Are You Personally Afraid of Flying?

[russ_watters]

Are you afraid of flying??

Related to the thread on whether you think flying is safe, does flying scare you (regardless of whether or not you know, intellectually, that it is safe)?

And no, I don't mean being afraid of things like turbulence - I mean a fear of flying itself, that manifests whether or not you are on a smooth flight.

 

[Pengwuino]

I've never flown or had plans to fly so I'm not sure if I'm scared. I don't see why anything would stop me from getting on a plane but there's always the possibility I might freak out once I actually get to the plane.

 

[arildno]

I voted for "slightly"; some initial tenseness in the stomach when getting on board that I do not experience when I get on a train, for example.
The symptom fades right after the plain is air-borne.

 

[mattmns]

I have only flown once and I thought it was really cool. The first takeoff was awesome!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Up until I started flying frequently, I had always felt a bit uneasy on aircraft. Even now I can still get uptight on occasion. This may have something to do with a recurring dream about air crashes that I had as a kid. Also, I do have a bit of a fear of heights, and standing at the door and looking through the little round window while at flying at 30,000 feet always feels precarious - inches from death. The funny thing is that I love rough flights. One day when we landed a commuter jet in heavy storm at Dallas - the jet lunging and rolling all the way down, and by far the worst flight I have ever been on - I had about as much fun as on a good ride at Disneyland.

 

[motai]

The only distress that comes to me is when, 30,000 feet up, I realize that there is nothing underneath me except a few layers of metal and so forth.

 

[Lyuokdea]

A bit, but it doesn't stop me from flying when that is the best way to get somewhere.

I think my whole thing is that I'm not the one in control of the aircraft, and that I don't know the person who is. I get the same unease when I'm in a car and i don't know the driver or don't trust the driver. I think if I learned how to fly and was piloting the plane I wouldn't feel uncomfortable at all about it.

~Lyuokdea

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I've only ever taken one round trip flight so I'm not exactly used to the idea.

 

[hypatia]

I had to say yes, tho, its not the fear of flying that scares me..its the fear of landing. I could go up and stay up for ever...its the coming down... {faints}

 

[Janus]

I had to say yes, tho, its not the fear of flying that scares me..its the fear of landing. I could go up and stay up for ever...its the coming down... {faints}

Try landing when you're flying the plane, it's only your second solo flight and you are fighting a crosswind and rough turbulent air!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Try landing when you're flying the plane, it's only your second solo flight and you are fighting a crosswind and rough turbulent air!

complain complain complain...

 

[Learning Curve]

I've seen Castaway one too many times so I chose slightly. A boat shakes me more.

 

[Moonbear]

Nope, it has never bothered me to fly. I get nervous about getting to the gate on time with all the unpredictable lines at security (one day it'll take no time at all to get through, and the next time I fly, it'll be a two hour wait, so I'm forever trying to determine the optimal time that gives me enough time to get through security without sitting around in an airport for an extra two hours when I could be doing something else), or that my flight will get canceled and I'll miss connections or whatever I'm supposed to do at the other end, and weird stuff like that. Once I'm on the plane though, I usually breathe a sigh of relief that I'm on the plane and on my way to where I want to be. Then the only other trouble I have is that I get mildly queasy on the descent, especially if we do a lot of circling before finally landing (I was on a plane once that started heading in for a landing, landing gear down, etc, then suddenly we pull back up! The pilot had spotted another plane on the runway that for some reason wasn't out of the way when they should have been...I think everyone else was bothered by this announcement, I was just groaning that it meant circling one more time...afterall, the pilot DID see the other plane and we DIDN'T land on top of it by the time we were told what happened).

 

[Pengwuino]

I want to learn how to fly... except buying an airplane probably costs a lot... like a few hundred thousand lots.

 

[Janus]

I want to learn how to fly... except buying an airplane probably costs a lot... like a few hundred thousand lots.

Well, you could get a 1980 Piper Warrior II for around $49,000 - $50,000, but you would have to store it, which would run you from about $45/mo for a tie-down to $160/mo for hangar rental, then there's fuel, maintanence, etc.

On the other hand, you could just rent the same plane for about $86/hr (engine time). You'll need to log 50 hrs a year to keep your license current,( at least it used to be 50 hrs) so that will run you at least $358 a month.

 

[Astronuc]

I log more miles in the air than on the ground. Flying doesn't bother me.

Besides I like to watch the ground and clouds during the day, or stars at night.

 

[rocketboy]

I love flying...wish I could do it more often.

 

[sean1234]

Related to my other post...
Think about it this way: 42,636 died in car wrecks last year in the US. Works out to 116 people/ day. Now image if we had a detailed accounting every day of how each person went. Perhaps the cable news channels could cover it around the clock visiting each site, and giving us the latest on causes, injuries, family stories, etc and because of all this you would probably be terrified everytime you got into your car.

 

[Pengwuino]

I wouldn't be terrified. Aircraft are mainly flown by experienced pilots. Every 16 year old drunk idiot can drive a car however.

 

[LENIN]

I'm not affreid of flying however I am afreid of treveling with ships (I can't stand the rocking).

 

[SpaceTiger]

I have a mild fear of flying that probably stems from my fear of heights, but it doesn't really hinder me in any way. As an undergrad, I flew for the first time in about 10 years and got pretty scared during the flight. Now I fly four or five times a year and I barely give it a second thought.

 

[brewnog]

I love flying. I don't get to do it all that often, so I still get excited when I'm waiting for take-off. I've been over the Alps a couple of times, the turbulence can be amazing!

I also like watching the wings wobble, but I stopped commenting on it when I freaked out a mother-of-two.

 

[Bladibla]

I am absoutely terrified of flying.

If it weren't for my parents, id be getting a boat from here to korea.

 

[Astronuc]

I'll be flying on Sunday. Going to Chicago. Flying back home Tuesday night.

 

[honestrosewater]

Terrified: I don't fly. As others may know, I have an anxiety disorder, but that is not the cause in this case. Accidents may be rare, but if a problem does occur, there is very little that I can do to save myself. I don't think it's responsible to put myself in those kinds of situations unnecessarily. And, for instance, I would not accept a job that required me to fly.