The first was my wife. On one of our first dates I took her flying (of course to impress her, what can a poor boy do :-)) … and after we landed she said “Oh, I want to learn that too”. She (coming from a household in which both parents play piano) did it in 35 hours, flew almost perfectly for some years and then lost interest (and time) when we had kids.
That’s essentially my story, too — except that I took her flying before we were dating (but not that long before) and that I also lost interest and time at about the same time as she did. But I started flying again eventually!
These are the only times I recall which I have flown alone (post PPL):
- First 75 hours after passing PPL
- First 25 hours in IMC after passing IR(R)
- First 10 hours at night after passing Night rating
- For about 30 minutes of general handling and touch & goes if I haven’t flown in about 60 days
.. just to make sure I can aviate, navigate and communicate comfortably before I start “managing” passengers.
At all other times I very much enjoy the company of friends, so I bring a few with me and we go to different places together, staying overnight if need be.
I fly alone 95% of the time, I’d say. Mostly because I need to go somewhere and because 99% of the people I know in my age either have no interest or their partner won’t let them go fly. It’s a battle we can never win. We are amateurs in accident prone planes in their eyes.
We are amateurs in accident prone planes in their eyes.
Well… Unfortunately both the skills, judgement and general professionalism varies enormously among PPLs…
Adults are exactly that, legally and otherwise, and if in my judgement its a safe flight and in their judgement its something they want to do, that’s good enough. Questioning the judgement of adults based on my somehow superior knowledge about what’s in their interest is arrogant, and I think symptomatic of a 21st century societal illness in which altogether too many people think they should meddle in managing others lives.
That is a very idealistic outlook on society, the world and life in general. I think that needs a reality check.
People will kill you doing what they feel is “safe”, if you’d let them.
There is a reason the regulator meddles with our flying life!
Besides that, I feel there is a big difference between flying passengers or flying friends & family. On a PPL it will be mostly friends & family, and this is undeniably a distraction. You want to give them a good time, fly with you again etc. This aspect makes the flight less safe compared to flying alone.
Of course you can do some good resource management and have them help your lookout.
People will kill you doing what they feel is “safe”, if you’d let them
Sure, but as an adult it is my responsibilty to assess the safety factor. I don’t need any authority to do that for me.
The only limitation should be consumer relationships: Where somebody buys a product or service, he has the right to expert a certain standard of safety, quality and so on.
This aspect makes the flight less safe compared to flying alone.
This is technically true. But if somebody is that “maxed out” by having friends/family on board that he is unable to ensure a reasonably safe conduct of the flight, he should not be PIC at all IMHO.
This aspect makes the flight less safe compared to flying alone.
This is technically true. But if somebody is that “maxed out” by having friends/family on board that he is unable to ensure a reasonably safe conduct of the flight, he should not be PIC at all IMHO.
And the same may apply to driving, really – if to a lesser extent.
I drive quite fast when I’m alone, but I automatically/subconciously drive slower with people in the car, especially when engaged in conversation. With my mother in the car, I drive so slowly I should probably rather take the bus.
But when I fly a longer distance with friends who are used to it by now and they sleep or read their emails on their iPad, I believe my flying is not impacted at all by their presence.
But if somebody is that “maxed out” by having friends/family on board that he is unable to ensure a reasonably safe conduct of the flight, he should not be PIC at all IMHO.
I think there are shades of grey on that one.
The degree to which a passenger can put a pressure on you the pilot depends on the relationship between you.
If you fly with somebody you know only casually (and I don’t mean “casually” in the “modern” sense 
) then of course you will do your best as a presumably competent pilot to make the flight nice for them, but if there is an issue on the flight which requires hard decisions to be made which might result in say flight in turbulence, then
Even your wife or girlfriend, though not being a “blood relative”, can put a lot of pressure on you and they will feel free to do so because they know you are hardly going to end the relationship afterwards.
So a lot of people who hate airline flying will still do it to get somewhere, and when they get terrified they know they can’t walk up to the cockpit door and start banging on it and shouting “get me out of here”. But if they are sitting next to you in your plane, they can do that, or just get terrified which will put pressure on you.
Actually you can disown a family member and it happens all the time, but some people still behave believing it can’t happen…
First of all – I love flying, whether alone or with pax.
I actually quite enjoy flying alone. Walking out to the flightline, getting the airplane ready and taking off into the blue yonder with just me and the airplane is something I seriously enjoy. I don’t necessarily have to share that feeling every time.
That said, doing some touring (even a longish day trip) is normally more enjoyable in company. Don’t mind doing that by myself either, but it’s nicer to sit in a beach cafe with someone and have a chat rather than hanging out in the FBO pilot’s lounge…..
What makes taking friends flying really worth the effort is the joy they derive from the experience. By chance I did three sightseeing flights over L.A. in recent months with some visiting friends. All seasoned travelers – the glow in their eyes and the smiles on their faces spoke louder than a thousand words. They all loved it and for me it was great to give some pleasure to people I like.
I treasure my long solo flights – up to 40Hrs at a time, with 3-4 Hr legs, several times each year. I’m just that kind of personality.
But it’s also great to fly in company and this year the airport has been asking me to take youngsters they have in the tower on work experience on local flights. This has been a great pleasure, especially to meet young people with drive, ambition, and the ability (in most cases) to make a go of an aviation career. A couple have even had the costs of ATPL worked out and agreed with their parents! I hope flying with me has encouraged them, rather than the reverse.
Against that is the truly awful experience of taking passengers on long flights where personal priorities and weather come into conflict. Once when detained for days by front after front, a close friend panicked about getting back to work and made a last minute dash for an airline flight, only realising when he got to the gate that he didn’t have his passport! Somehow, they took him anyway. But the pressure this kind of antic puts on you to fly when you don’t want to is horrible, and obviously potentially dangerous.
