take my quick survey on fear of flying

It may not have been fair for me to take your survey - I'm a pilot. But I did anyway. I'd be curious to see your results later!

Mark Baird
Alameda CA

 

And I'm very scared of flying as a passenger. I've always thought it was a control issue, so I'd be interested in hearing what you find, too.

(I also don't like being the passenger in cars or on motorcycles, btw.)

 

I put "slight anxiety" for passport check and security, but that has more to do with my anxiety about bureaucracy, since I don't have any about flying.

 

I am very afraid of flying. I did just take a flight to Florida but it was tough. I consider myself to have good self esteem. I would be interested in knowing the corelation of the two.

 

I'm generally not, however, I've been on some "interesting" rides that made me not want to go back up (picture being a kid on a tricycle, what happens when you suddenly jerk the handlebars to the left or right? :lol: ), of course, that burns off after 20 minutes, and I'm ready for another run... h34r:

...but seriously, what really creeps me out, and it was mentioned somewhere here before, is the level of security at airports. Between the mechanics, and all the condiments, that are loaded on an aircraft on every flight, there's just waaaaay too much room for error or acts of terrorism. Plus, I do believe, and pilots correct me if I'm wrong, a 747/737 has a real CRAPPY glide ratio!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mystery Squid @ Apr 21 2007, 07:45 PM) [snapback]427576[/snapback]</div>

They're not sailplanes, but with total power loss the big birds do just fine. Google "Gimli Glider" for a fascinating account of a 767 that ran out of gas at cruise (really!) and had to glide to a landing. The big jet had to be forward slipped to get it DOWN, else it would have overshot the field the pilot had selected (about 20 miles distant when the engines flamed out). Try gliding your Prius 20 miles with all powerplants dead.

Total power failure is EXCEEDINGLY rare in multi-engine jets: the number times it has happened in the last half century is fewer than 50 (perhaps even fewer than 10, civilian ops) - you will win the lottery 10 times in a row before you'll be on an airliner that loses all its powerplants. Jet engines today are so reliable it is now legal to fly ETOPS with twin engine aircraft (flight across regions, like oceans, where the nearest emergency airstrip is too far too reach if the aircraft loses so much power it cannot maintain altitude - I don't know the actual meaning of ETOPS but it is colloquially known as Engines Turn Or People Swim). So far, the engines all keep turning reliably as sunrise, and no one has yet had to swim the rest of the way to London.

Mark Baird
Alameda CA

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(airportkid @ Apr 21 2007, 09:59 PM) [snapback]427662[/snapback]</div>

Been there, done that. Many times!
In both a Prius and a twin-engine jet . . . except it was only the Prius powerplants which weren't turning and burning.

Give me a bone dry car heading West on Highway 50 at Echo Summit in the Sierra and I will make it more than 20 miles without burning so much as an ounce of gas.

The same concept applies to airplanes at elevation. The higher you are, the further you can go - by trading elevation for speed and lift.

ETOPS = Extended-range Twin-engine Operations . . . a International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) rule.
Done it many times as a crewmember on a Navy C-9. Yes, we were military, but we still flew under ICAO and FHA civilian transport rules.

Trivia: Which is closer to Hawaii? San Diego or San Francisco?

Yep, San Francisco.

Me? Fear of flying? Never! I'm like a kid in a candy store.

 

I'm not afraid of flying, but I sure do get airsick. (And carsick, and especially seasick, but I even get elevatorsick and rockingchairsick.)

 

It's interesting; I filled out the form, but I wonder if my results would be misinterpreted. I have very little fear of actual flying, but all of the scheduling aspects of the flight cause me some stress (i.e. getting to the airport on time; not missing a flight). Once I'm on the plane, I have very close to ZERO stress (unless I have to make a connection). I actually quite enjoy the whole take-off process and find turbulence a little "fun" (I'm sick, I know ).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Betelgeuse @ Apr 22 2007, 04:55 PM) [snapback]427996[/snapback]</div>

I interpreted "anxiety" differently than stress. I have stress over missing a flight, losing my luggage, etc. But since the OP had specifically mentioned "fear" I answered as though "anxiety" meant fear.

Different peoples' reading of the language of the questions may entirely skew the results.

 

It's not the flying part I'm afraid of--it's the crashing part. And motion sickness, popping ears, having someone undesirable sitting that close to me for a long period of time, etc.

 

I took the survey, but I was expecting to see some questions about how often you fly; to me, more frequent flyers tend to have less anxiety about flying.

I smiled when I got to the part about being anxious when they close the doors and then again on takeoff; closing the doors is my cue that I can relax, and by the time we are actually at the runway to take off, I'm usually asleep. Takeoff does wake me up, but I'm able to go back to sleep right after that.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(airportkid @ Apr 22 2007, 12:59 AM) [snapback]427662[/snapback]</div>

There have been many cases of total power failure in multi-engine jets, even in recent times. Its onset usually occurs simultaneously with impact into a building or the ground, or sometimes water.

Tom

 

No fear here, but i definitely feel a little anxiety buying tickets (what if something comes up and i have to cancel, losing my $200?), going through security (did i remember to take my pocket knife off my keyring?), and such... Anxiety not related to the actual act of flying, but instead to everything surrounding it.

 

Other than security, which seems to cause everyone anxiety these days, I am only nervous during high risk flying. Airline travel is very safe, but not uniformly safe. Some airports and situations are worse than others, especially when you throw in adverse conditions. As a pilot, my anxiety is based on real risk assessment, not general fear.

Tom