Flying Jitters

BEAT

So do you get the jitters when flying?

I didnt used to, infact I used to want to be a pilot.

For some reason as my flight gets closer I am not sleeping and having nightmares about the trip...

I am nervous to say the least, I hope it is only anxiety and not warning.

I plan on tkaing a lot of dramamine to knock me out so if anything does happen I wont know about it

simu

No, since I found out the principles on which flight is based - now it seems no different to me than swimming.

I do get freaked out about my blood circulation on long flights, though.

rymus

i love flying. Only had one rather scary experience in a plane. It's when I was doing flying lessons and the time came to practice the "What if?" scenarios. i.e. what if the engine cut out and the plane got stuck in a tailspin. Pilot promptly set the engine idling, put the plane into a tailspin, only to recover after falling some 1,500 feet. Rather lucky I was wearing my brown pants that day.

therecklessone

rymus wrote:

i love flying. Only had one rather scary experience in a plane. It's when I was doing flying lessons and the time came to practice the "What if?" scenarios. i.e. what if the engine cut out and the plane got stuck in a tailspin.

Did that a couple of years ago, great fun altogether.

sanncoo

Flying didn't bother me at all until I was on a transatlantic flight and they served curry...I was right infront of the toilets. By the end of the flight they were blocked (the toilets that is) and I had to sit through a stop over in Dublin. I got sick on the landing descent....ever since landing has made me sick.

Most people have a problem with take off....this reiterates the fact that I am a freak of nature....

therecklessone

I've always wanted to let a "we're all gonna die!" scream out of me as the plane left terra firma, but in these post-9/11 days I don't fancy 6 hours of interrogation by the police and a ban from the airline...

BEAT

you r just crazy, atari Jaguar.

well I have only had one rather unerving experience myself.

It was 2 months after the whole 9/11 thing and I was on my way to Ireland.
I flew out of JFk and by the time I got there I was sotired I went to sleep at the B&B, when I woke up I called everyone I knew in ireland to let them Know I arrived, my first response was...turn on the tv.
I saw on the news:
A plane that left out of JFK around the time I was in the air already had fallen apart over new york as it was taking off and they didnt release the destination of the flight yet.
I was in utter shock...

I called my family immediatley only to find out they had all been calling each other in panic to find out if anyone had heard form me, they thought it was my plane.
Details were later released and I realised I was in thier terminal and walked by the people that had died in that crash.

what is freakier than that you ask? 2 months before that day arrived I was sitting in the kitchen with my aunt and cousin and I told them I had a vision of a plane crashing that day I would be flying, and I told them it wouldnt be my plane. :eek:
The day of the flight I was so sick, every part of me was bothered.

So now when I get nervous 2 years later after having been on flights since with no problem , I do tend to worry.

Everything will be okay though, right?

therecklessone

BEAT wrote:

Everything will be okay though, right?

Course it will.

What day are you flying?

BEAT

you r just crazy, atari Jaguar.

therecklessone wrote:

Course it will.

What day are you flying?

I leave out of here on friday the 26th and arrive there on the 27th

leave again on the 5th

I am sure it will be fine, If I dont show up at the Beer that night , well then I guess you should watch the news

smoke.me.a.kipper

BEAT wrote:

If I dont show up at the Beer that night , well then I guess you should watch the news

most people would probably wait for someone to post something on AH.

CathyMoran

you r just crazy, atari Jaguar.

Have been flying since I was 4 - I have always loved flying but the last time I flew the plane had a very late stage aborted landing and we were waiting 15 minutes before we were told that he would be attempting :eek: the landing again...however it was fine...

Being nervous about flying is understandable though...all you can do is remember how safe it is (the statistics )...

Jim

you r just crazy, atari Jaguar.

Not really, love to fly actually.

Physics will get me there.

CathyMoran

you r just crazy, atari Jaguar.

Jimeatsmenu wrote:

Not really, love to fly actually.

Physics will get me there.

I love flying too - however I remember flying over the alps in a smallish plane and seeing the lady beside me turn green while I was enjoying the air turbulance so I have more respect for those who find it a pain... would love to go on a glider sometime though, that must be amazing

Nuttzz

I love to fly and my job means I have to fly a lot, however I hate the new 737-800's ryanair got, they have the emergency "card" stuck to the head rest infront of you, a bit in your face I feel.

Tiriel

you r just crazy, atari Jaguar.

love flying but hate the pain in my ears!! it's so annoying.. cos for a good couple of hours sometimes after landing I can't hear properly! chewing gum doesn't work at all.. and for some reason somtimes it isn't as bad as others.. for example flying to Spain last year was fine.. but flying to France this year was terrible! and there wasn't any turbulence or anything.. it happens just when the plane begins to descend.. nightmare!!!

at least it keeps my mind occupied... no time to be anxious!

Winters

you r just crazy, atari Jaguar.

Flying is safer then getting into a car.

I have no problem with flying, just sometimes with the people sitting around me. /me remembers 8 hours stuck inbetween two, well, large women. One ate what was some gone off middle eastern cheese or something, was smelly ****. Then again best flight ever would probably be flying in the cockpit of a freighter down to the middle east.

Selik

I love flying too, especially long-haul when you get treated like king sh*t even in economy class!

TCamen

I like flying, never had a bad experience with regards the actual flying part-- like others, I can't stand being stuck next to annoying people for long periods of time and/or crying babies nearby. Makes my blood boil :mad:
Also, the whole non-assigned seating on Ryanair & other budget airlines-- hate that mad rush to get on the plane just to get a freakin' seat. Assign them I say!

BEAT

you r just crazy, atari Jaguar.

wow, ya know I am actually feeling a lot better guys, thanks! I think talking about it helped ease my anxiety, I feel like I can sleep tonight

I cant wait to come over now back on the road to happy thoughts

Tommy Vercetti

Flying's great, at least if something goes wrong, you're dead and there's no chance of being stuck in a wheelchair drooling all over yourself for the rest of your life. Plus there's few things in life more satisfying that asking the slutty flight attendant to fasten your seat belt for you.

Jim

you r just crazy, atari Jaguar.

I remember a quote from Adrian Mole.

"I gave Pandora a book to read on the plane, it was called "Crash!!" "

Pinkchick03

you r just crazy, atari Jaguar.

There was no option on the poll for me to explain myself - I have really bad problems with my ears.... I used to be in pain the whole time I was flying - now its a little sore on the ascent but on the descent - I am practically in tears - so if you see anyone in floods of tears on the descent of a flight -its probably me

I went to NYC last year and we had to stop over in Shannon both going and returning home - I was in tears - I was crying like a big fat baby! Chewing something helps a little bit - but it doesn't cure me! Then in the arrivals - trying to concentrate on where to find the baggage claim - its sooo hard!

Well there's my sob story - aren't you glad you read that now

Pinkchick03

you r just crazy, atari Jaguar.

Cork_girl wrote:

love flying but hate the pain in my ears!! it's so annoying.. cos for a good couple of hours sometimes after landing I can't hear properly! chewing gum doesn't work at all.. and for some reason somtimes it isn't as bad as others.. for example flying to Spain last year was fine.. but flying to France this year was terrible! and there wasn't any turbulence or anything.. it happens just when the plane begins to descend.. nightmare!!!

at least it keeps my mind occupied... no time to be anxious!

I'm terrible - I posted a message before reading your post! Sorry to hear about your ears - don't worry! I'm the same! Its a horrible feeling! Do you suffer with ear problems? I've been in hospital several times with my ears:(

Spalk0

The only thing i dislike about flying is my ears popping!....Other than that i love flying, mind you, i can never sleep on a plane but i allways manage to keep myself occupied with something!

I especially love the taking off part, when the plane is at a stop then BAMMMMM, the g's bury your head into the back of the seat!feels great!Allways ask myself "how cool would it be to fit one of those engines to a car!"hehe

Only problem i had was when i went to Canada which was 8 and a half hours on a 747(only time on a 747) and the leg room for me was terrible, especially since im a tall bloke!I remember half the journey trying to find a more comfortable way to sit!It didnt help that i couldnt sleep either!

Third_Echelon

you r just crazy, atari Jaguar.

rymus wrote:

i love flying. Only had one rather scary experience in a plane. It's when I was doing flying lessons and the time came to practice the "What if?" scenarios. i.e. what if the engine cut out and the plane got stuck in a tailspin. Pilot promptly set the engine idling, put the plane into a tailspin, only to recover after falling some 1,500 feet. Rather lucky I was wearing my brown pants that day.

I had the same 'experience' when doing flying lessons.... I did ask the instructor if he was mad, but i realised he wasn't, thats when one began to sh1t oneself :eek:

It was great fun though. I have absolutely no fear of flying. I've been flying since i was a kid, so it has been second nature to me. I dont really think about being afraid or scared of flying. And as all the stats say, you have more chance of getting killed in a car than a plane...

Well, there was really only one time i was 'aprehensive' about getting on a plane was on September 16th 2001 out of New York. I did the whole J1 summer that year in NYC and witnessed the whole WTC destruction with my very own eyes. I was on the first flight out of New York to Ireland after 9/11 from Newark, were 2 of the planes were highjacked from!!!! Needless to say the whole passenger polulation were a bit aprehensive on the way home...

skywalker

yes, so I dont fly at all.

i pity the foo that trys to get me on a damn airoplane

bringitdown

Well I do grasp the handrests rather tightly at take-off and landings for statistical reasons. Also a crash at this time would possibly lead to a horrible painful slow death, whereas at a height it would be quick!

However I'd say the worst experience was when a pilot with poor command of English announced "The engine has fallen away and we are diverted to Palma" - an engine had actually shutdown .. and we were one engine short... that was scary.

Apart from that I like being in the air!

Blub2k4

you r just crazy, atari Jaguar.

I had the late aborted landing once and it was the only time I was scared, I have been on planes since before I could walk and have done a lot of airmiles, the fact that it was Ryanair and took off again after touching the ground was scary, was funny to see the looks on peoples faces on the plane as it headed skyward again.

tribble

You do know, per kilometer it is FAR safer than driving.

Also IF you do crash then the liklyhood (sp?) of you suffering a debilitaing injury is MUCH higher in a car, in plane it's just BOOM and you're dead.

tribble

magpie

no, not really bothered by it.

remember how safe it is (the statistics )...

I love the stats about how you are more likely to get kicked to death by a mule. Of course these statistics would hold some water if the peasant population of the world spent as much time in aeroplanes as they do in proximity to mules. Ditto for the 'safer than driving' statistic. For instance, I spend about 12 hours a week in a car, but only fly about once a year (or less if I can possibly avoid it). If I spent 12 hours a week in a plane as well, how would the stats read?

Unlike you fight-club nazis I think a debilitating injury is better than death!

I think Billy Bob Thornton said it best "I'm not afraid of dying, I'm afraid of dying in an aluminium tube filled with screaming tourists".

I think it's the random factor (like a tractor) that bothers me the most. At least in a car you have some control over what's going on (but admittedly someone can crash into you etc and there's nothing you can do about it), whereas in a plane it's basically Russian Roulette, except with a revolver with about 100,000 chambers.

Fionn101

You know I firmly believe that if you sit up front in a plane (take a 30min flying lesson) you willl never worry about flying again.

From the cockpit you can see the landing strip and realise you just on a gentle sloping road down to the ground , it's only on passenger airliners where you can only see sideways that gets people anxious due to the fact that they re slightly disorientated.

Trust me , take a short flight and sit up front and it will all be ok.
And for those people with the ears (heh you know who I'm talking about) bring bubble gum up with you (it entices constant ear repressuring) not hard sweets or chewing gum , but bubble gum.

As for dodgy experiences , I froze a carburettor once while diving too fast and it wouldn't close properly , lost a lot of it's suction ,so much so that I was pissing fuel all down the runway when I eventually got down. should have turned on the carburettor heat but 'Meh' , you alwas forget now and then

magpie

no, not really bothered by it.

should have turned on the carburettor heat but 'Meh' , you alwas forget now and then

Bit like that programme I watched on RTE2 where the pilot decided to land in a thunderstorm and got so stressed he forgot to apply the airbrakes. The plane skidded off the runway and crashed into a bridge, burst into flames and killed 15 people.

Pinkchick03

you r just crazy, atari Jaguar.

Fionn101 wrote:

And for those people with the ears (heh you know who I'm talking about) bring bubble gum up with you (it entices constant ear repressuring) not hard sweets or chewing gum , but bubble gum.

Cheers i'll try it!!!!! Going to New York (again) in Feb! Can't wait! Wish me luck wit the bubble gum!!! mmm blowing bubbles - is that ok at high altitudes?

skywalker

yes, so I dont fly at all.

Pinkchick03 wrote:

Cheers i'll try it!!!!! Going to New York (again) in Feb! Can't wait! Wish me luck wit the bubble gum!!! mmm blowing bubbles - is that ok at high altitudes?

depends if bubbles is ok with it.

magpie

no, not really bothered by it.

Funny how a thread about the fear of crashing in an aluminium can at 600+ mph turns into one on tips for avoiding the niggly ear sensation you get.

Any tips on how to open those towelette thingies in the final minutes before your life is snuffed out along with 350 drunken taxi drivers, hairdressers and telephone sanitisers as your charter flight to Las Palmas collides with a Russian freighter the stressed air traffic controller hasn't noticed?

Fionn101

the stressed air traffic controller hasn't noticed?

doesn;t matter if he/she does or doesn;t notice , planes have warnigns for these now (cds collision detection system)
damn my typing,

oh and i reckon the carby was slightly damaged , cause it shouldn't have kept the gate open like it did, so kind of not my fault, but when it does freeze you can allow warm air to unfreeze it , I was landing at the time so no point in doing that , should have lit a smoke though and thrown it out the window for that die hard effect , doubt it would go down well with the tower , hmmm , well maybe thay have a sense of humour, i dunno

blondie83

you r just crazy, atari Jaguar.

I've always loved flying - had a good few lessons now and actually enjoy the "disaster" training we do (especially the one where you fly straight upwards vertically, causing the engine to stall, which in turn causes the plane to fall backwards, adn then it somehow turns around and you find yourself flying back in the direction you came fom! )

Lately though whenever I've been on a flight - even a short one, I've found myself feeling very clausterphobic. I don't understand why it happens, because I know all the physics behind flying, and I know how safe it is, it's just that if I actually think to myself "okay I'm sitting on a metal tube with 300 other people 30000 feet up in the air", I start to want to get off! Never happens in my lessons for some reason - which is funny, cos they're all in tiny 2 - seater planes!

Pinkchick03

you r just crazy, atari Jaguar.

LOL (comment about blowing bubbles!!! ) very clever!!

tribble

magpie wrote:

I love the stats about how you are more likely to get kicked to death by a mule. Of course these statistics would hold some water if the peasant population of the world spent as much time in aeroplanes as they do in proximity to mules. Ditto for the 'safer than driving' statistic. For instance, I spend about 12 hours a week in a car, but only fly about once a year (or less if I can possibly avoid it). If I spent 12 hours a week in a plane as well, how would the stats read?

No, it's "PER KILOMETER".

That means if you were to drive LONDON-BEIJING and it took you 8 days you would be far safer taking an 8 hour journey in an aeroplane.
That's 24 times faster so even if aeroplanes are 10 times more likly to crash per hour spent in one they are still 2.4 times safer (I made up the safety figures, but you get the idea)

If, as you said, you spent 12 hours in a plane per week you would be travelling 10,000 km PER WEEK - try doing that in a car (it's just about possible) without crashing at least a few times a year.

tribble

therecklessone

Fionn101 wrote:

the stressed air traffic controller hasn't noticed?

doesn;t matter if he/she does or doesn;t notice , planes have warnigns for these now (cds collision detection system)
damn my typing,

Tell that to the pilot of the Bashkirian Airlines Tu-154 that collided with the DHL B757 over Lake Constance in 2002.

http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=455&id=719492002

Found the fnal report for you. Makes sobering reading, and shows just how vital the controllers undivided attention would have been that night. Might want to reassess the blind faith in technology as a result.

http://www.bfu-web.de/aktuinfo42.htm

Oh, and the stressed contorller? Now a dead controller.

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=224992004

magpie

no, not really bothered by it.

And while we're at it, those of you who take comfort in "knowing the physics", how exactly does that help you in relation to human error, be it pilot error, maintenance error, design error etc?

I also know the physics of flying, and know the plane isn't going to fall out of mid air. It's the other stuff that worries me.