[E_Dawg]

I took my scared dad up shortly after getting my license. The key is to give your passengers something to do or think about so they don't start wandering off thinking about what 'might' happen. A few examples include explaining some of the basic instruments, giving them something to read during your preflight (maybe some kind of info on the plane you're going to fly them in), explaining what the controllers are saying, etc. Another key is to keep the flight nice and short, just a quick jaunt around the pattern or in the practice area, and all the while ask how it is going and how they are feeling. Keep the banks shallow, smooth, and coordinated. The only other thing I can think of is to just downplay everything, i.e. during the preflight don't point to the elevator and say something like 'if this falls off they're gonna be scraping our brains off the sidewalks with shovels', just point to it and say this is how we control the plane.

Since that first short flight, my dad has gone with me on a *real* cross country (something like 2hrs) and we now have a Vegas overnighter planned (5 hrs round trip), though I'm sure the destination has something to do with that!