A few of us, however, let our excitement get the better of us and start the experience off with "Wait'll you see this!" There is a reason airsickness-bag manufactures are thriving, and we don't want to contribute to that business through our own thoughtless behavior.
The first time we do anything in life is always important, whether it's our first kiss, our first solo, or our first airplane ride. We carry that memory forever, and when we're taking someone for their first ride in a small airplane we want to leave them with a pleasant memory, not a painful one.
The more we fly, the harder it is to remember how it was at the beginning. Take rolling into an innocent bank, for instance. Nothing in which the average person has ever ridden (airliners and roller coasters don't count) would roll into a bank during a turn. They've never looked out the window and seen the ground out there on a wing tip. In an airliner that view bothers only a small number of people, but in a little airplane it feels like an unnatural act, and many people react badly to it. To most it's simply an uncomfortable feeling. To others it can set off all sorts of emotional alarms. If you don't think flying along looking over your shoulder at the ground is an unnatural thing to do, notice how some of your passengers instinctively lean away from the turn the instant you bank the airplane. Don't laugh. You probably did it too in the beginning.
If you were to distill everything that worries people about little airplanes to a single phrase it would have to be "lack of understanding." Assuming that this is their first ride and they are among your first passengers, then there is a major lack of understanding on their part that can be compounded by a minor lack of understanding on yours. Let's focus on the new private pilot and what he or she either doesn't understand or has forgotten. You have to put yourself in the first-timer's shoes.
In terms of mental makeup, anyone who learns to fly is on the edge of the bell-shaped curve in a lot of ways. One of those areas is a willingness to try new things. You're a little more adventurous than most. There's also a possibility that you are more mechanically oriented and enjoy machines, although it's not uncommon to run across pilots who don't know all that much about the machines they are flying. You also probably adapt quickly to new situations and new environments. We're not pointing these things out because they make us superior beings; we're pointing these out because the mental components that came together and made you want to become a pilot don't necessarily exist within the general population. If they did, there would be more pilots.
These differences sometimes make it difficult for us to understand other people's fears and anxieties. The longer a pilot flies, the more quickly he recognizes when a passenger needs kid-glove treatment. A brand-new pilot hasn't developed that understanding yet and, even if it's there, it is sometimes overpowered by excitement at showing what he's just learned. It's this urge to show what you know that sometimes leads to an uncomfortable flight for a passenger.
Going back to the passenger's lack of understanding: most fears or apprehension is based on a fear of the unknown. This is another way of saying that they don't understand much of what is going on. If they did, it wouldn't be unknown, and their apprehension wouldn't be as great. So, the best way to help them enjoy the flight is to work at eliminating the cause of their difficulties - their lack of understanding. There are some things we can't cure, like a fear of heights, but we can definitely explain things in enough detail so that they'll at least understand what's going on, and fear it less.
It's not necessary that a passenger know every little detail about the flight, but a general understanding will go a long way, and that can start with a gentle preflight briefing. You don't have to make it a formal or intense affair. In fact, the more rigid you make it, the more likely it will be to raise apprehension, not lower it. Just make what they can expect during the flight a part of your conversation as you get ready. Tell them a little about the airplane: "This is a Cessna 172 and is probably the most common, most reliable airplane ever built." Tell them a little about the operating environment. Try to give an image of what lies ahead without resorting to a chalkboard and bar charts. (For more tips on preparing a good preflight briefing, see "Assuming Command: Are you ready to be PIC?" April AOPA Flight Training.)
To give a better understanding of the machine, have them peek over your shoulder while you're doing the preflight. This will do two things: It will help them understand how the airplane flies, and it will make you seem professional. Most of those first passengers will be friends and family, none of whom will have ever seen you around an airplane. They only know you from social interaction. Doing a thorough preflight while they watch should strengthen your image, which in turn will make them more comfortable with the flight.
When you strap them into the airplane try to remember that even the panel of a Cessna 152 can look complicated until it's explained. Rather than go through the flight with them totally in the dark, give them something to not only do, but also make them a part of the experience by letting them in on the secrets of the instrument panel. "This is the airspeed indicator; it's our airborne speedometer. This is an altimeter. This tells us how high we are; the short hand is thousands of feet, the long hand is hundreds." It only takes about two minutes of explaining for the average airplane panel to suddenly become no more complicated than the dash of any luxury car on the market.
Incidentally, don't talk about a passenger's getting sick unless they ask. Getting sick in an airplane is very much a mind game that can become self-fulfilling. If someone is convinced he is going to get sick, he probably will. The trick is to keep them distracted. If, before the flight, they make comments about getting sick, deflect them by saying, "oh, don't worry. That kind of thing virtually never happens. And it's largely in your mind, anyway."
It's your job as pilot to monitor your passenger's well being and, if he or she is looking a little queasy, give him something to do (let him fly, focus on the horizon), which will take his mind off his physical condition, and make a beeline for home without making it too obvious. Then direct all the air inlets in the cockpit directly on the passenger and try to remember where you put the airsickness bags. This is why you keep one folded up in a shirt pocket where it can't be seen but you can get to it quickly. And don't think it's common for passengers to get sick, because it isn't - it's a rare occurrence. For the entire flight, make it a regular procedure that before you do something, you give a short preamble as you talk your way through the sequence. It's not necessary to talk them through the engine start, however, unless they show an interest in the mechanics of the airplane. Once you're taxiing, show them how moving the throttle affects the tachometer. At the same time, they'll hear how the noise changes.
While doing the runup, explain what you're doing. It'll add significantly to their comfort level if they see you are continually cross-checking the machinery to make sure everything is OK. They have no way of judging whether or not you know what you're doing, but if you look and act professional, they'll assume you're in control of the situation.
Give a little explanation of the takeoff before you taxi onto the runway and don't try to narrate it as it happens. If you're a low-time pilot, you're going to be busy enough and don't need the distraction. Once you have more flight time you can give a blow-by-blow description during takeoff, but for now, concentrate on getting off the ground safely and smoothly.
Before you make your first turn climbing out of the pattern let them know it's coming. Don't do anything quickly or without telling them first. One of the real temptations as a new pilot is to show off what the airplane will do. Cranking the ailerons in for a snappy roll into a turn may make you feel good, but it doesn't do anything to raise the passenger's comfort level.
There's also the "watch this" syndrome, where the two favorite activities are stalls and the ever-popular slight-negative-G pushover. These are not passenger favorites. Ditto high-G turns and steep banks. Regardless of how much fun you're having, an unsuspecting passenger will definitely not enjoy it. If you do things like this you deserve a good smack along the side of your head for being such an uncaring dummy. Shame on you! They are up there at your invitation, and they have placed their trust in you. Don't ruin that trust.
Treat the throttle as if it is connected directly to your passengers' nervous system, because nothing will turn them white faster than an unannounced power reduction. It is surprising how few new passengers actually give any thought to engine reliability. In many cases the pilot is more concerned about the engine quitting than the passenger is. However, yank it closed just one time and you'll be amazed how quickly the specter of engine failure becomes very real to the rest of the folks in the airplane. In fact, making a power change is the most likely maneuver to catch a passenger unaware and make her the most nervous.
Even as you begin letting down into the pattern, let them know the power is being reduced. Then, as you turn downwind, describe the pattern you will fly and talk about how the power is going to change several times. Then, even though you've given them plenty of warning, as you reduce power, make sure you say, "... and now the power is coming off. Watch how we glide."
If there is a bottom line to all of this, it is that we should act like salespeople every minute we're in an airplane with passengers. Treat them like customers. Trying to prove what superior pilots we are is ridiculous, because nonpilots don't have the background necessary to judge if we are good or bad. All they know is whether they had fun or not. As sales people our goal should be to make them want to come back and sample our wares again. As they are walking away, we want to hear them say, "I can hardly wait to do this again."
Budd Davisson is an aviation writer/photographer and magazine editor who has written approximately 2,200 articles and has flown more than 300 different types of aircraft. A CFI for 36 years, he teaches about 30 hours a month in his Pitts S-2A Special. Visit his Web site.
Related Articles
