I don't think she was properly prepared for the maneuvers they would be doing, nor the little tinks and noises to which we pay no attention. This is where a thorough passenger briefing comes into play. When you take your friends or family flyin, you tel lthem the basics: opening the doors, location of the fire extinguisher and survival kit, how to fasten their seatbelt, etc. But how often to you take an observer on a training flight?
Taking an observing passenger on a flight lesson is very different. Most non-pilots have the premonition that when they get into a plane, they will go from point A to point B in a straight line without turbulence. Besides telling them the basics, you need to tell them two more things: what engine noises are normal and how a training flight works.
Do My Ears Deceive Me? Have you noticed how the engine will "scream" when you apply nose- down pressure? Your engine will make different sounds when performing barious maneuvers, and you need ease your passenger's tension y preparing him or her for it. Tell your passenger what to expect when you practice stalls, dip the nose, or apply full throttle. My sister thought she was going to blow up when in the nose-down portion of a lazy eight.
What's On the Agenda? Tell your passenger what maneuvers you will be doing. Explain that many times, the instructor will demonstrate a maneuver, then the student will copy it. Even if you are the world's number-one pilot, your friends and family don't know that. Reassure the passenger that at all times, your instructor is able to take the controls at anytime during the maneuver.
Properly briefing your passenger will not only help keep him or her calm, but also save you from explaining to the rest of your family that you aren't crazy. Remember, FAR 91.519 require4s that you brief your passengers. A thorough briefing will always benefit everybody.
In the evenings, I work as a waitress. Somewhere between the rush of grumpy, penny-pinching, hungry people, after finding out where I go to school, one customer asked, "How come y'all pilots think yur better than everyone else?"
Biting back the urge to tell him that we simply are, I merely informed him that after four or five years of school and $60,000 invested in financial aid, we tend to think we deserve a little respect. Not only that, but after we find a job, we are in charge of several hundred lives per day in the task of mass transportation via air travel.
I think those are the exact words I used, and by his bewildered countanance, I received the impression that he had no clue as to what I had just said. He argued that every man was created equally and nobody was better than any other. I counter-argued that what he said was true, however the meaning of what he said was arguable. The fact that everyone is equal means that everyone in this country is born with equal opportunity, and what one does with that opportunity is up to the individual.
This is where my message is. Each of us have recognized the opportunity to better our lives and make a career out of what we love. Let the less informed know that they have the same opportunity, however they have to take advantage of it. You are not better than everyone else; you just know how to pinpoint opportunity. You will have many more windows open to you. Don't be like my narrow-minded customer and let those opportunities pass by you.
Flying is quite similar. However, if you crash, you probably won't get up, wipe the dust off, and ride away again. When you become comfortable with flying, don't forget that first time you fell off your bike. Don't get so cozy that you stop being cautious.
This is here some people tend to fall into the mindset of thinking, "It won't happen to me; I'm super-pilot." Have you ever been in a car accident which wasn't your fault? Remember that other pilots may crash into you!
Before you fly, take every precaution to ensure a productive and safe flight. Once you are in the plane, keep a good scan for that unprepared idiot ready to knick your plane.
Just because you are a good pilot, doesn't mean you can't have an off day. Anyone can be in the wrong place at the wrong time. A little situational awareness, however, can lessen the problem or help to completely avoid it.
For example, do you know the names of the guys who come an refill your fuel tanks when you come back from a flight? They are Jim and Santiago, and bothwork very hard so we can continue flying. Next time they drive up to your plane, say hi.
How about the terriffic people in the scheduling and data area. We have over seven hundred active students that need to be scheduled. Jamie, Jason, and Vince strive to make sure we are scheduled the minimum three times a week. There are about a thousand total students whose records need to maintained. Lida, Josephine, and crew take care of that.
Many people don't know that while they are sleeping, the new hangar is quite lit up and dozens of line mechanics ensure the aircraft you fly is airworthy. By sunlight, twilight, and moonlight, Eric, Wayne, Sam and many others work crooked hours tearing apart and re-constructing our fleet. Considering the number of hours our planes are flown every day, these are definitely sme guys that everyone should appreciate.
This is just a small example of all the people we don't see often but need to acknowledge because they play such a crucial role in our flight training. There are still many other tht aid us, however time and space don't permit. On your next flight, stop for a few moments and think about all the people who have handled your records and the aircraft in order for you to complete your lesson.
This is where I am most confused. Maybe it's because I'm just naturally a commanding person, but I don't understand why a student doesn't make a change if he or she is unhappy with his or her situation.
A student's first resource is his or her flight training career should be the instructor. A student shoule be able to talk freely (end even bluntly if need be) with the instructor. A continuing student should be able to go into the course knowing what he or she wants out of it and relay this requirement to the instructor.
Now, we all knmow that not all instructors teach inthe same manner. Students can aid in creating a better student-instructor relationship by telling instructors how they learn best. (Like I, for instance, need to visualize things. I work better with someone who is animated and talks with his or her hands.)
If you find yourself in a position where you cannot effectively communicate or co-exist with your instructor, there are still measures you can take to improve your situation. If you are in the premature stages of your lfight course, it really isn't difficult to get a different instructor. Naturally, you will need to go through your Team Manager, who will try to resolve the problem between you and your instructor. However, if there can be no mediation, your TM will ultimately try to get you a new instructor. (Note: This may take a trivial amount of time, but if you want the change, you'll have to make amends.)
The system was designed to meet the needs of every flight student. The Flight Department understand that everybody's positions are different and have developed the flight program to cater to certain extenuating circumstances. You can have the system work for you, but you have to take advantage of it. Nothing can solve your problems except your own initial effort, an until you make a change, nobody will know you are unhappy.
