People Too
"Now, don't kill me!"
Sound familiar? It's one of the more common statements passengers make as you're in the process of locking doors and checking belts.
"Don't kill me!"
My standard response to that kind of statement is, "Exactly where do you think I'm going to be while you're in the process of dying?"
Although we may think it's humorous, that kind of attitude says something about the passengers we're strapping in. It says they aren't altogether sure they should be going up in this tiny little airplane that doesn't even have one flight attendant. Or in-flight movies. They are, in a word, nervous. And they have every right to be.
They're called pilots and, in the eyes of the general public, common sense is not always mentioned in the same sentence with them.
On the surface, flying looks adventurous and wonderful. At least to us. To the outsider, however, it also looks, well, it looks dangerous. And at some level it looks stupid.
What kind of person would willingly put themselves in a tinfoil or stick and cloth machine that gets them just high enough to bust their rear ends? They're called pilots and, in the eyes of the general public, common sense is not always mentioned in the same sentence with them.
And then we usher part of that general public to our flying machine and wonder why they worry about their health. Of course, maybe there's something to this pilot/common sense thing.
The primary ingredient which should be part of every flight involving non-pilots should be empathy. Lots and lots of empathy. Tons of it! We need to put ourselves in their place and try to see that first flight through their eyes. By doing that, we're more likely to understand and disarm those demons that are lurking in their befuddled little minds.
One of the very best habits a pilot can get into on first flights is explaining everything as it happens. For instance, talk to them while you're doing the preflight. While sumping the fuel explain why its done. Show how you're looking for any signs of airframe deterioration. Make them part of the process.
When you pop the cowling, point out the two spark plugs and explain the redundant nature of airplane engines and why they almost never fail. Well...don't use the word "almost" since that will stick in their minds, but let them know how reliable engines are.
The very fact that you are doing a detailed pre-flight and explaining every aspect of it will go a long ways towards helping them with their apprehension. You will appear more professional and they will understand that much more about the airplane.
Understanding is probably the single most important factor in helping non-pilots over their fears.
The primary ingredient which should be part of every flight involving non-pilots should be empathy. Lots and lots of empathy. Tons of it!
Strangely, first-time passengers often don't express enough of their concerns. In nearly 40 years of doing this, I don't think I've heard more than two or three passengers, just out of the blue, ask about what we do if the engine quits? Or how are we going to handle icing? Or what about crosswinds, dust devils, density altitude or any of the other things that we worry about as pilots.
In most situations, passengers don't have a specific list of concerns because they don't know enough about the situation to ask questions. Their apprehension is an overall feeling that permeates their thought patterns. They are just "nervous." They don't think about specific questions until something happens or you do something that triggers that thought.
If, for instance, you bring the power back to land without warning, you can bet the next words out of their mouth will have to do with power failures. As the noise goes away, their minds replay every bad movie they've ever seen and they expect to see flames boiling over the nose and Leslie Nielsen at the controls.
Movies are where most passengers get their mental images and there's a good reason why. Let's face it, if movies portrayed aviation how it really is, they could sell aviation movies as sleeping pills. Put on film, most of it is downright boring so Hollywood invents their own kind of aviation.
How many times, for instance, have you flown next to a cloud and had lightning leap out at you? Never, right? Well, almost never, anyway. In every movie your passengers have seen, however, it's different. A movie cloud is a nest of meteorological devils which suck unsuspecting airplanes into their maw. There, after much screaming, flying meal trays, terrified looks and profound last-statements, their flaming remains are spit out over every hotel, baseball stadium and trailer park in the area. Unless, of course, Bruce Willis (who always seems to be sweating, covered with grim and wearing his undershirt) climbs magically out of the baggage hold to save them.
Empathy, remember? Put yourself in their shoes. See it as they see it. Even the slightest thing will trip off weird thought patterns. Try to remember your very first takeoff and the way it felt to have the ground drop away from you. It's entirely different than in an airliner. In a little airplane the ground is at first, so "big", then suddenly its gone and you're up there feeling terribly small.
Watch passengers the first time you bank the airplane. Many will lean out of the turn, trying to keep themselves vertical to the horizon. That's part of their apprehension. If you tell them ahead of time you're going to bank to the left, they'll be more prepared. While you're doing it, point out that the airplane is stable in almost any position and when you put it in the bank, it will stay in the bank until you take it out. It doesn't take any effort on your part. The airplane is taking care of itself and, by extension, those who are belted inside.
Understanding is a basic theme. If they understand that the airplane will pretty much fly itself, they are more likely to relax. Don't, however, point that out by waving your hands in the air while screaming "...Look, ma! No hands!.." That's guaranteed to spook a passenger. They like attentive, careful people to be in control of their destiny.
Understanding is probably the single most important factor in helping non-pilots over their fears.
When doing anything, from a simple turn to setting up the approach, make the passengers part of the process. Talk to them. "If you look out to the left, you'll see the runway down there. When I reach the end of it, I'm going to bring the throttle back and set up a glide. If we wanted to, the airplane could make it back without ever using throttle."
There, we've told them the engine noise is going to change drastically while at the same time letting them know the airplane will glide without power.
"I'm going to make several turns until we're lined up on the runway. "
Now they know you're going to be turning while low to the ground.
"When the runway comes up at us, I'm going to try to hold the airplane off the runway just a few feet until it slows down and touches."
There won't be any surprises during flair for them.
The exact opposite of the above is the show-off pilot. These are the folks who think, "Hey, I'm a pilot and you're not and I can do all this stuff that makes you feel really weird. Watch what happens when I push forward." That kind of behavior is what makes people think pilots lack commonsense. And they're right. A lot of pilots clearly demonstrate a lack of commonsense in the way they treat their passengers.
It seems one of the first things a new pilot wants to show his non-pilot friends is a stall. Or a hard push back to level. Or a high bank turn to show the G's. Or drop down to tree top level. Those pilots should have their keesters kicked up between their ears! They do more damage to the image and growth of aviation than they can imagine.
Pilots behave that way to impress their friends with what they know and to show how daring they think they are. What they are actually doing is demonstrating their lack of empathy and understanding. The passengers have put their trust in this pilot and this pilot repays them by playing on their fears and building their apprehension.
As an illustration which shows empathy does work: I have a friend who has been instructing aerobatics and giving rides in Pitts Specials for over 25 years and has yet to have anyone get sick in the airplane. Not one! This instructor always puts himself in their place and sees the flight as they see it. He goes out of his way to make sure his passengers understand that the only reason they are up there is to have fun. They aren't trying to prove anything and he isn't trying to impress them. They are just up to have fun and, if they aren't happy about something, he understands and they'll go home.
When we strap non-passengers in, everyone of us should have a single goal in mind: We want those passengers to end the flight with a grin from ear to ear. We want those passengers to be foaming at the mouth to do it again.
We're all crazy in love with what we do and we should want others to feel the same. The way to do that is to make the first flight experience be memorable for all the right reasons.