Facing My Fear of Flying - A Journey to Find Solace

[siddharth]

It's a long time since I traveled by flight. I was always uncomfortable flying.

It's especially scary now when I'm not religious :uhh:
Flight to catch tomorrow. Time for me to find some solace in statistics.

P.S - I have proved the Riemann Hypothesis

 

[verty]

Don't you trust technology?

 

[3trQN]

Haha i assume that the PS is an insurance clause for the flight?

Hope this puts you at ease:

http://skydiving.com/images/tandem-skydive.jpg

If your going to fall, fall with style!

 

[BobG]

Meh, the only part of flying I ever worry about is take off and landing. I guess taxiing can be kind of dangerous if the plane has to cross a runway - another plane might land on you. Boarding could be dangerous if you're late and go charging down the boarding ramp without checking to see if the plane's still there.

When you're sitting at the terminal or when you're in flight, bad things almost never happen.

It still isn't that enjoyable. I usually sleep through the entire flight and it still leaves me feeling tired afterward.

 

[Cyrus]

I love flying. I hate long flights becaues I have long legs.

 

[3trQN]

I love flying. I hate long flights becaues I have long legs.

Are you one of these? :P

http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/Insects/Crane%20Fly/crane_fly.jpg

 

[hypatia]

I love flying, but often don't care much for the person sitting next to me. One thing to keep in mind, is that the people who are flying the plane, don't want to die eather.
The only landing strip that scares me is El Paso TX, cause there is no second chance there, if your plane is landing twards the mountian.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

The scariest things about flying are canceled and delayed flights.

I hate airports and hotels. But the worst thing about flying for me is being canned like a sardine for hours and hours. When I went to Peru some years ago, through a long chain of events including Lima getting fogged in, and having to negotiate for fuel with the military, we ended up spending twenty-four hours on the plane. We ran out of food and water, the toilets were full, and it was over 100 degrees on the tarmac of a military base where we spent six hours waiting for fuel - hence no air conditioning. Just to add to that homey feeling, guys with machine guns made sure that no one got off the plane.

 

[Rach3]

I love flying! I've done it often enough to where I can go through the motions with my eyes closed. Lots of ways things go right for me:

-No lost baggage! I stuff all my clothes in a backback which goes as carry-on. Takes up very little volume when compressed.

-No airplane food! I bring along croissants and fruits (or comparable), perhaps from vendors at the airport. (doesn't work on transoceanic flights)

-No bathroom lines! Avoid liquids and coffee, and go before. Happy Schadenfreude watching all the other idiots who just drank 1L carbonated beverage with high-fructose corn syrup.

-No claustrophobia! I'm neither fat nor unusually tall. And I avoid the airlines with unusually cramped seating (e.g., NW). Get up and pace a few times to prevent cramps, especially on long flights.

-No boredom! Always bring an 800p+ novel or a collection of interesting (electronic) articles on your laptop. Or both!

-No fatigue! Precede every flight with a nice double-espresso.

-No ticket hassle! Buy online, direct from airline. Buy early and choose your own seats! (Aisle, near front, for easiest boarding/disboarding.)

-No waiting at airports! Arive at ticket counters with 35m to spare (electronic checkin), Stasi checkpoint with 32m to spare, and at gate with 15-20m till departure (boarding having already started). I pity the suckers who are there three hours early, they must be crazy.

-No unhygenic influenzacs! Bring along a filter-mask for your convenience.

-No loud babies! Look out for them at the security checkpoint, then discreetly stuff a metal toy-gun in their cribs or whatnot. That usually occupies them long enough not to reach your plane. But just in case, bring your noise-cancelling earphones.

 

[morphism]

I love flying. I hate long flights becaues I have long legs.

Yes! Ugh. It's one of those times when it sucks to be tall.

 

[Moonbear]

-No bathroom lines! Avoid liquids and coffee, and go before.
...

-No fatigue! Precede every flight with a nice double-espresso.

:uhh:

For me, the worst part about flying is getting to the airport...1 1/2 hours driving from home, and need to get there 2 hours ahead for security, so I can no longer take the cheap, 6:30 AM flights I used to take when I lived 15 min from the airport and it only took 30 min to get through security (I'd wear sweats to bed and just hop up, grab my coffee to drink on the way, and not have to wake up too early that way).

I'm pretty short, and some planes seem a bit cramped for me, so I don't know how you tall folks can squeeze into those seats.

 

[Physics_wiz]

I only had to travel once when I was 15 and at that time I didn't understand English well enough to communicate and didn't trust my parents' language skills either. I was worried about missing the plane or getting on the wrong one or something...flying wasn't the problem at all. Actually, I loved it...I was looking out of the window the whole time even though the view doesn't change when you're over the clouds .

 

[mattmns]

I have only been on a plane once. The first takeoff was awesome! The landing was annoying as hell. Much better than driving 10 hours though!

 

[Rach3]

:uhh:

Not much contradiction. It's only a moderate amount of caffeine, and almost no liquid.

 

[Loren Booda]

The last time I flew down to Florida (on scopolamine), the passengers must have thought I was dying - at least I felt like it! An hour-long wretch. I have flown to and from Europe three times, as well as back and forth twice to Central America, without incident. I am scared to fly again, to say nothing of the increased security of recent.

 

[Cyrus]

The last time I flew down to Florida (on scopolamine), the passengers must have thought I was dying - at least I felt like it! An hour-long wretch. I have flown to and from Europe three times, as well as back and forth twice to Central America, without incident. I am scared to fly again, to say nothing of the increased security of recent.

Why?

 

[Loren Booda]

It's like undergoing the consequences of food poisoning for hours while restricted to the restaurant. Nausea is an effective behavioral conditioner, one I avoid to repeat. Apparently my middle ear was damaged due to an infection when I was a toddler, and I have since been hypersensitive to balance, e. g., turbulence. When I had the support of my family I was able to endure flights.

 

[siddharth]

My recent experiences with flying were quite varied.

The first flight was on an airbus 320 in economy. I wasn't comfortable with the 3-3 seating arrangement. The aisle was too small and crowded and the seats were too cramped. The inflight service was poor, and there was no onboard facilities. This was compounded by a very loud infant, who was crying for pretty much the whole flight. This flight was a bad experience and I ended up staring straight ahead for most of the 4 hours.

My return journey was on a boeing 777 (different airline) in economy. This one had a 3-3-3 arrangement and there was lots of legroom. The inflight audio and video kept me occupied. IMO, the 777 seemed to handle turbulence much better. No spilled coffee and such.

I think I could manage flying again on the 777, but definitely not on the 320 (of that specific airline). For those who dislike flying, http://askcaptainlim.com/" could be useful.

 

[moose]

I have flown on more than 60 airplanes. I'm fine as long as I sit near the window or near the aisle. I like the take-offs, except for the change in pressure. It's especially fun if the plane has an extreme angle of attack while taking off. On trans-atlantic flights, I make sure to have a good 600+ page book and usually read the entire thing in that one sitting, making sure to get up every hour or so to walk around.

I flew first class once (paid for by the company my dad worked for at the time) on a flight from Arizona to Michigan... It was awesome; they even served cookies and creme ice cream!

Sometimes it's nice to just look around the airplane and observe other people... A quarter of them or more will usually be reading some self-help book or the like: How to become a better business owner, or Investing for dummies, YOU: The Owner's Manual, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, How to Win Friends & Influence People, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, and so forth.

An eighth of the passengers are usually doing some sort of business activity like making a presentation or making some notes on this or that, or making some spreadsheets, or sometimes managing a budget.

Another eighth at first glance will look like the previous eighth, but are actually doing nothing productive. These people are glancing over a presentation without actually doing anything or even thinking about that presentation, or they are flipping through notes without even looking at them, or messing with their PDAs without doing anything on them whatsoever other than going through various folders. Sometimes to add to the effect, they pull out their PDAs, Smartphones, and Laptops all at once, and then order some club soda. While drinking the club soda, they make faces which make it obvious they are not enjoying the drink whatsoever.

What I have said so far makes up half of the entire plane. An eighth of the remaining ones are preoccupied by their child, another eighth are reading some real book. In the most recent flights, an eighth are solving (or trying to) sudoku puzzles. The last eighth are either doing nothing, or they are just listening to music.

All of this of course changes when a movie comes on.

 

[russ_watters]

IMO, the 777 seemed to handle turbulence much better. No spilled coffee and such.

Larger planes do handle turbulence better simply due to their inertia.

I think I could manage flying again on the 777, but definitely not on the 320 (of that specific airline).

Well, the issues you mentioned about the 320 are not unique to airplanes. Try busses and trains and your experiences will be similarly varied. Most busses I've ridden in have very little legroom and seats that are too small too and busses and trains do not always have meal services either. So your main problem with flying really has nothing to do with flying.

 

[siddharth]

Larger planes do handle turbulence better simply due to their inertia. Well, the issues you mentioned about the 320 are not unique to airplanes. Try busses and trains and your experiences will be similarly varied. Most busses I've ridden in have very little legroom and seats that are too small too and busses and trains do not always have meal services either. So your main problem with flying really has nothing to do with flying.

Just to clarify, I think my main problem with flying is due to various things, sometimes irrational, like heights, not being in control, negative imagination and the sudden possibility of death. My discomfort with flying was amplified with the issues on the 320 flight of that particular airlines, while I was able to cope with my discomfort during the 777 flight.

 

[BobG]

IMO, the 777 seemed to handle turbulence much better. No spilled coffee and such.

Sitting in the right hand seat of a small plane in turbulence is quite an experience.

I caught a ride from Columbus to Akron in a small plane and we tried to beat a thunderstorm into the airport. We managed to beat the actual storm, but there's a lot of turbulence around a thunderstorm.

As we were going up and down, and I was looking for something to hold myself steady, all I could keep saying to myself was, "Don't grab the wheel. Don't grab the wheel." (whatever it's called).

Aside from a few van/car trips between Anderson, AK and Fairbanks, I think that was the scariest ride I've ever been on.

 

[moose]

I remember a flight from NYC to Phoenix during which there was turbulence for 45 minutes non stop. Usually, I have no problem with turbulence at all, but this time was horrible...

 

[Gokul43201]

Bob, is Columbus the only place you've lived in that's actually on the I-70, instead of being a couple hours off it? Do let us know when you move to Salt Lake City.

There's turbulence, and then there's turbulence. Most folks that have flown a few times (not with the aid of a boot to the backside) have had some experience with turbulent stretches where people in the flight are noticeably unnerved. But have you been in a flight where the turbulence was so bad that a 5 sq-foot section of one of the wings broke off? Me neither, but I have been on a flight where about half the passengers actually screamed when the plane took a real nasty bump (and it happened twice - the bump and the squeals; after the second one, there was a lot of prayer as well...and then the plane had to make an emergency landing so those who were praying could be interrogated under bright lights with Jefferson Starship playing loudly enough to just drown out the questions - oh I do like to spin a yarn)!

 

[Anttech]

When you're sitting at the terminal or when you're in flight, bad things almost never happen.

True in developed countries, but in underdeveloped countries planes seems to be dropping out of the sky almost every week, or is that just my perception from media coverage?

 

[Anttech]

There's turbulence, and then there's turbulence. Most folks that have flown a few times (not with the aid of a boot to the backside) have had some experience with turbulent stretches where people in the flight are noticeably unnerved.

The worst flight of my live ever, ever, ever, was coming back from LA to London. Over Arizona (I Guess), rather than Up the coast and across the North Pole. The turbulence was so bad, I thought I was going to smack my head of the roof. It was actually scary.

 

[BobG]

Bob, is Columbus the only place you've lived in that's actually on the I-70, instead of being a couple hours off it? Do let us know when you move to Salt Lake City.

You could see I-70 from the first house I ever lived in on Tenney Ave. I don't remember living there, but since my grandmother lived there for years afterward, I visited that house quite a few times.

But, when I think about it, I've never lived more than a couple hours from I-70.

 

[Astronuc]

Sitting in the right hand seat of a small plane in turbulence is quite an experience.

I caught a ride from Columbus to Akron in a small plane and we tried to beat a thunderstorm into the airport. We managed to beat the actual storm, but there's a lot of turbulence around a thunderstorm.

Yep. I've been in a puddle jumper when it got into a down draft. We were weightless for a few seconds! Years ago, a 747 got into a major downdraft over the Pacific Ocean. IIRC, it descended more than 10,000 ft (3300 m), and several people were injured (they didn't wear their seatbelts).

How about turbulence (from cross-winds) while landing. I was in a 727 attempting to land in Pasco (WA). The pilot was approaching faster than I would have expected. Just as we got near the end of the runway, the wind lifted the plane (~100 ft or so). The pilot was still attempting the landing and still going fast when we touched the runway briefly - but then he applied full throttle and lifted off again. The plane had passed the midpoint and there was no way it could have stopped before the end. The pilot then turned the plane near 270° and approached a different runway and made a smoother and slower landing. And I've been on other flights where the aircraft was at an angle to the runway axis until just about contact. Interesting to see the runway approaching from one's window!

Long legs are good for long flights because one doesn't loose circulation from pressure on the back of the legs. On the other hand, one's knees hit the back of the seat in front, especially when the seat is fully reclined. That was poor planning on part of the designers.

Service is generally poor in coach/economy class - it's a matter of cost. Business and first class have great service.

I just flew on a 777, roundtrip to UK. It was very nice! Turbulence was not significant.