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Even more embarassing, I got a call a few hours later saying that they found the problem with COM1. They turned the volume up. Ha! It’s not every day someone makes coffee come out my nose… Great way to start the day… Thanks for sharing that. We’ve all done equally stupid things, and this is a good place to share those experiences. — Jay Honeck
It kinda reminds me of this joke: You guys probably have all seen all these before: these are (supposedly!!) complaints of Quantas pilots to their mechanics … and their response. (P = The problem logged by the pilot.) (S = The solution and action taken by the engineers.) P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement. S: Almost replaced left inside main tire. P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough. S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft. P: Something loose in cockpit. S: Something tightened in cockpit. P: Dead bugs on windshield. S: Live bugs on back-order. P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent. S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground. P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear. S: Evidence removed. P: DME volume unbelievably loud. S: DME volume set to more believable level. P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick. S: That’s what they’re there for P: Suspected crack in windshield. S: Suspect you’re right P: Number 3 engine missing. S: Engine found on right wing after brief search. P: Aircraft handles funny. S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious. P: Target radar hums. S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics. P: Mouse in cockpit. S: Cat installed. P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer. S: Took hammer away from midget. — Marco Rispoli – NJ, USA / PP-ASEL My on-line aviation community – http://www.thepilotlounge.com
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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Most would say that it is a good thing to not use words like "dangerous" while in the plane, until there is a ongoing, real time situation. Other things can be said to get the point across, without fear. Like, "There is a lot going on in the pattern, so I will be at my peak concentration, and not interacting with you very much." Much more confidence inspiring. 
Use the positive, and not the negative. — Jim in NC — Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Yeah that’s what I told her, I didn’t use the word dangerous: I told her that in the pattern things get VERY busy and I need to talk on the radio frequently and listen to it. Also: my briefings to my wife are done on the ground. Not in the air. By the time we are up I don’t want to have to explain too much. She should already know the basics she needs to know for that flight. The word "Dangerous" related to a pattern is only in my head. — Marco Rispoli – NJ, USA / PP-ASEL My on-line aviation community – http://www.thepilotlounge.com
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For the first time last week, on Sunday evening I took my wife up with me in the Piper 180 at Central Jersey. I have to confess that I was a lot more scared than she was. In fact she was COMPLETELY indifferent to the point of annoyance. I on the other hand was utterly terrified. I mean, what if the engine quits? Oh I can maneuver that thing on the ground a probably land it in a field (PLENTY of fields around Central Jersey) but … my wife is in it with me. I can’t bear the thought of her going down with the plane and me.
Delightful story, Marco. I’ve been there. We want to protect the family we love but we want to push farther into the sky we love. It can be a dilemma. — Gene Seibel Hangar 131 – http://pad39a.com/gene/plane.html Because I fly, I envy no one.
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most guys are actually concerned with taking her down for the first time… HECTOP PP-ASEL-IA http://www.maxho.com maxho_at_maxho.com
LOL!! Bravo!!! Bravo!!!!
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I wonder what the FAR have to say about "topless-flying" … hehe Not original to me: http://www.panix.com/~jac/aviation/mhc.html
LOL! No way! Wouldn’t that be fun calling FBOs. "Hi, um…well, I’ve got my instrument and commercial and I was looking into getting my Mile High Club Rating….no, seriously. Hello? Hello?" -gattman PP/SEL IFR&MHCR-in-training
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I wonder what the FAR have to say about "topless-flying" … hehe http://www.panix.com/~jac/aviation/mhc.html LOL! No way! Wouldn’t that be fun calling FBOs. "Hi, um…well, I’ve got my instrument and commercial and I was looking into getting my Mile High Club Rating….no, seriously. Hello? Hello?" -gattman PP/SEL IFR&MHCR-in-training
Be careful who you choose for an instructor. Not all have the MHC add-on rating, and student/instructor compatibility becomes much more important… John —
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Nice story man. Thanks! For the first time last week, on Sunday evening I took my wife up with me in the Piper 180 at Central Jersey.
– Mike Flyin’8
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I have to confess that I was a lot more scared than she was. In fact she was COMPLETELY indifferent to the point of annoyance.
That describes my first flight with my own plane perfectly. Now I’m feeling a little guilty that I was more worried about bending my plane than bending my wife! — Ben Jackson http://www.ben.com/
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I do a radio check and the lady at the school answers with "I hear you loud and clear Marco".
Get used to it. Half the time somebody says "Hello George" when I announce on approach, and I haven’t been based there for years. Not much danger that they’ll start calling you "Tennessee", though. :-) George Patterson I childproofed my house, but they *still* get in.
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Right on, Marco, well done. Don’t worry, it gets easier. My wife and son were my first passengers. They were also the passengers on board when the nosewheel collapsed in our "new" plane and we slammed nose-first onto the pavement and slid 500 feet to a stop, and one of my first thoughts as we were running into the field was that they would never go up with me again. It took almost a year, but they did. They are still the passengers I take up most often, and definitely the most enthusiastic. Never underestimate your non-pilot family.
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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Marco, Moral(s) of the story: 1. Make sure someone else flies the plane for an hour after its next annual before me. 2. Check the volume. 3. Use COM2 4. If I had it to do over again, I would have fixed the problem on the ground before taking it in the air. I REALLY hope I never am that stupid again. Especially because next week I am taking my wife up for the first time. We’re not just going around the patch, either. Adam P.S. Please don’t chastise me. I realize how stupid I was!
Please don’t feel bad! Your problem is not stupidity: your problem is that you never had to deal with a "prankster" instructor: you have no idea how often I had to put up with my instructor turning things off on me while I wasn’t looking. More than once he would ask me to close my eyes for "supposedly" unusual attitude recovery. He would twist and turn the plane while I wasn’t looking and then make me recover it. Little did i know that he would turn the volume of the radio down to nothing. Or that time that I was so engrossed in the runup and he turned off the radios. He didn’t let me take off. He asked me "Why didn’t you do a radio check?" "Oh" goes I "Sure! Linden unicom radio check please" Nothing. "Linden unicom radio check please" Silence. "ahhh … Linden unicom, radio check please?" Nada. "Maybe they are in the bathroom?" Blank stare from my instructor (god I don’t wanna play poker with him). My instructor was in "asshole" mode that day, since I was about to get ready for my X-country checkride. "I don’t know. You are PIC. What do YOU think?" he asks. And from the tone of his voice I can tell his feet are on the brakes and the plane is NOT moving. He looks at a plane turning from base to final. Nothing is coming out of the radio. My newbie brain finally reaches a new level of conciousness and awarenees washes over my neurons as I finally realize that maybe just MAYBE I should be chacking the dang radios instead of just pouding on the mike button in the yoke. A quick search … lets me discover that the frequency is not on 123.00 but on the practice area frequency … he was sneaky enough NOT to turn off the radios (I would have noticed the silence with the engine at low RPMS on the ground) and he set it to the practice area frequency so that I could still hear the static. Yes my instructor was a prank-star. I am still burning for that one … Trust me … I triple check the radios every single time now. — Marco Rispoli – NJ, USA / PP-ASEL My on-line aviation community – http://www.thepilotlounge.com
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Even more embarassing, I got a call a few hours later saying that they found the problem with COM1. They turned the volume up.
Ha! It’s not every day someone makes coffee come out my nose… Great way to start the day… Thanks for sharing that. We’ve all done equally stupid things, and this is a good place to share those experiences. — Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination"
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As soon as I hit the 45 my brain goes in overdrive and nothing else exists other than the pattern, the radio and the plane. I knew this was going to happen. So I told her before-hand that in the pattern I have to pay attention to traffic cause it’s a dangerous area. — Marco Rispoli
Most would say that it is a good thing to not use words like "dangerous" while in the plane, until there is a ongoing, real time situation. Other things can be said to get the point across, without fear. Like, "There is a lot going on in the pattern, so I will be at my peak concentration, and not interacting with you very much." Much more confidence inspiring. Use the positive, and not the negative. — Jim in NC — Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
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Marco, I just took my first passenger up today! I took a friend who is a student pilot (I’m taking my wife next weekend). Unfortunately, my first flight wasn’t all that smooth. Actually, the flight was fine, but the plane was a little quirky. The plane literally came out of annual right before I flew it. There were lots of little things that weren’t quite right, but nothing serious. For example, when the mechanic lubed the throttle, he forgot to screw the throttle-friction cap back on. It was just hanging on the throttle rod. Anyway, after a relatively uneventful preflight (little stuff like I said), we taxied out and did our run up. Did the run up, then did a clearing turn. To my surprise, there was a plane on short final…no radio call or anything! I began to think maybe the radio wasn’t working, and called for a radio check…no answer It was 7:00am, so maybe the plane that didn’t use the radio was the only one out there. I decided to do a quick pattern and check if the radio worked by turning on the pilot-controlled VASI lights. Sure enough, the lights came on! It must have been that other plane! In the mean time, I failed to notice that my friend was digging his nails into his legs! We decided to go to another nearby uncontrolled airport to shoot some patterns. Again, I saw more traffic, but heard nothing. I finally figured that my transmitter was working, but receiver wasn’t. We kept an eagle-eye for traffic and announced our position at every turn. When we got back I told my flight instructor (who I rent the plane from) about COM1 not working. He got in another plane and tried to contact me. Sure enough. I told him I couldn’t hear him on COM1, but COM2 was just fine! COM2??? Why didn’t I think of that in the air? Chalk it up to experience. Even more embarassing, I got a call a few hours later saying that they found the problem with COM1. They turned the volume up. Even more lessons learned. In 50 hours of flying that plane, I never once had to touch the volume on the radio. I didn’t even think of it. Moral(s) of the story: 1. Make sure someone else flies the plane for an hour after its next annual before me. 2. Check the volume. 3. Use COM2 4. If I had it to do over again, I would have fixed the problem on the ground before taking it in the air. I REALLY hope I never am that stupid again. Especially because next week I am taking my wife up for the first time. We’re not just going around the patch, either. Adam P.S. Please don’t chastise me. I realize how stupid I was!
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… until I entered the pattern, and then I went stone silent. She thought that something must be wrong. I wasn’t aware of it at all, just concentrating on the landing.
I do the same. As soon as I hit the 45 my brain goes in overdrive and nothing else exists other than the pattern, the radio and the plane. I knew this was going to happen. So I told her before-hand that in the pattern I have to pay attention to traffic cause it’s a dangerous area. — Marco Rispoli – NJ, USA / PP-ASEL My on-line aviation community – http://www.thepilotlounge.com
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I wonder what the FAR have to say about "topless-flying" … hehe
Not original to me: http://www.panix.com/~jac/aviation/mhc.html –jac —
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One time in college I took a date up over the campus and she promptly decided she wanted to try flying in a plane topless. Whatdayado?! That was the harde…excuse me, most difficult…time I’ve ever had staying focused on flying the plane. I can say however with absolute clarity that there was no other traffic out there between the one o’clock and four o’clock portion of my scan. I know, ’cause I checked. A lot. -c
I wonder what the FAR have to say about "topless-flying" … hehe 
— Marco Rispoli – NJ, USA / PP-ASEL My on-line aviation community – http://www.thepilotlounge.com
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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I do a radio check and the lady at the school answers with "I hear you loud and clear Marco". Get used to it. Half the time somebody says "Hello George" when I announce on approach, and I haven’t been based there for years. Not much danger that they’ll start calling you "Tennessee", though. :-) George Patterson I childproofed my house, but they *still* get in.
Marco "Tennessee" Rispoli. I kinda like the sound of that, though! hehe … — Marco Rispoli – NJ, USA / PP-ASEL My on-line aviation community – http://www.thepilotlounge.com
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Right on, Marco, well done. Don’t worry, it gets easier. My wife and son were my first passengers. They were also the passengers on board when the nosewheel collapsed in our "new" plane and we slammed nose-first onto the pavement and slid 500 feet to a stop, and one of my first thoughts as we were running into the field was that they would never go up with me again. It took almost a year, but they did. They are still the passengers I take up most often, and definitely the most enthusiastic. Never underestimate your non-pilot family.
Ouch! Well I feel the same way. I know that if my engine quits I know enough to put the plane down (in good weather that is) without killing myself and possibly (if I have a good field) without hurting the plane (too much). But an "accident" like that, with my wife on board would probably wake up the same fearful thought: "Now she won’t fly with me anymore". That’s it! You nailed it. — Marco Rispoli – NJ, USA / PP-ASEL My on-line aviation community – http://www.thepilotlounge.com
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I on the other hand was utterly terrified.
Great story, Marco! Thanks for writing it. If it makes you feel any better, I still get nervous when taking first-time passengers up. Taking responsibility for another person’s life is not to be trivialized — although strangely, after you’ve taken the same person up a number of times, that nervousness goes away. I suppose I figure they’ve become resigned to their fate — whatever that fate may be — by their third flight with me! — Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination"
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Good story, Marco. Congratulations on getting through it. When I took my wife up as my "first passenger" at SMQ, she was similarly very relaxed. Afterwards though, she pointed out that I was telling her everything I was doing (I’m a teacher at heart) until I entered the pattern, and then I went stone silent. She thought that something must be wrong. I wasn’t aware of it at all, just concentrating on the landing. She still flies with me, though. — Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways) I don’t have to like Bush and Cheney (Or Kerry, for that matter) to love America
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For the first time last week, on Sunday evening I took my wife up with me in the Piper 180 at Central Jersey.
Women! Can’t live with ‘em? Can’t live with ‘em is what I always say. I’ve read hundreds of "best stories I’ve read on RAP" over the years. This one will be added to the list. Thanks for sharing. — Jim Fisher
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One time in college I took a date up over the campus and she promptly decided she wanted to try flying in a plane topless. Whatdayado?! That was the harde…excuse me, most difficult…time I’ve ever had staying focused on flying the plane. I can say however with absolute clarity that there was no other traffic out there between the one o’clock and four o’clock portion of my scan. I know, ’cause I checked. A lot. -c
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most guys are actually concerned with taking her down for the first time… HECTOP PP-ASEL-IA http://www.maxho.com maxho_at_maxho.com
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For the first time last week, on Sunday evening I took my wife up with me in the Piper 180 at Central Jersey. I have to confess that I was a lot more scared than she was. In fact she was COMPLETELY indifferent to the point of annoyance. I on the other hand was utterly terrified. I mean, what if the engine quits? Oh I can maneuver that thing on the ground a probably land it in a field (PLENTY of fields around Central Jersey) but … my wife is in it with me. I can’t bear the thought of her going down with the plane and me. So I did the most thorough pre-flight of Piper history. It took me 45 minutes to preflight the plane while i surgically peeked at every cable, bolt, rivet, shone a flashlight in every corner of the engine, triple checked the fuel levels, etc. If I could have taken the plane apart I would have. Throughout all this my wife is lying in the grass, under the shade of the considerably huge rudder of the Cherokee, perfectly calm (as usual) humming to herself and eying the few puffy clouds that were passing by. There’s 5 quarts of oil… there’s supposed to be 5 to 7. Unacceptable. I need another quart. We are just going around for a bit. I just wanted my wife to get used to the idea of flying with me … … actually, let me rephrase that: I just wanted to get used to the idea of me flying with my wife … or any other hapless, clueless passenger for that matter. This was the first time I took someone up. I never took anyone up other than myself and my butt … and various flight instructors. After adding some oil it’s time to start loading the plane. My wife dons the headset sits in and looks at me half annoyed half amused while I try to explain to her how to unbuckle herself or open the piper’s door. She gives me a look as if to say "I figured that out by myself about half a second after taking a look at it dear". So here I am … sitting in the left seat. Wondering … no. No more wondering. Thank God for training is all I have to say. The moment I am in the left seat the pilot side of the brain takes over and my hands and eyes start moving around the cockpit to start the engine. THe engine purrs to life and we are moving. My wife quietly sits in the right seat while I preflight the plane, unwondering and unaffected and generally stone faced … except that when I look at her, she looks at me and she gives me a "You’ll be all right" smile. Wait … I am the PIC. I am supposed to smile the "You’ll be all right smile". Whatever. Engine is good. Nice and smooth (and noisy) as usual. I do a radio check and the lady at the school answers with "I hear you loud and clear Marco". Dang my Italian accent. I don’t really wanna know how funny I sound on the radio … Now that I am in the routine though … I am far less nervous. I am in the plane. All the sounds and lights and clues indicate that the bird wants to fly. Pattern is clear and here we go. We fly around a little bit. South of Central Jersey at around 2500 feet. So nice and peaceful up here. Nice fields and small groups of trees. Farms and houses and golf courses. For some reason this is very relaxing to me. My wife stops paying attention to me or the plane and starts going "Uuuuhhh" and "Ahhhh" over the landscape and takes a few pictures. After about 20 minutes of flying around we head back and I decide to do a couple of patterns with her in the right seat. In the pattern my wife disappears from my mind and the only thing left is the plane and traffic (which is ZERO for today). I line up and do a really nice smooth landing and what does my do? She makes a face of "approval" and nods once, like an expert wine taster would nod and approve after tasting some fancy wine that is decent .. nothing too special but good to get you rid of that scratch in the back of your throat. For some reason I think I get a B+ in her head. Yes honey. You probably have hundreds of flight as a passenger in your background. Yes you can probably tell if the pilot sneezed during the flare by every little jerky movement of the plane. I shake my head in wry amusement … and I was worried. Jeez, God forbid she becomes and FAA examiner. I feel pity for the miserable student that will fly with her. I do another run in the pattern, then she decides to get off the plane and go look for food while I finish practicing a few more landings. That was the end of it. My first passenger and my first flight with my wife. Anti-climactic to say the least. Here are the pictures she took: http://www.thepilotlounge.com/scripts/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=3&t=749 — Marco Rispoli – NJ, USA / PP-ASEL My on-line aviation community – http://www.thepilotlounge.com