Do I really have to tell my wife...

ActiveAir

Pre-takeoff checklist
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ActiveAir
that I'm thinking about buying an airplane? :dunno:;) Hmmm. She'd probably find out anyway.....in a few years.

















Just kidding. I'll mention it to her.....ok, run it by her......ok, let her in on it........ok, ask for permission......ok, ask for permission and buy her something really cool (I'm thinking nice headset, but she'll probably be thinking something different). Wish me luck........
 
My grandfather kept his plane and his flying a secret for about 3 years from my grandmother.

One day, the FBO called to tell him that his plane was fueled and ready to go....

My grandmother fielded the call. Oops.
 
Flew to Vegas yesterday with a friend...he failed to mention that fact to his wife. When she called she was like, "Where ARE you?" Ummm...well...I...flew to Vegas?

She was ****ed.
 
Flew to Vegas yesterday with a friend...he failed to mention that fact to his wife. When she called she was like, "Where ARE you?" Ummm...well...I...flew to Vegas?

She was ****ed.

He told her? Why?
 
Well, you could always do like a good friend of mine did to me recently:

Arrange a situation to give or loan something to them out of pure kindness that they need and would truly appreciate whatever it is.
Decide to do something drastic that directly affects them also.
Walk in and act like nothing is out of the ordinary and don't give the slightest indication that you remembered you were going to do something nice.
Out of nowhere, give whatever it is to them and wait for the proper response.
Take a step back, check over your shoulder to see if anyone came in behind you. If no one is behind you, dump the news on them...and run like crazy.

You're only going to get about 20 feet but...
If they truly care about you, they'll understand...no problem.
If they don't care about you, then you're dead anyway, so, again...no problem.


(Just for the record, no one got killed here...but oh how someone owes me bigtime right now)
 
Well, you could always do like a good friend of mine did to me recently:

Arrange a situation to give or loan something to them out of pure kindness that they need and would truly appreciate whatever it is.
Decide to do something drastic that directly affects them also.
Walk in and act like nothing is out of the ordinary and don't give the slightest indication that you remembered you were going to do something nice.
Out of nowhere, give whatever it is to them and wait for the proper response.
Take a step back, check over your shoulder to see if anyone came in behind you. If no one is behind you, dump the news on them...and run like crazy.

You're only going to get about 20 feet but...
If they truly care about you, they'll understand...no problem.
If they don't care about you, then you're dead anyway, so, again...no problem.


(Just for the record, no one got killed here...but oh how someone owes me bigtime right now)

Lol....no guns in the house, so I should be ok. :eek:
 
It followed me home.

Can we keep it?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Really, everyone has them. It's about time we did too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, I could have spent the money on a motorcycle/Delahaye/Yacht.

:hairraise::hairraise::hairraise::hairraise::hairraise:
 
I must be the lucky one. Back in July "we" decided I should re-kindle an old love - Flying. Hadn't flown in 37 years, so started working toward my BFR as a Sport Pilot. Had trouble scheduling lessons/rentals because the place was very popular, so I mentioned that it would be easier if I had a small airplane. My wife said, "Go for it." Two weeks ago I came home with a well-maintained Ercoupe. And last Friday I successfully completed my BFR. WooHoo! I do believe I found the right gal 35 years ago. :)
 
I must be the lucky one. Back in July "we" decided I should re-kindle an old love - Flying. Hadn't flown in 37 years, so started working toward my BFR as a Sport Pilot. Had trouble scheduling lessons/rentals because the place was very popular, so I mentioned that it would be easier if I had a small airplane. My wife said, "Go for it." Two weeks ago I came home with a well-maintained Ercoupe. And last Friday I successfully completed my BFR. WooHoo! I do believe I found the right gal 35 years ago. :)
Congratulations! On both the wife and the BFR.

Maybe she wants to fly, too.
Yes!:yes: Get her flying too!
 
I can't remember if I've told this story here. When I was searching for jobs I got some interest from a Japanese Scientist named Riuzu Yaminagachi. I was familiar with his name and work, as his group was the first to clone mice in the late 90s. The lab was in Honolulu, and he wanted to bring me in to run the cloning group. I went home and excitedly told my wife, who immediately said "no" to Hawaii. She said she would get Island fever. So much for the islands (in retrospect it as probably a bad gig, but seemed good to me at the time).

To Ohio we moved, and our first winter here was atrocious. And on every cold, gray, wintery day I would loudly proclaim to my wife that it was her fault that we weren't living in the tropical paradise of Honolulu.

Fast forward a couple years, and the opportunity to engage in aviation. When I asked my wife if I could buy my first airplane, I promised that in return I would never again mention Hawaii. She acquiesced immediately, and I held up my end of the bargain. Oh, and I flew her to Philadelphia, Vermont, Savannah, and a bunch of other places.
 
Maybe she wants to fly, too.
Ah...yes. Hopefully. She is apprehensive - doesn't really like heights, but has acknowledged some great sightseeing in big iron during an approach.

So, we're going to wait for a "perfect" evening or early weekend morning. Great visibility, no bumps and a short trip around the pattern are the plans for the initial experience. If she likes that, then a short sightseeing trip may follow. If she likes that one - then the sky's the limit (as the saying goes). There are a lot of interesting trips within a hour's time in the Ercoupe from where I have it based in Maryland.
gprellwitz said:
Congratulations! On both the wife and the BFR.
Thank you. The Ercoupe is really cool, also. So far I'm lovin' it. :)
 
Only if you want to have both an airplane and a wife when the dust settles.

BTW, Fran and I celebrated our 30th anniversary this year, if that provides any credibility on the subject.
 
Maybe she wants to fly, too.

Oh, she wants to fly..............................but just doesn't know it, yet....;) I'll have to break her in gently. She puts up with all my other activities; snowboarding, high perf. boating, wakeboarding, golf, tennis, dirt bikes, street bikes, snowmobiling, etc. This is just a little higher off the ground....:D


I must be the lucky one. Back in July "we" decided I should re-kindle an old love - Flying. Hadn't flown in 37 years, so started working toward my BFR as a Sport Pilot. Had trouble scheduling lessons/rentals because the place was very popular, so I mentioned that it would be easier if I had a small airplane. My wife said, "Go for it." Two weeks ago I came home with a well-maintained Ercoupe. And last Friday I successfully completed my BFR. WooHoo! I do believe I found the right gal 35 years ago. :)

Congrats on all counts! Who doesn't love an Ercoupe. Nice way to get back into flying.


I can't remember if I've told this story here. When I was searching for jobs I got some interest from a Japanese Scientist named Riuzu Yaminagachi. I was familiar with his name and work, as his group was the first to clone mice in the late 90s. The lab was in Honolulu, and he wanted to bring me in to run the cloning group. I went home and excitedly told my wife, who immediately said "no" to Hawaii. She said she would get Island fever. So much for the islands (in retrospect it as probably a bad gig, but seemed good to me at the time).

To Ohio we moved, and our first winter here was atrocious. And on every cold, gray, wintery day I would loudly proclaim to my wife that it was her fault that we weren't living in the tropical paradise of Honolulu.

Fast forward a couple years, and the opportunity to engage in aviation. When I asked my wife if I could buy my first airplane, I promised that in return I would never again mention Hawaii. She acquiesced immediately, and I held up my end of the bargain. Oh, and I flew her to Philadelphia, Vermont, Savannah, and a bunch of other places.

Island fever? She owed you one. Nice pocket ace.


Only if you want to have both an airplane and a wife when the dust settles.

BTW, Fran and I celebrated our 30th anniversary this year, if that provides any credibility on the subject.

Soooo what you're saying is, having a plane will keep us married for a long time.....I like it. :yes::D How can she say no? Congratulations on your successful marriage. 30 years is phenominal especially in this day and age. Best wishes for many more.
 
Ah...yes. Hopefully. She is apprehensive - doesn't really like heights, but has acknowledged some great sightseeing in big iron during an approach.

You can probably conquer the apprehension with the plan you outlined below but IME a fear of heights rarely becomes an issue flying in a small airplane (assuming you don't introduce that person to flying in a Breezy). Most folks find that the cabin of an airplane isolates them from the perception of height and falling.

So, we're going to wait for a "perfect" evening or early weekend morning. Great visibility, no bumps and a short trip around the pattern are the plans for the initial experience. If she likes that, then a short sightseeing trip may follow. If she likes that one - then the sky's the limit (as the saying goes). There are a lot of interesting trips within a hour's time in the Ercoupe from where I have it based in Maryland.
Thank you. The Ercoupe is really cool, also. So far I'm lovin' it. :)

The short trip is a good idea but you might be better off making the second flight something other than sightseeing especially if that would involve turning while looking down as is often necessary in a low wing airplane. This can result in nausea all too easily for a person that's already apprehensive about flying. The best bet for the second flight is a reasonably short (one hour or so) flight that takes the person somewhere they would really like to go. That way they have the anticipation of an enjoyable experience after the first leg of the flight that can balance the initial apprehension. Examples would be visiting distant friends or relatives (another plus for that one is the likelihood that your passenger will be eager to relate the positive aspects of the flight to the visited folks), a trip to a larger city for shopping or entertainment not available locally, or a getaway to a the person's favorite alternative habitat.

You will also likely find that a concerned first time passenger will feel a lot more secure if the CFI you trained with professes their confidence in your abilities. Most non-pilots (and way too many actual pilots) place a huge amount of faith and trust in a CFI's judgement about their (ex)student's abilities. Hearing this kind of thing from someone the potential passenger respects aviation wise often carries a lot more weight than self-proclamations from the pilot themselves.
 
Only if you want to have both an airplane and a wife when the dust settles.

BTW, Fran and I celebrated our 30th anniversary this year, if that provides any credibility on the subject.

Congratulations, newlyweds! :p 35 years for us the end of July and 60 years for my parents in early July. Folks, it can be done!
 
Congratulations, newlyweds! :p 35 years for us the end of July and 60 years for my parents in early July. Folks, it can be done!

Some count by number of years, some count by number spouses.... ;) :eek:
 
When I buy a plane I agonize over whether I should really do it or not for a long time.

So far it's gotten to the point the wife says something like "you obviously really want it, why don't you just buy the damn thing and leave me alone".

Joe
 
So far it's gotten to the point the wife says something like "you obviously really want it, why don't you just buy the damn thing and leave me alone".

Joe

That is the EXACT phrase my wife said right before I started building my 601XL. She didn't realize that the "leave me alone" part would mean pretty much every weekend day for 6 years.
 
Wifey says yes to plane! She likes the idea of getting to our lake house in 1 hour instead of 4. :goofy: Now, to make the deal....:fcross::D
 
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