Pilot in Command: To fly solo or with passengers, Part II

In Part One, I covered two situations where, acting as pilot in command of my own plane, my decision to take along a single passenger was based upon two factors: had that person flown with a private pilot before in a small single engine and whether he/she was comfortable flying as my companion in my Archer II.

The next situation you might encounter is when two new variables are introduced.

Instead of one passenger, you now have two or more to ferry in your single engine.

Secondly, should you invite passengers who have never flown in a single engine before?

These two factors were involved in a concrete situation I faced.

In the summer of 1982, I was contemplating piloting my intended, her mom and daughter from Auburn, California to Eugene, Oregon to celebrate our wedding.

There was one problem. No one had flown in a single engine before and the adults were obviously nervous about making the 500 mile, 4 hour trip at 8,000 feet. I came upon a compromise plan. We would rent my 'ex' plane (now back at the FBO who originally sold it to me) and fly a short cross country to test the waters.

There were four of us and as we took off from Auburn Municipal on a perfect VFR day, I could sense the nervousness of my passengers, especially the 7 year old. Take off went smoothly and despite some summer thermals, we landed at Chico Municipal airport some 35 minutes later for some light refreshments. The return trip went smoothly.

The following debriefing told the 'story' I needed to hear.

My debriefing session, conducted as we drove back to Carmicheal, revealed the following. The seven year old confided to me she almost felt like throwing up. The mom confided she felt uncomfortable with the chest and shoulder restraints (belts) and my wife to be, well-- she felt very nervous because of her mom.

Well, I decided if such a short trip was uncomfortable for 2 of my 3 passengers, how much more so would they 'suffer' during the much longer trip, even with one landing along the flight path.

I was faced with a no-brainer and scratched the idea of turning a 9 hour drive into a five hour flight.

My advice is to to use common sense whether to take passengers along with you. You are the pilot in command and it is best to learn about the psychology of your prospective passengers. (A tennis friend of mine from San Franciso lost her husband somewhere over the forests of southern Oregon as he and 3 business partners were on a flight in a small plane from the Bay Area to Washington state.)

It's best to know yourself, your own psychology and flying proficiency level before even contemplating taking passengers along.

Flying for business or pleasure is still a serious business.