Something I will just have to learn to accept...

cowman

cowman

Final Approach
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I finally realized this today... flying with my wife. She genuinely doesn't have any interest in how all the little things in the airplane work or what I'm doing or why so long as we're still safe. She wants to play her music over the headset, and zone out for the whole trip.

Challenging as it may be, I will have to learn to live with this mental disorder... we promised to love each other no matter what and that's what I'll do... nomatter how hard it gets :cryin:
 
I'm there with you... My wife just doesn't care one way or the other. It's just transportation.

It's kinda funny though. My wife loves old cars. But she would rather look at a 68 mustang than any airplane :(

Ok, time for a beer!
 
Same here. Doesn't bother me anymore. She likes having a nice plane, likes going places fast, doesn't like hot when we take off and climb, and has zero interest in all the gewgaws, or process of aviating. She found and bargained our last plane after asking me about the plane specific stuff. As an example: "Is the engine ok?" "yes" "Does it still have some hours?" "yes, it has many hours still." "Okay. is it fast." "Yes, faster than the last one." "We take it." "Yes."
 
I feel lucky. My better half will always express interest when I fly. She's open to getting her a license or at least to a point where she can solo should something happen to me in the air.

It also makes it easier to convince her to buy an airplane. :D
 
fly the airplane like a bus. Thank the heavens she is sitting next to you?

Why does it have to be more complex than that?

You get to fly. She is with you. What am I missing?
 
At least your wife flies with you...mine has flown twice with me. Once after I got my license and once to Catalina...
 
That sux.
I don't think my wife gave 2 sihts about flying and now she wants lessons.
I can't imagine being inside a machine and not wanting to know how it works.

Maybe give her little tasks "Hey honey, can you dial the radio? i need to look at the something"

My wife's job was setting the squawk and it grew from there.
 
My wife prefers to sit in the back of the Conquest, she'll sit right seat in the 182 of course, but she usually has something to keep herself busy and so do I. :D
I wanted her to learn to fly when we were in our 20's, but she didn't have an interest, she still doesn't.:dunno:
 
Uh - yeah, but no. I wanted to dig something up on a flight to CO last April, and I flipped the yoke over to her side while I fiddled. "just keep the wings level for a bit." I got invested in something to do with navigation and when I looked up, we are in a 30deg bank, and 20deg descent hauling azz and my wife is looking at me -- "what?"
 
docmirror said:
Uh - yeah, but no. I wanted to dig something up on a flight to CO last April, and I flipped the yoke over to her side while I fiddled. "just keep the wings level for a bit." I got invested in something to do with navigation and when I looked up, we are in a 30deg bank, and 20deg descent hauling azz and my wife is looking at me -- "what?"
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Not to be insulting but I have had a similar experience.
I give the controls to someone and they seem to be unaware that they are banking.

It happens frequently. I never understand how looking at the horizon and seeing it diagonal does not create a response.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I never understand how looking at the horizon and seeing it diagonal does not create a response.
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The only thing I've been able to come up with is that passengers are afraid to make things worse. So instead of trying to correct, they just mutter "Ummmm..."
 
This is consistent with my experience. My wife was happy to have me learn to fly when she found out how fast we could get across the state as opposed to driving. Later she decided it was time for me to get the IR after driving too many times due to weather (or predicted weather). She has taken the controls twice. The first time lasted a few seconds and then she scared herself. I still don't know what she did, we hadn't deviated from straight and level. The second time lasted a bit longer while I took some pictures. No interest in even taking the old AOPA Pinch Hitter class (I even bought the tape). At least she flies with me (when we are going somewhere, pattern work holds no interest to her).
 
My regular passenger took a pinchhitter class where some of the basics get covered. She was okay reading sectionals, with dialing in frequencies, could tell the difference between the comms and nav freqs on a sectional, adjust the GPS, and keeping us on course and altitude. My other regular figured out most of that himself including setting the transponder codes. His wife knits the entire time so doesn't do anything with the aircraft or radio.
Mostly, it's more about where we can get in 2 hours vs 5+ by car.
 
These threads always make me realize how lucky I am to have a wife who is also a pilot.
 
Would enjoy it if my wife would fly with me. Don't really want her to touch anything. Would give her the basics if something should happen to me.
 
docmirror said:
Uh - yeah, but no. I wanted to dig something up on a flight to CO last April, and I flipped the yoke over to her side while I fiddled. "just keep the wings level for a bit." I got invested in something to do with navigation and when I looked up, we are in a 30deg bank, and 20deg descent hauling azz and my wife is looking at me -- "what?"
Click to expand...

Wow!

I just looked over at my wife and said the next time she rides with me, we are talking.

But yea, as long as I keep out of turbulence, out comes her kendal and occasionally asks "are we there yet?"
 
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cowman said:
I finally realized this today... flying with my wife. She genuinely doesn't have any interest in how all the little things in the airplane work or what I'm doing or why so long as we're still safe. She wants to play her music over the headset, and zone out for the whole trip.

Challenging as it may be, I will have to learn to live with this mental disorder... we promised to love each other no matter what and that's what I'll do... nomatter how hard it gets :cryin:
Click to expand...

At least she still allows you to spend some of your income on aviation. There are many out there that feign interest to get the guy hooked on her, only to revert to her true self afterwards and go on a self-interest binge thereafter (applies both to wives of male pilots and husbands of female pilots [and probably same-sex spouses as well]).
Count yourself lucky
 
My wife loves flying with me. She handles frequency changes and transponder changes. She's had the controls for a while a few times but truly sucks at straight and level.
 
cowman said:
I finally realized this today... flying with my wife. She genuinely doesn't have any interest in how all the little things in the airplane work or what I'm doing or why so long as we're still safe. She wants to play her music over the headset, and zone out for the whole trip.

Challenging as it may be, I will have to learn to live with this mental disorder... we promised to love each other no matter what and that's what I'll do... nomatter how hard it gets :cryin:
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Why do you need her being as into flying as you? Do you like everything she likes? You are lucky she will go up with you at all. A lot of guys are flying alone and the wife is off doing something else....
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
It happens frequently. I never understand how looking at the horizon and seeing it diagonal does not create a response.
Click to expand...
Those of you accustomed to piloting airplanes may not realize that for the rest of us, who are accustomed only to driving, the third dimension somehow does not really register when we are holding a yoke. It takes a certain amount of experience to bring what we see outside, and what that instrument thingy is showing, into coherence.
 
Becky said:
Those of you accustomed to piloting airplanes may not realize that for the rest of us, who are accustomed only to driving, the third dimension somehow does not really register when we are holding a yoke. It takes a certain amount of experience to bring what we see outside, and what that instrument thingy is showing, into coherence.
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I don't know if this will help or hurt....but here goes...

Granted that the instruments may not be intuitive for folks. Many of the instruments aren't required for visual flight. Orville, Wilbur, Bleriot, Curtiss, and many other folks flew with nary an instrument.

Most of us learn to fly by looking out the window and manipulating the controls (yoke, peddles, throttle) to make the aluminum beast do what we want. For the most part the instruments are just a distraction when we are flying...okay, a good distraction since I want to know how the engine is doing and how much gas I've got but they are still not necessary for keeping the airplane right-side up.

I'm just trying to share a little perspective as a contrast to the perspective you shared. Neither one of us is right or wrong here, we're just letting other folks know how we perceive operation of an aircraft. Probably a little silly to type it all out but it's early Monday morning and a pleasant distraction before heading off to work.
 
evapilotaz said:
Does she thinks she is a better pilot than you.
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My wife think's she is a better pilot than me.
Because she is.
At least I believe she is because because I lost my medical years ago (wish I knew about Dr. Bruce then) so I have not been PIC for quite a while.

As to the OP, I am wondering if she knew you were a pilot when you got married, and if you knew about her ambivalence at that time?

I completely understand about how good sex can blind you to all else, but a pilot marrying someone that has no interest in flying is doomed.
 
evapilotaz said:
Does she thinks she is a better pilot than you.
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Nope. We fly as a team, even in our tandem seat RV-8.

It's not a competition. Every flight is a cooperative effort of checks and cross-checks to try to ensure a safe arrival at our destination.

Actually, that pretty much describes our marriage, too. :)
 
I know two people who's wives will not only not fly with them, but who've never even looked at the aircraft. You guys should find better things about which to complain.
 
I appreciate her going for sure. I'm just unable to conceive how someone could sit in an aircraft and not want to know everything there is to know about how it works.
 
cowman said:
I appreciate her going for sure. I'm just unable to conceive how someone could sit in an aircraft and not want to know everything there is to know about how it works.
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One key to a good marriage is, certainly, accepting that which we do not understand. She probably finds it hard to understand why you don't like, say, going shopping or watching relationship-rich movies. But accepts it. :)
 
cowman said:
I appreciate her going for sure. I'm just unable to conceive how someone could sit in an aircraft and not want to know everything there is to know about how it works.
Click to expand...

That's an easy one. Some people aren't geeks.
 
At least she will get in the plane with you.


cowman said:
I finally realized this today... flying with my wife. She genuinely doesn't have any interest in how all the little things in the airplane work or what I'm doing or why so long as we're still safe. She wants to play her music over the headset, and zone out for the whole trip.

Challenging as it may be, I will have to learn to live with this mental disorder... we promised to love each other no matter what and that's what I'll do... nomatter how hard it gets :cryin:
Click to expand...
 
cowman said:
I appreciate her going for sure. I'm just unable to conceive how someone could sit in an aircraft and not want to know everything there is to know about how it works.
Click to expand...

I agree with you about aircraft, because of course aircraft and flying are amazing! However, it occurred to me that every day I get in my car for my 70-mile roundtrip commute to work, and I don't give a crap how any of it works. As long as I turn the key, it starts, and i get there, I don't care. So maybe it's the same for your wife in a plane. In any case, very cool that she at least wants to fly with you!
 
steingar said:
That's an easy one. Some people aren't geeks.
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That is hard to grasp.
I can't imagine climbing inside a machine and not learning all about it.

I am without question, the geekiest of geeks though.
 
I don't have to know everything about it, but if I'm in a vehicle I at least want to know how to control it, and if possible try my hand at it. The couple of times I got my wife to fly, you'd think I just handed her a live snake. :D
 
bullwinkle said:
I don't have to know everything about it, but if I'm in a vehicle I at least want to know how to control it, and if possible try my hand at it. The couple of times I got my wife to fly, you'd think I just handed her a live snake. :D
Click to expand...

I had a similar experience. I said, "Just keep it straight and level for a second while I look at something on the sectional," and the next thing I knew, we were in a bit of a dive to the left. Let's face it, it all seems somewhat natural to those of us who have a passion for flying. For the rest of the population, not so much!
 
bullwinkle said:
I don't have to know everything about it, but if I'm in a vehicle I at least want to know how to control it, and if possible try my hand at it. The couple of times I got my wife to fly, you'd think I just handed her a live snake. :D
Click to expand...

Oh, and another experience you can appreciate, since you fly a CTSW. One of my frequent passengers is a Warrior pilot. I asked her if she wanted to try her hand at flying the CTLS. She tried it for about 30 seconds, then got spooked and handed the controls back to me. :D
 
Eagle I said:
I had a similar experience. I said, "Just keep it straight and level for a second while I look at something on the sectional," and the next thing I knew, we were in a bit of a dive to the left. Let's face it, it all seems somewhat natural to those of us who have a passion for flying. For the rest of the population, not so much!
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haha its always a dive to the left.
 
Eagle I said:
Oh, and another experience you can appreciate, since you fly a CTSW. One of my frequent passengers is a Warrior pilot. I asked her if she wanted to try her hand at flying the CTLS. She tried it for about 30 seconds, then got spooked and handed the controls back to me. :D
Click to expand...

The CTs take significantly less control forces to make changes than most heavier certified airplanes, I can see it might seem "twitchy" at first to a pilot of a Warrior.

Though actually the CTs have centering springs in the controls that make the controls feel heavier...many LSAs are much worse and easier to over-control.
 
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