mine was my little brother norm(center below
who is a flight instructor/farmer in Tintah, Mn)
it was shortly after receiving my license (10/6/69),
i was 17, and had forgotten my coat in
webster city, where i had taken the check ride.
it was amusing to see the expressions
when us two punk kids hopped out of the plane!
BTW my check ride was by a guy named
Den Hartog, an old navy pilot!!
did anyone know him?
pic below was at the nevada, ia airport
after a huge snow storm
i had given all my family a ride that day
in good ol 150L.
dave
lets see...first pax in my 170 was a friend who went with me to pick up the plane and check me out......Then my wife. First pax after private was a friend his girlfriend and her friend (1990) in a warrior.
Since then I have had alot of different pax......but that doesnt count because i fly for a living.....but the most fun I have is having the whole family in our 170...........
MY first flight after passing my private in 58V was to give a ride to my wife son and daughter. The kids were 2 and 4. It was my daughters first plane ride. All went well on that flight. I saved my first aviating mistake till the next day. Some friends invited me to join them on a cross country fly out to an airport about 60 miles away. They assured me that we would be back before dark. My wife and I decided to go along as it sure sounded like fun. Well service was slow at the resturaunt and not only were we not back by dark we didn't even leave by dark. While I was night current I had never flown a tailwheel plane at night. Additionaly I had never done a night cross country before. All ended well but old Bill learned a little about just because leagle does not make it a wise thing to do. Bill K
My first flight with a passenger came the same day I passed my checkride 2/23/78. I was waiting for my wife before she got all of her students out of her classroom, eager to demonstrate my new passion. I knew she was nervous about flying and made it a point to be as smooth as possible with every move, have her focus her gaze off in the distance and explain every change of the controls and move I was making. All was well for about twenty minutes when she told me she felt nauseus. I made a gentle turn to the nearest airport about ten miles east of home base and began a search for the sick sacs that had always been in the airplane before. About the time I entered downwind she expressed a need to empty her stomach and in my first paniced move I dumped the contents of the big manilla envelope with the logs behind the seats and handed it to her, by this time I was ready to turn final and she filled the envelope. Well I thought I had saved the day with that envelope but apparently the glue isn't moisture proof and about six foot from the ground the bottom literally fell out. Fortunantly her grandparents lived about a mile from the airport and brought me the tools for the cleanup. By the time I got the mess cleaned up she felt well enough to make the trip back, only this time I didn't feel too shiny. She never has made a very enthusiastic passenger, however with enough medication she can usually sleep peacefully. My other passion is motorcyling and she wasn't to keen on that for the first thirty years or so but she now has her own motorcycle and is occasionally more ready to ride than I am. Hopefully if I ever get the plane back in the air her taste for flying will have changed also.
The airplane I'm Flying, a '55 B model, is named "The Silver Pig" for a good reason. It flys like a pig. The significant entry in the log book , some years back, was "Aircraft Repaired After Crash Landing". It must have been done by a crew well versed in the repair of farm equipment and horse drawn wagons. It wallows along left wing heavy and in a crab sort of like a Fox Terrier walking down the street. There has always been lots of controversy concerning its airworthiness.
A couple of years ago, I was with a lady companion, "Sandy" by name, headed for lunch in Willows, CA, from Jackson, CA. She is not a pilot. I wanted to look at something on the chart so I asked Sandy to fly it for a few minutes while I was so occupied. This would demonstrate to her what masterful skill it required to aviate one of these machines through the sky. She got a death grip on the yoke and said "What do I do?" Her feet were planted flat on the floor.
"Just keep it pointed at that mountain with the antenna on it", I said.
I then got the chart out and opened it full out. After about half a minute or so, I peeked around the left side of the chart at the altimeter and the heading gyro. OK I thought. Give her another half minute or so. At the next peek I thought "What in hell is wrong with those crappy instruments". The damned things seemed to be frozen! This went on for a couple of minutes as I got more and more upset. This sweetie doesn't know the first damned thing about airplanes, especially flying one. I finally had to take it away in order to get it back in its normal wallowing flight regime.
I really enjoy Sandys company and we still go to lunch on occasion, but I sure as hell don't let her fly MY airplane anymore.
My first passenger was my mom. As soon as the debrief of my private checkride was done and the ink was still wet on my temp certificate, I took my mom up and over the house. Whenever she talks about it, she remembers me showing her the pumpkins in the garden. I guess the bank angle was a bit excessive for her liking
My first passengers in the 170 were the entire family. This was back in the day when we could all four still ride in her. Five years later, these two boys are now 6-2 and 6-1 and each weigh about 170 lbs. When we bought the 170 I figured we'd have at least 2-2 1/2 years before we outgrew the gross weight limit...we lasted about 18 months!
This pic is one of my favorite pictures of my bride and I. It was on our first flight and one of the boys took it from the back seat.
Whew! Glad you clarified that pic... Didn't want anyone thinking that was your Mom!
'53 B-model N146YS SN:25713
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention. An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons.
My first passenger was also my girlfriend who married me soon after. I figured I instilled a great respect in her for my talent and skills. Or maybe she figured the insurance money was coming any day.
My first passenger was my wife. I knew if I gave anybody else a ride before her, well lets just say either I would not have a plane or I would not have a wife. She was very supportive during the “Student Pilot Era.†This was in my 1964 Cessna 150D.
The first passenger in my 170 was also my wife. She was very instrumental in the decision of buying a 172 or a 170. She though the 170 was “Cute.†That’s why she wanted the 170. I’m just thankful she like the plane and like to fly. She has the attitude if we cannot fly then, she would rather not go. She does not like to drive anywhere anymore.
Bruce,
Now that’s IFR flying if I ever saw it. I just want to know what instruments you are using to fly???????
Wayne
God forbid we should ever be twenty years without a rebellion. ***Thomas Jefferson***
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