Took a kid up for his first flight; disappointed.

Challenged

Challenged

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A good friend of mine semi-adopted a young minority teenager (14) a few years ago and was able to get him out of a less than stellar home life. He's a very respectful young man, always saying "Yes Sir", etc..., so I was sort of looking forward to sharing my love of aviation with him. It was his 14th birthday recently and my friend asked me to take him up for a flight, and since he's never been on an airplane of any sort, he thought it would be a great experience for him.

The weather was really nice yesterday, so I picked him up and we head to the airport, which is just a few minutes away. I was disappointed in the entire exchange, unfortunately. He barely said three sentences the entire time and the only question I really recall him asking was how much does my plane cost. Maybe he's just a super laid back kind of kid, I really don't know him very well, but he seemed absolutely bored the entire time. I even let him fly for a bit and just he stared off into space. Not a single question about instruments, or controls or ATC or the plane, nothing. For the most part, the only time he said anything at all was when I asked him a direct question.

Maybe it's my fault for expecting a kid to be excited about something that I really enjoy, and something he's never done before, but the experience sort of took the wind out of my sails.
 
You said it was his first time in any type of plane -- you sure he wasn't just scared to death or suffering from airsickness? I've found passengers will get very quiet and still when they're very uncomfortable.
 
Challenged said:
Maybe it's my fault for expecting a kid to be excited about something that I really enjoy, and something he's never done before, but the experience sort of took the wind out of my sails.
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Pretty much. How excited would you be about playing (insert XBOX game here? Or whatever other interests he has?

I don't expect anyone to enjoy anything that I do.
 
I've taken a number of people up and this wasn't anything like I normally see from nervous passengers.
 
He may have been scared, but also some kids, and adults for that matter just don't find it that much fun or exciting. Most if not all of my passengers just fall asleep. :rolleyes:

Also, flying and aviation was cool in the 30's - 70's. Not so much anymore. Thank the media, and technology for that.
 
People that aren't into aviation do exist, but I'll admit, I don't understand them.

Was he intimidated by your reply to "what does the plane cost?" Was he sad because he assumes he'll never be able to afford it, or go up again?

He's a 14 year old kid. They're moody sometimes.

If you would have taken me up when I was 14, I probably would never have shut up asking all kinds of questions.
 
Your effort might not have appeared to have affected him today, but down the road it very well could help lead him in a positive direction. :yesnod:
 
Hard to judge from afar, but you might get valuable info from your (adult) friend after a few days. Was your teenaged passenger turned off by it? Truly just not interested? Fearful? Not feeling well that day? Disappointed by something else that had happened?
Fourteen year olds are just hormones with feet, so there are dozens of possibilities...
 
I taken tons of kids and girlfriends flying. The whole time they were dead quiet but wouldn't stop talking about it to their friends and parents afterwards. Could have just been shy, but was probably scared and just taking it all in. Especially since he had never been in any type of plane before, it was a completely new experience for him and he probably just didn't know where to begin with the questions. I learned when I started taking people flying, have low expectations and expect nothing in return.
 
I have taken people up before who didn't really seem all that into it, but afterwards I hear from others that they kept telling everyone how neat it was.
 
Perhaps he was just intimidated by a rich white guy? (If you own an airplane, you are rich by many people's standards). Maybe he was embarrassed that he didn't know what to ask or how to ask it. There are many reasons he may not have "appeared" excited. Did you talk to the adoptive parents afterwards? Why don't you invite him back up and see how he responds?
 
He was probably just shy. I flew with a 15 year old kid and pulled out all the stupid jokes I could think of and I didn't even get a smile. Or he could have been really excited but that is just the way he is. He moght not show emtion but inside he is jumping for joy.
 
Keep taking people up who want to go - they definitely don't all react that way.

If he were fearful you might notice differences in behavior before and after. In this case it just sounds like his mind was elsewhere that day.

Some kids clam up around strangers and in situations where they are just overall not comfortable. My kids do this sometimes.

Keep checking back with his guardian(s) and they'll let you know what he really thought about it. As (if) you get to know the kid more you may find that he was more affected by it than he showed.

Either way, kudos for taking him for a ride.
 
You probably took him up in a 172 or the like. What's he into for cars? At 14 I wouldn't have been interested in anything with one engine. Oh wait... :)
 
Heck, I cant find anyone that gets excited when we fly. I must fly to smooth as I feel like all they want to do is take a nap. -- That couldn't have anything to do with me not giving them oxygen at 14,000 feet?? oh well.. hopefully someday I will have an excited passenger.
 
I have taken a lot of people flying and they have ALL been scared s**tless.
Not sure what the common denominator is.

There's always lots of praying, and kissing the ground after we land.
 
Many kids at that age don't always express excitement that well to adults. It's possible it meant nothing to him. It's also possible it meant a hell of a lot more then you know.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I have taken a lot of people flying and they have ALL been scared s**tless.
Not sure what the common denominator is.

There's always lots of praying, and kissing the ground after we land.
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Sounds like you may be like Toonces:

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Nobody ever said he could drive a car well! :no:
 
My experience is people don't think they can talk to you when flying. They have this notion that flying an airplane straight and level is such a demanding task, and they don't want to distract you.
 
Point the nose at the ground and yell "Yee Haw!!!". That'll fix 'em. :D
 
Ted DuPuis said:
At 14 I wouldn't have been interested in anything with one engine. Oh wait... :)
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At 14 I probably wouldn't have been interested in a conversation with an old guy (anyone over 30, maybe 25, was old).

Kid passengers I have had rarely seem interested in the airplane and it's a business jet. I remember my flying buddy being disappointed when he invited a couple teenage boys up to the front to watch and ask questions but they just seemed bored. Polite but bored. The adults are like that too. They rarely come up or ask questions. You can't expect people to be interested in something just because it interests you.
 
By my recollection girls dominate about 98% of a normal 14 year old boys mental functions so he was probably mustering up all the attention he could.
 
I wouldn't discount it yet... ask him if he wants to go again and see what the answer is...
 
If you took him up 9-12 years of age you might have gotten a better response. A 14 y/o is going to have a different set of "what's important to them" than you expect. Now if you wheeled out your classic Stingray, Cobra , etc., that would have given us a better idea where the kid's interest really are ...
 
My grandson didn't show terrible amount of interest at 14. At 17 he says he wants to learn to fly and maybe be a professional pilot. He is about a natural at it. He can handle controls for hours and is relaxed. He still doesn't show much excitement though for anything but soccer.
 
I took my friend's 14-year-old daughter up on a mapping flight because my friend asked me if her daughter could "shadow" me for a day as part of a school program. She was very quiet and only was interested in flying the airplane for a few minutes although her parents are both pilots. She ended up getting her private certificate then graduated from the Air Force Academy. That was a big surprise as she seemed very reserved, almost shy. Unfortunately her eyesight prevented her from being accepted in the pilot program.
 
Oftentimes kids from disadvantaged backgrounds have had overall VERY negative experiences with many adults in their lives. He may have not only been nervous about the flight, but terrified that a wrong word or action on his part could bring severe consequences for him.

I'd ask your friend what he said when he got home. I'd be surprised if it wasn't very positive.
 
Ditto to all who have posted,

Kids are told early on to not talk to strangers. Most of the kids that I meet are quiet in the beginning.

What you did was plant a seed in his mind, it might turn out to be something positive or he could influence someone else to get into flying with the stories he told.

Keep up the good work.
 
Most people I've taken up thought it was pretty cool, even the ones that got a little bit of an upset stomach.

One friend I took up actually fell asleep. Not everyone will think its the coolest thing ever. That's OK! They are allowed to be wrong.
 
I think you need to lighten up. Did you do this for the kid or for yourself. The kid agreed to go, maybe he liked it maybe he didn't, so what? I'm thinking he probably did, but your belly aching and thirst for acknowledgement from the kid will wreck it for him for ever if it gets back to him. Invite him up again, if he goes then he loved it, if not then it wasn't for him, no big deal.
 
I will agree, this may have been a misunderstanding on my part. I was asked if I would take him up on several occasions, so maybe I just assumed the kid was interested in aviation. Perhaps my friend just thought it would be neat and the kid himself had no interest in it. So, it may have been my false understanding of the situation that caused my disappointment.

Sent from my XT1045 using Tapatalk
 
Challenged said:
Maybe it's my fault for expecting a kid to be excited about something that I really enjoy, and something he's never done before, but the experience sort of took the wind out of my sails.
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Have patience. Sometimes the quiet ones are deeply absorbing the experience.

And maybe it's not his thing. I wouldn't cross the street to watch 22 guys beat each other up on a football field, no matter who they were.
 
Given his home/family situation... even if its been several years living with your friend, he may have a lot of other things he's sorting out or dealing with. He may just genuinely not know how to react either
 
I would bet, whether he admits to it or not, he was scared half to death
 
Challenged said:
I will agree, this may have been a misunderstanding on my part. I was asked if I would take him up on several occasions, so maybe I just assumed the kid was interested in aviation. Perhaps my friend just thought it would be neat and the kid himself had no interest in it. So, it may have been my false understanding of the situation that caused my disappointment.

Sent from my XT1045 using Tapatalk
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I'd invite the kid up again in a few weeks. Kids are tough to read sometimes, and as others have said, he may have talked about it nonstop with his friends. Good on you for willing to take him up and wanting him to enjoy it.
 
Challenged said:
I've taken a number of people up and this wasn't anything like I normally see from nervous passengers.
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Yes, but nervous kids?

I've seen a lot of kids behave that way, especially when you start talking about all the safety rules. Like the sterile cockpit.

I took my nephew up for the first time about a month ago. He said hardly anything, and when I offered him the controls, he took them and immediately looked down into his lap (good thing I had trimmed it well…). Then I found out later he was talking about nothing else for days afterward. That really surprised me.

Keep in mind, this is short of "scared" and more like "nervous."
 
Lot of good replies here.

I was taken on a plane ride at 12 years old. My dad was also on the plane. I just didn't know what questions to ask. My dad, being a former ground instructor for the AF, knew all the questions to ask. Of course I realized many years later he was asking the questions for my benefit.

22 years later I earned my private license, kept going through instructor certificates, ATP, now part owner of a aviation company.

So, no excitement showing at 12 turned into a career for me.

Find out from his adoptive parents if he has talked about it any. If yes, then ask if he would like to go again next (insert time here). Don't wait for him to ask questions, start out by showing him. (not the preflight, thats boring)
 
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