Geniune Fear Of Flying

Two things that might help,

Go and have a PPL introductory lesson. They are not that expensive and you will get to fly.
Read about how planes fly, how many redudancy systems they have on board and just how safe civil aviation is now with so much automation.

I love flying, if I could do my life again I would work as hard as I possibly could to become an airline pilot. Too old now though really :(
 
kenmare said:
Dosen't help the nerves. Never used to dislike flights til I realised one day that mine and everyone's lives are at the complete whim of a guy at the front. A guy who is subject to all the ailments of life.

Makes me distinctly nervous.
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I can only quote the pilot from a recent flight but here goes and no doubt our experts may put me right:
We had to wait for a co-pilot because the other one had been taken ill so it was a 2 hour wait.
Anyway, when we landed in Manchester the pilot apologised for the delay and then said "We didn't need him after all that because the plane took off itself, flew itself and landed itself" :eek:
 
DMPoole - Some of the very modern airliners are automated enough to do that but most have the pilots land/take-off but the rest of the flight is on "cruise control" where the auto-pilot does everything.
 
Dark Sun said:
I remember taking off and landing at Lukla airport. That was err...interesting..
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That Lukla airport was on the worlds most dangerous airports on channel 5 a while ago. Wasn't impressive as it doesn't handle large aircraft though. :(
 
panthro said:
Look at the statistics of plane deaths vs car deaths. Or plane deaths vs being struck by lightning or bee stings.
Modern aircraft are so well built and designed to withstand all sorts of conditions. I find the more I fly the less I enjoy it. I went through a phase last year when I was in the air every 8 weeks and I ended up dreading it. Im now taking 6 flights a month and I still dont enjoy it, but its become more tolerable.
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It's a phobia thing though, I know that the moths which fly into my house cannot hurt me, it's literally impossible. But they scare the **** out of me, always have since I was a child. If one comes near me it sends a surge of uncontrollable fear through me.

I guess it's the same if you're terrified of flying.
 
mattyg said:
Believe it or not my Mrs got over her fear by watching Aircraft investigations. After every crash the authorities have changed something or implemented a change so whatever went wrong doesn't happen again.

Plus I believe if its my time...Its my time.
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lol I've been flying every few months to my dads by myself since I was 10, used to love it, then 4-5 years ago I started watching aircrash investigation and assume something will happen on every flight I'm on.

Can't stand 747s and looking at how much the wing bends.
 
I hadn't been on a plane since I was 8 or 9 and that was only to Jersey. Earlier in the year I took my mrs and the kids to Spain for a week and was a bit worried about flying. Truth be told, I was bricking it just before going on.

If anything it was a boring 2.5 hours. Must admit coming in to land made my stomach go a bit funny and gave me earache. That was about it.
 
albert said:
My rational thinking is that 1000's of pilots and stewardesses go to work evry day and nothing happens . But my last flight was very very scary and i can't forget it.

What you say is very true but i just need to get my head around it ....
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Do you leave your house during the day? More chance of dieing tbh
 
Go book yourself a flying lesson and get up for 30 mins in a little light aircraft, by my reconing that should sort you out and get you ready for the trip... It also makes a good day out and you can take 2 people up with you as well.
 
im just about to pursue a career as a airframe and powerplant technician.

air travel is pretty safe, standards are so high.

all i can say is make sure your not on a plane that ive been working on. ;P
 
Reminds me of flying back from the US once, we hit the mother of all storms coming through the arctic circle - at times it felt like the plane literally stopped going forwards and dropped 100s of feet straight down I remember watching a small bottle of wine practically floating in mid air for a few moments before shooting off to the back of the plane and then later it came back down the other aisle :D

I've flown dozens of times and never had that happen before or since tho.
 
Fortunately I've never had an eventful plane journey so flying doesn't bother me. I am borderline phobic of airports though ... all those crowds and having to wait around queuing when under time constraints normally stresses me out completely ... once I'm on the plane though I generally relax.
 
Narrow down the irrational.

Aircraft investigations is great. It does go on to show the resilience that is in place in the aircraft world. If you did die in a crash, our flying would be made safer because of this.

Also,watch the documentaries on building the Boeing 747, 777 and Airbus A380. It shows the technical wow factor involved.

Pilots aren't deliberately going to fly into bad weather.
Pilots don't want to die. (Actually the suicidal ones do)..
En-route, there are back up landing fields if things go wrong.
Computers know the way, weight of the plane and fuel on board.
Air traffic controllers are paid loads to assist with the safety of flights.
Luggage and passengers are all screened.

Also, get a copy of FSX or XPlane and fly for yourself too.
 
Nodiggidy123 said:
im just about to pursue a career as a airframe and powerplant technician.

air travel is pretty safe, standards are so high.

all i can say is make sure your not on a plane that ive been working on. ;P
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My husband worked in the aircraft industry for many years, so he does reassure me.
 
!bluetonic! said:
Pilots aren't deliberately going to fly into bad weather.

Also, get a copy of FSX or XPlane and fly for yourself too.
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I don't want to discourage you, but that's not completely true - an RAF medic (who kind of saved my life) once told me that RyanAir and probably some other airlines pay their pilots more for going through bad weather. Plus if it's a choice between going through bad weather and making it on time or going round and barely having enough fuel to land i think i know which choice they'd make, and which choice i'd rather they made.

But that last bit might not be bad advice; cheaper than actually getting a flying lesson (free if you can live with FlightGear) but you still get to learn how it all works, which should really help with confidence issues.
 
PermaBanned said:
I don't want to discourage you, but that's not completely true - an RAF medic (who kind of saved my life) once told me that RyanAir and probably some other airlines pay their pilots more for going through bad weather. Plus if it's a choice between going through bad weather and making it on time or going round and barely having enough fuel to land i think i know which choice they'd make, and which choice i'd rather they made.
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That's not completely true. Ryanair and most other airlines avoid the same weather that British Airways do. They are under greater commercial pressure to take shortcuts but they don't do it to the detriment of safety. They fly the same routes as everyone else and fly to the same standards. Ryanair might be a cowboy outfit but the two drivers up front aren't.

Pilots do not deliberately fly into bad weather. They don't get paid to do so. They wouldn't have a very long career if they did.
 
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