How to smooth a fear of bumps
Not everyone who has flown in a light airplane has enjoyed the experience. Yes, it's difficult to accept the fact that there are people who don't share our enthusiasm for flight, but each of us knows members of the not-a-fan club. Our challenge is to identify the reasons for their discomfort and do something to change their minds.
Most objections to small airplanes fall into two basic categories: lack of comfort and concerns about safety. Compared with the vehicle standard that most people are used to - cars - light airplanes generally are cramped, drafty, noisy, and lack cupholders. That stuff doesn't much bother enthusiasts, but it's not the enthusiasts we're out to convert.
Cupholders can be added. Overcoming complaints about cramped, drafty, and noisy cabins requires more creativity. Start your not-a-fan passengers out with short flights in moderate-temperature weather (not too hot, not too cold), and be sure to provide them with comfortable, effective headsets. Make the flights memorable sightseeing adventures, or let the passengers pick the mission or destination. Having the flight fulfill a worthwhile purpose may help a reluctant passenger to decide to give it a try.
The tougher objection to overcome is safety, because it's largely an irrational fear. Someone who is fearful of flying in a small airplane may not be able to articulate the reason for that fear. It may have nothing to do with the size of the airplane, either - a fearful lightplane passenger probably feels the same way about getting on a large airliner.
If that's the case, you'll have to probe for something concrete on which to hang your counter-argument. You might even suggest things that could be making the passenger fearful, and a good one to start with is turbulence. It's been my experience that turbulence - what most passengers call "bumps" or "air pockets" - is a primary source of the fear that passengers have of flying.
It goes beyond simple discomfort with being jostled around in the seat. Fear of turbulence isn't necessarily the product of an overactive imagination. It's understandable for a fearful passenger to think that because turbulence can't be seen, an invisible force that is strong enough to easily shake a mega-ton airliner surely is a force to be feared when riding in a small airplane.
Question a passenger closely about turbulence and you're likely to uncover a fear that the airplane structure, or the airplane pilot, cannot withstand the stresses. Strong bumps could cause the airplane to come apart in the air. Or, sudden air pockets could cause the pilot to lose control. In either case it means a bad day for everyone aboard as the airplane will come spinning out of the sky. So goes the morbid thought process.
If you find that turbulence is indeed a primary source of a passenger's fear, at least now you have something to target. Your offense should proceed on two fronts. First, assure the passenger that any turbulence he or she might encounter on a flight in a light airplane flight is far from a life-threatening phenomenon.
Federal certification standards for the light airplanes that most of us fly (certified in the Normal category) ensure that the airframe will handle sudden acceleration forces of up to 3.8 positive Gs. In fact, the standards mandate a 50-percent safety factor, which means the airframe will withstand a load equal to 5.7 positive Gs.
To put certification limits in context, a 170-pound passenger subjected to 3.8 Gs would have an effective weight of 646 pounds. At 5.7 Gs our 170-pounder weighs in at an impressive 969 pounds. Unless they've been subjected to advanced aerobatics, most people have never experienced 3 Gs, much less 3.8 or 5.7. Those limits are far in excess of the force exerted by all but the most extreme turbulence.
Yes, extreme turbulence could challenge the airplane's structural load limits, but that's what design maneuvering speed (VA) is for (see "Stress Relief," April AOPA Flight Training). Slowing to maneuvering speed means that the worst result of an encounter with sudden and extreme gusts should be the wing experiencing a recoverable aerodynamic stall rather than unrecoverable structural failure.
It is highly unlikely that a light aircraft will ever encounter true extreme turbulence, defined as turbulence in which the aircraft is "tossed violently about and is practically impossible to control. It may cause structural damage." Clear air turbulence potentially could harbor extreme turbulence, but it is associated with jet streams and occurs above 15,000 feet. For all practical purposes, in a light airplane you'd have to penetrate an intense thunderstorm to find extreme turbulence.
How do you convey that message to a passenger without reciting boring federal aviation regulations or complex meteorological criteria? Say that light airplanes are designed, built, and government-certified to be tough. They can safely handle any kind of turbulence short of what might be found inside an intense thunderstorm, and that encountering one simply will not happen. Moreover, my conservative piloting - slowing to maneuvering speed in strong turbulence - adds an extra margin of safety.
The second offensive front for overcoming a passenger's fear is to avoid the problem entirely. Study the causes of turbulence, especially in the area in which you fly. Flat farmland, paved urban areas, coastal and lake regions, and hilly terrain all have different patterns of turbulence. Then choose your flight times and conditions carefully to avoid or at least minimize the potential for encountering those pesky but harmless bumps and air pockets.
Mark Twombly is a writer and editor who has been flying for 35 years. A commercial pilot with a multiengine rating, he is co-owner of a Piper Twin Comanche.
Take 'em flying... but check the winds
Private pilots can share the adventure of flying in a light aircraft by taking friends for an orientation flight. AOPA's brochure Take 'em Flying! includes suggestions on how to make the experience comfortable and fun for your guest. Download a copy from AOPA Online or request one via e-mail.
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