irrational fear of flying

Here I sit in moderate to heavy chop in this crap can A320 with its European flight control software navigating us around thundercells 39000 feet above Maryland on my way to JFK.
In the good old days, pre 9/11, my family and I would probably have been on a nice Boeing 757 that would broadcast cockpit chatter so I could hear how mellow the pilots are. Instead I'm posting this and making sure on Flight aware that some other folks have flown through this and lived already.
Screw this goddamned means of conveyance that is against god's will. If I can give Terra firma a kiss this evening I swear tomorrow I'll do hill repeats.

Xanax is your friend. Just ask you family doctor for some to cover flying.

Yes, have tried with mixed results. I really should see a doctor again.

Would prefer non-freezing pitot tubes and more aluminum, less composite. But then I ride a Gaulzetti.

And descending now.
Jayzus this is misery

Dude!
using your phone on the flight could bring the whole thing down...turn it off!

What?

Not funny at the moment I'm guessing. Would drink a Clamato be a better response?

I strap the seatbelt down so freaking hard in those situations I can't feel my toes. Sometimes I close my eyes and ask if I'd be concerned were I in the back of a pickup with the same bumping.

Feel ya' bro. I have flown two times. And, I actually cried one of those times. Seems so fucking unnatural barreling thru the air. I know, I know. But, I used to not drink.

Totally "descent might be choppy"

This would be fucking terrifying in a pickup truck.
Crew now seated.

Theres nothing irrational about it, when I worked in aerospace, man you should have seen what they did to cover up mistakes, it was a real eyeopener a recent job was figuring out how to machine horizontal stabilizer skins to stop them cracking, terrifying

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Originally Posted by Badonkadonk

This would be fucking terrifying in a pickup truck.
Crew now seated.

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It's a good airplane. You'll be on the deck in one piece.

I flew with my wife to New Orleans last year. On the return flight I sat next to a pilot, he explained most all of the movements of the wings and processes. It was relaxing, as a half ass mechanic I like hearing about the mechanicality of it.

However, upon descent. He looked me square in the face and said, "we are going down...." I said, "what!!" "In a controlled fashion." Thanks, really thanks

Sometime watch them fly one of those things through a hurricane for weather purposes.
Holy mackerel those things can suffer a lot without breaking.

I take my shoes off when it takes off... 10 feet off the ground is the same as 39,000 really.

and here we are at jfk
that was, uh, really something
saving grace was being between my two boys the whole way down, one challenging me to serial thumb wrestling matches and the other looking for help with monkey lunchbox. ahhh, life before fear.
landing felt a little nose first. mug.

Go to your LAF (local air field), take a couple intro lessons,
then ask to go up in Citabria for some intro to acrobatics.

Go up in a sail plane, that you'll cure your fear of falling out of the sky.
Flying, when not involving bus driving, can be quite enjoyable.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Badonkadonk

Here I sit in moderate to heavy chop in this crap can A320 with its European flight control software navigating us around thundercells 39000 feet above Maryland on my way to JFK.
In the good old days, pre 9/11, my family and I would probably have been on a nice Boeing 757 that would broadcast cockpit chatter so I could hear how mellow the pilots are. Instead I'm posting this and making sure on Flight aware that some other folks have flown through this and lived already.
Screw this goddamned means of conveyance that is against god's will. If I can give Terra firma a kiss this evening I swear tomorrow I'll do hill repeats.

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Just like lawyers and firefighters, pilots are overpaid, except when they're wildly underpaid.

The Airbus is an excellent aircraft with an excellent safety record.

Most people don't like flying because they aren't in control and can't see what's going on out the front window. Yeah, today's a shitty day to fly. I'm glad I wasn't in the NE USA today, but we did some turning and banking around some pretty fancy cells today in the SE (all part of the same cold front and low pressure system) and dropped from 23000 feet to 4000 in one descent into Norfolk after clearing a building line of weather. Then I went home and played with my bike. :cool: My neighbors were none the wiser.

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Originally Posted by Scott G.

Go to your LAF (local air field), take a couple intro lessons,
then ask to go up in Citabria for some intro to acrobatics.

Go up in a sail plane, that you'll cure your fear of falling out of the sky.
Flying, when not involving bus driving, can be quite enjoyable.

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Do you still fly for 'fun'? I can't say that I ever have just gone out for fun and I haven't flown a piston powered airplane in over 11 years. Too expensive. When I retire from flying I think I'll frame my certificate and medical and be done with it. I'd way rather ride my bike than fly an airplane!

Saab, You are my hero, I hate flying.

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Originally Posted by progetto

Saab, You are my hero, I hate flying.

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I'm nobody's hero. There are other flyers here too and I hope they speak up. I got into it by answering an ad in a newspaper 20 years ago. Pretty anticlimactic really and when I'm done with it I'll just leave it all behind. I do it for money. That's not really heroic.

Teachers and firefighters and cops are far more heroic than a pilot ever will be.

Flying is super safe but people feel horrified when something bad happens. The lack of control is what bothers most people.

BTW, it's only safe because of the men and women who work in the industry. It's not automatic, but it feels that way because it's become so commonplace. But every flight is a bit of an adventure where something bad could happen, which is why pilots and flight attendants and air traffic controllers and dispatchers and mechanics always have to be on their toes. Pilots just fly the things but there's a whole crew of people who make safety happen.

the part of flying that I find terrifying is just trying to get on the airplane that will get me to where I'm going. Once on board, no problem. Been in my share of planes with serious problems, but when the pilots get all excited and shake the plane, I just sit back and relax because I know they are awake.

I fly a fair amount (about 130,000 last year). I have found that I need to have a book or video and just focus on that. If I let me mind wander, fear creeps in. As Saab mentioned, it is all about lack of control and understanding for me.

I also had a pilot sitting next to me years ago. We were going through very bad weather as we approached the airport. He described what is going on in cockpit ... "You will feel the plane move in a second, that is the pilot taking it off auto-pilot". Just as he said that you could feel the plane slightly shift. I found his calmness and play by play very helpful.
One other time I was flying between cities of Colorado's front range, extremely windy place, in one of the little propjets. You get tossed around pretty good in those in that area. Pilot sat next to me. We were about 500 feet off the ground starting to get tossed about when I look over and she was already asleep. Comforting sight as it told me that this is completely normal in this area.