Have you ever flown with a fellow pilot in the right seat of your GA airplane? It’s difficult not to pass some of the mundane workload to them, and it’s hard for them to resist being an operational part of the flight. It’s a great problem to have, especially when your right seat offers to set and switch frequencies for you.
However, most of us fly with a non-pilot in our right seat, usually a family member. The experiences these passengers have in your airplane are as unique and varied as they are.
Some right-seat passengers are so enthralled with flying that they get their certificate, while others see their seat next to you as Row 1A on “Spouse Airlines.” Some right-seaters are blasé, others nervous, and so on.
Regardless of their disposition, what if you could provide your non-pilot partner with something that excites them about each flight, increases safety, reduces task saturation, and even could save your life if you are incapacitated? It is accomplishable if you can successfully spark their interest and address their concerns.
You know your family and friends well, but that’s not always sufficient to help them become an engaged participant. It is important to understand and acknowledge the psychology of a non-pilot riding in a small plane where they have the same controls in front of them as you but strict orders not to touch unless so authorized.
Understanding their perspective before deciding to teach them how to navigate by VOR can better ensure that your efforts encourage your right-seat passengers on the flight deck and don’t intimidate them or otherwise turn them off.
Various resources are available for airplane passengers that can inform them of the goings on in a plane and even assuage their nerves, but most aim to reach airline passengers. GA airplanes present a very different experience. For passengers who fly in the cockpit, help is available from many organizations like AOPA to demystify flight in something smaller than a 737.
There are also hands-on programs, such as Right Seat Ready!©, a seminar delivered across the U.S. and at major aviation events by licensed psychotherapist and Mooney pilot Jolie Lucas. The focus of these programs is familiarization. Lucas recommends honing in on a few areas in particular.
Safety
Have your right-seat passenger learn about the capabilities of GA airplanes, safety features, and safety equipment to understand more clearly when everything is OK, when something is wrong, and if they can help.
Medical
Medical conditions and medication interactions in pilots are key concerns. Using memory aids such as IMSAFE on the ground, a right-seat passenger can learn to assess a pilot’s readiness for flight as a backup to the pilot’s self-evaluation.
Aircraft operation
Like pilots, pilot companions should learn emergency procedures, basic communication, navigation, and flight techniques so that they can assist the pilot during a normal flight (tune radios, watch for traffic, etc.) and save their lives should the pilot become incapacitated.
EFB usage
Learning how to use an EFB can help your right-seat passenger gain basic situational awareness and also help find FBOs, hotels, and restaurants to increase the enjoyment of destinations reached by air. ForeFlight offers a companion product to its app for passengers.
Flight simulation
With a flight simulator, companions can master the basics of controlling an airplane (including landing), using the radio, and operating an autopilot.
Knowledge is power, and power breeds confidence, enjoyment, and participation. Add practical experience learning about instruments and procedures in the safety of a simulator and the right seat of a real airplane, and you will watch your right-seat passenger become a partner in flight.