Fear of Flying

Bree

:eek:

Hi all,

I had a really bad experience with turbulence a few years ago and now I am terrified of flying. Im going away on Thursday and am dreading the flight.

Does anybody have any advice or feel the same??

Sn@kebite

Sorry, this is the best I could do.
there's a good few threads on the askaboutmoney.com holiday topic.

highlydebased

Take something called Bachs rescue remedy before the flight. Its herbal. It calms the nerves. Works very well

Steyr

Read some articles about aviation and the workings of a modern jet airliner so you will get to know what to expect and look out for.

Bree

Hey guys,

Thanks for the replies.

I have tried all of the above but nothing seems to work. If theres the slightest bump I go into a panic. Im not afraid to crash its just the out of control feeling and not being able to get off.

Are there any pilots here that maybe able to explain to me what they do during turbulence. That might help me get more understanding of what goes on! :eek:

highlydebased

What they do during turbulence...

1- They contact ATC and ask for ride reports at different altitudes. ATC can than ask other pilots what its like up higher/lower. If better conditions prevail, they will climb/descend.

2-If no better altitude available, they stay where they are and reduce speed to mach .78, the recommended turbulence penetration speed. Cruise speed is around .78 to .085 Mach.

3-Ride it out lol. The Aircraft is well able for turbulence, try look at some boeing documentaries on how the wings are certified. They are bent WELL over what they will ever experience

Kevster

Hi Bree,

I also had a terrible experience on an internal flight once. It was in Argentina years ago and, since then, I have been absolutely terrified of flying. It was only last week however that I flew over and back to England to see my brother.


I find that learning about aircraft helps me. Plus, I always look-up what type of airplane I will be flying on. If you are flying with Ryanair, it will be a Boeing 737-800; the most successful airplane in terms of sales. It is also one of the most reliable types.


Aircraft are checked for faults after each flight, and do not actually fly each day. THey are put on a schedule. So, for example, aircraft ID FR155 might be operational on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week. During the days it is not operational, it is given a more thorough examination for faults.


During the actual flight, I shut my eyes during take-off. When it is then cruising through the air and I feel a bit nervous, I simply look at the cabin crew and, if they do not appear nervous, then I know that nothing is wrong.


I hope this helps,
Take care,
Kevin

cp251

Kevster you are wrong there. Airliners fly every day unless they are down for scheduled maintenance. Ryanair and all the others absolutely maximise the utilisation of their aircraft, 12 - 14 hours a day, 7 days a week. An aircraft on the ground is not making money. But they are thoroughly inspected every night and checked at every turnaround. Plus they are more thoroughly inspected on a scheduled basis. In the past it was my job to organise the maintenance for an airline and believe me it is rigorous. On top of that Engineers take considerable pride in their work. My brother is an Engineer in Aer Lingus and would not allow anything to escape his notice if possible.

With fifteen years working in aircraft maintenance. I can say that I have absolute confidence in the system. On a Ryanair flight, you are in more danger of getting hurt running to get a good seat or being run down by an airport vehicle driven by a loony like me. Ahem:o Zoomed around the corner and had to slam on to avoid lemming like Ryanair pax:eek:

As a pilot, I'm certainly not scared of flying or turbulence. I was out flying yesterday in a Cessna. It was quite turbulent but I only found it irritating as it was making me look bad:(

Turbulence is nothing to worry about. Aircraft are designed to cope with virtually anything they encounter. I know it's hard to overcome your fears but the old cliche really is true. It is safer than the drive to the airport.

I'm lucky I love flying but I will admit that sometimes I think about it when I'm in the back on an airliner. You are allowed to be nervous just don't let it rule your life. In truth I am always more nervous when I arrive in a foreign country for the first time. I am usually most relaxed on the flight in and out.

bombidol

My biggest problem is the lack of communication beween pilot and passenger. I've noticed in the states the captains are much more talkative to the passengers and inform them on whats going on a lot of the time.

Kevster

cp251, your post has reassured me somewhat; especially when you said that your brother wouldn't allow anything to escape his notice. That is actually one of my biggest worries: I don't have faith in the maintenance crews or even the pilots. It's irrational thinking, on my part.


Are you sure they don't give airplanes rest days? I looked up my airplane's (I think it was FR155) schedule before I departed two weeks ago and noticed that it was only flying on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday that week. This schedule was on Ryanair's website itself.

cp251

Actually FR155 is simply the flight number. It could be a different aircraft every day. The same aircraft could make the return flight as FR156 then be 158 etc, etc. An aircraft, say EI-DAY would be rostered to be fly back and forth between Dublin and Stansted all day. Every flight would be a different number. I remember spending time at the airport once. I saw one Ryanair aircraft land three times in the space of two or three hours I was there. It was on the Liverpool route so had very short sectors. If it's based in Dublin it will finish in Dublin and undergo any maintenance scheduled or needed. In practice Ryanair's fleet is very new and is very reliable so most maintenance is scheduled. Scheduled maintenance is preventative. Aircraft are maintained for both safety and good economic reasons. A broken aircraft costs money. Simple as that.

Believe me Engineers take a lot of pride in the work they do, although they are a cynical bunch by and large. My brother told me once of the day he watched a light aircraft take off on a test flight. He had just bolted the wing back on. :eek: He said he was never so nervous in his life. In fact, quite often the test pilot would take the Engineer along with him on the test flight. There's nothing like knowing your own life depends on your work to incentivise you:D

As for pilots, well as the saying goes, we pilots have a primary interest in landing safely. We, after all will be first at the scene of the accident.

One further point, Irish airlines in general have one of the best safety records in the business. Ryanair, say what you like about them have never lost a aeroplane. That's down to good pilots and engineers.
Hope that reassures you a bit.:)

Kevster

... ...an informative and humerous post - Thanks for that

So, you're a pilot, really? What kind of airplanes are you licensed to fly?

cp251

Kevster wrote:

... ...an informative and humerous post - Thanks for that

So, you're a pilot, really? What kind of airplanes are you licensed to fly?

All of them, well OK any aeroplane someone is foolish enough to let me fly. At the moment light aircraft, but soon..........................In the meantime I will have to satisfy myself by finishing my Instructors rating. Start dropping my passengers off at 10,000 feet, (with parachute of course)and other odds and ends someone will pay me to do.

highlydebased

No the same aircraft rarely flies between the same two airports all day....

For example..

EI-DAE at Shannon

FR102S t Stansted FR103S f Stansted FR1144 t East Midlands FR1145 f East Midlands FR2848 t Malaga FR2849 f Malaga

Thats just an example.

Or...a certain aircraft could fly the early morning rotation to STN from Shannon, and then do an aircraft swap. The aircraft they flew out of Shannon would then go for maint or whatever

cp251

Indeed, it's just a question of scheduling and timings. Maximising the use of an aircraft. When maintenance is due, the trick is get the jet into the maintenance base on it's last sector of the day. I used to be highly unpopular with Operations in the airline I worked for when I rang asking them to schedule EI-XXX into either STN or DUB for maintenance. It meant they had re-jig the whole schedule. Sometimes they would 'forget' and the thing would end up sitting in Germany or elsewhere.:mad: Luckily I always followed up phone calls in writing:p

Steyr

CP251 any chance of a Jolly?

cp251

Ha, I could do with a jolly myself. It's all hard work at the moment. Pressure, pressure, pressure.:( There are times when I'm flying, where I remember this was supposed to be fun. It's like the bloody Battle of Britain sometimes. Take off, land, put in fuel, take off again.................

That last fun flight I had was last year in the back over Dublin City for an hour. So relaxing:cool: Did you know, there's a helipad on the roof of Leinster house. Probably so Bertie can escape when the voters get wise to him.:rolleyes:

sdanseo

Personally, I bought flightsim and started to use it online and a knowledge gained makes me feel completely safe on aircraft. I was never scared of flying - but it proves that if you're well informed it can seriously help.

I'm not saying buy FS, simply seconding the "read articles" etc suggestions. If you know what's happening, you know that nothing's going wrong