First (non-family) passenger..

But he's close to being family. This evening I took my best friend from high school up for his first flight in a small aircraft.

Soon after we rotated and were climbing up into the sky, he uttered a memorable quote: "Does the air blowing on my leg mean this door is going to fly open?" To which I answered, "No, but you can adjust the flow of air from the air vent next to your ankle with the silver lever". Note to self about another item to be discussed in the passenger briefing!

He was an excellent passenger, helping me with checklists, spotting landmarks, and asking very good questions. We flew from Mettetal, northeast bound towards St. Clair County / Port Huron International (KPHN). By the time we arrived at 15 miles out, the tower had closed for the day, so I explained how it became an "uncontrolled field" and we discussed radio announcements and pattern entry procedures.

My passenger snapped some pictures on the flight segment going back to Mettetal, and I told him that we would be performing a "no landing light" landing. I assured him that I had practiced just such a thing during my training to become a pilot, and he seemed only mildly alarmed :)

Pilot controlled lighting finally clicked on as we rolled out on final, and my right seat friend exclaimed "cool!" To which he quickly added "doesn't that runway look small?" I gave a chuckle and reminded him that I land here "all the time".

He was very excited about the flight, and expressed interest in going again... which is how I want all my flights (with people who have never been in a small plane) to end.

Time this flight: 1.5
Total Time: 88.8