Welcome to my world. If you had a flight like mine then you WOULD have a fear of flying .... http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18306513
Fear of flying
- Thread starter fastwunz
- Start date
This is a major part of it for me. It is also the claustrophobia of being in a sealed cabin for any prolonged period of time, placing your trust in the designers of the aircraft, the (outsourced to Poland or India) engineers that maintain them and the operators, and also the 'reflection time' you'd get on the way down...
I've spent the latter part of the six years it's been since I last flew coming to terms with it and trying to deal with it. It has cost me a relationship or two and missing out on a very good friend's stag do. I even went for hypnosis which I thought was going to work but wore off just before I was due to fly and I succumbed to a virtual nervous breakdown a week before the flight. I have flown before (14 times in total) but the cumulative effect of a few minor bad experiences finally got to me.
I think about it (flying and my phobia of it) a lot. It is an internal conflict with me; There is part of me that can't see what all the fuss is about and wants to go and see places and do cool things; yet there is another part of me that is an anxiety-ridden mess about it - even down to (and I'm not kidding) thoughts of "It's gonna be me" or "Just my luck..." Hence I've avoided it for so long.
I've started to take a fresh look at it again since Xmas. I've figured out that I am a generally pretty anxious person and so have downloaded a 30-day course of self-help 'beat anxiety' hypnosis. If that helps me then I'll try moving on to their fear of flying one. To the OP: Are you anxious in other situations or more generally?
Jonny - you have nothing TJ worry about when it comes to maintenance.
There are so many strict laws and inspections that it really is better for the airlines of they follow all procedure to the letter!
Even Easyjet and Ryanair have very very good safety standards and maintenance
There are so many strict laws and inspections that it really is better for the airlines of they follow all procedure to the letter!
Even Easyjet and Ryanair have very very good safety standards and maintenance
Soldato
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Two questions that have puzzled me for a while:
1. On Easyjet, what is that sound that goes 'hrrrrnnnnggtt' 'hrrrrnnnnggtt' 'hrrrrnnnnggtt' well kinda sounds like something winding/tightening up like a starter motor but with a weak battery. Everytime when just about to taxi to the runway .
2. And also, why does the electrics /(lights/speaker/ac etc) cut out everytime for a fraction when the announcement is getting played back? Is this the pilot turning on the ignition like in a car the radio cuts out ?
1. On Easyjet, what is that sound that goes 'hrrrrnnnnggtt' 'hrrrrnnnnggtt' 'hrrrrnnnnggtt' well kinda sounds like something winding/tightening up like a starter motor but with a weak battery. Everytime when just about to taxi to the runway .
2. And also, why does the electrics /(lights/speaker/ac etc) cut out everytime for a fraction when the announcement is getting played back? Is this the pilot turning on the ignition like in a car the radio cuts out ?
Never experienced it 1st hand having never been on a Airbus but apparently it's the PTU (Power Transfer Unit) for the hydraulics. Often referred to as the 'barking dog'
Soldato
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Never experienced it 1st hand having never been on a Airbus but apparently it's the PTU (Power Transfer Unit) for the hydraulics. Often referred to as the 'barking dog'
It's really all powered from a steam boiler they just call it a 'PTU'..
I'm not petrified of flying but I don't like it, always worried about it and a massive relief when the plan finally touches down. Probably doesn't help that my dad is scared of flying so I didn't travel by jet until I was 23, and I didn't enjoy the sensation during takeoff at all the first time. My mouth always goes dry during takeoff and landing and apparently my hands get sweaty, according to the wife
The fact it is "safer than crossing the road" is kinda irrelevant to my fear, because:
1) You have no control, when I cross the road I can look both ways, choose when to cross, run if I think I need to etc. The stats will be warped by all the people stumbling down country lanes while drunk at 3am in the fog.
2) If an accident does occur, there is a much higher chance of serious injury / death
The fact it is "safer than crossing the road" is kinda irrelevant to my fear, because:
1) You have no control, when I cross the road I can look both ways, choose when to cross, run if I think I need to etc. The stats will be warped by all the people stumbling down country lanes while drunk at 3am in the fog.
2) If an accident does occur, there is a much higher chance of serious injury / death
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Not as bad as Air India
When I flew with them with their BRAND NEW 777's, the entertainment system, lights and intercom kept turning on and off.
Flew on 4 of their 777's an every one of them got progressively worse.
Since then I've never flown AI again
My opinion has always been, once you step foot on the plane, it is out of your hands. Why worry? I understand that it might be easy for to say that, but I have the same thought process when I get in a car. You are more likely to die in a car. Get on the plane, if it goes down, why worry? It's just something that happens.
Caporegime
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Cleeecooo talks a lot of sense.
I was petrified of flying. I then started playing FSX and it gave me a whole new insight into how planes work and the lack of human skill really needed to fly them.
Since I have been playing, I have not had one ounce of nervousness on a flight and actually now look forward to it. rather than panicking everytime I hear a noise, I now know exactly what the noise is. Rather than thinking "****, the engines have stopped". I now think "We're at cruising altitude, they have throttled back". Rather than thinking "What's that strange noise" as we climb, I now think "flaps have been retracted".
honestly, it's an age old principle. Once you know how something works, the less you will be afraid of it.
Just think about aluminum fatigue and how often the wings and such flex. If they didn't calculate the number of cycles correctly the wings could snap off from the vibration at any moment. Especially planes that take often short flights as the constant pressure cycles deform and fatigue the metal even more quickly.
You're going to die.
You're going to die.
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Associate
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I hope you're not basing that off the default aircraft you get in FSX. Microsoft purposely make them over-simplified and very easy to fly, exactly because most people don't have the skill to operate and fly them properly. Try out the PMDG 737NGX (or any PMDG product) if you haven't already.
It still helps you learn the basic principles of flight and that really helps so that way you can understand what is happening. For example, why the spoilers are used.
It also helps in BF3 as I only understood how to fly a help properly after understanding the Bernoulli effect.
Caporegime
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I'm not petrified of flying but I don't like it, always worried about it and a massive relief when the plan finally touches down. Probably doesn't help that my dad is scared of flying so I didn't travel by jet until I was 23, and I didn't enjoy the sensation during takeoff at all the first time. My mouth always goes dry during takeoff and landing and apparently my hands get sweaty, according to the wife
The fact it is "safer than crossing the road" is kinda irrelevant to my fear, because:
1) You have no control, when I cross the road I can look both ways, choose when to cross, run if I think I need to etc. The stats will be warped by all the people stumbling down country lanes while drunk at 3am in the fog.
2) If an accident does occur, there is a much higher chance of serious injury / death
Statistically not probability.
I actually like it, it's like a ride at the fair when it takes off.
Ah the bi-monthly 'I'm scared of flying' thread 
As always happy to help if I can by explaining anything that might make you feel worried.
Ignore all of the above posts that are so negative about flying. Its is certainly not Russian roulette and its the safest form of travel. I'd not do it every day otherwise
This is actually most likely the Yellow system (there are three hydraulic systems, with colours for names) electric pump, but it sounds pretty much the same as the PTU you mentioned. (the PTU is used to transfer pressure between Yellow and Green Hyd systems). The reason for this is that Easyjet often single-engine taxi to the runway to save fuel before starting the 2nd engine at the hold. In this case the No1 engine (on the left) is usually started first, this powers the Green Hyd system. Whilst taxing the Yellow system elec pump is used to keep the system pressurised before starting No2 engine. You'll also hear it on landing as a lot of airlines shutdown one engine whilst taxing back to stand.
This happens when we are switching between power sources. Whilst on the ground we use a ground power source, literally plugging the aircraft into the mains! It safes fuel and noise on running the APU (little jet engine in the tail of the plane that provides air and electrics when the main engines aren't running) As we get ready to depart (and as such usually as the cabin crew starting doing the demonstrations/announcements) we will start the APU and transfer the aircraft electrics to it, this is clunk that is heard/seen and makes all the lights flicker. It also happens when we start the main engines, for the same reasons. As the engine generators come online they automatically take over the electrics from the APU.
As always happy to help if I can by explaining anything that might make you feel worried.Ignore all of the above posts that are so negative about flying. Its is certainly not Russian roulette and its the safest form of travel. I'd not do it every day otherwise
This is actually most likely the Yellow system (there are three hydraulic systems, with colours for names) electric pump, but it sounds pretty much the same as the PTU you mentioned. (the PTU is used to transfer pressure between Yellow and Green Hyd systems). The reason for this is that Easyjet often single-engine taxi to the runway to save fuel before starting the 2nd engine at the hold. In this case the No1 engine (on the left) is usually started first, this powers the Green Hyd system. Whilst taxing the Yellow system elec pump is used to keep the system pressurised before starting No2 engine. You'll also hear it on landing as a lot of airlines shutdown one engine whilst taxing back to stand.
This happens when we are switching between power sources. Whilst on the ground we use a ground power source, literally plugging the aircraft into the mains! It safes fuel and noise on running the APU (little jet engine in the tail of the plane that provides air and electrics when the main engines aren't running) As we get ready to depart (and as such usually as the cabin crew starting doing the demonstrations/announcements) we will start the APU and transfer the aircraft electrics to it, this is clunk that is heard/seen and makes all the lights flicker. It also happens when we start the main engines, for the same reasons. As the engine generators come online they automatically take over the electrics from the APU.
I once met a commercial airline pilot who said that lessons might be a good way of getting over a fear of flying as you would learn how everything works and what to expect so that when you go flying in the future you would be more familiar with the routine.