens without information overload
- Time at the controls in flight regimes that don't require grabbing the yoke
- If time allows -- fly over landmarks familiar to the person taking the flight
- Work through any apprehension with care
We would all do well to heed to advice to be better advocates for GA, and less interested in "showing off."
IMHO, non-pilots already regard us with more respect than we probably deserve, so if you need the ego boost, dwell on that!
The breath mints I can definitely say are a plus. We've all been in planes with people who need them. Planes are crampt enough as is, and frequently people want to get out anyway. No need to give them another reason.
I'd add/modify a few things to this.
Figure out, probably by both reading the person and asking him or her, what kind of flight he or she wants. I've taken up a few people who are more racing types and are more interested in seeing steep turns, slips, the sort of "fun stuff" (at least to me). But for the most part, people, even those who are the self-proclaimed adrenaline junkies, tend to have some apprehension their first time in a small plane. Thinking back to my first lessons, it took me a bit to just get used to the fact that I was up in the air, and the ground was way down there.
Explaining everything is good. Leaving out some stuff can also be good. On Sunday, I took a friend up for his first flight. This was more of a selfish thing for me, because I had to get him from Williamsport to Binghampton. 40 minutes each way in the Archer, about 2 or 2.5 hours each way in a car. There was some mild turbulence and the weather wasn't great. For example, when I took off I maintained higher speeds in case of a wind shear since there were some gusts down low. Explaining that to him, all well and good. I probably would have been better off leaving out the bit about how if the wind gust is strong enough to get the air speed below stall speed, then the plane stalls. He wasn't exactly comforted by that bit of information. If it wasn't for the fact that we had a purpose in mind (saving me driving time) I wouldn't have taken him up that day, but it was good to learn. Overall I must not have scared him too much; he said he'd like to go up again.
The turbulence, I have discovered, is the big thing that most people don't like. Even if they don't get motion sick, it's too much for most people to want to deal with on their first flight. It really ought to be a perfectly smooth day.
For people who want the nice, easy ride, keep climbs and descents below 700 fpm and try to keep all turns staandard rate. Steeper changes in altitude can bother ears, and steeper turns can just make people uncomfortable. A friend of mine pointed this out after we went flying with someone who is not a pilot and is more just getting used to the whole flying thing. I did a bad job of adhering to those, and she wasn't too thrilled with the ride. Thankfully, though, it didn't scare her, but it wasn't the good experience I would have liked to have made it. I realized I was doing some of the showmanship bit, rather than trying to impress the passenger by making it the kind of flight that she wanted. What I can do with the plane is irrelevant in this case if it makes for an unhappy passenger.
Another thing that is neat is if you actually have a purpose in mind. Although I over-explained stuff to my friend on the trip up to Binghampton, when he saw how quick of a trip it was vs. driving and the view he got on the flight, he certainly enjoyed that. I have friends who'd like to come out to visit my house from New York, but don't have cars. They can, however, get up to HPN and I can pick them up and fly them back. I am hoping to get to give some more friends some good introductions to flying that way.
Biggest thing seems to be reading your passenger and figuring out what each one wants. I get people who want to ride in the Jag pretty frequently. Some just want to ride around in it, some want to actually see what it can do. Failure to correctly recognize the difference leads to someone who is unhappy at the end of the ride.
Who else has thoughts?