Click Here to Return to

What do you tell your passengers? I find with students, it often is one more thing on the checklist that is to be done...often rattled off without thought to the real objective. It's hard to think of your best friend in the cockpit with you when the only person you see in the left seat is your CFI.
But try for a moment to choose a person that would be your first passenger, and visualize what you would say to them.

Explain to them the flight. Perhaps tell the the route, how high, where to expect to go/see.
Tell them if there is anything that makes them uncomfortable, to tell you-ie turbulence/air sickness. Advise them when you are going to be busy.
Show them the flight controls. Especially the rudders. Ask them not to move them inadvertantly.
By law, of course, explain to them the use of the seatbelts. How and when required. (of course no smoking)
Also, emergency procedures, what to expect, how to exit, and what to do afterwards.

Rehearse it a little, and by the time you get your first passenger, it'll be natural.

Anything to add?

Here's my typical briefing. It's a little lengthy, but I prefer to be thorough.

"Welcome aboard PJ-Air. I'm PJ, and I'll be your Captain for this journey. On today's flight we will be cruising at an altitude of about 2000' at a speed of about 100 kts. We will be departing to the south, then making a left turn to the northeast, and we will intercept I-10 and follow it along the north side of downtown, then out to the San Jacinto monument. We will circle the monument, then follow I-10 back through the city until ATC lets us turn south to return to the airport. Visibility is good for this flight, but winds are a bit gusty, so it may be a bit bumpy while we're up there.

"By law, I am required to show you that to fasten your seat belts, you insert the metal end into the buckle, and you clip the shoulder harness on like so. Unclip the shoulder harness and lift the flap to release. Seatbelts are legally required to be worn at all times during taxi, takeoff, and landing, but I personally require them to be worn at all times during flight. To close your door, make sure it latches, then push the handle fully forward to lock it. To open, simply pull the handle all the way back until the door releases. The door should remain closed at all times while the engine is running, with the exception of an emergency when I will instruct you to open it immediately prior to landing.

"I will be handling the radio at all times during this flight. Our call-sign is Skyhawk 1629Echo, so if you hear that, I need you to stay quiet for a second so that I can talk to ATC. We will be using the headsets to communicate with each other, and you'll have to keep the mic close to your mouth so that I can hear you. The rule of thumb is that if you can't hear yourself in your headset, then I can't hear you either. Also, once we level off, I may offer you the chance to take the controls for a little bit. When we transfer control of the airplane, we will use a three-step verbal confirmation, where I may say, 'your controls.' You respond with, 'my controls.' I will then confirm by saying, 'your controls' again and looking to make sure your hands are on the controls before I release them. This ensures that we know who is flying the plane at all times. We will repeat the process when handing the controls back over.

"Now, your primary job on this flight is to help me keep an eye out for other airplanes. We will be talking to ATC during this flight, so they should help too by pointing out where they are, but we need to be vigilant as well. When it comes to traffic, we will say where they are by an o'clock reference. Twelve o'clock is directly in front, three o'clock is off our right wing, six o'clock is directly behind us, and nine o'clock is off our left wing. We will also say high or low, depending on if they are above or below us.

"Lastly - taxi, takeoff, and landing are what we call 'critical phases of flight' and they require a lot of concentration on my part. Therefore, we will be using a 'sterile cockpit' rule during those times, meaning that any conversation must pertain to the continued safe operation of the aircraft. Anything else will have to wait. I'll let you know when the sterile cockpit is in effect and when it's okay to talk again. Any questions? Let's fly!"

Another thing that I may do during a flight is have the person in the right seat read off the checklists for me, and organize my charts.

_________________
-PJ

PPL ASEL as of 8/15/2007

"Flying is a lot like riding a bicycle, it's just a lot harder to put baseball cards in the spokes!" -Captain Rex Kramer, from the movie "Airplane!"

Sounds pretty thorough PJ. I like that you involve the passenger. Depending on who it is, either makes them feel apart of the flight...instead of an observer-and in some situations, eases anxiety.

i typically keep it fairly sure. make sure they know how the seatbelts and doors work. a note about not talking during takeoff and landing. feel free to ask questions once we are up flying though. oh and the last item on the checklist - Smile!

_________________
Everyone must believe in something, I believe that I will go flying.

Not too long ago I modified my standard briefing a bit.....

I took my grandmother flying. She's in her mid-eighties, spunky, fearless, sweet as sugar and tough as nails. She'd been in a small plane before, but not for at least 15-20 years. So I gave her a full briefing, we were on the runway in the takeoff roll in a 172SP.....

She decided to adjust her position in her seat so she could see better over the instrument panel. She reached for something to pull herself up a little and grabbed the yoke when we were at about 45-50 knots. And pulled. Hard.

I had the presence of mind to push back and yell "Don't touch that!" She let go, we passed Vr, and were on our way within a few seconds. I felt awful for yelling at her, but I was kicking myself even more for not explicitly telling her during the briefing what NOT to touch. I just assumed she would know. That assumption could have resulted in a very short flight with a rough landing.....

So. My passenger briefing is now VERY explicit about what they should NOT touch.

I tell them how to use their seatbelts. In my Piper, of course, the right seat is responsible for managing the door so I teach them how to do that and we talk about emergency landing procedures. I show them how to use the vents to get fresh air.

I show them where the sick sacs are in the pouch on the back of the seat. (Luckily no one's taken me up on those yet.)

I tell them to ask any question they want, but I wouldn't bother going through the full briefing that PJ seems to do all at once. It does seem that these issues often come up so I prefer to answer them in whatever context is intersting to the passenger.

Jeff

I'm not as thorough as PJ, but I do ensure that I do a couple of things for first-timers:

1.) Before we get into the aircraft, I usually go over the preflight with them, so they see all of the important stuff that I'm looking at, and tell them what potential problems I might be looking for.

2.) Help them get situated in the aircraft, headset adjusted and seat belts fastened. I usually have them unbuckle their seat belt and re-buckle it, so that they feel comfortable with it, and

3.) I instruct them on how to get out of the plane, in the rare event of a forced landing, and have them actually open the door a couple of times.

4.) After engine start, I go through all the engine run-up procedures, what go/no-go limits I'm looking for, and check the flight controls freedom & movement. I usually tell them at this point what the key instruments measure, and what speed I will rotate at, and when we'll be flying.

5.) Tell them to enjoy the view![/i]

I wait until we rotate, then look at them wide eyed and ask "Have you ever done this before???" and when they shake their head no I exclaim "Me either!!!"

_________________
Inst: "So how far out so we make our initial call-up?"
Student: "10 miles"
Inst: "OK, let's make that call"
Student: "Airport Traffic, Cessna 172, 3 miles east..."

I have a little pamphlet that I adapted from a Cessna Pilots Association post which I used with passengers in my old plane. Anyone that I took up was required to read it out loud while I was doing the preflight, so that I know everything was covered. It has always helped to put a nervous passenger at ease, and keeps open the lines of communications.

Feel free to adapt and use as you please. The text is as follows (mine has some fun pictures as well)...

ABOUT THE AIRPLANE

You will hear the engine make different sounds as power is increased or reduced, and when the flaps go up or down. This is normal.

Turns are made by banking the airplane to the side. This is also normal.

Depending on the weather (ask the pilot), there may be some bumpiness on climb out or landing. This is normal and often the result of thermal convection – warm air rising to become clouds – or air circulating over hills or structures on the ground. The air generally smoothes out above 2,000 feet. Bumpiness is not a cause for alarm – the airplane is built to handle it.


FLIGHT PROCEDURES

Door handle unlatches when pulled back to a vertical position. Push handle forward to secure.

Seat belts must be worn on taxi, takeoff and landing. You may remove your seatbelt in flight, but since there is no room to move about the cabin, you will probably be more comfortable leaving it on.

No wing walking or carpet flying except between 3 and 5 a.m. on Wednesdays.

Front seat passenger: Make sure your seat is locked into position in its track. In the event that you slide back on takeoff, relax. Your seat will lock into position at the rear of the track. IMPORTANT: Do not grab the control wheel. (Also, do not grab the pilot unless invited to do so.)

Your headset comes with a volume control. The pilot will instruct you on its use.

PLEASE – no conversation on taxi, takeoff or landing unless urgent. These are the pilot’s busiest times and they demand his full attention.

Once we reach altitude, talking is fine. If the pilot holds up one finger, it means “hold that thought.” Air Traffic Control may be saying something he needs to hear or respond to.

Do not touch the controls. (Duh.)


IN AN EMERGENCY

In the extremely unlikely event that we lose power, this airplane turns into a glider. We will glide to a safe landing, preferably at an airport if there is one close by. You can help the pilot locate an airport.

Please keep your seatbelt on until we have come to a complete stop.

If we lose power after takeoff, we will land on the runway if there is room. Be assured that the pilot has been well trained for such a contingency.

Emergency landing instructions: Under pilot’s direction, front seat passenger will unlatch door, open the door, and close the door latch with the door open (Cessna 182) or put his or her shoe (without the foot in it) into the door jamb. This will keep the door from shutting in the event the plane gets bent.


PENULTIMATE NOTES…

When descending, it is normal for your ears to pop, due to the increasing air pressure at lower altitudes. If you cannot pop your ears by holding your nose and blowing, the pilot can descend gradually so that it is more comfortable for you. If you are uncomfortable at any time, tell the pilot. We will land as soon as practicable.

During landing, it is normal for the stall warning horn to sound. This simply means that the plane is getting really slow, which is a good thing when landing.


THE RULE TO END ALL RULES

The pilot makes all the rules! Always listen to instructions.

So there.


AND FINALLY…

Enjoy the flight!!

_________________
Jeff Klug
RV-8A prebuild