Parents and flying

ETAV8R said:
I feel fortunate to have had parents involved in aviation and subsequently immersed me in avaition as well. Hell my initials are ETA for a reason! I took my daughter flying shortly after I attained my private certification. Did I subject her to something dangerous? I don't believe so.

I understand people fear certain things in life. Educating them on the aspects of training you undertook to attain your certificate and the preflight standards you have set for yourself are probably a good idea. Then if they finally still don't want their child to go flying with you acknowledge that and move on. Honor their decision. In your case it is really the womans choice since she is 19 but still under the parents guise for financial reasons. Find other people to go with you. Get some cougar to go!
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Pffsshhh. Not like you were trained by a 23 year old or anything!

To the OP. Have you given her parents any reasons not to trust you? Do they not let her ride in the car with you or do other 'dangerous' activities? Also, for grins you might offer to take her parents flying first. Did her father ever have any aviation aspirations? It might just be an ego thing too for him. If he wanted to learn to fly and never did he might be angry that you did and he didn't.
 
Codyjp said:
Pffsshhh. Not like you were trained by a 23 year old or anything!

To the OP. Have you given her parents any reasons not to trust you? Do they not let her ride in the car with you or do other 'dangerous' activities? Also, for grins you might offer to take her parents flying first. Did her father ever have any aviation aspirations? It might just be an ego thing too for him. If he wanted to learn to fly and never did he might be angry that you did and he didn't.
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That's an interesting point. He really, really, really wanted to fly but he has very severe case of diabetes and could not get a third class medical. As you can imagine, he was incredibly disappointed.

They don't have a reason not to trust me and she's allowed in my car whenever. Never was any sort of problem with that. It's just flying. But, like everyone has said, it's probably best to just accept his wishes and try to prove with time that I'm a competent pilot.
 
If it is that wide spread I think it is probably more your outwards appearance - when I was 17 and a newly minted PPL I took my high schools friends flying all the time, it wasn't uncommon to scout the surf with me, go to Vegas, buzz school events, etc. No ones parents actually said no, thinking about it.
 
When I got my PPL in 2000, I was dating this girl who's parents weren't exactly comfortable with her getting in the plane with me. I was definately inexperienced but I definately took these flights serious and was not reckless. the parents ultimately let her make her own decision and so we went flying. When we landed, she immediately called her parents. What was their first question??? It wasn't "How was the flight?" or "Is everything Ok?" it was......... "How's your hair?" I laugh to this day thinking about that. Apparently they thought I flew an open cockpit airplane.

My parents would not fly with me for the longest time. I am a CFI now and just this past September, my parents came to visit me and I took them flying for the first time. I now have over 1000 hours but thats how long it took. My mother was still nervous and she probably won't do it again but atleast they went. My mom got really nervous because the 172SP I took had one of the faulty fuel sensors (very common for 172SP's from what I hear, not just at my school) and so would flash every once in a while the L LOW FUEL warning light. Even though I explained and showed them that I checked the fuel level, it still made her extremely nervous. Unfortunately I did not tell them about the sensor just being like that before we took off. I could have told them of that to ease their fears.

Give it time and don't push to take her fly and they'll probably eventually let her fly with you. If not, and you take her anyway against their wishes, what will that tell the parents about the type of person you are and this is very important if this is a girl you are serious about. Either way, good luck.
 
Just to give you perspective, I'm a 43 year old 767ER driver for Delta. I've flown all over the world and quit filling out logbooks on number 3 with Lord knows how many thousands of hours. There are still people who will not go flying with me in a GA plane because they just don't trust it or me flying it. Some people, for whatever reason, just have a fear of flying, whether it's because of a lack of understanding or timidity. By all means, you need to educate the parents, but sometimes, even that is not enough.
 
Stone Cold said:
Here's one for ya...my parents still will not fly with me...granted, I cannot take them in the Lear anywhere, but they refuse to get into a "small airplane" due to it being unsafe. It has nothing to do with me (or so I tell myself).;)

I fly Lear 60's now, and the last time it was discussed, I was a freight pilot with 2000+TT. Oh, and my mom worked for AA for 37 years as a flight attendant.

Go figure. My own parents will probably never fly with me as the pilot!! They love the plane I fly now, as I've been able to show them the Lear when I worked in the US, but they refuse to fly in small airplanes.:dunno:
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Heck I've been at a 121 for over 5 years, plus years of GA prior to that and have never had my parents on a plane with me. I've invited but they're just busy and honestly I think most of it is their hatred of going to the airport. It's expensive (parking etc) and generally a horrible experience.
 
Jshutt64 said:
My girlfriend's father even went as far as to "prohibit" her flying with me (meaning, if she does they won't pay tuition) because he thinks that because of my age and the inherent dangers of flying I cannot be mature or responsible enough to handle an airplane and I'm sure to kill his daughter.
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I know a lot of other people have mentioned this, but offer to take him flying first. Be on your game, let him see how safe you are, etc.

If nothing else, your girlfriend will probably love you for trying to reach out to dear ol' daddy :)
 
I don't know why people are so scared of girlfriends dads - I asked my wife's dad if I could marry her when we were out turkey hunting! He had a loaded gun in his hand!
 
It's all about perceptions...

When I was in high school, I was required to do a job shadow for a day for some career related class. I asked to job shadow a CFI at the local airport, but was denied because it was "too dangerous to fly an airplane".

Instead, they let me ride with the Sheriff's office for a day and we got into a high speed chase on a bridge, chasing some dude who stole a car :rotfl:
 
I actually know some people who said they wouldn't fly in a small plane unless I was flying it. Some people are more comfortable if they DO know the pilot.

Seriously. I'd rather be flying with 10 planes in the pattern than driving on the freeway out here anyday. I've had close calls in the air twice, I have close calls on the road almost everytime I drive. At least when you're in the air, people more or less know what they're doing(usually), you can't say that about drivers.
 
Jshutt64 said:
Okay, so I've ran into a little bit of a problem of late.

I'm 19, and I have my private. When I fly, I fly mainly with my college buddies who are around the same age.

However, ever since I've been taking my friends up their respective parents have started viewing me with a bit of disdain. They don't want their kids flying, and when they hear that a 19 year old sophomore is taking them up they freak out.

My girlfriend's father even went as far as to "prohibit" her flying with me (meaning, if she does they won't pay tuition) because he thinks that because of my age and the inherent dangers of flying I cannot be mature or responsible enough to handle an airplane and I'm sure to kill his daughter.

My question is this...is there any way to convince these parents that I am a good and safe pilot and can be trusted? Or am I stuck forever in this situation?

Thanks. :)
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It's kind of strange, but I was just discussing this with one of my co-workers today. She said her daughter is dating a pilot and the first thing he did was offer to take her flying. She has been fine with it since.

Offer to take them flying so that they can see you are safe.

BTW age can be a factor in flying ability, but I know a 20 year old that I feel much safer flying with than someone much older. It really depends on the person. :)
 
Jshutt64 said:
My question is this...is there any way to convince these parents that I am a good and safe pilot and can be trusted? Or am I stuck forever in this situation?

Thanks. :)
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No, you're not stuck forever in this situation, because you won't be 19 forever. Enjoy your youth. :eek:
 
Stone Cold said:
Here's one for ya...my parents still will not fly with me...granted, I cannot take them in the Lear anywhere, but they refuse to get into a "small airplane" due to it being unsafe. It has nothing to do with me (or so I tell myself).;)

I fly Lear 60's now, and the last time it was discussed, I was a freight pilot with 2000+TT. Oh, and my mom worked for AA for 37 years as a flight attendant.

Go figure. My own parents will probably never fly with me as the pilot!! They love the plane I fly now, as I've been able to show them the Lear when I worked in the US, but they refuse to fly in small airplanes.:dunno:

I wouldn't worry about it too much!!
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Amen, I've been flying for about 10 years and still have yet to have a family member up with me. I've been 121 for over 4 years, a captain for 2, and still get frightened looks from passengers as they board through the jetbridge.
 
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