Fear of flying....

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fortbo
Has anyone else on GTP had this? I seem to not ne able to get over it. I have flown twice before but not recently. Anyone have any way I can get over it? I have to fly to Texas in September for WEC. :nervous:
 
Once you get on the plane and sit down you'll be fine. If you have to shut the window, although I would never do that because I love flying, you can.

What scares you? Taking off? Landing? Do you have a fear of "what might happen"? Heights?

Or everything about flying?
 
EF12345678
Once you get on the plane and sit down you'll be fine. If you have to shut the window, although I would never do that because I love flying, you can.

What scares you? Taking off? Landing? Do you have a fear of "what might happen"? Heights?

Or everything about flying?
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My fear is not knowing what might happen and not being in control of it I guess, I do enjoy the actual flight just not the fear of what might happen.
 
When the plane is in the air, what do you do, if anything? By that, I mean do you sit around and do nothing in your seat, do you listen to music, or do you do something else?
 
I'll usually just listen to music or watch a movie. Once I get on the plane I am fine, but I hate thinking about what might happen.
 
Take a sport or hobby that you do (Baseball, GT etc) and visualize a perfect race or game.
Try doing a lap of the Nurburgring (Or a baseball play or something.) perfectly.

The concentration will take your mind off it.

Also, the pilots are trained professionals with thousands of hours behind them, there are no better people for the job at hand.
 
fortbo
I'll usually just listen to music or watch a movie. Once I get on the plane I am fine, but I hate thinking about what might happen.
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I wouldn't worry about domestic flights they are very safe, and remember if something goes wrong the pilot's life is also at risk. Your pilot will do anything and everything to land safely, even if that means landing in water.

Bopop4
Also, the pilots are trained professionals with thousands of hours behind them, there are no better people for the job at hand.
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--------------------------
This is slightly old, but it still stands.
Air travel is fantastically safe. Over the past five years, there’s been exactly one fatal crash of a U.S. airplane. In the 1999-2008 period there was roughly one fatality per 10 billion miles traveled. The death rate for car travel was 72 times higher. Think about what kind of discount you’d want if a gate attendant asked you to swap your flight for one leaving five minutes later that’s only half as safe as the original plane. Then double that risk again. Then again. Then again. Then twice more. That plane’s still safer than driving an equivalent distance.
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If you just think about what "might" happen, you won't get anywhere. You might be abducted by alien ghosts because you walked out of your house at the wrong time. Or you might be abducted by alien ghosts because you stayed inside.

Aircraft are build to high standards by people with a lot of skill and experience using the best technology available. The people flying them also need specialized training and clear talent, as opposed to people you see on the road who need to take a few minutes to pass a test.

Standard question in the aero industry, can your wing survive 150% of the highest force it will ever see in use applied by a machine the size of a building?:

The answer is yes or the plane is not allowed to fly. (And yes the wing is taking so much energy that at its limit, it sounds like a bomb going off).

Also, I find it hard not to be distracted by awesome condensation on the wing if I can see it:

 
fortbo
Once I get on the plane I am fine, but I hate thinking about what might happen.
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If you never do something because of what might happen, you'll never do anything.

Also, worrying about something you can't control only makes you more scared of it. As stated, find a distraction and enjoy the ride. Literally.
 
I find it hard to grasp having difficulty finding comfort in riding a plane. I've never sat in a plane before though.

I can understand the fear of flying a hang glider because of how you could drop to your own death if you so much as let go of the contraption.... or how you can see the ground being so far away (if you fear heights), and how you fear crashing if control of the glider, which was once yours, is now lost.

On a plane though? I just don't sense it. I mean, you're not really "flying" if you think about it. You don't feel the wind since you're in an enclosed space, and you don't really feel like you're off the ground since your feet are still grounded on a large platform. All you do is sit in a chair. The pilot does all the driving. No different from sitting in a bus. You relax in the vehicle and pass time until you reach your destination.

Being fearful yourself may be hard to grasp, but think of it this way: while you're scared for your life that the plane might crash and you notice no one else on the plane is freaking out, don't you find it silly you're the only one panicking? If everyone can stay calm, IMO, there shouldbe no reason you aren't physically able to either. Logical thinking can overwrite irrational fear.
 
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fortbo
Has anyone else on GTP had this? I seem to not ne able to get over it. I have flown twice before but not recently. Anyone have any way I can get over it? I have to fly to Texas in September for WEC. :nervous:
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Yes. I still struggle with it. I have a lot of experience in this department.

Bopop4
You have a bigger chance of dying from the drive to the airport than an actual plane crash.
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This is the first thing everyone says to me, and it's of absolutely no help. I always explain to people that I'd much rather die in a car accident than a plane crash. I'd rather die in 100 car accidents than 1 plane crash. It's not a fear of death as much as it is the method of death. Think of the method of death that scares you the most. This is what the prospect of dying in a plane crash looks like to folks who fear it.

@fortbo

My fear of flying doesn't stem so much from being out of control as it does from a fear of heights. I get it in tall buildings, etc. Ironically I feel better when the plane is 1 second from landing, or 1 second from takeoff than I do at cruising altitude - even though cruising altitude is where I'm safer. The funny thing about that is that if I were suddenly ejected from a plane at 30,000 feet, if I were still conscious when I was about to hit the ground I'd probably feel better right before I hit because I'd be closer to the ground.

There is nothing rational about this fear, so don't let people try to solve it by rationalizing it. You're having an irrational emotional reaction, your rational brain is of little use to you. Two things have helped me greatly - anti-anxiety meds (I pop one about 30 minutes before boarding), and repetition. The anti-anxiety meds help out a lot, and the more you fly the smaller the dose you need. On my current path I expect to be able to fly without them soon.

I had to experiment with different meds to find the right one. The first one I took made me feel comfortable physically (no sweaty palms, racing heart, etc.), but my mind was still panicked. The second one is more of a mind-altering substance which helped the real problem. I'm down to a half dose, which really helps if I need to drive when I get off the plane.
 
AOS-
I've never sat in a plane before though.
(...)
On a plane though? I just don't sense it. I mean, you're not really "flying" if you think about it. You don't feel the wind since you're in an enclosed space, and you don't really feel like you're off the ground since your feet are still grounded on a large platform. All you do is sit in a chair. The pilot does all the driving. No different from sitting in a bus. You relax in the vehicle and pass time until you reach your destination.
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Yeah, it's all fun and games and nice theories until you hit a huge air pocket or spend most of the ride under strong turbulence.

It's then, at that moment, that all good sense and rationalization goes out the window - at that's a 30,000 feet-high window.
 
Flying is not a problem, it's going down too fast which is the problem.

When I was visiting the US, I had to go from Chicago to LA. I took the train instead of flying. It was an experience on it's own.
 
Fear of "flying".

Fear of crashing - rational
Aerophobia - irrational

I wonder how many people who are scared of flying are actually scared of humans taking flight rather than plummeting from 30,000ft. The second is perfectly understandable, and would obviously deter you from wanting to fly. But it's not a fear of the actual flight itself but a possible consequence of it.

I have a fear of drowning, but I don't have aquaphobia; I'm not scared of water.

/Deputy Regional Non-Executive Director Of The Pedantic Society
 
Liquid
Fear of "flying".

Fear of crashing - rational
Aerophobia - irrational

I wonder how many people who are scared of flying are actually scared of humans taking flight rather than plummeting from 30,000ft. The second is perfectly understandable, and would obviously deter you from wanting to fly. But it's not a fear of the actual flight itself.

I have a fear of drowning, but I don't have aquaphobia; I'm not scared of water.

/Deputy Regional Non-Executive Director Of The Pedantic Society
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...and I'm not scared of air. I have a fear of heights. It's not specifically falling or getting injured at the end that causes the fear. There is no rational thought behind it - it's just terrifying to be high off the ground. I'm not thinking "oh god I'm going to fall". I'm thinking "oh god I'm really far from the ground".

I think if you put me in low earth orbit, where I knew without any doubt whatsoever that I was not going to fall toward the ground, where I would just float there above the earth - I would be terrified. My brain doesn't even go far enough into the analysis to figure out what exactly it is that I'm afraid of happening, I'm just afraid.
 
fortbo
Has anyone else on GTP had this? I seem to not ne able to get over it. I have flown twice before but not recently. Anyone have any way I can get over it? I have to fly to Texas in September for WEC. :nervous:
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You get on the plane and fly. You're actually fearing it during the anticipation stage.

Don't drink alcohol beforehand, it doesn't steady the nerves in that sense. Promise yourself a skinful when you get to the other end... by that time you'll most likely be cured :D
 
TenEightyOne
You get on the plane and fly. You're actually fearing it during the anticipation stage.
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...and during the flight, and while you're at your destination thinking about the return flight, and during the return flight.
 
Danoff
...and during the flight, and while you're at your destination thinking about the return flight, and during the return flight.
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That's only my point of view; having conquered my early fear of flying (and eventually having qualified) I found the experience to be different.

That said... I cannot go in the sea, even my local North Sea for a swim because of my utterly utterly irrational fear of sharks. It's true, stupid and illogical. But there. And incurable, however many times I try, as soon as I'm a few meters out the "shark warnings" begin in my head. Freshwater's okay, just the sea.

I blame the parent-of-a-friend who let me watch Jaws when I was 5 :\
 
TenEightyOne
That's only my point of view; having conquered my early fear of flying (and eventually having qualified) I found the experience to be different.
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There are a lot of ways to experience fear, and a lot of different things to focus your fear on when it comes to air travel, so I'm sure many people are different.

TenEightyOne
That said... I cannot go in the sea, even my local North Sea for a swim because of my utterly utterly irrational fear of sharks. It's true, stupid and illogical. But there. And incurable, however many times I try, as soon as I'm a few meters out the "shark warnings" begin in my head. Freshwater's okay, just the sea.

I blame the parent-of-a-friend who let me watch Jaws when I was 5 :\
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Are you afraid of being killed by a shark? Or just afraid of sharks. For example, if you were at an aquarium and saw a shark behind glass....
 
Danoff
There are a lot of ways to experience fear, and a lot of different things to focus your fear on when it comes to air travel, so I'm sure many people are different.
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Absolutely, just giving my two penn'orth which may or may not work :D Avoiding alcohol is a definite way to reduce anxiety, counter-intuitively.

Danoff
Are you afraid of being killed by a shark? Or just afraid of sharks. For example, if you were at an aquarium and saw a shark behind glass....
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Afraid of being killed by one I guess, I can only think it activated some long-lost predator-awareness circuit deep in my more-caveman-than-most brain.

I've never seen a Great White shark in real life but even the thought of seeing them in aquaria is scary. Not as scary as the thought of being in the water with one accelerating unseen towards me from the dense, dark, deep...
 
35mm
Yeah, it's all fun and games and nice theories until you hit a huge air pocket or spend most of the ride under strong turbulence.

It's then, at that moment, that all good sense and rationalization goes out the window - at that's a 30,000 feet-high window.
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I'll have to see for myself if I ever ride a plane. I'm less scared of riding a vehicle if I'm not the one who's controlling of it.
 
Heights, yes, though I work on overcoming it every time I get a chance to. Great White shark in an aquaria? Nah. :p
 
I do.

You're basically sitting in a thin aluminum-composite tube thats is traveling close to mach 1 in 10 thousand meters altitude where the air is deadly thin and cold. Said tube is partially filled with thousands of liters of highly flammable liquid where one spark would enough to rip the entire construction and its passengers into tiny bits. Which already happened several times. Escape is impossible, if something goes wrong chances of survival are slim, chances of being either baked to death in that giant aluminum oven or getting ripped to shreds by an explosion are very high.

Yes, the odds of getting killed in a car crash are much higher, but if something goes wrong in an airplane death is very likely because there is no escape.
You could also say its statistically very unlikely to get struck by lighting when you run around on a mountain top during a thunderstorm, but that doesn't make it any less freakin' dangerous. And one hit will kill you.

In a nutshell, you're trapped in a giant, fragile, explosive oven that is shooting through the sky at blistering speeds and heights and where escape is impossible. What could possibly go wrong?

I think if you realize the physics behind flying in a commercial airliner fear is a very natural reaction.

I love traveling, but I always die a thousand deaths in commercial airplanes.
 
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I just tell myself the pilots are professionals at the helm of something amazingly complex, because there's a lot of triple redundancy built into the aircraft for the sake of safety.

That plane doesn't take off alone, there's two pilots (and possibly at least one as a passenger). Ground control makes sure they go to the taxiway in careful order, air traffic control guides them, they follow an air route that's used over and over again, and follow a handful of procedures to land it. Everything they do is recorded and could be used against them for deviating from that plan.

Pilots are usually rated to fly only one or two types of aircraft, and there's a ton of standardization between each aircraft of the same type. They spend hours in simulators, dozens of hours a year going over practice for conditions, and require medical clearance on a yearly basis.

You don't hear the media about the thousands of aircraft that take off and land every day, just as much as you don't hear about one hundred million vehicles arriving safe and sound to their destinations.

And along with that, air rage and annoying passengers aren't as prevalent as the media would lead you to believe. People are actually quite courteous, and the worst that happens is an armrest becomes a battle of who nods off first...
 
AOS-
Great White shark in an aquaria? Nah. :p
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I used it in the plural though, if I'd used "an" then I would have said "um", but thanks anyway :D

@Exorcet, I watched that TC plane go out and, eventually, come back in :)
 
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