Re: Flying? Oooh Dear!
 

Hi Donna, Haven't spoken to you for ages. When are you flying out?

Theresa

Re: Flying? Oooh Dear!
 

know how you feel, I hate flying and it makes me feel sick thinking about it :eek:

I used to love until a very bad experience. I flew to the US to visit my dad and we landed at washington and everything was fine. Had a conecting flight to charlottsville (about 30 min flight). There was a huge storm in washington about 30 mins after we landed and all flights were cancelled..... except ours : :scared:

I really did not want to get on the plane and called my dad to see if he could come and get us, he is so laid back and was like dont worry it will be fine (and he did not want to drive for 2 hours to get me!) So very reluctanly with my 75 year old nan I walked on to the tarmac and there sat a little 20 seater plane with propellers :scared:

Well, the turbulance was horiffic, we did not just go up and down we were being thrown about like a toy plan on a bit of string, I was gripping the seat and to my horror so was the stewardess ( i always look at them and then you know how bad things are). My nan, bless her was like, oooh this is like a fairground ride, weeeeee, but I knew she was just trying to reasure me.

We finally landed and I was in a bit of a state, but what made it worse was when the stewardess opened the pilots door and they were sitting there red faced and dripping in sweat :eek: I then realsied that I think we came very close to crashing.

My poor dad had me shouting and crying when he collected us and after my visit, he ended up driving me back to washington, because I was so scared.

This all happened about 10 years ago and I still find flying very difficult. I have 2 young kids and try and stay calm because I dont want to worry them. We flew to the south of france in july and I could smell burning and called the stewardess over to ask her what it was, my husband was cringing but I needed to know it was'nt the engine on fire.

We fly on 29th March, and I am dreading it. We even looked into cruising there, but it was too expensive.

Good luck you all and hopefully we will all make it safe to our destinations

Re: Flying? Oooh Dear!
 

That doesn't help!!! :eek: (:D )

Sounds awful. At least you know that the plane's going to be a bit bigger on the flight to Aus - help with the turbulance thing?

Where are you off to?

GG

Re: Flying? Oooh Dear!
 

Hey Donna
I fly an average of 30 long haul trips a year and am petrified every time!
No, I am not a trolley dolly!
Things that help me:
1) The calmness of the trolley dollys
2) Seeing people more afraid than me
3) Drink
4) Actually talking to the pilots when they walk around the craft (if you are awake)
5) Watching those programmes about air crashes nd realising how rare they are and how many extra safguards are put into place since then
6) Avoid dodgy airlines! (I don't always manage to!)
7) http://www.staralliance.com/star_all...e/main_10.html is a great screensaver. It shows all of the star alliance planes in the air "live". When you see the amount of planes in the air it is reassuring that so few disasters happen
8) Alcohol
9) Talking to aircraft engineers (if you get the chance) and ask them about the "flapping" of the wings in turbulence and they will tell you that an aircraft can actually be suspended from the wing tips and that the wings would nearly come up and teach each other before they would break off (Not sure I quite believe they are that good).
10) Don't rush, be calm, take it easy
11) Your kids will probably think turbulence is great and want to do it again
12) Keep your kids amused
13) Wear comfortable clothing
14) Bring some snacky food and drinks just in case the trolley dollys aren't around when you need them.
15) Book early and try to reserve seats that you are happy with
16) And did I mention drinking alcohol?

Happy flying!

Andrew

Re: Flying? Oooh Dear!
 

Who's driving the plane?!!!!!! :scared:

GG

Re: Flying? Oooh Dear!
 

I think they refer to that motion as "flying" when in the air.
They always have "official" 2 pilots on long haul plus another who could fly.
I believe..

Andrew

Re: Flying? Oooh Dear!
 

Black will suffice :)

Re: Flying? Oooh Dear!
 

here is a good link
http://aviation-safety.net/index.shtml

It give lists of all crashes ( including civilian and military) , safest airlines, Accident Investigation Reports , ASN Aviation Safety Database, where passengers were sitting who survived some crashes etc Pictures of some crashes - nothing gory ( if you want to look at the pictures that is, if not you don't have to look at the link on the site for that one)

lots of stats etc etc.

I don't know why I read them ( it isn't calming me down!) :D Hubby has just gone up the wall with me because I'm sitting here looking at crash sites. He doesn't understand why I look at them, or watch the programmes regarding this because I hate flying( he is not scared of flying). I like to face my fears , I suppose it's the only control I can have when it comes to flying.

Anyway, if you like that sort of thing, the above link is quite informative.

cheers

Re: Flying? Oooh Dear!
 

Convince yourself that the worst will happen then you'll get a nice surprise when you touch down in Oz :D

Re: Flying? Oooh Dear!
 

something that helped me...
next time you take a train, bus or are a passenger in the car, close your eyes for a few minutes and concentrate on the bumps you go over and any starnge noises...these are things you take for granted & dont even notice because they are familiar to you, of course if you're nervous on a plane, you may find yourself waiting for every bump, listening for strange noises etc...and yep, if a situation is new to you, there will be strange noises etc... it helped me put things in perspective!
Luckily long haul flights are usually smoother than shorter flights on small planes..
I think you may even find that once you have finally said your byes, packed up and got the kids to the airport ...you'll be glad to get on the plane and finally be on your way...so make the most of having people wait hand and foot on you for a while and enjoy your flight!

Re: Flying? Oooh Dear!
 

Hiya,

It was me who put a message on the forum about my fear of flying.

I flew over on the 21st November. Basically, i went Business Class with Qantas who were absolutely brillient and also had abit of help from my GP who gave me some tablets to relax.

Before booking the flight, i was even looking into booking flights for my parents, so i wouldnt be on my own.

Another thing i looked for was the shortest flight time, as some flights are longer than others depending on where you stop. My flight time was 21hrs, which is the shortest.

If you can afford to go Business Class, i would defintely say do it, but if you cant not to worry. I would just go to your GP and ask for some tablets as you are really scared of flying.

Im so glad i did it and on my own aswell. I proved so much to myself by doing it.

Im now in Sydney with my boyfriend and really enjoying life here.

Even though you have all the anxiety before you fly, it wont be as bad as when your flying, i promise you.

Just think of your new life over here and it'll defintely be worth all the worry now.

Hope i've helped.

Su

Re: Flying? Oooh Dear!
 

Hi GG

We are going to Adelaide, stopping off in singapore on the way. The flight times are good, I think its 12.5 hours to sing and then 6 hours to Adelaide. Both night flights. So hopefully my toddlers will sleep and so can I (after a couple of g & t's!!! :D )

Sorry if worried anyone else, but to be honest my horror story is the worse I have heard, I think I was just very unlucky to have an experience like that.

Daihla

Re: Flying? Oooh Dear!
 

I had a similar experience 2 years ago flying to Luxembourg from Stanstead, the day was on of the worst storms of the year and the plane was shaking in the wind on before we even left the gate. The only saving grace was that my colleague was practically in tears at the thought of flying in those conditions. Well I certainly feel calmer about my flight to Brazil this evening. Not