A Bumpy beginning
 

Hey everyone, I'm a college sophmore at a non-aviation college and I've wanted to fly for as long as...well...as long as I can remember. I took the civilian non aviation route after some consultation with others in the industry urging me to get a firm foot in something else before i jump into flying. I've taken two of those hour-long "Discovery Flight" things, where you go up in a 172 for 100 bucks and they let you take the controls - both times they let me throttle up once we were in position and let me take off too, which was incredible.

Problem is, the first time I flew, I felt pretty queasy towards the end of the flight (I got dizzy a bit and was pretty overheated), and the second time I flew 6 months later, I got acquainted with the airsick bag. I really enjoyed the flying both times but the airsickness thing kind of has me worried. The first time I flew was in the afternoon on a hot August day, and the second was in the afternoon and on a windy day on the leading edge of a front coming in. I'm told that those are both effectively the worst times to fly, especially for newbies. Also, the second time I flew was fine until the instructor thought it would be cool to show me how the trim switch works in the 172, having us shoot up 500 ft in 3 seconds after he trimmed the sob to the max.

So I pose the question to you, the wise ones, is this a matter of me not getting my "sea legs" or is the airsickness something that will keep me from pursuing a career in aviation?

Thanks for your help :D

I felt queasy on my first two lessons. Try it on a calm day and see what happens. You can get hammered pretty good in light aircraft, sometimes. You'll get used to it.

Chuck Yeager puked the first time he went up. Lots of pilots experience this - in fact, there is some thread on here or JetCareers that deals with Air Force pilot trainees dealing with much worse airsickness than you are - and they make it through to fly Military big-iron. Don't get discouraged.

I'm a perfect example. I had never gotten any kind of motion sickness until I had a big plate of spagehtti and drank chocolate milk before my second flight (when stalls were introduced at the end of the flight) For all those wondering - I had been canceled and then the weather cleared!
Back to the story......near the end of the flight, I got really quezy and on short final I threw up all over myself and the instructor!
Fast forward to my instrument rating. Flying in some pretty good actual IFR from OK to IA. The instructor had to fly the last hour because I was laid back with my eyes shut hard. At least I threw up after getting out of the plane this time.:(
Fast forward once again to naval flight training. I got sick a few times even in the landing pattern...one time into my oxygen mask.:eek:
After each of these times I would lay on the couch and swear that I was done flying; but the dream doesn't die quite so easily.

Moral of the story...a few people actually can't overcome airsickness and are not aeronautically adaptable (as they tell you after you fail the spin-n-puke), but for the rest - you just have to learn what works for you.

For me....I had to watch what I ate (no spaghetti or deep dish pizza) before flying and realize that the stress of flight training can affect you too.

Work through it my friend. The goal is worth it!

USMCFLYR

Most likely you'll get used to it. You probably need to avoid medications, since many are not approved for in-flight use, but there are some herbal remedies that might help, as well as those wrist bands which work on pressure points.

Believe it or not, my first couple of lessons I landed as white as a ghost. Luckily I never met "Ralph." There have been occasions when I would fly under the hood and felt a slightly light-headed due to stree, so I will have to agree with USMCFLYR.

Don't give up yet. Try flying on calm days, on early mornings and in low wind conditions. Hopefully with time you will get used to the sensations and adapt.

tdm1011,

I echo what everyone else has said, stick with it!

Your senses are probably a little overwhelmed and you get sick as your brain tries to make heads or tails of your position in space. We don't usually have sensations of up and down, side to side, etc. on terra firma. Watching what you eat and timing your meal before a lesson is also important-at first. Eventually your will become quite immune to most of the sensations of flight (assuming non-aerobatic flight).

Lastly, I would like to know why your instructor ran the trim so hard, especially early in training. Communicate what makes you feel comfortable and not comfortable. On the other hand maybe his trim use was 'normal' but you still felt uncomfortable. Either way foster good communication on comfort levels-in a one-on-one training environment don't be afraid to speak up. That's what I tell my students; It's just you and me, and I want you to feel comfortable talking out your thoughts and feelings and leave the macho stuff to Hollywood.

The best to you

Any pilot that hasn't gotten quesy at the least during their training is a liar. I'd say there's a 50/50 shot that you've lost it once or more. I did once myself.

Besides the point, picking when you fly in relation to the conditions does make a huge difference. Picking an early morning flight is usually the nicest, calmest conditions on average. Having an instructor that doesn't do what you meantioned is another bonus. Someone responsible for your well-being is a huge plus. If you decide to continue, good luck, and it does get better as time passes

Thank you guys for getting back to me so quickly! It definitely sounds like its a matter of getting used to the motions and sensations of being up in the air more than anything else. That and being sure to fly earlier in the morning which makes sense too. It's funny because even though Ralph and I are now good friends in the cockpit, the experience made me realize how attainable a private is (well, save for the cash of course) because I enjoyed the flying, pre-bag. Hopefully I'll get up a few more times in the near future and continue to get used to the feelings of flying in a smaller a/c.

Thanks again everyone :)

First flight I ever took as a student I got sick. Didn't puke, but got sick. Have never gotten sick since. Work through it, you'll be fine.