To be a bit scared of DH's hobby?

Must less likely for someone to crash into you in a plane though

I agree with others about life assurance. Does he already have it op? Because if he isn’t responsible enough to make provision for his family, I would find it hard to trust his ability to assess risk. It should be factored in to the cost of the hobby.

But if he doesn’t have it, or won’t pay for it, get it for your own peace of mind.

The issue isn’t the university, it’s your son. The uni shouldn’t tell you anything, but if you are financially supporting him then he should. You need to have that conversation with him. I do feel your pain.

This is a good example of poor risk assessment. Twice a year skiing isn't comparable to riding a motorbike daily.

But agree so much with what @HoppingPavlova has written. Whilst looking at his check yours as well .

Life insurance. Make sure it will cover any assistance you will need with the kids if he is not there. That’s how we did both of ours. Added up the cost of nanny when young, nanny when school age times by the years we’d need that for, indexed and added it to other things like paying house off etc. Then at least you know this aspect will be covered.

I am connected to a small airport. There are frequent minor crashes with very minor injuries or no injuries. There are rules about how high they have to fly above a populated area and these aircraft don't go massively high and can glide down with no engines and only fly in good weather. The only bad accident was an unusual attempt at crossing the sea in a one-persom tiny aircraft. I would want to know his flying club take safety as seriously as any aviation organisation should: i.e. putting safety above everything and having a good culture where people can freely raise concerns without fear.

When you seek life insurance for him, be sure to declare the private flying on the proposal. The increased premium will tell you what professional risk assessors think about the matter...

My husband is a pilot, but being the daredevil he is, he mainly does aerobatics, enters competions all over Europe and he always entered the red bull races.
Tbh I just put it out of my mind, if he stopped his flying he would be miserable and thats not fair. Just suck it up, there is very rarely accidents.
T

That's true for commercial airliners but I'm not sure it's the case for light aircraft. I don't say that to terrify the OP, but light aircraft are much more vulnerable than big commercial jets.

Statistically he is safer in a plane. Try and look at the facts rather than be led by your emotions.

I recommend insuring him up to the arse too. You can insurance that pays out a monthly sum (I have insurance on H that will pay this till our youngest is 18) and lump sum insurance, and, insurance to pay off the remaining mortgage.

You can't do much about the emotional side if he dies, but you can totally deal with the financial worry though insurance.

Statistically he is a lot safer in a plane than on a motorbike.

Yes my ExH started with a club and then bought a share.

The club will have additional rules about flying every so often in order to make sure you are familiar with procedures.

The share in the aircraft was absolutely not financially worth it as he bought half and then they both decided to upgrade the electronics and it was in the hangar being worked on for 18 months!

The club tend to be very protective of their aircraft. If they think there's the slightest chance you'll get a scratch on anything it will be suddenly unavailable.

It's not that simple though - light aircraft are much more dangerous than commercial, but working out if safer than car has too many variables.

Lots of people do worry about car journeys, especially if taking a long journey or weather is bad.

Although broadly I do agree with you, people as whole are not good at rational risk assessment.

You have to revalidate your licence every maybe two years by sitting a short practical test with an examiner.

Most places that rent planes will also insist you are "current on type" ie have flown that type of plane within the last three months. If not they'll insist on a hours "check ride" with an instructor to make sure you are ok. If the instructor doesn't sign off then you won't be allowed to rent the plane.

I'm not sure that's true when it comes to private/light aircraft.

You’re certainly safer in a commercial airliner than a car. Don’t know whether that is true of light aircraft.

I agree about the life insurance and checking that it covers solo flights. Although I recommend this for all parents, especially SAHP . That way at least if the worst happens money isn't a worry.

He’s safer in a plane than a car. Do you worry each time he drives somewhere?

A friend of DH's died while out doing one of their mutually shared hobbies. It is scary to think about, but realistically, the chances are tiny and he's at more risk every time he drives to work or crosses the road.

He has a good life insurance policy and pension plan, and keeps his equipment up to date. He's also very sensible and won't go out in adverse weather, tells me where he is etc.

It was scary for me at first, especially knowing his friend had died doing exactly that - but honestly, it was just a fluke accident and not something anyone could have predicted.