Are you concerned about flying?
Discussion
Hi Ari,
I have worked in the aviation industry for almost 20 years.
Flying isn't exactly natural for humans. Hurtling through the air at 500mph in a pressurised aluminium tube 10km above the ground is not what we evolved to do, and it's natural to feel worried about it.
Most people find that knowledge is the best way to deal with this apprehension. Do you understand how aircraft fly? How jet engines work? How airliners are built and maintained? Is turbulence dangerous? Why is the wing flexing? How do they navigate accurately? If you're not sure, I suggest going on a Flying with Confidence course. Most courses are taught by experienced pilots who will be able to explain all these things clearly.
The course includes a flight, during which the pilot will give a running commentary, explaining what is going on, and what the scary noises are (flaps and landing gear, generally!).
Is flying dangerous? Well, everything contains some element of risk, but it needs to be kept in proportion. In 2010 almost 3000 people died on Britain's roads. The number who died in commercial aviation was zero.
I have worked in the aviation industry for almost 20 years.
Flying isn't exactly natural for humans. Hurtling through the air at 500mph in a pressurised aluminium tube 10km above the ground is not what we evolved to do, and it's natural to feel worried about it.
Most people find that knowledge is the best way to deal with this apprehension. Do you understand how aircraft fly? How jet engines work? How airliners are built and maintained? Is turbulence dangerous? Why is the wing flexing? How do they navigate accurately? If you're not sure, I suggest going on a Flying with Confidence course. Most courses are taught by experienced pilots who will be able to explain all these things clearly.
The course includes a flight, during which the pilot will give a running commentary, explaining what is going on, and what the scary noises are (flaps and landing gear, generally!).
Is flying dangerous? Well, everything contains some element of risk, but it needs to be kept in proportion. In 2010 almost 3000 people died on Britain's roads. The number who died in commercial aviation was zero.
Edited by Bradgate on Monday 17th September 22:36
Im not scared of flying, i intensly dislike it, cramped ,airport hassle, f
king hate it, its something i avoid if possible, worst experiance, unlike some on here that will be seasoned travelers ive never really had bad turbulence, but i did fly to Africa on a Galaxy Transport plane, the seats in it faced backwards and we did midair refueling, nearest i came to losing my dinner.
king hate it, its something i avoid if possible, worst experiance, unlike some on here that will be seasoned travelers ive never really had bad turbulence, but i did fly to Africa on a Galaxy Transport plane, the seats in it faced backwards and we did midair refueling, nearest i came to losing my dinner.
Dr Doofenshmirtz said:
You'll be fine.
Just avoid watching 'Air Crash investigation' on TV.
Disagree. Well, to an extent.Just avoid watching 'Air Crash investigation' on TV.
My Father flew small stuff, and I've been lucky enough to count as friends two Captains on big stuff in BA and Monarch, one BA hostie, and I also know reasonably well a couple of chopper pilots whom I've had the unique pleasure in sharing quite a few passenger hours with in Jet Rangers.
I've also got a couple of very knowledgable and keen friends who love flying and aviation like I do as enthusiastic amateurs.
Hence, I have read many books on the subject and viewed much TV. 'Air Crash' - despite being 'TV' hyped a little to make it interesting, is actually a farly technical resource.
If you know aviation to any degree, and some of the terminology, procedures and aircraft - then 'Air Crash' is fairly spot on most of the time.
So. How does this help? Well, whenever I fly, firstly I can recognise the aircraft I am about to board, and know to a degree how it operates, the technical installations, the avionics pack and roughly what the Pilot and First Officer are facing and doing in the cockpit. I can usually identify the engine type assuming I get to see the wings clearly enough before boarding or from my seat.
I have a working knowledge of the UK airports near me - the aprons, taxi-ways and runway(s) - and how the Pilot might proceed depending upon the wind direction, strength, traffic and conditions etc.
If I'm sitting over the wings, I can guess what the flaps configuration might be for take-off, and give myself a pat on the back if I get it nearly right!
I try to guess roughly when V1 might be called along the runway (although I'll never know if I got that exactly right!) but can predict 'rotate' with a reasonable degree of accuracy quite often.
I listen for 'gear up', and then try to call when the flaps are brought back in, and the engine power reduced from take-off power.
I then have a reasonable idea of what's happening up front from then on, into the cruise.
And on our descent and approach, I do all that again. If anything out of the ordinary happens (into a holding pattern, missed approach etc.) then I am pretty happy that I know what is happening and why.
In fact last month as we descended into Tenerife Sur Airport - notorious for difficult approach and landing conditions - we copped some nasty turbulence on our approach, which was very unsettling for lots of my fellow passengers - but I know this airport, it's difficult turbulence and conditions from books and TV programmes. So I knew it was fairly normal.
As we were completing our finals and ready to drop onto the road, I felt some hideous wind shear, and thought to myself 'bloody hell, I wouldn't risk dropping this now, after that - we're all over the gaff' and sure enough - full engines and a steep climb happened almost immediately after I thought it!
Cabin full of worried faces - Captain on the intercom trying to explain and calm it all down - but it didn't seem to really help. There were some genuinely worried folk around me.
I knew exactly what was going on, and so was a happy, content passenger - albeit a bit annoyed that we'd be a little late.
So - I might suggest that educating yourself and learning about flying, procedures and aircraft might help to allay those fears - so that, like me, you are aware of exactly what's going on, and why all around you. And also be able to identify and be happy with any noises you might hear through the airframe.
On the downside - I reckon I'd also be reasonably able to spot a horrendous, un-recoverable situation too, which doesn't bear thinking about
but at least I might have time to prepare, eh?! 
But seriously - knowledge is power in a situation, like flying, that is a little scary for some and of which you have no control over. If you've gotta just sit down and shut up, trusting a machine and two blokes up front - you're at least better off knowing what's happening around you than not, yes?
Ray Luxury-Yacht said:
I listen for 'gear up', and then try to call when the flaps are brought back in, and the engine power reduced from take-off power.
Hate that! You've just been hurled into the air at 200mph, can still make out the models of cars below, and suddenly the engine power winds back...! WTF! 
Getting more used to it now...
New POD said:
I'm not saying that planes don't crash, but it's rare, and as long as you stick to carriers and airlines from the developed world, is highly regulated.
If you stick to the likes of BA, Easyjet, United, Lufthansa, Emirates etc the chances of you being involved in a scary incident are very, very remote. Developing world carriers are a completely different matter. Aviation in much of sub-Saharan Africa and the former Soviet Union is an unregulated shambles and I would be very reluctant to fly in these parts of the world
I love flying! Probably a good thing as I fly helicopters for a living! However when I fly airlines I do really wish I was flying.. something to do with not being in control I guess!! That and watching 3 experienced Air France pilots kill over 200 people after a negligable nothing emergency turned into an absolute goat!!
OP - much the same as you. I used to enjoy flying, then went through a phase of several years where I'd get really quite anxious about it, much as you describe.
Fine now though. What helped me get over it? Well, one Christmas I was staying at my folks, and spent some time playing around with a flight sim my old man had. Learning what was going on seemed to make the anxiety vanish.
The only time it's been back was for one hair-raising flight on Orkney this year in an islander, in heavy fog and high wind. But I could at least watch the pilot stuggling
Fine now though. What helped me get over it? Well, one Christmas I was staying at my folks, and spent some time playing around with a flight sim my old man had. Learning what was going on seemed to make the anxiety vanish.
The only time it's been back was for one hair-raising flight on Orkney this year in an islander, in heavy fog and high wind. But I could at least watch the pilot stuggling
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