Suggestions for enjoyable discovery flight

ericd

ericd

Filing Flight Plan
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Dec 19, 2012
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Texas
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ericd
I have the flying bug. A friend arranged a flight for a group of us several years ago. I was taken up in a Globe Swift, I think. The pilot let me take the controls for a couple minutes. A couple barrel rolls later, I was ready to learn to fly.

I work full time. My wife has time and has expressed interest in learning. She likes the idea of being able to get a $100 breakfast or do some short weekend trips. She asked me what it takes. Having lurked here and surfed, I told her the requirements. She is interested.

We live 5 minutes from the FBO in McKinney, TX, KTKI, so the opportunity is there. The club that flies out of KTKI has several CFI's, planes for reasonable rates (two C-150's, two c-172's, and a PA-28R-180)

Any tips to make the discovery flight more enjoyable for her. The more she enjoys it, the more likely we get to fly.
 
The best advice I think I can offer is to make sure you schedule the flight on a calm and sunny day, probably in the morning so that you fly when the weather is at its calmest. Being in a small plane, for most people I've taken up as passengers anyway, takes some getting use to in terms of your physical response to the motion. The last thing you'd want to throw in to the adjustment period is turbulence. Turbulence in a small plane can take the fun right out of the experience. One of the first things you'll realize is both wind and clouds create turbulence so that's why I suggest picking a calm day with few clouds and a relatively light wind.

Sounds like you are about to embark on an amazing journey towards being a pilot. Enjoy the ride!
 
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Barrel rolls on a discovery flight qualify as "weird." Normally, I'd suggest skipping that as well.

But if your wife gets in the air and is comfy with that AND the aircraft is approved for inverted flight, then perhaps go for it. If aerobatics are her interest, consider tickling that bug. Skip it if airsickness is the slightest risk. Nothing kills a buzz quite like cleaning up puke.
 
MAKG1 said:
Barrel rolls on a discovery flight qualify as "weird." Normally, I'd suggest skipping that as well.

But if your wife gets in the air and is comfy with that AND the aircraft is approved for inverted flight, then perhaps go for it. If aerobatics are her interest, consider tickling that bug. Skip it if airsickness is the slightest risk. Nothing kills a buzz quite like cleaning up puke.
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I can't think of any common aerobatic airplane with more than two seats.
 
None of the planes at the nearby FBO are aerobatic. Hopefully just having the controls will be enough on the first flight. I suggested that she wait a bit for that thrill.

For the record, the barrel rolls were my request. I asked the pilot what he liked to do. He told me, aerobatic flying. Since I don't Get motion sick, I told him to go for it. It was a blast! I have no aerobatic plans for the future, too risk averse

Thank you for your replies
 
ericd said:
I have the flying bug. A friend arranged a flight for a group of us several years ago. I was taken up in a Globe Swift, I think. The pilot let me take the controls for a couple minutes. A couple barrel rolls later, I was ready to learn to fly.

I work full time. My wife has time and has expressed interest in learning. She likes the idea of being able to get a $100 breakfast or do some short weekend trips. She asked me what it takes. Having lurked here and surfed, I told her the requirements. She is interested.

We live 5 minutes from the FBO in McKinney, TX, KTKI, so the opportunity is there. The club that flies out of KTKI has several CFI's, planes for reasonable rates (two C-150's, two c-172's, and a PA-28R-180)

Any tips to make the discovery flight more enjoyable for her. The more she enjoys it, the more likely we get to fly.
Click to expand...

I would do it in a new 172. Most people have a fear of flying in small aircraft whether they say so or not. When they walk out on the line and see a 1970 aircraft sitting there in typical rental condition, they can't help but think about how unreliable a 10 year old car is and....

Agree with all the other comments about weather and time of day.
 
Alexb2000 said:
I would do it in a new 172. Most people have a fear of flying in small aircraft whether they say so or not. When they walk out on the line and see a 1970 aircraft sitting there in typical rental condition, they can't help but think about how unreliable a 10 year old car is and.....
Click to expand...

Extremely true, it's one of my biggies for not enjoying flying. Especially in a rental ... if they let the upholstery go, what else are they not paying attention to? Kind of like if the restroom in a restaurant is filthy, you start thinking about what the kitchen looks like ...:eek:

On my flight with an instructor, I told him one of my main concerns was about mechanical failure. I don't trust the government, and I don't trust the media, and I don't trust manufacturers not to cut corners.

He proceeded to show me every cotter pin and securing wire on all the control surfaces on the 172 we were about to go up in, as well as the parts that had redundant parts in the event of failure. He discussed statistics on Cessna 172 equipment failure cases, and went through each step of the preflight with me.

So now mechanical failure is lower on my list of concerns. Except for engine failure, which tops the list still. Wading into the "Engine Out" threads on this board has been alternately helping and scaring me. I like to think it doesn't happen much, but ... I still remember the pilot years ago whom I asked "How many engine failures have you had?" I expected him to say one or two ... but he replied, "Single or twin?" :rolleyes:

I do think it's important that we reluctant fliers tease out the specific concerns that have set us up for the dislike, and find solid data to mitigate them.

It sounds like your wife is already set up with enthusiasm, so having an enjoyable flight now and addressing any concerns later, as they may arise, is probably ideal.
 
Howdy neighbor Eric!

Welcome to the PoA and your new addicition!
 
Eric - I can vouch for either of the flying clubs at KTKI. There's a LOT of cross-over between the memberships, and there are also CFIs that are members of both clubs. I belong to the other club, and that's where I got my start and my PPL. The CFI I had is a member of both.

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!
 
Have fun! Christmas of 2011 both my boyfriend and I were given 2 hours dual for Christmas from my parents. We both loved to fly but hadn't really given ourselves the opportunity to officially learn. I took an intro flight on Dec 30th I think, and took my first instructional flight on the 13th of January. June 6th I got my ticket, June 7th he got his. Now I'm less than a month out from my instrument check ride and we own an airplane... It was an absolute blast having someone to share the journey with and having someone there who knew the struggles that you'll go through. I couldn't have asked for a better experience in learning to fly. I hope you & your wife have the same positive experiences together on this journey.
 
First glad you stared posting and stopped lurking. Second a big congrats to you that your wife wants to learn. That's very cool. Third your first flight was in a Globe Swift? You luck Bastid! Can't give much advice other than pick a clear calm day and have the flight go over a favorite land mark, your house, the mall, her work place etc. people seem to get a kick out of that.
 
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