OT: Experience in Small Planes, What can you tell me? Options

[TROJANMAN]

Who has experience flying, or flying in, smallplanes. We are about to take a 4 hour trip in a small plane,and the first question everyone asks, is "do you have a will?"
Sounds funny at first, but then you think there must be a reason they are asking.

Can anyone tell me of their experiences of flying in small planes. We are flying in a 6 seater, single engine prop from CO to AR. I am ok with it, but my wife freaked out when i showed her a picture of the plane.

[Finlandese]

Hi,

I am a professional pilot who teaches in the big simulators and in the small aircraft. My apologies for the lecture that is about to follow..

Beech Bonanza is the Mercedes(when they still made reliable cars..) of the single-engine piston aircraft. A great plane, and sounds like TROJANMAN and his family will have a great trip. However, I´d like to correct couple points that have been made earlier in this thread:

1. People often refer to the excellent safety record of aviation as a whole, without knowing what the difference between the accident rate of transport aircraft and general aviation. The accident rate of general aviation on par with motorcycling. The good part(for general aviation) is that, where as in motorcycle accidents in 75% of the accidents the bikers personal behaviour wasn´t the fault of the accident, in general aviation it is the other way around. 75% of the general aviation accidents are pilot induced. So, a good pilot will make a lot bigger difference to the risk of flying a general aviation aircraft, than a good biker to riding a motorcycle.

2. The glide ratio of a general aviation aircraft is usually less than half of a medium jet. For example, Boeing 737 has a glide ratio of 22 to 1, where as Beech Bonanza has a glide ratio of 10 to 1. But, as far as forced landings go that´s enough. The important bit is that a general aviation aircraft has a low stall speed, and can be landed in a small clearing, or if there isn´t one available, in low enough speed that the people inside have a good chance of surviving.

Based on what TROJANMAN has posted, sounds like the pilot involved knows what he is doing, and knows how to deal with a passenger afraid of flying (very important to try to take all the pressure off a person afraid of flying). I´m sure the trip will be a great one.

-Jani