1nfam0us

Sorry if I've posted this in the wrong spot.

So, for a while I've had my sights set on joining the Royal Australian Air Force and becoming a fighter pilot. However, recently, I had my first flight training (one hour session in a Jabiru J-160), and about 40 minutes in, I was experiencing motion sickness, a problem that I've always had (although it doesn't bother me very much any more). By the end of the flight, I was throwing up. As you can guess, this didn't do much for my confidence.

So, recently, I've been looking into ways to overcome motion sickness. Ive had advice to take anti motion sickness drugs (which i doubt the RAAF, nor any commercial employer for that matter, would look favorably upon) and have also acquired a pair of acupressure wristbands, which are bands with a knob that stimulates a nerve which helps prevent sickness.

However, I don't want to be dependent on anything if I'm going to fly fighters, so I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to rid myself of this once and for all?

Thank You.

TBoneF15

http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/pi...-sickness.html

Start by reading this thread.

Jetjok

Motion sickness, from what I've observed, is sort of an acquired taste. By that I mean that it can be overcome by repetition. As an example, way back when I was going through Air Force Pilot Training, we had a fellow who, for at least the first 30 flights, threw up on each and every ride. He got so good at it that he'd stuff a barf bag in the left sleeve of his flight suit, and hold it there with the velcro adjustment wrist strap. Then, in flight, when he needed it, he'd pull it out with his left hand, hold the bag in front of the cool air outlet (if there is such a thing on the T-37) to inflate the bag, drop his mask, barf into the bag, spin it around to seal off the top, and finally stick the bag into the leg pocket of his flight suit, then replace his oxygen mask and continue on his merry way. He actually turned out to be a real good stick. So, don't despair, you can overcome it. My bud was lucky in that his IP felt he'd do fine and so he wasn't turned in to the flight surgeon.

Good luck.

JJ

papyco

I feel your pain. I threw up in every type of aircraft I have ever flown in, except for the F-18, go figure. I threw up on my first flight ever as a passenger of a commercial jet at the age of 5, then again on my first time at the controls of a GA aircraft at the age of 14, first flight in the T-34 and then in almost every stage while in the T-45.

I just refused to quit. I was almost kicked out of the tactical jet pipe line while in flight school because of motion sickness during the instrument phase!! Now after 1,000 hours in fighters, I can't imagine why I used to ever get sick.

Some of the things that helped me out in flight school were: not wearing gloves (yeah, yeah), staying well hydrated, eating bread before my flights, avoiding greasy foods before dynamic flights and drinking water during the flight. While flying, don’t even think about getting sick. Concentrate on the 100 other things that are going on during the flight, if you start wondering "I wonder if I will get sick on this flight", it's already too late. Don’t think about it and press on.

Ftrooppilot

I had been a B-52 Nav/ EWO for four years before going to UPT. On the first T-37 ride my instructor said, "Let me show you what the airplane WON"T do. Ten minutes later I was barfing all over the place. Once you begin concentration on what you are doing, it will probably go away. WHen someone else is flying, it may come back. You can beat it.

KC10 FATboy

If you read Tbone's advice in the other thread, don't worry about it. I puked on my first flight in UFAF training. No biggie.

The USAF has chairs that spin you around. They make you move your head up and down and causes the fluid in your inner ears to tumble. After a while, you get desensitized to the motion. Just thinking about those chairs makes me want to hurl.

MD10PLT

Eat lots of Ginger. It worked for a couple of buds in UPT with me. If you need more evidence, watch the show on Discovery called Myth Busters. They actually confirmed Ginger cures motion sickness.

snippercr

Oh god, I went in one of those when I did physiology and survival training in OKC City. It's a motion simulator (nothing fancy) that moves as you would expect but you are completely closed in it (ie you cannot see anything outside, just your instruments). They SLOWLY start to spin you up so you don't notice it. Then they will tell you to look over your shoulder. It feels as if you are sitting still and a line backer just tackled you. Then they bring it to a sudden stop so you feel like you are spinning super fast, then they open the door on you. Man you talk about puke!

LivingInMEM

All of the above. Motion sickness is due to the inner ear message to the brain differing from what your eyes are telling your brain (i.e. your inner ear is feeling 1g - similar to straight and level - and your eyes are watching the horizon tumble). The training gives you generic advice (what to eat, don't eat, hydrate, focus on the horizon, actively fly vs be a passenger, etc) as well as spins you to train your brain to ignore your inner ear messages.

Motion sickness is very common - I think the backseat vomit rate in the F-15 when we were giving incentive/orientation rides was better than 50%. As a T-38 IP; if I had to fly a bunch of backseat rides with ham-fisted students in the summer, I'd have to struggle to not feel bad.

Last note: while it is curable, the common line was if it affected your training. If you had to stop training on so many rides, the problem would have to be addressed. If you could make it through the flight and only feel bad while completing the flight, you were allowed to push a little farther.

nfnsquared

Not sure what the medical rules are in the RAAF regarding use of motion sickness drugs/patches or what the current USAF rules are. But when I was going through aircraft commander upgrade training (B-52) my EW would always puke during low level. There's nothing like getting bounced around sitting backwards in a hot, windowless cubicle for 1.5-2 hours. If you were the least bit susceptible to motion sickness, the old BUFF would get you. Anyhow, the flt docs gave him this patch that you wear behind the ear. He never puked while wearing the patch and after only 3 or 4 rides with the patch, he could fly without it and had no problems ever again. This may be a possible course of action/treatment for your issues. Good luck!

Which brings up a good old radar navigator puking story/prank. Some of our crustier RNs were merciless on new navigator's during low level. One would prepare a thermos of cream of mushroom soup for a flight with a new nav. During low level when the nav wasn't looking, he would sneak a big swig of the soup and hold it in his mouth. Then he would get the nav's attention by "frantically" thrashing around searching for a barf bag. Naturally, he would "find" a barf bag just in the nick of time and "puke" into the bag. Then he would calmly just tip the bag up and drink his own "puke" in front of the new nav....This was usually followed by the nav frantically reaching for his barf bag....Oh, the good ol' days....