who's afraid of flying?

[mopaul]

my wife will NEVER fly in a plane, never ever ever. her paranoia has even rubbed off on me, although i've flown 3 times, many years ago. i would rather drive cross country and enjoy the scenery with her. tonight's adventure in california only strengthened her resolve against human flight.

[shadowknows69]

1. Not afraid of flying

afraid of crashing.

[Fox Mulder]

2. I hate it.

I will never fly.

If I ever want to go overseas, I'm taking a cruise ship or something. No planes.

[OhioChick]

3. I'm afraid of flying, too

Flew once in my life and that was enough for me. I'd rather drive and look at the scenery. :)

[FloridaPat]

4. Me. I panic easily. 9 years as an air traffic controller. Need I say more?

[LuCifer]

5. It's not the flying that bothers me...

...it's the LANDING that DOES!!!

And I know the arguement, "OH BUT IT'S SAFER" blah blah blah, well dude, if I get a flat, I CAN PULL OVER! Ya can't damn do shit like that if you're at 30,000 FEET!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lu

[KitchenWitch]

6. I need Xanax to fly!

[shadowknows69]

38. now see.

if they would just distribute xanax on flights i would fly. i suspect air travel in general would increase.

[KitchenWitch]

39. Xanax on all commercial flights

Its.The.Law.

:rofl:

[shadowknows69]

42. actually i probably still wouldn't fly

I'd just get my pill at the gate and go chill out to a terminal tv for a while.

[KitchenWitch]

43. LOL

I hear you!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. I LOVE flying!! I'll do it any time I can.

Most fun you can have with your clothes on.

[karlrschneider]

47. LOL! I take you've never flown nekkid?

I have!!!
:D :D :D

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

52. Never flew naked. How did you manage?

I do have a t-shirt that says "Fly Naked." The problem is that the vinyl seat covers in Cessnas can get a bit too hot to sit on. But if everybody went naked on commercial flights, it would make the security screening process a lot easier, if creepier.

[karlrschneider]

54. Hee...true dat. Autopilots can do amazing things

like keep the thing going where you want. And I'm not saying any more about that.
:evilgrin:

[Holly_Hobby]

8. I refuse to fly

Irrational fear. I'll take the train, thanks. :)

[graywarrior]

Me.

Hate it.

[Nickster]

9. I hate it. I always white-knuckle it and pound a few cocktails to get

through it. Take a look at this website, it's run by an airline captain, it actually helped to ease my anxiety somewhat and he responds to emails as well.

http://www.fearofflyinghelp.com/

[newsguyatl]

10. not afraid, per se

but i certainly don't enjoy it -- and am never at ease while i'm in the air.

[VPStoltz]

11. I used to hate it, then...

both of my brothers worked for large carriers and I flew 1st class - then I liked it! Then I quit drinking - and I hated it again. After starting to travel more I started liking it. But having started taking medication for anxiety - I hate it again.
Go figure.

[Elwood P Dowd]

12. I've flown probably 20-25 times back from

the late-60s up until the 80s. People who fly today tell me it's gone to shit since then.

[longship]

After seeing that landing tonight

I am less afraid of flying.

Actually I like flying. I just hate travelling by air. Don't laugh. Flying in an airplane is great fun. But the airline industry and the government have made travelling by air such a painful hassle that I'd rather have teeth pulled without novacaine than go through the air travel meatgrinder.

[CascadeTide]

13. i can think of no better way to go out than a fiery crash

falling 30,000 feet and ending in a fireball is my idea of quick and painless death.

[mopaul]

14. i'd druther be et by hogs

[moobu2]

18. lol... me too

[Balbus]

25. That was funny!!

:spray:

[moobu2]

15. I am.

I cant imagine any circumstance where I would ever fly again. It's weird because I used to love it.

[Rowdyboy]

16. Used to be terrified...Now I'm just cautious....Flew to Cancun for fun

Washington DC for a birthday party and Denver for work. All three went easily so I'm much less nervous.

[tularetom]

17. I'm afraid of flying on commercial flights

but I'd have no hesitancy about getting in a small private plane. In fact I took lessons many years ago and have often thought about taking it up again. The big planes just bother me. Maybe its an altitude thing.

[Kingshakabobo]

27. Funny you should mention that.

Since I received my private pilots license, I'm less comfortable on commercial flights. I guess it's a control thing. I'd rather know what's going on up there.

[SheilaT]

61. While general aviation accidents

have decreased noticeably in recent years, there were still 351 of them that involved fatalities in 2003. So you're not really safer in a small plane than in a large one.

[Staph]

19. Flying is boring

I've flown 50k to 75k miles per year for the past ten years. I'm usually asleep before takeoff, and sometimes I don't wake up until we land.

When I was a kid, I flew a couple of times with my family. We always got dressed up, because flying was an adventure. Today, it's just a bore.

BTW, I was in San Jose, CA, during 9/11. I flew back to the East Coast that Saturday. No fear -- just anger. If someone had attempted to hijack that flight, I would have torn him apart with my bare hands.

[SeattleGirl]

20. Not me, though I used to, especially landing.

Know when I stopped being afraid to fly? After 9/11. We had a scheduled trip planned to Las Vegas, and took off on 10/12. I was calm as all get out and my husband was suddenly the one who was scared. Go figger! What I did do was look around the plane from where I was sitting, and tried to plan in my head how to tackle a highjacker before he could do any harm!

[Southsideirish]

21. Friend's dad was killed in crash - that did it for me.

[Toucano]

44. I must know at least a dozen people killed in car crashes.

I guess I won't drive again. :silly:

[Mr_Spock]

22. Not I, said the green pig

It's kinda fun - get apprehensive sometimes though.

[Liberal In Texas]

23. Love it.

Love it so much I have 18 hours training in helicopters. I wish I could afford more.

Much safer than living in *-world.

[DemoTex]

24. 17000+ hours military, corporate, and airline and I hate it!

But I am not afraid of flying.

[Kingshakabobo]

29. Is that you in the pic?

BTW, How's Sirius?

[karlrschneider]

50. We both did long after we came to hate it.!! LOL

Ain't it de trut?
:D

[tanyev]

26. I do not like it at all.

I can suck it up and get on a plane if I have to, but I make sure that doesn't happen very often. It didn't help when a plane I was on had some really rough turbulence trying to land in a thunderstorm. Everyone applauded when we finally got down safely.

[Gloria]

28. I haven't flow in 13 years....I'm a chicken flyer, but even more afraid

of the air quality in planes. With my compromised respiratory system, I'm more worried about catching something that would trigger my asthma or bronchitis....

[Mist]

30. I HATE IT, HATE IT, HATE IT, HATE IT!!!!

If I HAVE to I'll fly, but only after 3 drinks on ground and keep 'em
coming thru the flight.

[all.of.me]

31. me!

i have not been on a plane in probably 25 years. last time i was, a nurse held my hand all the way to dc from boston while i cried. the 8 year old boy next to me was better behaved than i was. i was about 27 years old!

i want to go to italy. how the hell am i going to do that?!?!

[titoresque]

32. I admit...wuss here. I cry from Phoenix to Vegas

it's really more a fear of heights. It's so ridiculous but I can't help it.

:scared:

[NoBushSpokenHere]

33. LOL funny you should mention it

I flew into Pittsburgh just before the bad crash there. It caused me to be a bit squeamish about flying, so I hit the bar early and down several before boarding. I have debated driving or flying all week this week.

Tonight, I made my airline reservations to DC and then clicked on MSNBC to see the reports about the LAX plane.....I thought, "Oh shit, why couldn't that have happened 15 minutes sooner, I would have drove to DC"

Oh well, the way I look at it, "When it is my time to die, I will" whether it be by the crash at the bottom or smoking too much or whatever life has in store for me"

[Berserker]

36. It's like

Russian Roulette to me. Step on the plane set down and order a drink and say fuck it.

[David Zephyr]

34. I have to travel to Chicago from L.A. next week.

I hate flying so much that my physician has my valium waiting at the pharmacy for me to pick up. I was in a terrible flight about six years ago and I have still never come back from that experience.

[MindPilot]

35. I really enjoy flying both as a passenger and pilot

I wish the seats were more comfortable, but the tv in the seat back are the coolest thing since magazines.

I'm a little apprehensive about driving...

[Oeditpus Rex]

37. I won't fly

I used to think it was a control issue; I'd feel a lot better driving, y'know? Then I went up in an RV-6A, one of those little-bitty experimentals. (No, not a hang-glider with an engine; that's an "ultralight." Experimentals are home-built from kits and look like most other private planes, just smaller.) It was then I realized that I really, really, really like having something solid beneath me.

...which reminds me of this. Sadly, I've forgotten the poet's name.

When we walk to the edge
of all the light that we have
and take that step
into the darkness of the unknown
we must believe
that one of two things will happen —
there will be something solid for us to stand on,
or we will be taught to fly.

[susanna]

40. Funny (?) story...

I was never afraid of flying. Flew the first time at age 6 on a DC-10. Loved every second; always wanted a window seat. No fear. Fast forward to me at 33. Keep in mind that I had flown, quite frequently, for near 27 years without incident. A friend was having an important (life event) party in a distant city that I was excited to go to. (For the record, this was all pre-911.)

I bought my tickets, got ready, packed my bags a few days before. I'm ready. I'm going. Then, all of the sudden, from NOWHERE: fear of flying. I began having panic/anxiety attacks, just awful... they kept me up at night thinking of everything that could go wrong. Of course, I do not know how to handle it, because it has never happened to me before. I've always been able to fly!

Luckily I found a psychologist who specialized in fear of flying. He got me through it, and quickly. He counseled me with visualization techniques, then intervened with my physician to get me a small amount of Xanax (like three tabs or something) to get me through.

I made it, had a great time on my trip, flew home without incident, and I am fine again (thanks to the visualization techniques). But I TOTALLY understand the "fear of flying" now. I would never discount or mock it; it is truly a difficult thing.

on edit: poor choice of words...someone probably already found it.

[Just Me]

41. Flying is exciting, to "Just Me".

:shrug: I would do it at any and every opportunity.

[FM Arouet666]

45. Hate it, but got used to it

I hated to fly, I would drive across the country rather than fly. However, my job and vacation interests pretty much mandated flying. You get used to it, sure there are moments. My plane plunged quickly after a very rough ride from China to the U.S. as we flew over a typhoon. My wife thought we were going to die, at least that is how I interpreted the action of digging her nails into my arm. We lived.

On the way back from my last trip I noticed a chunk of metal plating had been pulled up on the engine. I informed the stewardess, she seemed a bit concerned. But, again, we lived.

Damn, as I read this, I don't think I am helping. What the hell I am I doing flying. Guess we all gotta die some way, flying into the ground at 500 mph like a fucking dart is probably quick and painless. :evilgrin:

[karlrschneider]

46. Well, I have about 7,800 hours logged as a pilot, never put a scratch on

myself or a passenger. Been in 2 car crashes on the way to the airport in those many years (neither my fault.)

I like to shut the cabin door, turn off every light in the cockpit and look at the sky. I don't have the literary skills to describe the feeling. ;-)

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

59. Saw a spectacular aurora while out flying one night

(though not naked) -- one of the most magnificent, amazing things I've ever seen. As you said -- this is the sort of sight that's impossible to describe. Same feeling flying in and out of clouds, it's like being in another world. Love it, love it, love it!

[karlrschneider]

64. LOL...well, it's not necessary to be naked to enjoy an aurora.

:D

[BamaGirl]

48. I won't fly

I flew from Atlanta to Vegas with a stop in Houston once. I will never get on a plane again. I hate 'em.

[cynatnite]

49. It's the landing I hate...

I can handle the rest of it. Had a hard landing one time that rattled my teeth and it set me on edge ever since.

Other than that, flying is just fine.

[alittlelark]

51. I fly! I've flown into Alb. gripping the seat, and Columbia, holding

my ass! I flew into Cuzco, Peru CONVINCED I would die when crap started falling out of the bins.


If you have to go - it is one of the best ways..... QUICK!!!!

[Staph]

53. What to do if you're scared

A wise soul (my dad) once told me that when you're scared on a flight, during turbulence or whatever, take a look at the flight attendents. If they don't look frightened, you shouldn't be frightened either. Smart guy, my dad.

[flyarm]

55. as a retired flight attendant i can tell you this...

the numbers of death on the road are astronomical in comparrison to dhteaths in an aircraft...you are sooooooooooo much more likely to be killed driving across country looking at the scenery, than you are arriving across country in lesS than 6 hours...
I CAN NOT REMEMBER THE NUMBERS , but if you saw them you would be shocked!
But do remember, just like a car an aircraft is machinery..and can have periodic problems, but i assure you , aircraft are much more mechanically inspected and cared for, than most peoples cars!

I used to laugh when going or coming to work...how long we inspected everything on the plane and checked every bell and whistle , and then when getting back from a trip we would just get in our cars and drive off without even looking at the tires or anything for that matter!!
and if i may ..a very dear friend of mine, another flight attendant was killed a block from her home ...a drunk hit her!

She had never had one incident on a plane...

there are classes your wife could take , many flyers take the classes to help your wife fly..i had many of the white knuckle groups on my flights..and once the people got through the first flight after the classes , they actually enjoyed the flight..

i even had a celebrity on one flight who was absolutely terrified..probably the worst i ever saw...and i helped her enormously..i had her keep looking at me on my jump seat and gave her breathing excercises, if you tell the flight attendant you are frightened , hopefully you will get someone who will gladly help your wife through the flight.

fear is usually from the unknown...
and if your wifes fear is of 9/11....please tell her to put her fear in 1600 penn ave washington dc...not flying...

fly

[cynatnite]

56. This is why I prefer to fly...it is safer than driving

I can't convince my mother or my sister of this at all. I used to fly all the time when I was in the army.

It helps that it's faster than driving, too :)

[wellstone_democrat]

57. With Xanax? No problemo!

I'm as happy as Laura Bush* when I have Xanax on board! I go from terrified to willing to fly the plane should I be called upon in an emergency! (At least, I do feel that calm)

[deadcenter]

58. i fly

5 to 15 times a year for work and pleasure. Never been afraid of it, to me it's just a bus that's going very, very fast. I used to enjoy it, but then the asswipes at TSA arrived and any enjoyment of the experience went out the window. Now it's just something to be endured so that I can get to where I want to be faster than driving.

My dad was a carrier pilot and I once asked him how he felt about flying commercial, he was diagnosed diabetic back in '66 and wasn't allowed to pilot a plane afterwards. He said that he never got used to not being in the front seat and that it was just something he put up with to do his job.

[SheilaT]

60. And probably some

10,000 or more planes took off and landed safely today in this country. How many people died in commercial plane crashes in this country this year? Zero.

And how many in auto accidents? About 36,000.

Being afraid to fly and being oblivious to the real dangers of car travel is, well, I'm not sure what to say.

[high density]

62. I love flying, except everything before and after it

I hate check-in, security crap, baggage claim, but I love the flying aspect of the thing. The small seats and cramped legroom aren't that great, but it certainly beats riding a bus or hours/days in a car.

[earth mom]

63. Love to travel...Hate to fly!

Want to go to Europe really bad....for like 20 years...lol! Will have to fly Quantas air if they go to Europe since I've heard they are the safest airline. Otherwise, it's a ship...which is a quesy thought given I don't do well on ships either. Sigh. Maybe I should just stick to the armchair traveling I do when I watch the Amazing Race! :shrug:

[Roxy66]

65. Love to fly.....n/t

[trackfan]

66. I last flew 23 years ago, my wife 17 years, we don't plan to fly again.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

67. I love flying

My ex hated to fly. We hardly ever flew as a couple, three times total. I on the other hand will fly anyplace I can afford airfare.

You gotta die sometime, it may as well be doing something you love.

[Corgigal]

68. Hows this one for a bit different perspective

My husband and I can fly. We are adults in our 40's however I have not allowed my children to fly because I'm scared to book them on a flight. I feel just a heavy load that I might be the one the picked the wrong flight that I can't do it.

Yeah, nuts but soon they will be adults.