AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2023 - 106

FLY WITH AOPA
ASI TIPS /
Love is in the air
Share your joy in flying with family and friends
BY TERRIE MEAD
reasonable to infer that flying with friends
is more fun than flying solo.
While it's true that carrying passengers
on board might increase the potential
for distraction and an associated decrease
in safety, the risk-benefit balance tips
decidedly in favor of the reward side. By
giving your passengers tasks in spotting
traffic, radio communication, and simple
navigation, you may help them feel more
invested in the mission. Instead of a distraction,
your passengers contribute to the
flight's success.
With a safety culture established and
cooperating as a crew, much like the airline
industry, you and your mate can
operate a nearly risk-free flight. For the
pilot, eliminating distractions and reducing
information overload allows you
to focus on what's most important, flying
the airplane.
Although GA's safety record is outLOVE
I S L I T ER ALLY in the air! It's the
month of giving valentines, and there is no
better occasion for aviation enthusiasts to
share their love of flying with family and
friends. To help with that, the AOPA Air
Safety Institute created the Companion
Copilot video series through a generous
donation by Steve and Libby Maus.
The hope for this series is to encourage
folks who might otherwise be
reluctant to take to the skies by demonstrating
how safe it is to fly. It further
teaches that some training and tasksharing
can help a disengaged passenger
become more involved in the experience
and fully appreciate the unique adventure
of flying by private airplane.
Let's climb to 35,000 feet for a minute
and have a look around. Flying is enviably
efficient at this altitude. Many of us general
aviation pilots can take a page out of
the organization and safety handbooks
of commercial airlines and corporate
flight departments. Their dedication to
effective crew resource management is
106
AOPA PILOT / February 2023
admirable and worthy of our imitation.
Through the Companion Copilot series,
nonpilot passengers learn to be contributing
crewmembers-an integral element
in the flight's operational strategy rather
than a spectator.
In 2010, AOPA commissioned a
research firm to identify attributes
associated with an optimal flight training
experience (airsafetyinstitute.org/
2010FlightTrainingExp). The researchers
answered one crucial question: Why
do students pursue primary flight training?
Sixty-five percent of those surveyed
responded with " for recreational reasons, "
rather than for business or in
pursuit of a professional pilot career. So,
a large majority of pilots learn to fly for
the sole purpose of personal enjoyment.
Keeping with the theme of enjoyment,
a broader study undertaken by academics
from outside the field of aviation concluded
that we humans do indeed enjoy ourselves
more when we share our adventures rather
than experience them alone. From this, it's
standing compared to decades past, there
is space for improvement, given that we
still suffer an average of 200 fatalities
annually. Here at the AOPA Air Safety
Institute, we won't quit until that number
is zero. terrie.mead@aopa.org
Companion Copilot
video series
The AOPA Air Safety Institute
presents a five-part video series for
nonpilot passengers to learn basic
aerodynamics and piloting skills.
The series touches on the preflight
process, route planning, navigation,
radio communications, and air traffic
control (ATC). By the end of the
series, our right-seat companions
will have a firm grasp on the fundamentals
of flight, allowing them to
feel at ease and fully appreciate the
experience.
The AOPA Air Safety Institute is the safety
arm of the association. ASI produces free
programs to help all pilots fly safer. From
groundbreaking online courses and videos
to popular live seminars, ASI is the leader
in aviation safety education.
airsafetyinstitute.org
http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/2010flighttrainingexp http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/2010flighttrainingexp http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2023

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