"Hey hit me up when you got some more time in that thing!"

The wife is telling me that we can't get a two place airplane because we have friends that will want to go with us.

Probably best not to argue and just do it :)
 
My first passenger was a co worker (Gary), we took a flight around Mt Rushmore, he video taped the flight. 20 years later I still have the tape but nothing to view it with.

I have owned my plane for 20 years and pretty much know who wants to fly. I have folks that want to pay me for a flight, I just say lets split the gas bill..;) I don't have a true number but I'm guessing I have had over 100 different passengers since taking Gary for a flight around Mt Rushmore.

My wife loves to fly, I'm happy about that.....;)
 
I was 17 when I got my PPL in Montana. My family was on a trip to Disneyland at the time.

When I got back from my check ride I was really wanting to take my first passenger up. I drove all over town trying to find someone to go up with me. When I told friends that I finally had my license nobody would fly with me.

I was working as a loader boy for a crop dusting outfit at the time. I finally got the owners 12 year old son to go up with me. He said " you fly real well for a brand new pilot". I was happy with that endorsement.
 
So far all my friends that have expressed interest that I have offered a time have flown with me. One of my friends was my first passenger, then my wife, then my mom and my 90 year old grandma. Around thanksgiving I flew my dad and brother. I've got a few other friends that are interested, but I stopped giving rides when all my flight $$$ was going toward instrument lessons. I guess it's time to get some friends back in the airplane.

I always tell them that if they are uncomfortable at any time to let me know, I try to keep things basic and smooth. I usually save spins and loops in the 172 for the second flight.....j/k












That's for the third flight :goofy::goofy:
 
My high school senior just got his recreational rating. When he asks me if he can take a friend flying I just say it's fine as long as the parents agree to it. So far that has happened once!
 
i have a ton of people ask and most go. The problem I have is most of my guy friends are too big to fit in the airplane.
 
Somedudeintn said:
I always tell them that if they are uncomfortable at any time to let me know, I try to keep things basic and smooth. I usually save spins and loops in the 172 for the second flight.....j/k
That's for the third flight :goofy::goofy:
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Good methodology. I keep the flights short...20 to 30 minutes, go to areas where the air is smoother (NOT to the base of the Cajon Pass, for instance!) and announce when I'm going to do a 45-degree banked turn. If they protest at all, I shallow out the bank, but most friends are fine with it.

A lot of times I'll fly from Cable to the coast (over Dana Point/Laguna Beach and back), or head west over El Monte, Santa Anita racetrack and the Rose Bowl, then pull a U-eee.
 
My noobie flights from KFUL were usually to KCNO for a pattern lap to prove I can land, then on to KRAL to prove I can find another airport and land. At KRAL I'd assess the victim (er... passenger) and if they were cool we'd go to KCRQ and then back to KFUL.

Repeat passengers got to go to Camarillo, Catalina, and once to Big Bear.

Just like your engine, break them in correctly.
 
I have the three strikes rule as well. I offer three times with plenty of notice. If they fail to take me up on it or cancel 3 times, then I don't ask again.

Girlfriend goes flying with me whenever she can. Her sister has gone for a flight and another friend of mine went up too. One friend is about to be strike 3... but he flies in an RV with another guy all the time, so I know at least his scheduling issues are genuine.

So many people though... "I want to go." Okay. Let's go. "When?" When do you want to go? "Well... I've got to rearrange my shoes..." #byefelicia

I just do a quick scenic lap around Catalina and back. People seem to like it and the over ocean flying tends to be nice and smooth.
 
I've given lots of rides. Friends, relatives, strangers, adults, kids.

I'd say about 1 in 8 who say they want to go up, will actually take the couple of hours and come to the airport and actually go up.
 
First passenger was my sister, 20 minutes after my check ride...

Everybody I know, knows I fly... If they want to come for a ride, so be it... I don't solicit for passengers... My girlfriend comes with me on almost every flight (unless I'm spending time with the old man) and she gets miffed if I have to cancel for WX or something... Really nice to have her along knowing she enjoys it so much...
 
I've taken a few friends up. Others that told me they've either always wanted to be a pilot or would go "anytime" - when I offer they always seem to be "busy that day". I no longer offer more than once. For the ones that say other negative things like "call me when you have more hours" or "oh you've only been flying for 6 years" I change the subject. One refused to fly with me until I'm instrument rated, even on CAVU days - LOL. He heard about the IR from a TV flying show.

My wife and kids love to fly so I take them instead.
 
I guess I'm lucky. Pretty much all my friends and a bunch of my coworkers have gone up with me, most of them several times. This started the week after I passed my checkride. My wife loves to fly with me, but it wasn't until a year of dating that she worked up the nerve to go up with me. Probably because her airline pilot father had talked her out of it. I'm taking my parents up for the first time this weekend if the weather works out.
 
Matthew said:
Right after your checkride you are as sharp as you are going to be for a long time. It's pretty common for people to say they are interested, then back out for various reasons. Some never ride along. If they really want a ride, they'll do it. Otherwise they never will, no matter how many hours you have.
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+1 on this!!
 
DaleB said:
I offer rides, but I'm not going to beg. You want to ride, or you don't.
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Pretty much that. If someone is genuinely interested then I'll go out of my way to take them up. More often than not women that are interested get "talked out of it" by their husband, bf, or both, for reasons I suspect have little to do with flight safety.
 
Some people, believe it or not, don't like flying the way we do. I don't lose any sleep if someone says they are interested, then backs out. It's probably not personal, probably.
 
Right after my PPL I flew one daughter up to my parents for the week (being spoiled by the grandparents) and flew the other home (after being spoiled by the grandparents). They both had a blast. Just a short flight between Chattanooga and Atlanta (RYY - north side of Atlanta).

My wife and two younger kids fly with me regularly. The oldest has never flown with me. She was never wild about flying even commercial, and when I got my PPL she was fully into her PITA teen-aged years and I was the evil step-father; never mind she grew up with me since age 3 and I coached her through years of soccer and every normal parenting thing. :rolleyes:

My Mom hasn't flow with me, but my Dad has.

Lots of people through Angel Flight. Most love it, even those that have never flown in any type of plane before.

I flew my neighbors this summer. They work for United, so fly a lot, but on big iron. He worked on small planes early in his career and training, and has flow in a few. She had never been in a small plane. They really loved the view. Too bad it was cloudy that day or I would have flow up the coast lower; from NYC (FRG) to Cape Cod (HYA).

Not many friends. Many are scared of small planes. I've flown several of my kids' friends with them on weekend trips to the beach. Oddly we couldn't take one whose mother grew up flying in a small plane with her father. Now that she's a mom she scared of the risk. o_O And another whose father rides a motorcycle (in Atlanta traffic :eek: ) with her on the back and rode my daughter around one time. That one is a real shame now as she's my daughter's roommate at college and neither of them have a car. I'd hop over and get them in the plane, but her parents don't like that idea. :oops: The middle daughter has flown home or to college with me (different college) several times and so has her boyfriend. :cool:

I don't do any crazy stuff when flying others. I've rarely flown a plane certified for acrobatics, so my flying is pretty calm and boring. My main goal when flying people is making sure they would want to get back in the plane with me after the flight. Safe and smooth as possible.
 
On the other hand there have been several pilots in my hangar group who've said things like, "we should go flying sometime." and some have some really cool planes. I would love to go up with them but I don't feel right catching them at their hangar and asking for a ride. But on the other hand, I wouldn't mind if they asked me for a ride. I guess I'm funny like that.
 
Timbeck2 said:
On the other hand there have been several pilots in my hangar group who've said things like, "we should go flying sometime." and some have some really cool planes. I would love to go up with them but I don't feel right catching them at their hangar and asking for a ride. But on the other hand, I wouldn't mind if they asked me for a ride. I guess I'm funny like that.
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They don't mind either. Don't worry about it.
 
I took up a friend who was an older man and also a pilot as my first passenger. His endorsement meant a number of other people were willing to fly with me.
 
My wife had never been on a plane and was scared of them. She finally took her first flight with my father two years ago in a C172. She now loves it.
Most of the general public I meet thinks light aircraft are only good for falling out of the sky but think nothing of their daily commute to work while texting the whole time. There is a great number of people who only fly commercial when they are drunk, the same ones who drink when golfing and wonder why that four hundred dollar driver doesn't hit long and strait like when the tour pros do it?
 
eman1200 said:
my personal experience has been that all my guy friends talk it up about "yeah, that's so cool, let's go flying" but they never go and almost always end up saying "my wife won't let me go". my lady friends go up in a heartbeat.
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This has been my experience exactly. When I was a student, almost every guy at work would go on about how they couldn't wait to go up with me. Got my certificate and they all went silent. Gave up asking. So far all but one of my pax has been female, and the one male was only along for the ride because his wife really wanted to go up with me. He was very nervous, but thankfully ended up having a great time.
 
Cajun_Flyer said:
This has been my experience exactly. When I was a student, almost every guy at work would go on about how they couldn't wait to go up with me. Got my certificate and they all went silent. Gave up asking. So far all but one of my pax has been female, and the one male was only along for the ride because his wife really wanted to go up with me. He was very nervous, but thankfully ended up having a great time.
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They must have seen your video.
 
RyanShort1 said:
I took up a friend who was an older man and also a pilot as my first passenger. His endorsement meant a number of other people were willing to fly with me.
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I suppose there are as many reasons someone won't fly as there are people, but MOST reasons seem to be one of the following:

* Scared to fly in small airplane
* Scared to fly with person asking
* Will, but family won't allow (this is actually different than 1 or 2).
* Illness / physical condition prevents.

It's hard to tell them apart, but #2 is about the only one you have any control over. Perception is reality, here.
 
Cajun_Flyer said:
This has been my experience exactly. When I was a student, almost every guy at work would go on about how they couldn't wait to go up with me. Got my certificate and they all went silent. Gave up asking. So far all but one of my pax has been female, and the one male was only along for the ride because his wife really wanted to go up with me. He was very nervous, but thankfully ended up having a great time.
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Women drivers are scary enough, women pilots?! :eek:

;)

People worry about the craziest things.
 
I have always LOVED airplanes, but I have always had a fear of flying to some extent. Even today I don't really like flying on big jets...just seems like so many things can go wrong. But obviously statistically they are incredibly safe. When I first started flying I was a bit nervous (I still get a bit nervous as a low time pilot), but once I get in the air it goes away and I feel great!
 
Matthew said:
Right after your checkride you are as sharp as you are going to be for a long time. It's pretty common for people to say they are interested, then back out for various reasons. Some never ride along. If they really want a ride, they'll do it. Otherwise they never will, no matter how many hours you have.
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I'd agree with the instrument checkride, but I can tell I improved with time vs. PPL checkride. I also feel like I knew more minutia when training for the checkrides, but I'd argue that I know more practical and useful information now.
 
Before I finished building my RV, people asked for rides when it was done. I always told them I had one extra seat available for the first flight. No takers there either.

(and yes, I know, phase one limitations and all that :) )
 
I like to break the ice once they get buckled in. I say something like, "What do all these buttons and switches do?" Or, "You pull back on the stick to make it go up, right?" ;)
 
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