From the Passenger's Perspective

Jaybird180

Jaybird180

Final Approach
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Jaybird180
I recall a night training flight, while getting ready for my checkride I brought a buddy along who rode in the backseat. It was his first flight in a small airplane.

The next day, he said to me "I thought we were going to die" referring to the forward slip that I executed on final approach.

Mind you, he was sitting behind me and we're in a high-wing C-172P, so I'm thinking that all he saw was wing and the trees on the FAC.

I've never flown right seat in a high wing while the pilot does a slip with the left wing low, but my wife has been in that position. She's never said anything about it, but I'm wondering - what can she see? As the pilot in the left seat, I have an excellent view in this position. Passenger:dunno::dunno::dunno:
 
The backseat passenger has a different feel than a front seat passenger. It's not just the view, but the back seaters will really feel a slip much more than a front seater. Ride along in the back some time with your CFI while another student is getting a lesson. Any uncoordinated flight is magnified in the back.
 
Matthew said:
The backseat passenger has a different feel than a front seat passenger. It's not just the view, but the back seaters will really feel a slip much more than a front seater. Ride along in the back some time with your CFI while another student is getting a lesson. Any uncoordinated flight is magnified in the back.
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Been in the backseat,don't like it. That's why I bought my own airplane.either seat in front is fine with me.
 
I don't recommend slips for newbie passengers. They are fun as heck as a pilot but they feel strange otherwise, especially for a newbie. Your center of gravity is not where it normally is during this maneuver :)
 
At least half of the first timers that go up with us later say they thought they were going to die. Then when we make it back down they ask when they can go up again.
 
Perception of new passengers is always interesting...especially nervous ones. Had a trip with two nervous flyers and had to climb to 8000' feet to clear some terrain. They got REALLY nervous about climbing higher! I had to break out the POH and show them the glide range chart and that the higher we went, the safe we were.

They just thought the higher we went the harder we would hit should we go down!
 
I asked my CFI to have me do an aggressive slip before landing a few days ago, because I wanted to get a feeling for it. He had me come in on a close pattern, high, and then challenged me to get it down. The first few time you do it as a student is a strange feeling period.

As for the perception that planes fly as well as rocks with no power, I think all non pilots have that misconception. Now when I am practicing engine outs at like 2500 AGL, it feels like no big deal. I have a good few minutes to before the hard part starts.
 
I always explain to passengers when I am going to do something that is outside their normal sensory experience, especially slips. It is so far outside what people experience in a car or on a motorcycle that it can be unnerving. Part of being a good pilot, IMO, is to ensure your passengers are aware of what is going on and feel assured they are safe, so I talk a lot when flying to keep them comfortable.

'Gimp
 
AcroGimp said:
I always explain to passengers when I am going to do something that is outside their normal sensory experience, especially slips. It is so far outside what people experience in a car or on a motorcycle that it can be unnerving. Part of being a good pilot, IMO, is to ensure your passengers are aware of what is going on and feel assured they are safe, so I talk a lot when flying to keep them comfortable.
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This.

We all owe it to our passengers and ourselves to give them the best possible experience when we take them up - After all, non-pilots are over 99.8% of the population in a country where it only takes 50% to close your local airport or do other things anti-GA. We need to make our passengers friends of GA, not enemies!

So - As much as you might like to show off all those maneuvers you had to master to get your private, DO NOT EVER do stalls, steep turns, forward slips, etc. on your first flight with a new passenger. (If I ever find the guy who was doing zero-G pushovers with those girls in the back seat that's on YouTube, I'm going to punch him in the face.)

For the first flight with a passenger, be as gentle as possible - No sudden maneuvers, no more than standard-rate turns, and keep it short. The best possible thing to do is to take them on a quick sightseeing flight and then land before they have a chance to even think about being afraid - Leave them wanting more... And give it to them later!

Pick the right day to do it. A Saturday afternoon in late Spring might seem like a great time to go fly, but you'll likely have lots of turbulence. Do a sunset flight or early morning so the air is smooth, and don't go on days that are windy, even if you can handle it just fine it'll be bumpy and they'll be uncomfortable.

Also, explain everything you're doing, BEFORE you do it. They have no idea what's normal and everything they see seems abnormal if you don't tell them about it. If you tell them what you're doing and why, they'll be much more at ease.

I just took one of my coworkers up for the first time the other day - Another coworker and him are going to Dallas for some training in November, and he was going to buy an airline ticket rather than ride with the other guy in our plane. So, I took him up not only so he'd feel more comfortable, and also so that his first trip in a small plane wasn't a 5-hour flight! He loved it, and now he'll be enjoying the wonders of GA for that trip instead of being in a cattle car. That's what we should all be doing every time we take a new passenger up.
 
The hard part is remembering what it was like as a new to GA rider.

First ride with my wife included a pretty aggressive slip and she talks about it today. Took one of her good friends up in light turbulence... She won't be back in the air anytime soon...

Both times were a non event for me, but not for the pax... Yea, something to consider....
 
I've been in the right seat in a CAP 182 in a slip to a landing. Not a big deal as long as the pilot keeps good and steady control. When he wobbles, that's not very pleasant, especially close to the ground.

I think much of the unpleasantness for nonpilots is just not knowing what is going on.
 
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