Why do our airplanes scare people?

little airplanes *are* scary
 
DavidWhite said:
little airplanes *are* scary
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They kinda are, actually. Even mine scares me a little bit every time I take it out flying, because I know how easy it is to screw the pooch. Heck, the whole notion of flying, even though I understand the mechanics of it, is still odd to me when I think about it hard - what do you mean the airplane weighs less than the air under its wings? it makes no sense!
 
ggroves said:
^ This ^. I'd rather be low-key about it. Same with the sailboat. I'm not sure what's in the DNA of people who feel they must be an "advocate" or "ambassador" for a hobby. Other than the potential "look at me" ego factor, I don't get it.



Enjoy your hobby.
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Because the more people we get flying, the more support for local airports, aircraft manufacturers, infrastructure, etc.

A big problem with aviation is that it's a very "low volume" business. That drives costs up, and makes it easier to close airports, enact more rules, etc. until it no longer exists as we know it.
 
onwards said:
And yet, this is the best-behaved, most hard-working and productive, least criminal generation of kids in, like, forever.
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Interesting article. It also says:
What this adds up to is a generation that is more closely watched and less free to screw up. So perhaps it is unsurprising that better behaviour has not, as yet, translated into greater happiness. For all their disavowal of inebriation and criminality, young people are still proving more likely to be diagnosed with depression and anxiety. They are often obsessed with their careers—and rarely satisfied. Young people repeatedly report less job satisfaction than their parents or grandparents. Several studies, including one by the University of Michigan, show that people who use the internet more tend to be less happy, though without establishing more than a correlation. In helping people to stay connected to their peers, social media sites such as Facebook also let them compare themselves to people who are doing better than they feel they are (or at least appear to be, in their carefully crafted profiles).​
 
We'll be true winners when our kids are offing themselves at the rate of Japanese kids... :rolleyes2::sad:
Ill behaved criminals are what made Murca great.
 
onwards said:
They kinda are, actually. Even mine scares me a little bit every time I take it out flying, because I know how easy it is to screw the pooch. Heck, the whole notion of flying, even though I understand the mechanics of it, is still odd to me when I think about it hard - what do you mean the airplane weighs less than the air under its wings? it makes no sense!
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It sounds like you may need some time with a CFI, or more currency/recency in your flying activities.
 
stratobee said:
How many friends, relatives, girl- or boyfriends do you know that are bad drivers? At least a couple, right? Now imagine them coming to you and saying "I just got my pilots license".

That's why.
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I posted concerns with flying passengers as a new pilot and how new pilots should build some time first.

Everyone fired at me saying, if you just passed your check ride and received your PP certificate you are good to go, for you received the training needed to take passengers. You never would have passed your PP certificate if your were indeed inept.

From this thread, just passing your PP you are a danger to the rest of the world and yourself.

So what is it? You have the training to safely fly the globe? Or now you are a danger to those living on this globe?
 
1600vw said:
I posted concerns with flying passengers as a new pilot and how new pilots should build some time first.

Everyone fired at me saying, if you just passed your check ride and received your PP certificate you are good to go, for you received the training needed to take passengers. You never would have passed your PP certificate if your were indeed inept.

From this thread, just passing your PP you are a danger to the rest of the world and yourself.

So what is it? You have the training to safely fly the globe? Or now you are a danger to those living on this globe?
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I'd say you're good to go, in the appropriate weather conditions. I wouldn't set out for a long cross country in iffy weather, but you should be fine to take passengers in good conditions. About an hour after I passed my checkride, I took my father flying. Looking back, I think I was well trained and a safe VFR pilot at that point in my life.
 
That always cracks me up. Ask the same people if they would fly with the new pilot without their own set of controls. But everyone should cause the govt card says he can fly
1600vw said:
I posted concerns with flying passengers as a new pilot and how new pilots should build some time first.

Everyone fired at me saying, if you just passed your check ride and received your PP certificate you are good to go, for you received the training needed to take passengers. You never would have passed your PP certificate if your were indeed inept.

From this thread, just passing your PP you are a danger to the rest of the world and yourself.

So what is it? You have the training to safely fly the globe? Or now you are a danger to those living on this globe?
Click to expand...
 
onwards said:
They kinda are, actually. Even mine scares me a little bit every time I take it out flying, because I know how easy it is to screw the pooch. Heck, the whole notion of flying, even though I understand the mechanics of it, is still odd to me when I think about it hard - what do you mean the airplane weighs less than the air under its wings? it makes no sense!
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Not sure what you are flying, but I must admit mine scared me when I first got it. Part being a low time pilot and part the undeserved reputation of the old vtail.

Spent some time with a beechcraft instructor who did stalls, accelerated stalls, lazy 8 s and other commercial maneuvers for me in my plane. (I hope to go back and learn to do all of them myself some day.)

After 100 hours I'm getting maybe a little too comfortable so it is time to see a cfi again...
 
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Because it has a propeller and you don't have enough experience to fly a real plane.


- a piston driven propeller thrusted VFR only pilot
 
Flying is magic. People see the crashes on TV and it takes the magic out of it. We all want to believe there is something magical in our lives.
 
ggroves said:
^ This ^. I'd rather be low-key about it. Same with the sailboat. I'm not sure what's in the DNA of people who feel they must be an "advocate" or "ambassador" for a hobby. Other than the potential "look at me" ego factor, I don't get it.

Enjoy your hobby.
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I don't have either the 'look at me' or 'ambassador' factor, however I don't know any other pilots in my circle of family/friends so I feel like I should offer the opportunity to anyone who might want to experience it. if they don't go, I don't care but at least the offer is there if/when they want it.
 
jfrye01 said:
Not sure I understand. I have friends and family who will hop airliners all day long and not think twice, but the second I offer to fly them around in the Skyhawk, they respond with something like "little planes scare me." Not quite sure I understand at all, maybe it's ignorance, maybe it's the media, maybe it's me ( :p ), maybe it's a combination of these factors..
Sorry, just a late night ramble...carry on:p
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Let me translate then, "In my ignorance of all things aviation, it scares me. I will get on an airliner because they are big, and big is safe from everything in the world I understand, and they are operated by professionals with thousands of hours and a million dollars worth of training. That plane you fly however, it is small, and small in my experience is dangerous, and you only have basic training and a few hours practice, and well, I just don't trust you with my life in that little thing."
 
txflyer said:
I'm a bad GA advocate, because I'll talk people out of flying with me.

It's pretty sad but true that maybe one in a dozen will like it. It seem's nothing good rarely comes from it. So I avoid it. Now if they're begging and begging and they really want to fly, then that's o.k. They're usually the one's who will love it and show interest. Maybe.

And then there is always that little nagging liability voice in the back of my head ...
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Yep, I fly people somewhere or take them for a ride when they ask me. The only people I offer a ride to is Ramp Rats if it works out so they can get a few hours of multi time.
 
I fully understand why "our little airplanes" scare people. There are very few pilots in our county, maybe a dozen, and two have perished in the last 30 days...

Both on motorcycles...

Both killed when the other vehicle crossed the center line...

Airplanes shouldn't scare people. Motorcycles should scare people, especially since the advent of smartphones and texting and...

I've been contemplating a Victory lately. I think I'll pass.
 
When the public heads out on a flight in a heavy, they see groups of people working to make this flight happen.

They see crews of people walking around the airplane doing all sorts of different things. Then they look over at the guy/gal getting ready to fly in this little airplane. No crew, the guy/gal flying looks to be the one checking everything, looking at the engine and such.

Joe Blow Public see's the crew's walking around the heavy as being safer then the guy/gal doing it all them self.

Then they look at the little airplane, one engine, it might have two, but they still look little compared to those huge jet things hanging under the wings of the big airplane they are about to board.

Tony
 
mehhhhh....

Nascar drivers have crews too. That doesn't make people think that driving their own car down the highway is unsafe.

I don't think most people are smart enough (knowledgeable enough) about aviation to even make that observation and analysis.
 
Here's another factor...when they go to the big airport and get on the heavy, they see hundreds of other allegedly sane people doing he same thing. So, it must be safe, right? Everyone else seems to think so.

Combine the group think with the reality that GA is more dangerous and you get the results that you're referencing. Can't blame them for being cautious.

Personally, I've never tried to talk someone into flying with me. Even the ones that ask get a full rundown of the risks and statistics. If they're in the plane, it's because they want to be there and are informed.
 
timwinters said:
mehhhhh....

Nascar drivers have crews too. That doesn't make people think that driving their own car down the highway is unsafe.

I don't think most people are smart enough (knowledgeable enough) about aviation to even make that observation and analysis.
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Apples and Oranges.....

Tony
 
Yeti Niner Five said:
Here's another factor...when they go to the big airport and get on the heavy, they see hundreds of other allegedly sane people doing he same thing. So, it must be safe, right? Everyone else seems to think so.

Combine the group think with the reality that GA is more dangerous and you get the results that you're referencing. Can't blame them for being cautious.

Personally, I've never tried to talk someone into flying with me. Even the ones that ask get a full rundown of the risks and statistics. If they're in the plane, it's because they want to be there and are informed.
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Also those big airplanes look to be put together with a lot of parts like nuts and bolts. Those little airplanes look that if you loose one little bolt you are falling from the sky.
 
I talk people out of flying with me. I hear it all the time. You need a two seat so you can fly others places. I tell these people you have one of two choices.

1. Buy a ticket and get on an airliner, now you can fly with all your friends.
2. Buy an airplane, learn to fly it and now you can fly yourself.

Tony
 
1600vw said:
Also those big airplanes look to be put together with a lot of parts like nuts and bolts. Those little airplanes look that if you loose one little bolt you are falling from the sky.
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Interesting article in this months sport pilot describing just that! Mechanics, in a study of accidents, neglected to put bolts, parts back correctly or left them out completely.
 
brian];1554957 said:
Not sure what you are flying, but I must admit mine scared me when I first got it. Part being a low time pilot and part the undeserved reputation of the old vtail.

Spent some time with a beechcraft instructor who did stalls, accelerated stalls, lazy 8 s and other commercial maneuvers for me in my plane. (I hope to go back and learn to do all of them myself some day.)

After 100 hours I'm getting maybe a little too comfortable so it is time to see a cfi again...
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Oh, I'm comfortable enough flying the 182. It's a magnificent plane. I'm still scared of it a little bit. I was reminded of it recently coming back from San Diego at night, crossing over the grapevine in strong gusty winds (for me anyway, 20-40kt), having a stretch of almost 30 minutes of constantly fighting to keep the plane going north and level instead of everywhere at once. The only other time I've ever gone through something that violent was in the soup with a CFI when I was doing IFR training a couple of years back and we went up on purpose on an ugly day. Heck, it felt close enough; I wasn't even looking outside most of the time, as I had plenty to do focusing on the instruments and it was mostly black out there anyway until past the mountains.

Once everything calmed down and I could finally trim and relax, I found myself thinking about how nuts the whole thing is, sitting in a chair in the sky, surrounded by a rattling thin metal structure, held up by nothing more than black magic (aka lift). That image of a coke can crumpling, which my CFI used to bring up when I was looking at the struts during pre-flight, popped into my mind. I've never had that thought in a big airliner.
 
1600vw said:
Apples and Oranges.....

Tony
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Hmmm...I wonder why that is. Maybe because people are familiar with their cars but ignorant about airplanes?

So, it's not because of what they see? It's because they're ignorant about what they're watching maybe?

Ignorance causes a lot of fear...almost all of it, actually.
 
1600vw said:
Also those big airplanes look to be put together with a lot of parts like nuts and bolts. Those little airplanes look that if you loose one little bolt you are falling from the sky.
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They are not incorrect in that. On many planes I can point to a single bolt that when it fails will trigger an irrecoverable, unsurvivable, situation.
 
Henning said:
They are not incorrect in that. On many planes I can point to a single bolt that when it fails will trigger an irrecoverable, unsurvivable, situation.
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Like the Jesus Nut on a chopper? :wink2:
 
DFH65 said:
Interesting discussion. When I flew 20 years ago my wife flew with me all the time even pregnant. Now our kids are 21 and 17 and I am flying again

She said she was unsure and I simply said if you are unsure I don't want you to go.
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Perhaps the key here is you've returned to flying & unconsciously your wife wants to see you proof you're truly current? Ask her again in a few months after you've been flying regularly & after some solo cross countries dealing with weather...
 
1600vw said:
I posted concerns with flying passengers as a new pilot and how new pilots should build some time first.

Everyone fired at me saying, if you just passed your check ride and received your PP certificate you are good to go, for you received the training needed to take passengers. You never would have passed your PP certificate if your were indeed inept.

From this thread, just passing your PP you are a danger to the rest of the world and yourself.

So what is it? You have the training to safely fly the globe? Or now you are a danger to those living on this globe?
Click to expand...

I waited 200 hours to take passengers. When I posted about this on other Forums is generated a certainly level of, shall I say, disagreement. Passengers can be a distraction and new private pilots have a lot to learn (we all do). I believe a lot of serious learning should take place alone, especially if you plan to do cross country flying.
 
Henning said:
Let me translate then, "In my ignorance of all things aviation, it scares me. I will get on an airliner because they are big, and big is safe from everything in the world I understand, and they are operated by professionals with thousands of hours and a million dollars worth of training. That plane you fly however, it is small, and small in my experience is dangerous, and you only have basic training and a few hours practice, and well, I just don't trust you with my life in that little thing."
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timwinters said:
mehhhhh....

Nascar drivers have crews too. That doesn't make people think that driving their own car down the highway is unsafe.

I don't think most people are smart enough (knowledgeable enough) about aviation to even make that observation and analysis.
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But statistically little planes are no where near as safe as far as accidents per mile traveled as the big steal....I have read they have 49x the accident rate...So as one person, hopping on one plane, flying for 500 miles your risk is approximately 50x that of doing it commercial. By my book that is more risky...Now it's another question whether that is within the level of risk you, I, or our passenger is individually willing to accept.
 
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WhiskeyPapa said:
I waited 200 hours to take passengers. When I posted about this on other Forums is generated a certainly level of, shall I say, disagreement. Passengers can be a distraction and new private pilots have a lot to learn (we all do). I believe a lot of serious learning should take place alone, especially if you plan to do cross country flying.
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Treat it how you are most comfortable. You are the ultimate authority on what you should do, especially with regards to putting others at risk of your mistakes. There is no fault to be found in that. That said, everybody may not be as conservative and if they meet the standards, there is no fault in their decision to take their friend, mom, dad, girlfriend, wife, kid... up flying 10 minutes after the the DPE hands them that slip of paper and says "congratulations".
 
WhiskeyPapa said:
I waited 200 hours to take passengers. When I posted about this on other Forums is generated a certainly level of, shall I say, disagreement. Passengers can be a distraction and new private pilots have a lot to learn (we all do). I believe a lot of serious learning should take place alone, especially if you plan to do cross country flying.
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Not unreasonable. The Robinson factory flying club had a rule and it was iirc 50 hours post license before being allowed to take passengers. Not saying their should be a new reg, but it is something to personally consider.
 
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