| The following is excerpted from “For Love or Flying” by Jill W. Tallman; Aug 2004, AOPA Flight Training Fear of Flying…or just Fear of the Unknown? Wouldn’t it be great if everyone loved flying as much as we do? It’s hard to put aside the disappointment we feel when our loved ones don’t want to join us in our aviation adventures. Sometimes our spouses are supportive - willing to provide emotional and financial assistance - but make it clear they have no intention of going anywhere with you in a small plane. Others are downright hostile - praying for rain so a lesson will be canceled. Fear of flying can often be traced to claustrophobia or a sensitivity to turbulence. Those who believe traveling in small airplanes is dangerous often don’t understand that the risk of something happening is very, very small. Compared to other forms of transportation, GA accidents are very rare. Here are some statistics from the GAservingAmerica.org website. -only 5% of GA accidents involve loss of life -in 2000, there were 35 million GA flights and only 341 fatalities -the odds of being killed in a car are 1 in 125; in a plane, 1 in 4.6 million -5 times as many people are killed by motorcycles and 2 times as many people are killed by recreational boating mishaps than in GA, even though GA flies 145 million people each year. The best way for a spouse or significant other to overcome fear is to become knowledgeable about flying. A lack of information causes people to be concerned or afraid. For a non-threatening introduction to flying that will give your hesitant spouse a hands on look at general aviation, consider enrolling them in our “Right Seat Companion Course”. |
My husband Pete obtained his private pilot’s license about a year ago - a lifelong dream for him. As he excitedly began to plan flight trips for the two of us, I had to quickly come to grips with my own lifelong fear of flying. Over time, I became more comfortable as a passenger in the cockpit and actually began to enjoy our trips together. However, I was always troubled by the fact that if my husband were to become ill mid-flight, with just the two of us in the plane, our chances for survival were somewhat remote. While I really didn’t wish to become a full-fledged pilot, I did want the ability to have a fighting chance at saving us, should an emergency arise. Toward that end, I recently completed Mid Island’s “Right Seat Companion” course with Instructor Jason Bang. I would highly recommend the class to any non-pilot. Using a combination of classroom training, instructional videos and actual flying experience, the class accomplished exactly what I had hoped. By the end of the first class I had a basic understanding of the airplane instrumentation, was able to follow a heading and hold an altitude, and learned how to use the radio. By the end of the second class, I learned to locate and navigate to an airport and land the plane (with Jason’s help, of course). By the third session, I had learned how to land the plane myself, albeit a bit jarringly! Jason set up mock “emergency” scenarios mid-flight, to which I learned to respond to. The most important thing the class achieved was to eliminate the terror I initially felt on manning the controls and heading for the runway. This is something that really cannot be taught by a loved one. I think all non-pilots will find this class interesting, enjoyable and possibly life-saving. Valerie Roberts While my primary objective in having my wife Valerie take the “Right Seat Companion” class at Mid Island was to make sure she had a chance to land the plane in the event I became incapacitated, a nice surprise was waiting for me that I never anticipated. Actually, thinking back, I should have seen it coming. When I asked Valerie to take the “Right Seat Companion” class she agreed to do it as long as |
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