Picking up hitchhikers: How common is it?

Insane

Insane

Ejection Handle Pulled
Joined
Feb 26, 2014
Messages
126
Display Name
Display name:
Insane
How common is it to pick up hitchhikers in GA? By hitchhikers I mean when you give a ride to someone that you have never met before and is a complete unknown to you. I'm not talking about Angel Flights of course. I've only done it myself once where I gave a ride to two hitchhikers to Oshkosk 2013 and it was a good experience. So how prevalent is it? Any good or bad experiences we could hear about?
 
Insane said:
How common is it to pick up hitchhikers in GA? By hitchhikers I mean when you give a ride to someone that you have never met before and is a complete unknown to you. I'm not talking about Angel Flights of course. I've only done it myself once where I gave a ride to two hitchhikers to Oshkosk 2013 and it was a good experience. So how prevalent is it? Any good or bad experiences we could hear about?
Click to expand...


Pretty common, there's a guy who needs a ride from OSH to TX that would appreciate your help.
 
Jhernandez04 said:
Pretty common, there's a guy who needs a ride from OSH to TX that would appreciate your help.
Click to expand...


Um, probably I would think twice before giving someone called "The Hulk" a ride :D
 
I would do it just about anytime, unless he was asking for his 1st ride on a corkboard in an airport.. Then I would think twice.

In a car, you are on your own unless I know you.
 
I "hichhiked" once, and it is one of my fondest memories.

I took my daughter out to the airport, where they were working on a Russian YAK-52. They were testing a propeller for use on the engine. When I got out there, the paint was still wet in the prop, so it wasn't going to fly that day. I had really wanted to fly in it, and hoped they'd take my daughter up as well.

We hung around the airport for a while, and were just about to go home when one of the guys from the flying club landed. I took her over to the plane while he was getting ready to refuel so she could see it and go inside and so on.

I told the pilot that she (and I) had been hoping to go for a flight that day but that it didn't pan out.

"I'll take you up, if you want."

Well, it wasn't the YAK, but what the heck. He took us up for a short ride "around the patch" and even gave my daughter a "turn at the wheel" - she was about five years old at the time.

At the end of the ride, I helped him refuel and put the plane away. By the time I got home, it was much later than I had originally planned - I had a lot of work around the house, and was afraid my wife would be mad at me for being gone so long.

As we walked in the door, my wife walked into the room. Not happy. My daughter said (loudly).

"We went on a plane ride, and I didn't just ride, I drived it too!"

I was off the hook!
 
Well, about 20 years ago I decided I wanted to go to Oshkosh so I put out requests on various computer groups (the old CompuServe AVSIG notably) and asked if anybody from the DC area was going. I got like three offers including some guy I hadn't really heard of called Paul Bertorelli who I ended up flying with.

The next year a local student pilot asked if she could come along with me and Margy, so I returned the favor.

As for short "rides" I've done plenty. At our local airshow, I took a lot of the local volunteer fire guys up for short rides. Done plenty of rides for volunteers at Oshkosh (some I knew, some I didn't).
 
Have done a few,usually flying other pilots who are dropping they're aircraft at maintenance. Haven't really done any long flights as I don't have the seats.
 
Probably my favourite flight was taking a hitchhiker for a ride.

Was flying out of a small grass strip, and had just done a few laps around the pattern to make sure I still knew how to land and was pushing the plane back in and an older gentlemen came up to me and said "I grew up around here, moved away a long time ago. Always wanted to see it from the air..." My response was "Hell, let's go!"
 
frfly172 said:
Have done a few,usually flying other pilots who are dropping they're aircraft at maintenance. Haven't really done any long flights as I don't have the seats.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, done that plenty but usually with people I know. I did give a guy a lift back to his home field once when he got stuck at CJR.

Amusingly one day I flew a Tiger to HGR to pick up his plane (I was returning a favor he did me) and some guy by the name of CapnRon needed a pick up at LNS after he dropped off his Tiger, so I and a nice round robin ferrying Tiger pilots. The Navion is just the Tiger with a gland problem.
 
flyingron said:
Well, about 20 years ago I decided I wanted to go to Oshkosh so I put out requests on various computer groups (the old CompuServe AVSIG notably) and asked if anybody from the DC area was going. I got like three offers including some guy I hadn't really heard of called Paul Bertorelli who I ended up flying with.
Click to expand...

How many stripes did he have on his shirt back then?
 
I have flown all kinds of strangers in the N3Ns and SNJ. In the late 80's Martha Esch hitch hiked across the US with a twist. She only flew in antique airplanes that were older than 1955. I took her from Twin Falls to Boise in an N3N. One of these days she will write a book about it. Don
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top