Won't Do That Again

I did something today that made me feel like a complete idiot. I completely terrified my brother when I took him up for his first flight with me. My first indication that it wasn't exactly a good idea should have come when the words, "do you want to see what scared so-and-so?" came out of my mouth. Now, so-and-so happened to be my five-year-old daughter who is scared of almost everything, so I figured it wasn't really a big deal. From the look on my brother's face, it was. Instantly, I felt like a complete loser.


My brother has been holding off flying with me for a long time (or what feels like a long time). I assumed it was just to ensure my ability was at a level in which he felt comfortable, but I did not realize it was because he was scared of smaller planes. I should have known though, because most people seem to be scared of single-engine airplanes, especially with new pilots such as myself. It was my plan to make it a really nice flight for him so he would enjoy it and realize it wasn't so bad, perhaps come up with me again. Then I go and behave like a complete ass.

What I did was to put the plane into ~o G's by nosing down quickly from a climb. Something I've done lots with other pilots and with my instructor. Then, I've done far more intense maneovers in my aerobatic training in Penticton. I think that's why I've become desensitized to the whole thing. Doing something in an airplane as the pilot and knowing what to expect is entirely different than throwing your passenger for a loop with some weird maneover they did not see coming. My brother just yelled and said never to do that again. So much for the fun fearless pilot I wanted to show him I could be.

On my way home I explained all this to my husband, who has flown often enough with me, and with my partner in the Fargo. This is actually where this all came about. My pilot friend would do that to my husband all the time. My husband, now used to it, likes feeling the butterflies in his stomach. I was just trying to make sure I could measure up to my pilot friend, be just as fun, so to say. Well, when I told my husband about it he ensured me that it completely and absolutely terrified him the first time he did it. I was surprised.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes," he said, "it feels like you're going to fall right out of the sky."

Oops. Not the feeling your new passengers would want, especially when you're trying to convince them that flying is perfectly safe.

So, from now on, I'm going to quit trying to be super fun pilot and just be super safe, reassuring pilot. I'm learning that most people are scared and they need to know that being up in the sky in a tiny little plane (remember, this is the Fargo we're talking about here) is not risking their lives unnecessarily. And I have to remind myself how I felt the first few times I went up in a little plane. And how I felt before I learned that dives and spins and stalls actually aren't that scary. In a way I'm happy to be getting more comfortable with the sensations of the plane, I don't feel like such a newbie. On the other hand, I'm going to have to remind myself always how the person next to me is feeling, and make them feel better, not worse.

Now, to convince my brother to fly with me again...