Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
When I was in flight school 1/2 the class quit before doing their first solo. 4 people quit on “solo” day, and 1 quit after his first solo. Only 3 of us went on to get their license.
Flying isn’t all that hard... remembering your training, not panicking , and not trying to fly above your skill level will go a long way in keeping you alive during an air emergency. Most small aircraft crashes are so to pilot error rather than some catastrophic mechanical failure. Power on stalls and that dreaded “base leg to final approach” turn are big killers of airplanes and PPs.
Funny how some will dread an upcoming “flight”, but don’t give a second though to hopping into their car where at any moment someone could cross over the center divider and hit them head on, a drunk driver t-boning them, stop light/sign runners, or distracted drivers plowing into them. Somehow the thought of plummeting to earth is scarier than dying in car crash ...which the odds of that happening to one is quite a bit higher than dying in a plane crash.
I am cognizant of the dangers, but I am not afraid to fly and I don’t worry anymore about crashing than most people do when they drive their cars. If it were up to me...I’d only land to refuel, eat and take a potty break.
Being a pilot can be risky. The level of risk must be accepted by the pilot, at all times (during flight.)
The Risk Curve (RC) is very similar to other learned activities. Which makes sense, as the one common element is that they involve humans. Anyway, the RC looks very much like a Bell Curve. At first, risk is elevated due to stimuli saturation/panic, followed by a lower level of risk, then finally another elevated level of risk. The last/final increase in level of risk is caused by ego or complacency.
Barring a medical condition, these are the two main factors in heightened levels of risk.
Yes, I have a huge fear of flying. The last time I flew on a plane was as a kid in 1984. Afterward, when my parents wanted to go somewhere, I insisted on taking the bus. As an adult, I have never flown anywhere.
It's not that I think there's a higher risk of dying in a plane crash. It's just that it has got to be the absolute worst way to go. It's not like a car crash, when you don't know what hit you. You are fully aware of what's happening, from the time the plane starts having trouble to when it actually crashes. You are conscious the entire time when you fall to your death after the plane disintegrates in mid-air.
I never flew a lot, but I did it although I never enjoyed it. Physically I didn't like the feeling of the acceleration and ascent (and the reverse during the landing) ... essentially the same feeling one experiences with roller coasters of which I have never been a fan.
My last commercial flight was 1976 from Norway via Heathrow. The short stint from Oslo to London was bumpy, but what did me in was that the entire flight from London to JFK was turbulent - the entire 5 hours. For a good part of the trip even the attendants were belted in. Having a plane full of anxious people, and feeling nervous myself, for such a long constant period of time was psychologically life changing.
I haven't flown commercially since. I did try a 4-seater in the early 90s. I didn't like it - I didn't mind so much the bouncing around, but those same gut feelings, the roller coaster things, were still unpleasant. I could feel the high level adrenalin surging and I couldn't wait to be back on the ground.
Somewhere along the line, in the late 1980s, and for an unknown reason, I developed vertigo. That played into my little plane experience when looking out the window made me feel light-headed.
What made no sense whatsoever is that in the mid-1990s I took a hot air balloon ride and loved it. No anxious adrenalin, just pure enjoyment. No light-headedness looking down from the basket. No unpleasant "roller coaster feelings" when the balloon soared or dipped. Absolutely bizarre.
Sitting here typing, if I think about getting on a jet my stomach leaps into my throat. If I think about taking a hot air balloon, my thought is "let's go now". The psychology is weird.
I don't know if it's because a balloon is smaller and gentler and I can see the pilot (I am also the backseat driver type) and if it falls out of the sky I think I have a better chance of surviving.
I pushed through the vertigo so that today I can climb tall ladders without freezing up and without feeling light-headed. (I still don't like heights, and I do have a limit - forget anything like the Empire State Building or open stairways of lighthouses.) I suppose with time and work I could push through and try to get on a commercial flight. But for me it isn't worth the effort. I love driving, taking the train, going on cruises, and these modes of travel get me to where I want to go and I enjoy the slower journey anyway.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
