So how do you do that? Australian
Flying cast around for some good
ideas and listened to many a sad
and many a happy tale to compile a
checklist of things a pilot needs to
think about before taking a nervous
someone on their first flight.
- Hot and lumpy
is a show stopper
If the flight is scheduled on a day
of 35oC with northerlies, the flight
will be bouncy and stifling. Short
of aerobatics, there is no greater
way to ensure the passenger gets
sick. Don’t be afraid to call it off
and reschedule for another day.
Better to do that than put them off
flying forever. On a hot day, do not
load the pax whilst you do the pre-
flight; there’s no sense in baking
them when they’re already feeling
a bit of heat.
- Visibility
The passenger has enough things
to think about already, so take
weather out of the equation.
Marginal weather is a no-go.
Although your training tells
you it’s safe, they don’t have that
training and can’t help but be
apprehensive when confronted
with large blobs of grey cloud.
Also, if there’s low cloud, some
drizzle and low light, the earth
looks dull and unspectacular.
Perhaps leave the f light until
all the colours are out to play.- Pick the
right aeroplane
We know the maintenance
schedule on a 40-year-old plane
makes it safe, but the pax doesn’t
know that. They are likely to
equate the condition of the
aircraft with its reliability and
safety. Torn upholstery, broken
surrounds and loose ashtrays
are not good advertising; a neat,
new-looking interior is. Think
about where you will put the pax,
is there an intercom for them, can
you get them a headset? If they’re
a large person, don’t try to stuff
them in the back of a Warrior; if
they’re small give them a cushion.
If W&B permits, put them
alongside you in the front. - Snakes on
a plane
Most certainly take some snakes,
or jelly beans or other lollies that
you can pass around the cockpit.
australianflying.com.au 69
March – April 2015 AUSTRALIAN FLYINGThe Story of Helen
Helen had never flown in a light aircraft before. One day, a pilot
friend set it up for her. She would be one of four in the aircraft,
with the other two passengers being her partner and one of her
best friends. Neither of them had issues with GA aircraft. The
trip left from a local regional airport and went around a coastal
national park and back. The flight was one clean hour.
“I’d never really had the opportunity before, and I was fearful
of small planes,” Helen admitted. “I don’t think that I trusted
that they were 100% safe. I think the vulnerability of being in
something that feels small and you feel more exposed. I think
it’s to do with engines as well, only having one!
“And because I knew the pilot as a person and I knew his
reputation as a pilot, then I was able to put my trust in him. That
was a HUGE thing; it was probably the defining factor that I knew
the person piloting the plane and his integrity as a person.
“I knew he’d be a really safe pilot.”
For Helen, a constant stream of information about her strange
new environment was important.
“I like that we were told what was happening, why we had to sit
where we were, what the headphones were for, how they worked,
what to expect with noise and things like that. That was very
reassuring. And something that was really helpful was that the
pilot was continually talking about what he was doing, so that
assuaged any fear I may have had. It was important to me to be
really well informed about what he was doing, why he was doing
it and what to expect.
“For example, we crossed from the land to over the water, and
he explained how there would possibly a little bit of movement
[in the plane] and that it was absolutely nothing to worry about
because it was the change in air temperatures between over the
land and over the sea.”
Helen’s flight underscored the need to explain things clearly.
At one stage, the pilot had to dodge some white cumulus cloud
building up over a range. He explained the weaving path by
saying “we can’t fly through the clouds.” He failed to mention it
was his licence that prevented that, leaving Helen wondering
what would happen to them if the wingtip brushed a cloud.
“On some level I thought ‘he knows what he’s doing so it’s
probably not really a problem’,” she recalled, “but it did cause me
some concern and detracted a bit from the enjoyment of the flight.”
It didn’t detract enough to stop her from enjoying the flight
immensely. “I was really excited about the experience and I was
really looking forward to it. I loved flying above cloud. There is
something about the light that you get on top of clouds. It’s almost
magical. It was a really, really positive experience. The time went
really quickly.”MAIN: The obligatory hero shot at
the end of the flight will cement a
memorable experience for a first-
time passenger.
L E F T: Make sure the flight goes
over something worth seeing, such
as the lighthouse at the end of
Wilsons Promontory.