My wife was wondering how other ladies felt about flying in these homebuilt aircraft

[Skykingbob]

Originally Posted by pierre smith

My wife became incredibly enthusiastic when I flew her to the coast of South Carolina......Take her to a place she really looks forward to, for lunch or an overnight and remind her of the shortness of the trip, compared to driving.

I strongly agree! We have made trips to see a daughter in Buffalo and gone to the beach at Ocracoke (W95) which she loves!!!! I don't care where i fly...as long as i fly.....so its a win win. On days where i know it will not be comfortable for her and may lead to a "bad experience" i have no problem putting it off till another day

[Canadian_JOY]

Lots of good suggestions posted above. Like many others, my wife is not naturally comfortable in airplanes, home-built or otherwise. Our first flight in our home-built was a sunset flight. Air was dead calm. Bank angles were limited to no more than 10 degrees. I flew with two hands on the stick to ensure the absolute smoothest ride, keeping the setting sun on her side of the airplane. As soon as the sun set we turned around and came home for what was one of my better landings.

First impressions are very important - you have to plan for success.

Now for some of the rest of the story. My wife loves seeing the very light moss green color as the trees start to leaf out, and she loves seeing the fall colors. Our last fall color flight last year was a bit of a letdown as the colors weren't particularly vivid and were very short-lived. But my wife was game to go, so up we went. We were rewarded with a few really beautiful trees, one of which my wife pointed out and said "turn around, you've got to see that one." Of course it was on her side of the plane so I responded with "which one". She pointed down and told me that if I turned tight I could see it. Well, here goes... I cranked in LOTS of bank angle and was doubly rewarded, first with the sight of a blazing red maple tree, and second with the realization that my wife had graduated well beyond the "gentle bank" turns. The rest of the flight was spent spotting and circling the trees with the brightest colors. When we landed after dark (a total greaser - I'm allowed one on the rarest of occasions when I have a witness aboard) I mentioned that we had really flown well beyond what I though were her limitations. She just grinned and said "I'm getting used to this flying stuff." Yeah, that was a very good day!

[pa38112]

I have walked two no-flying wives through this process. The key is to understand they (in most cases) they don't love the flying part like you do. They like the transport part. You need to start with a very short hop for breakfast, lunch, or maybe a hike. Keep it 20 to 30 minutes max and on a perfect day. Keep her busy the whole time by explaining what you are doing and why. You will be on the ground before she knows what happened and that is when you casually discuss how you are now 1-1/2 hours drive away from where you started. She will do the math. Over breakfast you can work into the conversation about all of the cool places you want to explore that are less then an hour's flight away. You may even want to have another 20 minute hop in mind to go see XYZ after breakfast if you want... just make sure the return home is not then a 40 min flight.
Once back home tell her how much you enjoyed flying with her and how fun it was to go to place A and B - all before noon! Then let it grow from there.
Other tips:
-A CD radio in the plane helps a bunch.
-No sight seeing in the plane ! Wives don't like circling or trying to spot your house out the window.
-Fly as smooth as possible, and don't even suggest that she would like to do a loop or roll some day.
-Explain every single thing you are doing and explain ahead of time that when you get into the traffic pattern or are listening to the ATIS that you are going to have to focus, so tell her nicely when it is time for her to stop talking.
-Find a friend with a flying wife and plan some short trips together.
-Fly her flight plan; meaning if she wants to go lower, go lower or explain why you cant. If she has to pee, land. If it is turbulent, slow way down.
-When I see something coming, I tell my wife way ahead of time: "See those clouds? That is a front, which means we are going to hit some turbulence as we pass through it. I will slow down when we get there, but you don't need to worry and it will only last a minute or two".

My wife is terrified of heights, but loves planning our flying trips every other weekend. She just called as I was typing this to tell me that Ken and Felicia want to fly somewhere this weekend. Those 20 minute hops have morphed into 3 hour trips on a regular basis, and she is now looking at places 6+ hours away. That has been a three year process, so don't expect one flight to make her fall in love with flying (though it might).

[N941WR]

I guess I was lucky. My wife drove or bucked a third of the rivets in our RV and when it was finished, she couldn't wait to go for a ride.

That said, the first ride was only 15 minutes across Charlotte to Long Island Airpark to visit some friends. The next weekend was our anniversary so we took it to Myrtle Beach for lunch and a walk on the beach. 45 minute flight vs. a four or five hour drive, she was all over it.

Since then, we have taken the plane all over the place but her favorite destination is the 1:20 minute flight over the mountains to Chattanooga to visit her parents.

Now that our son no longer fits in the baggage compartment, she doesn't get to ride very much because the mini-me is in the right seat and she misses it.

[Ron RV8]

For those who have an issue with nausea we found that the ReliefBand worked for our son who was always air sick.

Whether the effect was real or just placebo effect we never determined, but the end result was that the nausea went away.

Worth a try...

http://www.aeromedix.com/

[dsvajda]

I took my wife to lunch at Beaumont Hotel (07S) on a cool Saturday morning when the air was nice and smooth. It was nice showing her how we could make a two hour car trip in less than an hour. She really enjoyed being able to taxi right up to the restaurant.

She's been bugging me for a trip to Eau Claire, WI to visit our son ever since.

I've never been to Harris Ranch (3O8) but it looks like a great place for lunch if you can avoid the Lemoore traffic.


Dave
RV6

[AllThumbs]

Getting a chance to fly over the SF Bay Area holiday traffic on July 4th on the way to Tahoe made my wife a convert long before we started flying.

A great destination trip is always a good way to make the trip more goal oriented. My wife is now also a pilot but still suffers from motion sickness and uses the simple pressure wrist bands you can get from a pharmacy. They work magic for her.

[Mike S]

Lots of good suggestions already---------basically do something SHE wants to do. Do it gently and above all else, dont so anything that would scare her.

I would add, once you figure out where to take her, take a recon flight there by yourself, so there will not be any surprises when you have her along.

Nervous passengers really do not like surprises when flying.

[Don]

Lots of good advice has been offered. Here's a few things that sure made my non-aviation-enthusiast spouse really like the transportation aspect of flying.

1. The first trip in the RV for her was Thanksgiving weekend. That was dumb luck, as was our tailwind. She looked down on I-95 just south of Richmond, VA to see southbound traffic at a near stand still. She asked how fast we were going and I said 160 knots...or a bit better than 190 mph. That 4.5 hour trip w/o traffic was just over an hour and the fuel cost less than driving.

2. Short hops to get lunch at interesting places like Tangier Island in the middle of the Chesapeake bay (15-20 minutes away), or Okracoke Island 1 hour 20 minutes away.

3. She loves the beach and oceans a lot, the mountains only a little less. I plan trips to take her where she likes to go. Taking the dog is something she likes to do too.

[David Paule]

Regarding the "bad experiences over Mt Whitney," if your flight is anywhere near mountainous terrain, learn enough about mountain flying to be able to predict what the conditions are going to be. You don't have to be an expert... knowing the basics really helps.

Also make sure that your preflight briefing includes turbulence.

Dave