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Frank B

Frank B

I'm New Here
After finally getting my license and planning on an RV in my future, yesterday my wife dropped a bombshell! She said that she has tried to be a sport about my flying, but thought she ought to tell me that she is not comfortable and feeling very claustrophobic and not having a good time. We have been flying a Diamond Star DA40 with the tip up canopy, but the tipup on the Diamond is painted giving a hardtop feeling. My hope was to find a tip up 6,7 or 9 thinking that the vision outward would eliminate her claustrophobia. She is not a meek lady, she loves to ride in our 1912 Speedster, no windshield, no roof, not much in the way of brakes. She does remind me to slow down when we are going 50!

sherry1.jpg


OK, anyone with a tip up willing to give her a little ride to see if she will feel comfortable in an RV??? We are in San Dimas, just a throw from KPOC.
I'll be happy to spring for fuel....

to show you what kind of a sport she is, check her out at about the 26sec point in the video ! ! no, that's not a burka, she has no windshield!

watch


and to some of you, I've had her for 40 years, no I can't afford a replacement... :)
 
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Frank B said:
and to some of you, I've had her for 40 years, no I can't afford a replacement... :)
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The car or wife? :)

You should get her a ride in a RV-10 and see how she likes it. She is already uncomfortable in the small 2 place Diamond Star. If she is comfortable and likes the RV-10 then you could try a RV-7 and see how she does. My wife hated our RV-4 and felt sick most of the time. She has never been sick in our RV-10 and flies with me all the time in it.

If you ever get to Portland Oregon I would be more than happy to take her for a demo flight.

Rob Hickman
N402RH RV-10
 
Slider

I know how she feels. I think for some it is when the canopy comes down on you on a tip up. I personally get a weird feeling and it stays with me the whole flight. So I bought a slider. Whole different feeling for me. Maybe for your wife also. Get her a ride in a slider.
 
Try a Koger sunshade on the canopy

"..............but the tipup on the Diamond is painted giving a hardtop feeling"

Maybe you could try a Koger sunshade and keep it closed the entire time, giving her the same feeling as the Diamond?

http://www.kogersunshades.com/
 
......Or make a nice road trip/vacation to Aurora and sit in all of them, including the RV14. Then go for a ride in one. You'll know for sure what works and what doesn't.
 
I will say that pretty much every RV I've been in feels small on the ground. Once in the air the claustrophobic feeling goes away for me.
 
Frank, truth is she does not want to be in an environment where if you die she dies. Give her a break, enjoy your dream without her. It's always more better without a nervous nelly in the other seat.
 
David-aviator said:
Frank, truth is she does not want to be in an environment where if you die she dies. Give her a break, enjoy your dream without her. It's always more better without a nervous nelly in the other seat.
Click to expand...

Some pretty big assumptions there.

Jim Berry
RV-10
 
Frank B said:
After finally getting my license and planning on an RV in my future, yesterday my wife dropped a bombshell! She said that she has tried to be a sport about my flying, but thought she ought to tell me that she is not comfortable and feeling very claustrophobic and not having a good time. We have been flying a Diamond Star DA40 with the tip up canopy, but the tipup on the Diamond is painted giving a hardtop feeling. My hope was to find a tip up 6,7 or 9 thinking that the vision outward would eliminate her claustrophobia. She is not a meek lady, she loves to ride in our 1912 Speedster, no windshield, no roof, not much in the way of brakes. She does remind me to slow down when we are going 50!

sherry1.jpg


OK, anyone with a tip up willing to give her a little ride to see if she will feel comfortable in an RV??? We are in San Dimas, just a throw from KPOC.
I'll be happy to spring for fuel....

to show you what kind of a sport she is, check her out at about the 26sec point in the video ! ! no, that's not a burka, she has no windshield!

watch


and to some of you, I've had her for 40 years, no I can't afford a replacement... :)
Click to expand...


I've had both a slider and tip up, RV6 and RV 7a.

I find the slider has much greater visability and way less clostrophobic, also the nose wheel is way more comfortable for passengers

Peter
 
Thanks so much to many of you with your suggestions, at this point I will be happy in a tip up or slider as long as she is comfortable. I do like flying but having her along is alot more enjoyable. Here is a pic of the DA40

toszp2.jpg
 
Frank,
Ever think of getting her a pinch hitter course? She doesn't need to learn to be a pilot - just to be able to take over if something happens to you. Getting her involved with the flying gives her some ownership in the outcome and may make her feel accomplished enough to do it again. My wife doesn't like it much either, but I've recently made her do the flying when we go visit our daughter - a one hour flight (vs a 3 1/2 hour drive). She has to get us there using her own G296 and pilotage from the back seat. She can hold altitude within a couple hundred feet and zig-zag her way to Cleveland in a relatively straight line. That's good enough for what would be required of her and she has a better grasp on what is going on and that makes her feel a little more comfortable. Making her comfortable with what non-wifely activities you are passionate about makes all the difference.
 
petersb said:
I've had both a slider and tip up, RV6 and RV 7a.

I find the slider has much greater visability and way less clostrophobic, also the nose wheel is way more comfortable for passengers

Peter
Click to expand...

I have a tip up but have flown in a slider and would say the exact opposite concerning visibility. There is nothing blocking your view with a tip up. :confused:
 
flytoboat said:
I have a tip up but have flown in a slider and would say the exact opposite concerning visibility. There is nothing blocking your view with a tip up. :confused:
Click to expand...

You are of course refering to the foreward bow. I find this disappears from your vision after a short while, however, the vision from the foreward bow to the rear is completely open and this gives the slider a much more open and airy feel.

I flew 1600 hours over 10 years in my RV6 Tip up and noticed that the view from the shoulders and back in the tip up is blocked to some degree by the roll bar.

Peter
 
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RV vs Diamond

After looking at the pic of the Diamond I think once she flys with Rosie in the 6 slider she will be surprised how open the feeling is. Everyone that has flown with me commented after how they thought it was going to be claustrophobic due to the size but after said they thought the openness from the bubble canopy made it feel so much bigger. I am sure you will be able to keep the wife. :D
 
petersb said:
You are of course refering to the foreward bow. I find this disappears from your vision after a short while, however, the vision from the foreward bow to the rear is completely open and this gives the slider a much more open and airy feel.

I flew 1600 hours over 10 years in my RV6 Tip up and noticed that the view from the shoulders and back in the tip up is blocked to some degree by the roll bar.

Peter
Click to expand...

I guess I haven't developed x-ray vision and don't have eyes in the back of my head. :D Maybe this part of the discussion should be moved to the never ending tip-up VS slider debate. :rolleyes:
Thread drift:\ Off
 
Originally Posted by David-aviator
Frank, truth is she does not want to be in an environment where if you die she dies. Give her a break, enjoy your dream without her. It's always more better without a nervous nelly in the other seat.
Click to expand...

Some pretty big assumptions there.

Jim Berry
RV-10
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True and perhaps a bit blunt.
But I know women, one I taught to fly, who do not like small airplanes. And it is not a marriage buster.
Just thought to submit that experience so as not fore go the dream.
 
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Mine too!

My wife swears she will never ride in my RV-7 when I get it built (assuming I live long enough to finish it, which she also doubts). Of course, she swore the same thing in 1980 when I got my ppl. But I mentioned one day how it would only take a little over an hour to get to Hilton Head from Atlanta, (in a Cherokee 140) and in she went. She still doesn't fly with me unless it is a trip to somewhere she wants to go, however. What I am saying in a roundabout way is that it is possible that she will never fly for the fun of it, will only tolerate it, and so you will have to be taking her somewhere that she wants to go, and spend other time flying with the guys, or in the best of all worlds, fly somewhere on business and get reimbursed.
 
OLDSAM said:
My wife swears she will never ride in my RV-7 when I get it built (assuming I live long enough to finish it, which she also doubts). Of course, she swore the same thing in 1980 when I got my ppl. But I mentioned one day how it would only take a little over an hour to get to Hilton Head from Atlanta, (in a Cherokee 140) and in she went. She still doesn't fly with me unless it is a trip to somewhere she wants to go, however. What I am saying in a roundabout way is that it is possible that she will never fly for the fun of it, will only tolerate it, and so you will have to be taking her somewhere that she wants to go, and spend other time flying with the guys, or in the best of all worlds, fly somewhere on business and get reimbursed.
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Nothing like a couple ol' geezers comparing notes.

My first wife (24 years) insisted she wanted to be a pilot, she soloed a 152, called herself a pilot and never went back to it.

My second (27 years) has no illusions about flying, her idea of flight is sitting in first class sipping a glass of wine. She will take an occasional flight with me but gets air sick very quick in a small plane.

It is not a big deal, not everyone thinks about aviation like most us here. It is great when a partner likes RV flying and going places in it, but it is not a deal buster if they don't.

My flying these days is 99% with just me and that's just fine. I love it and won't hurt anyone doing it.

Congrats on taking on the -7 build, Sam. I just about have the -8 ready for certification and first flight. It's still fun and frustrating at times but something very worth while to do.
 
Tuppergal and I are just back from spending the morning with Frank & Dorthy, wonderful people :) We sat down for a nice breakfast at Norm's (Dorothy doesn't fly on an empty stomach) then we were off for a nice 40 minute loop west along the foothills towards Pasadena (smooth air) then 'jumped' the hills north into my home turf: The Antelope Valley.

A couple of bumps over the desert but nothing that bothered her... Let's plug-in El Paso: 3h 48min...How about Santa Fe: 3h 30min....Las Vegas: 1h 5m... San Francisco: 1h 40m... All good!

For the entire flight, I explained all I could about what's going on in the cockpit and such. She helped me fly for awhile (using two fingers on the stick as do I) including a nice, wide circle around Palmdale Air Force Plant 42 (KPMD) then it was direct towards El Monte (shortest distance over the mountains...mountains for me are 7500' or more).

We picked up the ATIS then it was downhill for a nice, easy descent into Brackett (KPOC) followed by a 'greaser' landing :D

I can say that at no time did I ever sense that Dorthy was feeling unconfortable (and I can tell IMMEDIATELY when someone is not comfortable).

Back on the ground, I invited a family of 4 out to the ramp to let little 'Henry' climb in the plane (his hands were grasping the fence as he watched us taxi in). Chris (licensed pilot) and wife Jenny were from Alaska, now here in SoCAL just spending time with the kids at the airport ;)

I had just assumed Frank had been in an RV before...NOPE! GET IN! Flight number two was much shorter....westbound, do some level flight, couple of level turns...back the the airport.

I'm sure Frank will check-in but I'm thinking this was definitely helpful in showing his wife what life could be like owning an RV! If you need another ride, just let me know Frank!

Keep poundin' them rivets because it's All worth it! Rosie & Tuppergal
 
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My Dream Lives!!!

Many many thanks to Rosie for a wonderful morning and a great tutorial and flight for my wife. After her flight on the ride home, she commented how much more she could see and enjoy! She compared the DA40 to driving our antique cars with the top up, feeling locked in and confined, the RV, with the top down she sees more and enjoys the ride. She didn't feel motion sick or claustrophobic on her flight with Rosie. So an RV may still be in my future, especially after having the stick myself for a short while! As the kids say OMG, yah some fun, what response, what a feeling....Gotta have one!

Again, a million thanks to Rosie and "Tuppergal" for what was a great morning adventure..

IMG_2764.jpg


Rosie, I owe you..........................


:)
 
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