Girlfriend first flight

Sport Pilot

Sport Pilot

Pre-takeoff checklist
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For my girlfriends first flight, are there any recommendations to assist in potential anxiety and /or to help make the flight easy going?

I know I will take her up in the evening, around 6:30pm. I was also going to tell her each time I do something, like a turn. This way she knows what’s coming.

Should I just stay in traffic pattern or transition out farther?

I want this to be an enjoyable flight for the both of us.
 
Something scenic, early in the day when it's calm. Shallow turns and climbs, safety provided. etc. Touch and goes probably won't be fun for her.
 
There's a couple schools of thought on first flights.
A) like you say, point out everything you're doing so its obvious and nothing comes as a surprise.
B) Treat it like a car ride and make it seem like everything is normal, routine and non-special. That usually puts people at ease and then they don't get all hyped up.

I've seen pilots explain in great detail everything that could go wrong and how they plan to keep that from happening, or what equipment there is to prevent that... that usually just riles pax up. Just treat it like a car with an extra dimension and have fun, don't overthink it.
 
I wouldn’t stay in the traffic pattern, go out a bit further unless you sense she’s feeling nervous or something.
 
With some of the Yahoos I've encountered in the Traffic Pattern, I'd be more nervous than the Girlfriend.

Scenic is better, especially over familiar places. Works well for me with first timers.

Cheers
 
Take her somewhere. Find a small airport with a restaurant or a courtesy car and go do something she enjoys. She’ll be asking for more rides as soon as you get home. Unless she hates it.
 
Thanks everyone. That make sense to leave traffic pattern; to much going on.

She asked that we stay close to the ground; like 500 ft. because she feels being closer to the ground is safer.

I informed her that is actually the opposite of safe; higher altitude is safer. I then explained the reasons.

I just purchased a new headset for her.
 
Sport Pilot said:
Thanks everyone. That make sense to leave traffic pattern; to much going on.

She asked that we stay close to the ground; like 500 ft. because she feels being closer to the ground is safer.

I informed her that is actually the opposite of safe; higher altitude is safer. I then explained the reasons.

I just purchased a new headset for her.
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Make sure the headset fits the next girlfriend.
 
Make sure your back before dark. Once she relaxes and enjoys it, plan a twilight flight.
 
I know it's kind of cliche, but overflying her house at an appropriate altitude or other familiar place to her that she's never seen from the sky is always a fun thing for passengers. Don't take the opportunity of this flight to demonstrate your prowess in demonstrating power-on stalls.

Oh...when I first read the thread title, I thought it said "girlfriend first fight." I had other advice for that....equally bad.
 
When you pull power for the first time to land, point out that the plane is still flying.
And if you have a rough landing, play it off as nothing 'pshh, landed lots of times way worse than that'.

Best thing is, you don't have to lie!
 
Wow great suggestions and advice.

FYI, we are driving 2.7 hours away to the airport, so I cannot fly over our house.
 
Don't feel the need to talk-out-loud your whole preflight process. In fact, maybe send her to the vending machine or to the bathroom while you accomplish it.

You can summarize the preflight with her as: I've checked the plane carefully, and it's ready-to-go.
 
Make sure the headset fits the next girlfriend.
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Oh...when I first read the thread title, I thought it said "girlfriend first fight." I had other advice for that....equally bad.
Click to expand...

Don't think for a second that there's any value in demonstrating a stall, or that the airplane flies even with the engine shut off.
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Try no to say " Oh $h#t " any time during the flight.
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:D
 
Don't say in the traffic pattern.. don't tell her everything you're doing. Unless she's a flying geek or a control freak it's probably best to leave that out. When you're at the dentist do you want the dentist spelling out everything they're doing?

When I first took my girlfriend up we departed Nashua, did a gentle flying to Northampton.. landed, walked into town, then back to Nashua. All my turns were probably 15* or less. I didn't announce anything other than "her we're going to be landing soon" and "okay, we're cruising now, should be there in 20 minutes" type of stuff
 
I just took up my wife after getting my certificate this last Saturday. I had been preparing for that for a couple days I took her up in the morning around 830... It was a cool and calm morning no convection at all so I had that going for me. I took the time to explain the possibilities of the uncomfortable stuff like the possibility of a bumpy ride and how I will try to prevent that. Also Air sickness, I was getting air sick on my first 10 hrs of flight time and it took me what I thought was forever to get over it. I let her know what the symptoms are and how to tell me if she felt uncomfortable. The route of flight and the expected flight time, She liked that part as I gave her a say in were she wanted to go and looked at google maps for interesting land marks she wanted to see. I steered her kind of in the direction that I have already flown/trained in i.e. Similar route to a solo cross country that I had made. Do not explain the possibilities of an emergency and how you are prepared. This will only make her more nervous just explain in the pre-flight briefing that your are prepared for all situations that can happen while flying. I also second the thought that staying in the pattern would not be ideal. I also explained probably a little too much about the phases of flight and how they might feel. Takeoff you cant really see out the front a whole lot then the power reduction and pitch down for cruise, the reduction in power and pitch down for decent and then finally the final to landing flair, and stall warning horn on touch down. Stall horn noise good when landing and over the runway bad while flying. If you have any other questions feel free to post/DM me.
P.s. This was in the dallas area fyi
 
If there is a crosswind--and avoid crosswind days as best you can on the early flights--I'll add to my briefing that when approaching the runway to land, it may look like the airplane is crooked, relative to the runway. Not to worry, it is the right thing to do because of the wind, and the alignment is fixed just before the wheels touch. I may add that passenger jets do the same thing, you just can't tell since you aren't looking out the front window.

I like to think it helps my passengers avoid thoughts like "if we're supposed to land right there, why is this idiot pointing the plane way over there?"
 
Choose a calm day with good visibility. A gusty crosswind day is not a good day for a first flight. I usually take first-timers up to see some of my favorite sights that you might not be able to see or appreciate except from the air. If their home or community is nearby, that's always a treat. Gentle maneuvers. If you circle a sight, make it very shallow or just fly by. Steep turns around a sight can be uncomfortable. If your passenger is adventurous or curious, let them "fly" the plane. And to really impress, make your best, smoothest landing ever. No matter what you see during the flight, first-time passengers will always remember your landing.
 
chemgeek said:
No matter what you see during the flight, first-time passengers will always remember your landing.
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Isn't it funny how, we carefully preflight, we plan the trip, we do ALL THIS BLOODY WORK, and we're remembered for the landing. Haha.

And - the more you want to "grease it in" the more likely you'll botch it. Just sayin'.
 
IDK where you're located and understand it's a long drive to the aircraft, but I would suggest a morning flight so the air is smooth and there aren't any turbulence...
 
Rgbeard said:
Isn't it funny how, we carefully preflight, we plan the trip, we do ALL THIS BLOODY WORK, and we're remembered for the landing. Haha.

And - the more you want to "grease it in" the more likely you'll botch it. Just sayin'.
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And so few people have flown in small planes that they don't know the difference between a greaser and a firm landing. As long as you're not compressing their spine on touchdown, they won't know. Chances are your bad landing is more gentle than the commercial 737 that they are familiar with. So if its not a perfect landing for you, get it next time and just comment on how good dinner was or how much fun it was to have her along for the flight, blah blah blah

I once made a comment about the VASI lights and the red over red means your dead phrase during landing with some friends who hadn't been in a small plane. just before touchdown they went red over red but it was perfectly safe and actually a very smooth landing but, they thought we were going to die because i told them they phrase.
 
NoBShere said:
red over red means your dead
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I had some friends once ask to change the XM station in the plane because this song came on Lithium.. no they're not pilots. It was over death valley with only desolation underneath.. so understandable I guess... lol

 
I always give the "city tour". Depart, fly over the stadium, the riverfront, the dam, and then loop back north. 30 minutes tops. Some ask to keep flying, others are more than ready to land. So plan out your own "city tour".
 
Similar to what everyone else said, I took my girlfriend up later in the day, let her see her house and the local lake from the air, then watch the sun set. It was such a great flight, she decided to start taking lessons herself!
 
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