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You're more likely to get killed driving to the airport. Are you afraid of driving?
You miss the fundamental difference: I am in control of my car. I keep my car in top shape, I know that most of the drivers around me are idiots driving cars they know nothing about maintaining, couldn't anticipate a breakdown by sounds/feel, so are additionally handicapped, as well as not knowing the rules of the road and not caring, feeling like they own the road, etc.
But in the air, I am not only at the mercy of pilots who may be pushing their exhaustion limit - who may have spent the night in a noisy motel with a lousy mattress and woke up to a phone call from their wife/husband ending the relationship and they, in turn, are dependent upon the "people in the tower" who may have had a perfectly wonderful sleep and a marvelous day and are now zoning out admiring the pretty blue sky, not to mention the weatherperson who missed seeing the windshear. Oh, and did I mention the guys who repair the plane? Yeah, the ones facing layoffs or not getting the promotion they wanted.
It's control, baby, and if it's not under my control, I don't trust it. Flying isn't about statistics, it's about trust.
Are most of the people that have aan irrational fear of flying female? It seems so from this thread but that's a pretty small sample size. I only know two people that are afraid of flying and they will still fly on large commercial planes. One will even fly on small planes when pushed but she doesn't like it.
(I know there's bars at every airport but truly...I used to enjoy it).
My dad just took an 8 hour flight to Brazil a few months ago. Popped a Xanax when he got on; he was out cold in 30 minutes, and woke up 30 minutes prior to landing.
You're more likely to get killed driving to the airport. Are you afraid of driving?
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+1. Thats what I don't get. Planes are the safest form of transportation, and in the event something does happen, its usually a problem thats rare, so people are able to fix it so it doesn't happen again.
Driving to the airport you wiz by cars going 70 MPH in the oppositer direction with 5 or 10 feet of separations, not to mention nobody talking in your ear.
(I know there's bars at every airport but truly...I used to enjoy it).
Also I'm not sure if they still have it or not, but United Airlines used to have this thing called channel 9 where you as the passengar could listen into everything that was being said in the cockpit during the flight.
I actually enjoyed flying at night. Any thoughts on this from anyone?
Aside from when I flew back to Newark from St. Louis a couple weeks ago where it was raining on the entire east, flying at night is better:
1) less turbulance in the air which makes for a smoother flight in the air and smoother take off and landing
2) less people on the plane, so you're more adept at getting your own 2 person seat then you are on an 8 AM flight, which means more room to stretch out.
3) less traffic at airports which mean you can take off sooner and land sooner.
If you live at a busy airport (Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Boston, LAX) the best thing you can do is either take off first thing in the morning, or really late at night. If you're afraid of flying don't fly into any of those airports between 3 and 6 PM because you could be put in a hold for a while, and then stuck on the tarmac even longer. I saw a Jet Blue flight at JFK hold for about 25 minutes before getting clearance to land, then was parked on the taxiway for about another 20 waiting for a gate, and this was around 6 PM.
Also I'm not sure if they still have it or not, but United Airlines used to have this thing called channel 9 where you as the passengar could listen into everything that was being said in the cockpit during the flight.
I believe it was ATC, not the cockpit. Just transmissions.
I have a fear of flying also. In order for me to fly, I have to pop 2 benadryl 30 mins prior to departure in order to get on the plane. Then I sleep all the way to my destination. It's weird because I have been flying since I was 6 months old and I am 35 now. I think a bad experience I had at 9 or 10, with incredible turbulence, contributed to that. However, I have found that the more I learn about flying, the less afraid I have become. I watch a lot of youtube videos on aviation, and have had the opportunity to speak to a very friendly southwest pilot who answered a lot of my questions. I have even become a little interested in flying.....
I have a fear of flying also. In order for me to fly, I have to pop 2 benadryl 30 mins prior to departure in order to get on the plane. Then I sleep all the way to my destination. It's weird because I have been flying since I was 6 months old and I am 35 now. I think a bad experience I had at 9 or 10, with incredible turbulence, contributed to that. However, I have found that the more I learn about flying, the less afraid I have become. I watch a lot of youtube videos on aviation, and have had the opportunity to speak to a very friendly southwest pilot who answered a lot of my questions. I have even become a little interested in flying.....
I honestly think the best way to get rid of a fear of flying is to learn how to fly. Get into a small single engine plane and see that planes want to fly, they do not just fall out of the sky etc.. And actually taking control of a plane and learning so much about them helps. I don't think people need to spend $8,000 on their private pilots license unless they start to love it. But spend $1,000 and get over the fear. If it does not help the first time or two than stop. Another great thing is speaking to airline pilots too.
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