Meeting Pilots
 

I am 35 and I live in Sarasota, Florida. Over the past few years I have developed a fear of flying. I am currently enrolled in a "fear of flying" program which is working to alleviate the fears. I am having some sucess with the program. Part of the program encourages us to reach out to pilots to find out how they regard flying.

I'm looking to find out what flying is for you. Is it a generally a good experience? Do you fear turbulence / does it not bother you at all? Do you look forward to flying? Does flying symbolize pleasure for you because you know you are traveling? Does it bother you? Feedback on this will help me to put the experience into perspective and control my overactive imagination!

Sorry for the funny request but it will help me tremendously to know how time-tested pilots think about flying. What might seem so normal to you can be quite difficult. Perhaps some of your thinking will rub off on me! Your thoughts are appreciated.

Thank you!!

Michael Koester
Sarasota, Florida

One reason why we don't fear flying is we know how strong our airplanes are and their limitations. When you are flying in the back and some turbulence is hit and you are afraid the airplane may break, we know it can take it and much, much more. I think it would help if you did some research on the certification process of transport category airplanes, especially those videos testing the strength of the wings. I know there are other reasons to fear flying, but I will let someone else throw in their opinion.

As far as turbulence goes, I'd have to say that I regard it as no different than a wave on the water when you're boating or a bump on a gravel road. You just motor through it just the same. I fear it no more than those waves or bumps in the road. Its just the wind in the air. Does it scare you when a gust of wind pushes against your car going down the road? That's turbulence. :)

Good luck with your journey. I hope this is of help to you.

Well, not exactly the same.... we all don't go motoring through turbulence at .80 or 300+ kts. You do have to slow down a little to minimize the forces that can be applied at higher airspeed. Kind of like reducing your speed to 40 mph on a poorly prepared road vs doing 65.

I understand the dislike of turbulence, and there is probably little that one can say to assuage your fears about this (please don't take this the wrong way) irrational fear. As someone earlier said, airliners are built to stand repeated forays into turbulence that is much stronger than that which you experience in a normal flight. That's the logical argument to assuage those fears. When I am on a long international flight and it is my turn for a rest break, I actually like a little chop.. helps me sleep.. But your question was more directed towards how we as professional pilots deal with the life. I still love the job, even with all the security hassles.. and other issues.. when the cockpit door is closed, and we start rolling down the runway, it is all worthwhile. That might just be me though. Hotels get a little old though, and with the seeming spike in bed bugs around the world, it takes a little of the "glamour" out of travel... Anyway, if you have any more specific questions, feel free to send me a PM, and good luck with your journey.

Flying does represent pleasure to me but not because I'm traveling (unless it's to a cool destination where I could get some time off :). It's because I love the flying, I love the heavy metal in the air, I love the high tech features that a modern jet has and how do you use all the resources to complete a safe flight.

I do suggest you take a look at how commercial jets are certified. They push the aircraft to the envelope and with this data, they give us procedures and limitations that are well below the real ones of the aircraft. There are thousands of design features to provide safety.

Let me just give you some basic philosophy of commercial jet design:

- The most important REDUNDANCY. Engines, electrical systems, pressurization systems, fire protection systems, etc. everything is doubled or tripled.

- System or component failure at the worst possible moment. One good example is what we call takeoff performance analysis. It's a little bit complex to explain but the aircraft is design to have an engine failure at the most critical phase of flight (takeoff) and continue to climb with the remaining engine(s) clearing all obstacles safely OR, either stop in the remaining of the runway safely. Some people refer it as the "guarantee".

I let somebody else explain and share more safety features/procedures.

Good look and I'm glad you are taking initiative to suppress your fear.

p.s. If you ever get the opportunity to ride in the observer seat of an airliner simulator and watch the training and the extreme scenarios we are trained with, I'm sure you'd be amazed.

Check out Discovery channel or History channel. Making of the 777.

I love flying the plane.
I don't like riding in the back.

Its not about flying though.
I'm the same way in cars. Even worse sometimes. Depends who is driving.

I agree to read up on the certification process. Also, I think it would help you researching and understanding some basic aerodynamics and the science behind turbulence. I believe if you have a solid understanding of your environment when flying, you'll be able be at ease when flying.

You are safer in the hands of two airline pilots than driving yourself down the street. Good luck with overcoming your fear and keep us posted on your status.

(Possibly look into taking a flying/simulator lesson to get the pilot perspective)

I always tell people my drive home is scarier than my four day trip, and its true. Do you have any clue how many "near misses" Ive had on the road? A lot. In the air? None. Things are very rigid and stringent in the air as far as spacing and what you can/can't do.