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03-05-2012, 03:51 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Ridgetop, Tennessee
Posts: 134
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Is your wife scared to fly?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike S
See if there is a female CFI in the area, and try to schedule an hour or so with her for your wife.
Explain to the CFI what you are doing, dont force things-----.
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I think Mike is on the right track here!
My wife is scared of everything, but she flys with me in "Tango Whiskey" when there is a mission involved. She dosen't enjoy flying just for the sake of flying but if there is a "reward" at the end of the flight (weekend getaway, nice dinner, vacation etc.) she's ready and willing! I broke her in easy on breakfast flights, short business flights (her business) etc. of less than an hour.
We live in north central Tennessee and have relatives in Sarasota, Fl (13 hours in a car). After her "breakin" I talked her into her 1st long X-country to Sarasota (3 hrs & 50 min in "Tango Whiskey"). Well.............. Right after Tampa Approach handed us off to Sarasota Tower, I looked at her and said "you'll have to admit that this beats the h*ll out of that 13 hour car ride"!? She looked at me with a sheepish grin and said, "Yep, it does"! She's been "on board" for the last 10 or 12 trips we've made down there (some even in the "soup") and wouldn't consider that 13 hour drive anymore.
Hope this helps,
__________________
Tommy Walker
Ridgetop, TN (1M5)
RV-6A, N 350 TW
830 Hrs & "Climbing?!
Last edited by twsurveyor : 03-05-2012 at 04:07 PM.
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03-05-2012, 04:04 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Midland, Michigan 3BS Hanger 4B and sometimes at home
Posts: 159
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Louise
Is right on. Seek professional help! It's a psychological issue, not a flight instructor issue. It could be a simple fix.
__________________
Patrick Howe
Citabria 7KCAB - sold
RV8A FB - flying
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03-05-2012, 04:34 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: SoCal
Posts: 2,452
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My wife was deadly very afraid of flying. She had a previous bad experience with her ex. He let go of the controls and she freaked out. I had to undo that guy?s mistake and it took a long time to do. She always knew how important flying is/was to me. I bought my first plane and that gave her some interest. On our first flight I proposed to her. And we came right back. Every flight after that was a little bit longer. Always during the evenings and when the winds were calm. She started with Dramamine then graduated to some wrist bands because she gets motion sickness. Eventually we made it to lunch at a different airport, then a different state and finally a across the U.S.
Every time a noise happens or the plane moves in an unexpected way or I think there is an opportunity to learn, I speak with her. I teach her so she can understand the environment and also so she can stay occupied. Things such as check list, flaps cleared, canopy cleared, traffic at 9 o?clock high left to right, I got controls, etc? have worked for her and I. She does not do it right every time but It gives us a chance to talk and get her mind on something else other than ?I am scared?.
One of the biggest factors in her wanting to go flying was the RV-4. She has her own space, we can get to places quickly, she has music and the view out of the canopy is spectacular. It takes time and patience. And sometimes I forget that. And we end up taking a few steps back. She is comfortable now, she does not love it like me.
I just took a friend flying that would cry every time she flew commercially. On her second flight I had her confident enough to do one roll. After that one we did one in the opposite direction. Keep working at it. It can be done. Good luck to you.
__________________
Axel
RV-4 fastback thread and Pics
VAF 2020 paid VAF 704
The information that I post is just that; information and my own personal experiences. You need to weight out the pros and cons and make up your own mind/decisions. The pictures posted may not show the final stage or configuration. Build at your own risk.
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03-05-2012, 04:36 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Port St Lucie, FL
Posts: 261
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Best Date Ever
On our first date I flew my Extra to Plant City (we met on the Internet). She picked me up, and we had lunch at Paneras, then went for a canoe trip on the Peace River. When she dropped me back at the airport, I offered to give her a ride, not really expecting her to want to, but to my surprise she did.
I still have the video - loops, rolls, hammerheads and all! (I can give a very gentle acro ride.)
That was almost seven years ago, and we have been married almost six.
I know how fortunate I am. Blessed would be a better word.
__________________
Damon Wack
RV-7 in progress
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03-05-2012, 05:06 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Bay Pines, FL (based @ KCLW)
Posts: 1,955
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My wife, Nann was also afraid to fly, even commercially. Early on, I would always try to keep her informed of what I was doing. No surprises, steep turns or steep descents. I'd get her involved by spotting airports, other planes... A few times I had to unplug her headsets/mic to get her attention as she would start freaking out thinking we were going to crash. You get the picture. She would settle down and I would plug her back in. She always wanted to know what was going on. Now she stays quiet when we hit any bumps or on short final. It's all about trust.
Once we started going on longer trips, Key West, Bahamas, NC mountains, Yellowstone, she really started to love the adventures, especially when we used the courtesy cars to go to lunch.
Then one day, she wanted me to do some wingovers, 2G turns & spiraling descents as she began to understand how controllable the RV really was.
It took a few years, but now she's a great traveler and wants to take part in the pinch hitter program that offers basic piloting skills.
__________________
Danny "RoadRunner" Landry
Morphed RV7(formally 7A), N20DL, PnP Pilot
1190+ hours
2019 Donation Paid
Last edited by roadrunner20 : 03-05-2012 at 09:34 PM.
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03-05-2012, 05:15 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Gardnerville Nv.
Posts: 2,828
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Axsom
The wives that I know that are afraid to fly are afraid of the unknown and someone in their lives often sadly to say it is their husband has reinforced that fear. I was always very honest with my wife and I fully accepteted the responsibility fo completing the flight successfully. I always flew my wife in conjunction with a trip to a destination that would give her some joy or at least satisfaction and I never ever tried to "give her a thrill." The flying was always about the trip not the flying. Later we got into a mode of flight planning where I did the chart work and dictated the information to her and she wrote it down on the flight log form. After we had the basic route plan in she would read back the distances and I would calculate the estimated time enroute which she would enter on the form then she would read the individual times and miles and I would calculate the total time and distance which she again entered at the bottom of the flight plan form. Stil later when we got the Garmin 695 I would go to the charts and determine the Victor airway route and she would enter the turnpoints into the 695 and after completing that we still went through the process to complete the flight planning form for pilotage, dead reckoning and radio navigation. She was very much a part of EVERY trip. She really grew into her teammate role and was darn proud of her part in our trip planning. So was I.
A friend married a girl from San Diego that talked a good "I love to fly" game. She was a beautiful girl and he cared a lot for her. She flew to Oshkosh with him and made other trips. Once they were flying in the vicinity of Long Beach, California and he rolled the airplane and told her it was caused by the winds - give me a break - It scared her to the point that she gave up trying and simply refused to fly anymore in small airplanes. There is an old military saying that means something like "your mess kit is for eating out of, not putting your mess in" that kind of applies.
Bret I think you are doing it right - I'm happy for you.
Bob Axsom
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Ok you hit the nail on the... My mistake was to say hey, (2010) jump in the 442, just a trip around the block,....HeHe, Hit the remote high desert highway down the block, 150 MPH run and lots of screaming.......Realy, it was a fun 45 second run but evidently she did not like it...Hum, ok sorry honey, no more runs in the 442.
__________________
7A Slider, EFII Angle 360, CS, SJ.
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03-05-2012, 06:30 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 5,685
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442?
When you say 442 is this what you are talking about?
Bob Axsom
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03-05-2012, 06:45 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Edgewood, NM
Posts: 122
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My wife and I had sort of an understanding that I would get my PPL and then she would. A few weeks after my check ride, I arranged for her first lessons with my CFI. She had logged about 8 hours in the instructor's Cherokee and was working on her landings. We live at an airpark and I would go outside to watch her landings, inwardly cheering with each one since they were getting better and better. Then, on her next landing, she was about 50 feet above the runway end and I saw the plane make a little "jerk" and roll, then settle down to make the landing. I asked her later what was going on up there and she said that at that very moment in the landing she just panicked, told the instructor, "You do it!", and gave him the controls. She then spent the next few hours struggling to finally admit that she didn't want to spend so much money learning to do something she was so scared to do, and really didn't want to do. She was just doing it for me. I let her off the hook and assured that it was okay not to continue the training. She was also my first passenger and we flew to a local $100 hamburger joint. She soldiered through that experience with white knuckles, revealing that what scared her the most was the fact that her wing came up when making the turns in the pattern! She's really become more and more comfortable flying with me now. No more white knuckles. It does help to be actually going somewhere, though. She doesn't have a love of flying for its own sake. She is, however, willing to help occasionally with the RV build and I sense she's getting more excited about that as more recognizably airplane-like pieces of aluminum come out of the "aircraft factory". 
__________________
Mike Davisson
Edgewood, NM
RV-14A #140805
VS complete, Rudder in progress
2020 =VAF= donor
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03-05-2012, 06:52 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Utah
Posts: 8,151
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A quick observation might be useful for those considering first ride with female passenger. A lady observed my build for couple years her kids often stopped by the shop to check how aluminum boat grows.  After she learned I am already flying she asks if I could take her up. Her kids were very surprised and didn't approve the move. She never been in small plane before very adventurous nature. Well we took off and headed to a local airport with a restaurant. Boy I wish I removed that second stick it was jammed  I told her to relax no joy. We landed, ate and flew back the same story again. Since then I removed the bolt on passenger stick. There is a bulletin I know 
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03-05-2012, 06:54 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Aloha, or
Posts: 282
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Exceptional.
Quote:
Originally Posted by N355DW
I still have the video - loops, rolls, hammerheads and all! (I can give a very gentle acro ride.)
That was almost seven years ago, and we have been married almost six.
I know how fortunate I am. Blessed would be a better word.
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I am also quite fortunate. In fact, I have almost the opposite problem. I get a bit queasy after 15-20 minutes of "spirited" flying, but my wife does not. And I'm Flying! So not fair!
Some of our flights have ended with her asking for a bit more! How crazy is that? 
__________________
James Bagley Jr
RV6A flying
RV6 #2 tail done and wings done
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