What can I do?

Rudy

Rudy

Line Up and Wait
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Rudy
Ok so here is the deal,
With every news story of the gear mishap in a plane, I hear from people who know that I fly "that's why you shouldn't fly little planes."
I of course know that things get blown out of proportion in the media and that people get the wrong perception.

So my question is,
Besides explaining to the mislead people, what can be done to show them that it is safe? Maybe even make some of those people fall in love with aviation like I did. I fear that people don't understand what the community at the airport is like, and therefore don't see the need for it.
Is there any ideas that you guys have that would introduce people in the community to aviation and the happiness it can bring?

Best,
 
Rudy:

You're tilting at windmills in large measure, here.

You can talk until you are blue in the face with many people, and all you'll succeed in doing is making them believe aviation needs a lo of defending.

You can certainly offer the counterpoint, let people know that every minor event in aviation is played up as big news, and that the very rarity of deaths or inuries in aviation is what makes occurrences "news."

If they're willing to hear reason, they will, and if they're not, save your breath.

Folks who
 
Here's what I do:

Tell 'em "There's nothing better to report on, so the news will capitolize on the common person's fears. If guns were the last big hot news item, then the news would be full of gun stories. Its no more dangerous now to fly than it was last year."

Then I let it go. There's no reason to make them feel like I'm defensive about it. Like politics, I let them form their own opinion. Most people agree with me, and in the future they laugh at the news reporters when they freak on how dangerous the small planes are. If they don't, nothing will change their opinion.
 
Rudy said:
Ok so here is the deal,
With every news story of the gear mishap in a plane, I hear from people who know that I fly "that's why you shouldn't fly little planes."
I of course know that things get blown out of proportion in the media and that people get the wrong perception.

So my question is,
Besides explaining to the mislead people, what can be done to show them that it is safe? Maybe even make some of those people fall in love with aviation like I did. I fear that people don't understand what the community at the airport is like, and therefore don't see the need for it.
Is there any ideas that you guys have that would introduce people in the community to aviation and the happiness it can bring?

Best,
Click to expand...

Don't bother. More people who want in will drive the prices up higher.
 
In your question I see two issues. One, how to convey your personal decisions to fly; two, how to explain that aviation is safe and a valuable asset for every community.

In the first, I start off my saying flying is a perfect blend of technology and artistry; as compelling as the challenge of mastering the technology is the enjoyment of the aethetic. Besides, for so much of human history there has been the dream of flight. We now have that ability. Why don't you come with me and see for yourself how captivating it is to fly?

I also like to ask them to name a favorite place and imagine if they could be there in less time than they imagined. Imagine arriving refreshed and relaxed to have lunch several hundred miles away and getting back before you're missed? It really is about imagining.

In the second, I use cold hard facts compiled by AOPA, CA Pilot's Assoc, and the state Aeronautical Division to illustrate how important GA is to the community. I make sure to provide actual cases of large employers basing their decision to locate in this community on access to the aprt--if the aprt goes away, so do those employers. And, yes, I also mention how the media tends to sensationalize every aviation incident or accident. That uneventful and precise landing by JetBlue at LAX not too long ago is a perfect example. The live footage dominated the airwaves yet it was a flawless and anticlimatic incident.

Basically, I just lay it in their lap. They decide for themselves but at least they are better informed. And as knowlege rises, fear subsides.
 
Richard said:
In your question I see two issues. One, how to convey your personal decisions to fly; two, how to explain that aviation is safe and a valuable asset for every community.
Click to expand...
Richard,
I am very happy with my decision to fly. I have enjoyed every second of every hour logged. I haven't ever second guessed any part of my choice to fly. I didn't mean for it to come across in that manner, sorry about that.

Maybe it is naive of me, but i just wish all those people who are scared of flying and don't understand it would at least give it a try, and maybe it would bring them the happiness it brings me.

I understand from the posts now that I can't change the way people think and the best I can do is give them the facts.
Thanks for all the great information,
 
Rudy said:
Richard,
I am very happy with my decision to fly. I have enjoyed every second of every hour logged. I haven't ever second guessed any part of my choice to fly. I didn't mean for it to come across in that manner, sorry about that.
Click to expand...
Hold your left hand straight out in front of you and raise it to a height above eye level. Hold your right hand straight out in front of you and raise it to a height somewhere down by your stomach. Moving each hand exactly horizontal try to clap. You can be the right hand, I'll be the left: somehow, I think we're missing each other.:dunno:

I know you enjoy flying. As I understand it the issue is how to spark that enjoyment in others. Invite them to aprt day, aprt BBQs or just to go on down to the hanger with you. Of course, then you have to take the up. That's the only way I know. But whatever the activity and no matter how appealing it is there will be folks who decide that it isn't their cup o tea.

I think the underlying issue here is not so much that they enjoy what you enjoy but that they extinguish whatever negative attitude they have towards GA. To pilots it seems there is no neutral attitude--one is either afore it or agin it. To pilots if you're for it you must go flying. I think we do not comprehend well the notion that folks can be for GA but still choose to not to fly. We think they are blind to the positive, therefore agin it.
 
SkyHog said:
Here's what I do:

Tell 'em "There's nothing better to report on, so the news will capitolize on the common person's fears. If guns were the last big hot news item, then the news would be full of gun stories. Its no more dangerous now to fly than it was last year."

Then I let it go. There's no reason to make them feel like I'm defensive about it. Like politics, I let them form their own opinion. Most people agree with me, and in the future they laugh at the news reporters when they freak on how dangerous the small planes are. If they don't, nothing will change their opinion.
Click to expand...

I think that is a great tactic, Nick. I would go one step further, though. Before the conversation is over, offer to give them the statistics so they can make an informed decision about the safety of GA. 99% of them will decline and then you drop it. For those who want more information, send them the Nall Report.

-Skip
 
Remember, children are nearly fearless. If you can convince the children to go fly (like EAA Young Eagles), the adults come along. http://www.youngeagles.org/volunteers/
Flying is less dangerous than most other activities. But facts won't persuade people because they do listen to the news. The AOPA has a FACT CARD available but if they have a preconceived notion of danger, facts will most likely not change their minds.
If it is in the news, it must be dangerous. People need to know that bad news will always replace good news. Point out Angel Flight, Med Flight, or Coast Guard. Using aviation for serious business. You should also point out the NEWS COPTER that captured the event, the aircraft that did the traffic report that got them to work in the morning, or the police copter that was responsible for the capture of a felon. If aviation were so danderous, why would such smart people do it every day?
 
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It never ceases to amaze me that people who passed one or two automobile accidents on the way to work will look at me like I'm crazy for taking the "risk" of flying, yet never give a thought to the risk they took to drive to the office. Give me something with wings over the nuts on the highways any day.

People with an irrational fear of something will never listen to reason or statistics to change their mind. Let them see your passion, and offer them the chance to explore their curiosity about flying if they want (and most people are curious about flying, even the ones who turn purple at the thought). Some will take you up on, some won't.
 
If they paid attention to the fact more people were killed in cars on a daily basis...

:dunno:

Then again, some of the pictures and stories I've shared with non-aviation folk have made a lot of them start warming up to the idea of getting into a small airplane. I hope by the time I finally get my ticket I can fly out to visit these people and convince them to take a ride. I managed to get my sister into an ultralight for her first flight (not with me, but with someone highly capable)...well, "tomorrow" who knows?

:)
terry
 
Well, the "high dollar" insurance policy on my airplane (along with the high dollar liability) is much less than the insurance on my car (with MUCH lower limits).

Perhaps the insurance companies know something these folks don't?

Oh, and unless I'm watching different news than the rest of the planet, were not the VAST majority of the "gear mishaps" on the news lately in LARGE commercial aircraft? And the number of folks injured/killed was ... 0?

Rudy said:
Ok so here is the deal,
With every news story of the gear mishap in a plane, I hear from people who know that I fly "that's why you shouldn't fly little planes."
I of course know that things get blown out of proportion in the media and that people get the wrong perception.

So my question is,
Besides explaining to the mislead people, what can be done to show them that it is safe? Maybe even make some of those people fall in love with aviation like I did. I fear that people don't understand what the community at the airport is like, and therefore don't see the need for it.
Is there any ideas that you guys have that would introduce people in the community to aviation and the happiness it can bring?

Best,
Click to expand...
 
Rudy said:
With every news story of the gear mishap in a plane, I hear from people who know that I fly "that's why you shouldn't fly little planes."
I of course know that things get blown out of proportion in the media and that people get the wrong perception.
Click to expand...
Point out that these highly publicized landing gear events ended uneventfully (nobody hurt, no appreciably bent metal), and you don't fly in weather like the SWA wreck at MDW. Keep it short, keep it simple, and make clear by your failure to launch into a lecture that they are the ones trying to make a point out of nothing.
 
Sometimes I ask them what they think the most serious risks are in automobiles and then what they think is dangerous about flying small planes. For most folks the answer to question #1 is either getting hit by a drunk or (in the northern wastelands) hitting a patch of ice and losing control. Answers to #2 are rarely on the mark and usually center around a wing falling off or the engine "stalling" followed by a screaming plummet to the ground. Some are most concerned about a midair collision.

Then I mention the rarity of the kinds of accidents they feared and explain what the real risk areas in personal flying alogn with what I've done to mitigate them. I try to make a big point of how something like 90+% of the life threatening risks are entirely pilot induced with virtually zero chance that I will be harmed by the mistakes/misdeeds of someone else (like a drunk driver) or an unforseable act of nature (like the invisible ice). Most folks can appreciate the "master of your own destiny" environment of flying but their ignorant fears are often difficult to conquer.
 
I'm with Lisa on this one.

I use to try to put positive spin on "light plane" flying anytime a co-worker or non-aviation acquaintance would mention a plane accident with some accompanying derisive comment. Now I just just politely nod and say something to the effect that yes, it was an unfortunate occurrence. You have to respect a person's opinion however flawed the reasons for it. Even if they're looking for someone to change it, they have to make that choice, not you for them. You can only share your own understanding and beliefs to someone receptive to listening to make a difference.

The best advertisment for "light plane" flying is to stay out of the headlines. Be open to discuss what you enjoy about the activity. Give them suggestions how to pursue it for themselves if they show interest.

I liken aircraft to watercraft. There's a wide range of "boats" from inner tubes for float trips to the Queen Mary II for world cruises. From powered parachutes to rocket planes, sport flying to test pilots, there's a broad spectrum of flying activities that one can have an interest in. Not everyone is interested in every aspect of aviation. Some are not interested in any aspect. Those that aren't have no appreciation for the impact aviation has had on society and what benefits they enjoy directly and indirectly from the endeavor. They are the type that prefer to remain blissfully clueless. Don't let their apathy diminish your own enthusiasm for flying.


ausrere said:
It never ceases to amaze me that people who passed one or two automobile accidents on the way to work will look at me like I'm crazy for taking the "risk" of flying, yet never give a thought to the risk they took to drive to the office. Give me something with wings over the nuts on the highways any day.

People with an irrational fear of something will never listen to reason or statistics to change their mind. Let them see your passion, and offer them the chance to explore their curiosity about flying if they want (and most people are curious about flying, even the ones who turn purple at the thought). Some will take you up on, some won't.
Click to expand...
 
The more you try to explain, the more blank looks you get. For some reason people trust some guy on TV more than an actual pilot. However, a few people have quietly asked, "how long does it take to get (here or there). I just tell them, "figure 120 mph as the crow flies", and watch them smile.
 
Rudy;

For many years I tried to explain how safe flying was and is. I started like many other "Airport Kids" living at the airport and never could get enough flying and aviation.

Today all of my non flying friends can tell when I have been to the airport and flown. They tell me that I "look so happy' after I have been up. Some tell me they wish that they had a passion like mine.

John
 
The question of "is aviation safe" usually only follows an incident where someone is seriously injured.

If we asked "is driving safe" after every fatal accident, we would be asking that question about, what, a hundred times a day.....

--Matt
 
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