Pilot in Command: Tips about taking passengers on 4 seaters: Part I

Video Courtesy of Mark Haya

Although many pilots enjoy flying solo, there are times when you will be faced with a choice of flying alone or taking a passenger or several passengers

I have experienced single and multiple passengers in my four seater. Here are considerations you must determine before making your decision.

First, keep in mind that as a general rule a VFR pilot is prohibited to take passengers for" compensation or hire" with a few exceptions (see AIM/Far 61.113).

There were three times when I elected to take one or more passengers with me when I was flying my Archer II. Two occasions involved ladies who I knew for a fact had flown with other pilots and had felt comfortable. I alerted each one about thermals (upward and downward drafts of air) we would encounter along the way. That did not seem to bother either of them.

My first passenger Carol I had known as a business associate. We had flown to a company party which involved a short 1.3 hour flight from Oroville to Hayward. She felt very comfortable during both legs of the flight.

So when an opportunity arose to catch the Shakespeare festival in Visalia barely two weeks later, I did not hesitate to invite her. This time the flight was 2.6 hour in near perfect mid-day VFR conditions;however, we encountered moderate thermals. No problem, for the two of us.

The other passenger Hillary was a friend from Eugene, Oregon who had invited me to a family party in La Jolla, California. She was a cool passenger who was more than eager to arrive in a private plane escorted by a friend.

The flight would take over 5 hours with a stopover at Bakersfield (BFL) for a fuel and pit stop.

When we took off from Bakersfield, our destination airport, Montgomery/San Diego (MYF) was fogged in. However, just as we were crossing the Tehachapis, a check of the weather at Montgomery indicated that the fog had lifted and at about 15 miles out, ATIS indicated that the airport was under VFR conditions, an opportunity to execute a near perfect landing.

My passenger Hillary was very comfortable on the trip back under perfect VFR weather. The highlight was flying the Pacific Ocean corridor skirting San Francisco and its environs. The natural beauty of this leg was spread out in front of us like an indelible diorama.

End of Part I. To be continued