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Preflighting First-Timers
by Amy Laboda | Illustrations by David Bautista
Friends and family who‘ve never flown cross-country in a small plane get nervous. Putting them at ease should be a standard part of your preflight routine, for their comfort -- and yours. Here‘s how
Remember your first long cross-country flight? Months of training, a sleepless night filled with apprehension, and then that painstakingly careful preflight, all leading up to the moment when you fired up the engine and lifted off the ground.
At some point during the flight, you realized not that you could do it, but that you were doing it -- flying an airplane the way it was meant to be flown, using it to cover long distances efficiently in a short time.
It was at that precise moment that I fell in love with flying. My first cross-country trip proved to me that I could take my friends and family on excellent and exciting adventures. And during the past 25 years, I’ve made good on the promise of that flight.
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There was only one little complication that I didn’t anticipate when I started out: My friends and family weren’t in on all that preparation. Most were used to airline travel, and some had even ventured up in small planes before. But for the most part, the first few brave souls who dared go with me on my first airborne adventures were completely unprepared. And, being quite young, I failed to notice.
Trust me, this is the kind of mistake, if you are lucky, you make only once, with one person. For me, it was the guy I was sure (at the time) was the love of my life, and he’d follow me anywhere -- even into the cockpit of a Cessna 172.
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At some point, you realize not that you could do it, but that you were doing it. |
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We planned a weekend cross-state trip with a non-pilot friend of mine. It was late May, in Florida, and crossing the peninsula in the afternoon meant transiting an area of two competing sea breezes, not to mention bumping along under a high layer of scattered to broken fair-weather cumulus clouds that form in the afternoon heat. Oh, and did I mention we had chili dogs for lunch before we took off?
In my excitement, I had somehow forgotten to brief my beloved about the impending turbulence before he turned a rather unpleasant shade of green. The only reason he didn’t throw up was our discovery at that critical moment that there were no sic sacs on board.
On engine shutdown he bolted from the aircraft and, sadly, did not make it to the FBO men’s room quite fast enough. Sic sacs have been standard equipment in my flight bag ever since. Incidentally, he did get back in the plane with me for the return trip, but only because it was in the calm, smooth air of the next morning.
Making the Passenger Comfortable
We all learn during our pilot training to keep trips with first-timers short. The rule is to go up only on relatively calm, clear days, stay close to the airport, pass over a local landmark or the person’s home, and then land while everyone is still having a great time. That’s fine for dipping one’s toe in the water, but it won’t work if you’re actually planning on going somewhere. Taking a first-time passenger on a cross-country trip is a complex process; attending to the passenger’s fears and physical needs is almost as important as flying the airplane.
My first lesson taught me to avoid turbulence if at all possible, even benign chop, even if that means flying in the morning, or even delaying or changing travel plans. And, of course, always bring sic sacs. Explain where they are, and why a passenger might need to use one. Beware of “tough cookies” who swear they can handle it. If they haven’t gone up with you before, they really don’t know, do they?
I’ve learned that a careful, pre-flight briefing goes a long way toward smoothing rattled or tense nerves on a flight.
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...explain what parts of the flight will require the most concentration on your part... |
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For example, it helps to involve first-time passengers in your preflight checks of the airplane so they understand how it works, and how it flies. Explain how electric flaps might whine, that the landing gear may go thump, and that the engine sounds different when you change power settings. This tends to head off sudden eruptions of loud expletives, excessive hand wringing and spontaneous tears from passengers in flight.
In your briefing, avoid frightening terms like “crash” and “burn,” but do explain what turbulence feels like (a bumpy road), and what sounds passengers might hear during the flight. If you’re flying IFR, be sure to explain what flying in the clouds is like, how you can still “see” using instruments, and answer any questions. Be sure to explain what parts of the flight will require the most concentration on your part, and that it’s not cool to yell, “Look at that!” (or anything else for that matter) during takeoff or landing.
Show how the audio intercom works, and let passengers know that you don’t mind if they listen in on your ATC communications, as long as they don’t interrupt. Explain how aircraft call-signs work, and that if they hear the call sign for your airplane over the radio, they should immediately stop talking.
If possible, passenger conversations should be isolated with the switch designed for that purpose on the intercom system or, in lieu of that, be held completely off intercom.
As part of your briefing, explain that in a small airplane, the pilot and the passengers share the cockpit, and therefore you all have to work together as a team to make a flight successful. Explain how the radios work,  and some of the tasks you might ask them to perform during normal flight, such as handing you a radio or a map.
This dialogue provides a natural transition into showing passengers the safety equipment on board the aircraft, including the fire extinguisher, first aid kit, life jackets and, if necessary, a raft. You can then assign each passenger a role in case of emergency. Joe will get the raft and Gene will grab the first aid kit.
Giving people responsibilities makes them feel more in control -- and believe me, their discomfort is all about control.
Have them demonstrate simple tasks such as fastening and unfastening their seatbelts and opening and closing airplane doors and windows. You don’t have to tell them it is for their safety in an emergency.
Finally, assure your passengers that despite the long, detailed briefing, emergencies are rare and probably won’t happen during their flight, precisely because of all the precautions and care you are taking during preflight.
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Checklist for Preflighting Your First-Timers
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Involve passengers in the preflight
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Explain noises the airplane might make
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Explain when to talk/not talk
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Avoid frightening terms
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Explain the safety equipment on board
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Consider personal needs like bathroom breaks and illness
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Bring sic sacs and explain
their use
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Click here to Download a PDF of the checklist so you can print it out and carry it with you.
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Read Your Passenger’s Face
I’ve learned that if I watch my passengers carefully while I’m talking, I can sense some of the complicated intrigue that goes on when one person wants to go flying, but his or her spouse or significant other has doubts. For instance, a few years ago I flew a group in our Cessna 210 from Florida to Cancun, Mexico. We were to be six in a six-place aircraft and yes, that’s tight for a 3 1/2-hour trip.
Two out of three couples were old pros at this kind of flying, but for the other duo it was new territory. As we began to load I noticed the newbies conversing in animated fashion. It turns out the wife was not feeling well. The husband was convinced that she’d be fine, and that it was nerves, not gastroenteritis.
I took them aside and suggested we wait and see. He was appalled at the idea -- delaying a vacation for nerves! I explained that in our tight cockpit her stomach juices, even in a sic sac, would get pretty ripe after a few hours and affect all of us.
In the end we compromised. I changed our routing to stay close to shore for the first hour of flight, so that we’d be able to land if she had any problems. She was relieved, relaxed, and did not get sick on the trip.
Over time, I have learned that you have to do more than simply hand first-time passengers a small, seatback safety card to “brief” them for a long flight. You have to talk to them about what to expect, and find ways to involve them in the flight to combat the fear of the unknown.
By the way, don’t use gender to predict jitters. I once took an instrument student and her husband, a non-pilot, with my husband and I to the Bahamas for the weekend. The student flew, and I taught.
There were clouds involved by design (this was a long IFR trip, after all). No matter how much I tried to comfort her husband with a constant stream of information he sweated.
On the ground over the weekend, I spent a little more time feeling him out and discovered that the newlyweds had never flown together in an aircraft smaller than a Boeing 727, and certainly not with his wife at the controls. It was something, he admitted, that he’d just have to get used to.
Our discussion helped him a lot, and on the trip home after a busy weekend of scuba diving and hiking I glanced back over my shoulder to catch his head bobbing and his eyelids drooping -- always a good sign in a once-nervous passenger.
It pays to read each passenger and make decisions accordingly. It is always worth the little bit of embarrassment you might feel nudging them to make that last bathroom pit stop, and then trying discreetly to determine how long they can go before they’ll need another.
You’ll need to adjust your plans to accommodate your passengers’ needs, so take that into account before you take off. Just because your aircraft can go 1,000 miles between fuel stops doesn’t mean you and your passengers have to. Remember, you want it to be a fun trip.
 Getting Personal
Be sure to consider personal space and, yes, weight and balance as you eyeball your new passengers. Big ol’ Uncle Charlie is just not going to fit in the back of the Cessna 172, but he might be OK in the right front seat.
Let passengers know that they are restricted in both the size and the weight of their luggage well ahead of time. Aunt Ethel’s 36-inch Samsonite stuffed to the gills isn’t going to fit in the luggage area, or the CG range.
If you’ve got a large load and a small plane, seriously consider renting a bigger, more capable bird for the long trip.
In flight I try to keep passengers hooked in and having fun. For instance, with a gaming crowd I might take bets on the ETA (expected time of arrival) as a way of letting them know the one thing all passengers want to know: When will we get there?
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In flight I try to keep passengers hooked in and having fun. For instance, with a gaming crowd, I might take bets on the ETA. |
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If you have enough maps, help passengers follow along so they can chart your course using familiar landmarks. Road maps are also useful, since many of the features indicated on those maps can be seen from the air, and the format is familiar to non-aviation travelers.
Remember that the first cross-country flight is a huge step for non-aviating types, just as it was for you. Careful management, honesty and a sense of humor on your part go a long way toward making it a wonderful, memorable trip for your friends and family.
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