What I do is watch the pilot do the preflight. If he doesn't do it by the book, I won't fly with him.
For example, checking if there's gas in the tank. Bob Denver forgot to do that, ran out of fuel, crashed and died.
Make sure he warms up the engine all the way before takeoff, and does the magneto check at full power. Not doing this causes engine failure shortly after takeoff - a common fatal mistake.
If the weather looks dodgy, don't fly no matter what the pilot says. JFK jr flew into haze without being instrument rated, and died.
Failing last 3 are the most common causes of general aviation crashes.
And few, if any, commercial aviation customers understand anything remotely close to why a preflight is necessary, what happens when your single pilot is incapacitated, or why GA doesn't fly when commercials still can.
Ridesharing for GA aviation is a terrible idea, yet again "disrupting" by breaking the law and ignoring higher than normal risks.
The first time I flew , I parachuted out . Six people in an old Piper that rattled like hell . . seemed safer to jump . . later the jump master said their were lose interior panels that caused all that noise an were left to entice jumpers . . out !
In college I worked at an FBO where there was a skydiving operation. Lots of old cranks would come in and say "It's crazy to jump out of a perfectly good airplane!" to which I would respond "Boy have we got the airplane for you!" or "Wait 'til you see the plane before you make up your mind."
Comments
If you feel uncomfortable with your Uber diver, you can tell them to stop, and you can get out of the car.
What happens in the sky?
What I do is watch the pilot do the preflight. If he doesn't do it by the book, I won't fly with him.
For example, checking if there's gas in the tank. Bob Denver forgot to do that, ran out of fuel, crashed and died.
Make sure he warms up the engine all the way before takeoff, and does the magneto check at full power. Not doing this causes engine failure shortly after takeoff - a common fatal mistake.
If the weather looks dodgy, don't fly no matter what the pilot says. JFK jr flew into haze without being instrument rated, and died.
Failing last 3 are the most common causes of general aviation crashes.
And few, if any, commercial aviation customers understand anything remotely close to why a preflight is necessary, what happens when your single pilot is incapacitated, or why GA doesn't fly when commercials still can.
Ridesharing for GA aviation is a terrible idea, yet again "disrupting" by breaking the law and ignoring higher than normal risks.
You have to wait for them to stop before you get out. The same is true albeit to a lesser degree for the Uber.
Parachute.
The first time I flew , I parachuted out . Six people in an old Piper that rattled like hell . . seemed safer to jump . . later the jump master said their were lose interior panels that caused all that noise an were left to entice jumpers . . out !
In college I worked at an FBO where there was a skydiving operation. Lots of old cranks would come in and say "It's crazy to jump out of a perfectly good airplane!" to which I would respond "Boy have we got the airplane for you!" or "Wait 'til you see the plane before you make up your mind."