How to convince wife that her getting a pilot's license is a bad idea?

Pilot Here wrote:

Hardloper wrote:

Who says you need to be good with directions to fly? Every flight is pretty much a straight shot. You don't even need a map - just look down and there's your map!

Getting a PPL requires you to learn to fly with visual flight rules as opposed to instrument flight rules. There are various types of skills used under visual flight rules and the map gives you tons of information both about the terrain, airports, and airspace. You most definitely need to be good with directions, orientation, and using a map to meet the requirements of the PPL.

Not to mention the difficult conventions for flight-radio. My wife would never be able to learn these, since she can't even put together a coherent shopping list.

sceptical husband wrote:

I am not trolling or sexist. I support my wife in everything she does, even if I don't always like it. A few years ago she started a part-time job at the pet groomer, and I didn't say anything even though it sometimes interferes with our dinner time. But this pilot idea is just stupid. Flying a plane is complicated business, and a woman like her is honestly not smart enough to do it. It would just be a waste of time and money to try, but she doesn't believe me when I tell her this. Is there a different hobby I could suggest she try instead? She could probably get a typing job, she is pretty good at that.

Fund it for her. She will know pretty early in the process if she can do it. Ground school is a bi$ch.

I should have known better than to ask for advice on Let's Run. Last night we got into a big argument about this pilot stuff. I told her the answer was "no" and that was final. She actually stormed out of the house and didn't come back until after I was asleep. I had heat up dinner myself. Then this morning she left early before I was up, and came back a few hours later to announce that she'd signed up for a "learn to fly" program at a private airport near here. WTF?!! Behind my back! I called them to cancel it, but I guess she told them about me and they refused to do it. Since I pay the credit card bill, isn't the flight instructor legally obligated to cancel the lessons if I tell them to? I also went looking through her purse and found that "Lean In" book by Sheryl Sandberg. Could that be what's putting these ideas in her head? She won't listen to reason.

Private pilots without an instrument rating, who fly recreationally in small general aviation aircraft, are generally about as statistically safe as motorcycle riders. Most aviation accidents occur in recreational flying where low-time VFR pilots make common mistakes. Unfortunately, these mistakes spiral into fatal consequences too often. Older, recreational weekend warriors in their Beechcrafts, Pipers and Cessnas are the ones who make professionals shudder. In fact, the Beechcraft Bonanza was called the "doctor killer" because of the not-very-competent but wealthy owners who killed themselves flying them.

If I had a family member who really, really wanted to fly, I would recommend soaring/glider training first. Soaring accidents are rare, usually non-fatal, and it's a much more cerebral and mentally challenging way to fly than single-engine general aviation. It's also much less expensive than powered flying.

Second, I would recommend training beyond the private certificate to earn an instrument rating. General aviation pilots with instrument ratings are far, far safer and more competent than VFR aviators. They have more hours in the air, hold much better command of their aircraft, understand the national airspace system well, and if nothing else won't kill themselves and their passengers when they lose reference to the horizon. Instrument pilots are also required to maintain their IFR skills such that they are more regular fliers than VFR weekend warriors.

Third, I would push for a commercial certificate instead of the recreational/private certs, because again greater skill, better understanding and more competence come into play for commercial aviators, beyond the larger volume of time in the air. Aircraft piloted by commercial cert holders with instrument ratings are very, very safe. I'm an ATP and I wouldn't hesitate to fly on a long range IFR flight plan with a commercial cert holder with instrument rating, as long as I had a chance to brief with them ahead of time.

The last to consider is that flying, even little, older, general aviation aircraft, is incredibly expensive. Minor repairs easily run into many thousands of dollars, and aircraft are highly complex machines. Gaining and maintaining certification, aircraft maintenance status, paying for fuel, associated equipment, we're talking very large outlays to keep it up. I once had a glitch with an electronic HSI, one of many small instruments on the panel, that required 12 weeks and $14,000 dollars to repair. One has to truly love flying, or be paid to fly professionally, to deal with the endless headaches that it brings.

Forget trolling.... You are blatantly one ignorant a**hole! Unbelievable. Do you keep your wife on a retractor leash? Make sure the choker collar's not too tight. Wow! What a neanderthal.

troll-no-stylee wrote:

it's almost like these trolls all took the same course in how to write unconvincingly. Hint: just write like you normally do

nothing give's it away faster than the JC Penny Mannequin Dad affect.....no one actually writes like that,,,,except for trolls....over and over and over and over again.

... except it is two pages long now, and going strong. I gave this troll 6/10 for a reason. I know good trolls.

If you're a troll, you got me.

If you're not...wow. You're lucky your wife even told you she did it. And your marriage has some mending to do.

Now she is a Japanese mail-order bride, her grandfather was shot down by Ben Affleck at Pearl Harbor and she runs the microwave for you. Also, you don't like her gettin and book learnin and control all the money. Wasn't this a Lifetime Original movie?

Tell us more!

Have you asked her about joining the mile high club?

You don't make enough money.....Next...

You guys are making me sound like a monster, but I just want what's best for everyone. We are a God-loving family, and believe it's the wife's duty to honor and obey her husband like it says in the Bible. The husband has the experience and wisdom to make decisions for the family, and in exchange it's his responsibility to provide for the family. I asked Rev. Lovejoy to talk to her about this, but he said we should work it out ourselves. I'm less mad about the pilot lessons themselves, as I am that she went behind my back without my permission. I know in Saudi Arabia women need a male guardian's permission to do most things, is there anything like that in the USA if a woman's marriage vows were to honor and obey? Is that legally enforceable somehow? I am in Arizona if that matters.

Are you claiming to be a Simpson's character? Is this an episode reference? Did Marge ever get a pilot's license? I remember she had that melt down on the bridge and ended up on the police force.

I think I quit watching in the '90s so you'll need to help me out here.

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I like your suggestion of glider-training as an alternative to a full-blown pilot's license.

What's the weight-limit for a glider-plane?

got a $100,000 to spend?

Flying is easy.

Taking off is easy.

With GPS you cannot get lost.

Understanding the communications with the different ATC and Tower areas can be perplexing at first, but you figure it out or die trying.

Landing well is the hard part.

When she gets her pilot's license she'll be better than you.

Does she already have life insurance? Better get on that before she gets the license. Premiums are about to go through the roof and/or declined coverage. OR if already in-force, potentially cancelled.

You win either way with a 10 million dollar term life insurance on her

Karl Hungus wrote:

Increase life insurance policy, then let her take lessons. Problem solved.

I think that when I took out a life insurance policy a looong time ago there were restrictions on some activities at least for a while like skydiving and learning to fly. A few years later I did take flying lessons. I am guessing that had I died the insurance company would not have paid up.

That's a really expensive hobby that only the very rich and successful can afford. Getting the pilots license is very expensive. An instrument rating costs even more. Even after all that the gasoline costs to fly regularly can only be afforded by the 1%.