Afraid of Flying?

[Ijineda]

Personally, I was pretty nervous whenever boarding an airliner, one of the reasons im into FlightSim...to understand everything better, to know where these strange sounds come from...now I know, and its much better!

[BFMF]

I've got over 35 hours of logged flight time at the controlls of a Cessna 172. I'm not afraid of it.

Since I've never flown in anything bigger then a C-182, I am however a little nervous flying on an airline down to Missouri next week

[Ace_777]

I love flying but I'm too young to actually pilot a plane. Hopefully when I finish my studies I wanna be a pilot

[Craig.]

i have pleanty of trips under my belt in jets plus a few hours at the controls of a piper warrior and i have never been nervous of flying.

[`Josh]

Having been on more than 30+ flights, I'm not too afraid of flying....However, I still get a little nervous because of

[BFMF]

I love flying but I'm too young to actually pilot a plane. Hopefully when I finish my studies I wanna be a pilot

AFAIK, there is no law here in the US stating how old you have to be to start taking lessons. You do have to be atleast 16 to solo, and 17 to get your license, but i've known kids who started flying when they were 15, soloed the day they turned 16, and got their license on their 17th birthday.

So, I don't think it would be illegal for you to start lessons, though it might not make much sense for you to start this early if you can't even solo untill your 16, but my advice for you is to start saving all the money you can now. It's very expensive

[Ace_777]

Thanks Pvt Andrew Esselbach,
                                                I really do have to save lol it is very expensive I've heard some crazy prices !! But hopefully it will be worthwhile.

[jimclarke]

Long ago when I took flying lessons (never finished :-/) I used to think about things possibly going wrong or having accidents, but those thoughts always vanished when I got in the plane.  I always felt totally comfortable in the plane.

Jim

[Nexus]

Actually, I've been nervous a few times. Granted that was years ago in my neighbor's Cessna twin.
We encountered a typical swedish summer thunderstorm and the turbulence was very severe.

But in an airliner, no...having done over 100+ flights the last ten years, (I lived in the states, stepfather worked in germany, Mom was in Sweden - you do the math  ;D) boarding an airplane is a eventful as taking the bus  :)

[Hagar]

[quote]boarding an airplane is a eventful as taking the bus

[Bazza]

I have flown many times as an observer on Search and Rescue flights off the coast of New Zealand.     On one occasion, in a Cessna 172, when we flew back to land, cloud had moved in and most of the district, including the airfield had disappeared.

The airfield itself was about 300 feet higher than the coast.  I suggested to the pilot that we go to an alternate airfield but only got a mumbled reply.      To cut things short, he fluked a hole in the clouds and stuffed as back down very quickly.   Afterwards I noticed that he was shaking so badly he could hardly hold a cup of coffee and he admitted to me he had done just about everything wrong.

If I had known as much then as my "simming" has taught me I would have been very afraid.

New Zealand has a very bad record of light plane crashes, due to the terrain and the changing weather.....   You probably don't need to be afraid but very respectful.

[FLYING_TRUCKER]

Flying and Heights

As the Pilot in Command............................no
Doing aerobatics......................................no
As a passenger in the cockpit....................no
As a passenger not in the cockpit..............yes
Putting up Christmas Lights.......................yes yes yes

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

[Deputy]

Flying and Heights

As the Pilot in Command............................no
Doing aerobatics......................................no
As a passenger in the cockpit....................no
As a passenger not in the cockpit..............yes
Putting up Christmas Lights.......................yes yes yes

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

Bah. Can't scare me with flying or heights.

[Triple_7]

Fear of flying...NO
Fear of some of the prices...VERY

After trying to plan a possible trip to Taiwan over this coming summer I have seen prices anywhere from $500 round trip to as much as $3000  And they are for the same flights and same class ticket :-/.  

I have not logged any time in a real aircraft but that will hopefully change.  I lucked out and one of my friends dad happens to be a part time flight instructor.  He said he would give me a huge discount on lessons and is planning to take me up sometime over the summer in his Cessna 172 to see how well I handle it and if he thinks I should continue on to get my licence.  Cant wait

[Politically Incorrect]

Flying no
Heights YES!

I found it odd knowing that I can't stand even being on a 3' ladder without almost passing out that my fear of heights doesn't affect me in a airplane.

I always wanted to learn to fly but never gave it a shot because I was afraid of my fear of heights, my fear was holding me back, it wasn't until after my death in early 2002 that I said to hell with it I only live once (or 9 times in my case ) and decided to overcome my fear and take my first lesson.

One theory is that while your flying your in control of the situation so your fear is gone, maybe that is true?
But even as a passenger of a airline it doesn't affect me at all, I still get butterflies waiting to board a plane and take off down the runway, and if possible always try to get a seat on the wing (love watching the forces of nature try to rip parts off )
The only time I can remember being slightly worried was on a flight from Saginaw to Daytona, about halfway there I notices rivets coming of the wing by the flaps, the stewardess assured me there was nothing to worry about but I felt if she was so positive she would be the pilot and not serving me coffee

Hijacking/ Terrorist- no never have been and never will be afraid. Let them try to ruin my flight