Taking Care of You Pax

For many of us, taking care of our passengers involves (hopefully) giving them a preflight briefing before loading them into the aeroplane. Then with the workload we have to deal with, we promptly forget about them. Or at best, maybe ask them how they are doing during the flight. Not really asking, more of a rhetorical question. Then at the end of the flight we seek their reaction. Which most of the time is reduced to the quality of the landing. 

Can we do better for these victims? Sorry, passengers? 

The differences can be very subtle. Or not. Or maybe a combination of both subtle and not so subtle. 

It’s terminal

As they arrive at the airfield, you should understand that, The ability to take friends, and perhaps even acquaintances (like family), flying can be one of the great rewards of attaining a pilot licence more often than not, they are nervous. It is most likely their first flight in a smallish aircraft. Let’s face it, our aeroplanes are not Airbus or Boeing size. To them that makes it a small aircraft. They may not have flown with you before and therefore have no idea what a great pilot you are. Or one day will be. 

Maybe you should avoid talking about aeroplane crashes, near misses or bad experiences. This will not help them to have a great flight. Perhaps leave the graphic reviews of last week’s Air Crash Investigations episode until after the flight is done. 

You can show confidence by asking the right questions to the person at the counter. “How much fuel is in the aircraft? Can I look at the maintenance release? What are the flaps for?” 

On the airfield

On your way out to the aircraft, remind them to follow you and keep away from propellers, especially spinning ones. Tell them to keep a good lookout to their right and left before crossing taxiways, and don’t go admiring other aircraft on their own. 

Let them know that you are going to do the pre-flight inspection, and they should remain around this area. I have seen some people run through the pre-flight with their passengers. In my opinion they can be overwhelmed with aviation babble. Usually, they just don’t care. I use one line, “I am going to check that everything is working as required. Stand there and I will be back with you in few minutes.” 

If they are interested to know more then send them for a flying lesson. The instructor could do with the money. 

The briefing

Of course, the normal passenger briefing is always required. Show them how to use the door latch to get out of the aircraft in the unlikely event of an emergency. Describe the use of the seat belt, just like in the airlines. While your passenger might (hopefully) know how the seatbelt works, it is always worth reminding them to keep the belts tight at all times. It is much easier to headbutt the roof in a small aircraft than in a large RPT aircraft. 

And don’t forget to remind them: “No smoking, no interfering with the controls, no speaking to the pilot if someone is heard talking on the radio – it could be for us!” 

Motion sickness and colour charts

I am always ready for someone who may not be feeling too well. I always ensure a supply of sick bags are on hand, in the aircraft as well as in my headset bag. 

While I am on the subject, I use a colour chart to keep track of the pax we go along (this particular chart only applies to Caucasians). Sweating is the first level of stress. Then if stress increases the sweating stops and the colour of the skin turns a pale white. As the situation deteriorates, the subject will become grey in appearance. Then by the time their skin is close to green, you as a pilot are in deep trouble. You don’t have much time to deal with this situation. 

I always explain that if they get sick, they will be cleaning up the mess. A helpful point if they come back with a used sick bag: Ask them to empty it into the toilet rather than placing it in a rubbish bin. It does not make good potpourri. 

Tour guide

You should try to become a competent tour guide. This is probably your passenger’s first time around your ‘playground’. Doing a little bit of research before the flight on some of the points of interest that you will be flying over can give you a very good patter with some interesting facts. But avoid focusing on the mechanics of flight. Most pax do not care about the order required for levelling out of the climb to straight and level flight. They did not come to take a lesson. Leave this to instructors or keep it to a minimum. 

Manage expectations

Before boarding, explain what they are going to experience. Is it whale season? Is the weather good enough to go flying? Did they go to the little boys’ or girls’ room? Try to involve your passengers in the process. You are not almighty. Close I know, but not there yet! 

After start-up, talk briefly to the pax about what to expect – taxi wise: 

“I am going to organise our take-off with the air traffic controllers, so look outside the windows. We are going to see some pretty aeroplanes on the way.” 

I might detour during the taxi to show them some of the bigger models around the airport or check them out for myself. 

During the flight do your tourist guide stuff. Ask them questions like, “Are you having a good time?” Involve them in the process. Ask them to keep a lookout for other aircraft (and birds) and point them out if they see one. 

Turbulence

If you think that you will experience some kind of turbulence, warn them in advance. Explain to them why (if you can), but even if you did not see it coming (the turbulence), talk to your pax about it and try to explain the reason. 

Some common causes of turbulence at lower levels include:

• Mechanical turbulence, which often occurs around “the bits that stick out of the ground”. 
• Inversion turbulence, which may be experienced when transiting from the dirty old inversion layer to the clean atmosphere above it. 
• Thermal turbulence, when air is locally heated by the earth’s surface and is rising, combining with cold air falling back to earth to replace it (watch out for gliders around these as well). 
• Mountain waves – which are always fun in a small aircraft. Usually, the giveaway is the mountain range just upwind of you.

“If your are into photography, always take pictures before the flight. It is much easier. Everyone will be there. Everyone will have a smile on their face.”

Regarding mountain waves, one day you may find yourself (like I did on my first solo navigation exercise) with full power, nose on the horizon and yet still descending at about 200 feet per minute. Then all of a sudden, with power on idle and the nose fully forward, you are climbing at more than 500 feet per minute. That in itself is not something that your pax may even notice, but generally there is heavy turbulence associated with mountain waves. So, while you are fighting an aircraft that won’t go where it is told to, your pax may be fighting lunch that may not want to stay where it should.

Mushrooms, peas and carrots

It is always easier for your pax if they are made aware of what is going on rather than being kept in the dark. 

Keep your descent rate at no more than 500 feet per minute. This rate is hardly noticeable by anyone not looking at the VSI or the altimeter. At descent rates higher than that the pax are going to think that something is wrong with the aircraft (or the pilot). There is no reason for a light aircraft in normal (i.e. non-emergency) conditions to adopt a rate of descent of 1,500 feet per minute. 

A head cold might be a limiting factor for some and a descent rate of more than 500 feet per minute can be very uncomfortable. 

And what about 60 degrees of bank? Leave that manoeuvre where it belongs – as an avoidance turn, not a technique for turning onto final from base. Your passengers are going to think that the end of the world is near. Same goes for sideslipping. 

Perhaps you do not want these particular pax coming back flying with you. In this case, replace all the above advice from ‘do not’ with ‘you should’. This can be a handy technique when, for example, there is someone else in your family that also wants to become a pilot but there are not enough funds for the both of you. 

Memories

If you are into photography, always take pictures before the flight. It is much easier. Everyone will be there. Everyone will have a smile on their face. There will be no embarrassing explanations required about the bag they are holding in their hand. There will be no need for questions like “Is that you in the background on your knees? What were you doing? Praying or vomiting?” 

Control the controls

Don’t play too much with the rudder. By this I don’t mean the normal use of it, but a demonstration of the yaw induced by the use of rudder. Remember that you are sitting on the normal axis so what you feel is nothing compared to the pax sitting in the back. It can be a violent experience for them. 

Same goes for the use of brakes in turns while taxiing. This is the time when you need to be as gentle as possible. If you want to experiment, go with an instructor. Better still, get some back seat time in the aircraft that you usually fly to get a feeling for what it is like for your pax. 

If you must do a manoeuvre that is out of the ordinary, such as a go-around, this is not the time to start a conversation with your pax. However, a word of explanation (like “let’s do another lap!”) will be required after the event so that they can make sense of what just happened. Maintaining a calm demeanour and treating it as an everyday occurrence will help to keep the pax calm and confident. 

When it comes to your landings with passengers on board, this is maybe not the time to demonstrate how short the landing can be. Instead, maybe try flapless if the runway is long enough to make the experience a pleasant one. Also practice smooth transitions to eliminate rough or rapid changes in direction of the aircraft. 

Flying conditions

Early morning rides are usually smoother, while in the afternoon the wind is normally stronger. Thermal turbulence usually increases as the day goes on. The weather conditions in your area will probably differ between seasons, with one part of the year providing better flying conditions than the others. As a general rule, in the northern (tropical) parts of Australia, winter (or the dry season) provides the better flying conditions, while down south it may be the opposite. 

The aircraft

Low winged aircraft generally produce better landings and high wings give a better scenic experience. What about cleaning the aircraft before the flight? Empty the rubbish that has accumulated over time and clean the windscreen. 

You might carry ear plugs for back seat pax if you are short of headsets (or there are no rear-seat headphone jacks). You can still use a headset as a noise protection device in an aircraft that does not allow you to connect them to the system. Alternatively, headphone splitter cables are readily available online. 

On long flights I usually ask my back seat pax not to move around too much. It is very annoying for a pilot to constantly need to retrim the aircraft due to a pax turning around and shifting the centre of gravity. 

If you lean the mixture, be careful not to reduce it too fast, and in the process stop the engine for a microsecond. Then having to spend the next 20 minutes explaining what happened and that everything is normal. 

The same goes with fuel tanks. Running fuel tanks dry before changing over is not the best confidence-boosting technique for your passengers.

Comedy acts

Smart comments like “What time is it?” when you have been asked how long you have been flying, or “Do you know where the airport is?” should not be used unless you are wellknown as a stand-up comedian and have established that fact beforehand. 

“The prop is actually a fan. It keeps the pilot cool…” 

Endurance – fuel v human

If your flight is a long one, keep the legs relatively short. Just because the aircraft has an endurance of six hours doesn’t mean that you should try to do it. Human bladders are normally the weakest part of the flight. 

I once had an incident where someone (who should have known better) decided to eat a meal with cabbage (it is a German thing). The next day that resulted in an unplanned landing at an airstrip with facilities because, “If you do not land very soon, I am going to do in my pants!” Let’s just say that nowhere in my training did they mention that one! 

Other pilots’ tips

Here are some tips for passenger management that a few of my fellow pilots kindly agreed to share. 

• If a pax is feeling queasy, suggest that they look at the horizon and have a sip of water (always carry a bottle or two just in case they do not). 
• Tailor your flying style to the nervousness of the pax. Look out for physical signs as well as their verbal responses to ascertain how they are really feeling. 
• If you are lucky enough to fly older aircraft (‘classics’) then explain that they are subject to a strict maintenance regime, and that you would not be going yourself if the aircraft was not safe to fly. 

Finally, the following section on emergencies has kindly been provided by Cameron Marchant, director and CFI at Flight Standards and director and chief pilot at aerial charter company Kakadu Air Services. 

“If your flight is a long one, keep the legs relatively short. Just because the aircraft has an endurance of 6 hours doesn’t mean that you should try to do it”

Managing passengers in emergencies

This is generally something that is poorly taught in flying schools. Our focus on passenger wellbeing and delivery of our service needs to be tailored to the circumstances of the flight. 

If we are taking friends for a flight, it needs to be friendly and enjoyable for them. If we are flying commercially, our delivery needs to be polite and professional. 

If the proverbial hits the fan – well, by necessity we transform from the friendly pilot into the assertive commander. 

A good point to remember is to be positive in your statements. “See that paddock, I will try to land there” may not instil confidence in the pax. 

Some useful strategies

There are a few strategies that you can apply that have their genesis in airline passenger handling processes. But these can easily be adapted for operations in any kind of airplane. These include the Alert Instruction (stay where you are while I work through this issue) and Position Power (using your authority to incite action from the pax). 

Briefing passengers in abnormal situations also needs to be given some thought, preferably before problems arise. The aim of the game here is to keep the passengers under the blissful impression that our life as pilots is boring. Leave out the technical explanations (“the #4 thronomister has fallen offline and will not reset”). Time critical emergencies will require a different briefing to the more mundane problems that may still impact the passengers. 

Finally, aftercare is important. Discuss with the passengers what has occurred and ensure that everyone is OK. If you do not take steps to maintain a rapport with passengers after an event, they will likely sensationalise it and probably cast you in a poor light on Facebook, Instagram or similar. They may also be deterred from wanting to fly in the future – which is not our goal.

Aero Circus has just published a new book called ‘Refine Your Flying Skills’. This article is an extract from the book, which explores a range of techniques pilots can use to enhance their professionalism when ‘behind the yoke’. 

See aerocircus.com.au for more details

Aero Circus was formed by a group of General Aviation pilots with different experience levels from RPL to Grade 1 Instructor. Their aim is to bridge the gap between what the CASA syllabus teaches and what a truly safe or employable pilot needs to know. For more information – including the full version of this article – see their website at aerocircus.com.au.