cdeblasio

So I just started with ATP flight school getting my private license unfortunately after 3 days or 4 flight hours I kept vomiting after ascending and descending alot of times, and they decdided the best thing to do was to just quit get my private pilots and come back and finish the program. I spoke to a FAA doctor and he said there is no medication that will help the only thing to do is desensitize by flying more. Thats the trick how do you fly more when you don't know anyone. Does anyone have any advice. Or should I quit while im ahead.

gnew2

I had a student who was the exact same way. We kept his lessons gentle and usually ended the lesson when he got sick. He became desensitized and was able to finish his private license. I don't recall how long it took, but if you really want to fly maybe give it a few weeks. Good luck.

TiredSoul

Ok, don't give up just yet.
You need to understand why this is happening.
People grow up in a world where they control motion.
Even subconsciously.
When you sit down or get up your brain has already made the decision what you want and 'forewarned' you sensory system.
So any movement is anticipated.
Any time when you are not in control of your movements you can suffer from motion sickness.
Boats, cars, planes it's really all the same.
You're in a stage where your instructor does a lot of the flying under the 'show and tell'.
Any time your instructor manipulates the controls his(her) brain has consciously or subconsciously decided what to do and forewarned their vestibular system of the impending motion.
Not your brain though.
You're still sitting there (mostly) not knowing what is going to happen next.
The more you start manipulating the controls the lesser this will occurs.
Start flying different times of the day, sunrise or late afternoon.
Most turbulence occurs during the sunny or windy hours of the day.
Also try a different instructor.
Some people just can't fly smooth.
It's ridiculous your school hasn't suggested this.
Any Chief Flight Instructor should be aware of what causes these problems and how to fix them.
And don't feel bad, many people get sick during their initial training.

yeahbutstill

What seemed to work for me for the first few flights was taking Ginger capsules. One day I forgot to take it and didnt even get sick, thats when I stopped. I think the placebo effect has more to do with it than the actual ginger root.

I know this one cfi who wears acupressure wristbands on each wrist, that seems to work for him.

Whatever you do, just avoid ATP altogether.

JamesNoBrakes

Accelerated flight training like ATP may be making things worse, as in trying to get it all done in a few days, before your body can really adapt.

I would also say try to improve your fitness, make sure you are active, make sure you are well hydrated. Don't over-eat, but make sure you have eaten enough. Make sure you are doing something for exercise. These things affect everyone differently, but you want to make sure as much as possible is on your side.

One thing I notice when doing initial flight training is that many instructors don't really focus the student's attention "outside", and by that, I mean some sort of structure in setting attitudes. The "outside" is the attitude indicator, but if you don't use it properly, you still don't have a good idea what attitude you are in. For this reason, I used to give my students "tunnel vision" at first, they can only look straight ahead, using a consistent seat height for a consistent distance for the horizon to the glareshield/cowling. Then they were taught how to fly at speeds and bank angles based on this attitude indicator, only looking straight ahead, with references drawn with dry erase markers or such, kind of like a "heads up" display. Once they could maintain basic attitudes during turns, climbs, decent, etc., then I'd have them start looking left and right, but the critical aspect that was for ANY CHANGE, they had to use the "attitude indicator" to make that change, so set bank and pitch by looking forward, verify it's holding, then look somewhere else. All too often I got in planes and people would set pitch and bank and be looking elsewhere and nowhere at the same time and they'd simply be all over the place, which doesn't help if you want your brain's perception of what's going on to match what is really going on. This "scan" is basically the same as an instrument scan, just using the outside, but again, all too often this is presented with no structure and pilot's have no real idea of their pitch and/or bank. This is why you get people dropping or raising the nose significantly during turns, etc. You can't see what you can't see.

FlewNavy

Airsickness is very common in mil flight students and it's a spectrum of sensitivity. Some never get sick and some never adjust even with special spatial desensitization training.

In my case I was incapacitated after 1 hour on first flight. It was a combination of fumes, heat, stress and motion. On 2nd flight...same thing. Third flight I made it to 1.75 hours. After 5-6 flights I never got sick again even while flying fighters until I was flying as a test pilot doing stall/spin evaluations.

In the military, most adjust to a point where we can send them to a platform that doesn't have violent maneuvering.

You will adapt, but you need to ask yourself how badly you want to fly. You don't have access to a spin and puke...so find a child's playground toy that spins, wear glasses that partially cover one eye and a corrective lens that messes up your visual perception like a coke bottle prescription lens. Eat some bananas or peanut butter and take 2 shots of vodka. Spin yourself on the toy/tire swing while moving your head around - moving the head is key. The spinning rate doesn't have to be fast. Do this until you hurl or longer. Keep doing this 2-3 times per day until you can't make yourself sick and then immediately go back into training otherwise you will revert back to getting airsick. Then fly nothing but helos or heavies. Basically the gist is to get your eyes to perceive something violently different than what your inner ear is feeling. A bit of alcohol speeds that up based on my personal experience...but it's not really necessary. The banana and PB help because they taste the same coming up as going down.

This will be like practicing bleeding. I'm not a AME or physiologist and all advice is free and worth what you paid.

Or - just go back into training and expect that you will need to take longer to progress until your body adapts and you are less stressed. Good luck...I've been there...I still won't eat another banana to this day.

badflaps

You are in good company, there was a WW2 ace with over 100 kills who was constantly air sick.

viper548

If the instructor was flying the plane and you were getting sick, don't worry about it. That phase of the instructor flying is very short. I've got over 10,000 hours between being a pilot and loadmaster in the air force. Put me in the back of a C-130 on a low level and I start feeling sick after 45 mins. I never have a problem when I'm up front though.
Try flying first thing in the morning. It's usually the smoothest part of the day. If the instructor is jerky on the controls that could be a problem too. Maybe try flying with a different instructor. Some of it may be due to nerves.