airdisaster.info

Ok folks...seeing as how the Fear of Flying forum isn't up and running yet, y'all get to listen to me piss and moan about my fears as I get ready to fly to Cuba in 2 weeks.

So, here's the deal: Flying out Monday Feb 25th on Air Transat to sunny Cayo Coco....yes...the same airline who's tail thingy (don't you just love my technical terms?) fell off back a few years ago. I'm sure DH will regale me with ALL OF THE GORY DETAILS just to torment me.

Following Pipe's wonderful advice from another thread, I've began the regiment of oodles of sex to calm my nerves....though I think I need TDU & his Kama Sutra book.

What am I actually afraid of? Well, duh...crashing. I really need to stop watchin "Mayday" on the Discovery channel.

All joking aside, I'm really quite fine once the plane is up and leveled off...its just the take-offs & landings that I have issues with. This year, I will really have to attempt to hide my fear as we will be taking the girls with us. My oldest flew out west last summer and loves it. My youngest has never flown - so I really don't know what her reaction will be. However, she is quite adventurous and "feels the need for speed"...so I'm not too worried about her.

Thanks for letting me bitch...I am starting to feel better...a little...then again, it could be the pictures from the Kama Sutra book that I find comforting...

From what I have observed on many flights, reading a newspaper might help.
Most manager-types take up a newspaper when boarding the plane and then start pretending to read it right after they've settled in their seats.
Then they use said newspaper to hide their fear-stricken faces from the public.

I always hope these are not airline managers who know a wee bit more on what the airline's money has been spent recently, whether on proper maintenace of the planes and training of the crew, or on speculating at Wall Street.

From what I have observed on many flights, reading a newspaper might help.
Most manager-types take up a newspaper when boarding the plane and then start pretending to read it right after they've settled in their seats.
Then they use said newspaper to hide their fear-stricken faces from the public.

I always hope these are not airline managers who know a wee bit more on what the airline's money has been spent recently, whether on proper maintenace of the planes and training of the crew, or on speculating at Wall Street.

I avoid the newspaper (I don't people to confuse me with DH). Too much bad news (plane crashes and the like). I suppose I could buy a Halloween mask to hide my fear-stricken face. Any suggestions? Hey Halfie, can I borrow your daughter's mask that she used this past Halloween?

Lets see...

I have never read a FoF thread so I dont know what is appropriate and what not, just let me state the following is serious and wellmeant.

Fear as such is nothing bad, its healthy. Being able to feel fear of certain things is a sign of intelligence and fantasy: You need to prevision and be able to imagine *future* delevopments from a current situation to see a threat and get worried.

When I learned parachuting in the military (so long ago that the chutes were still round and training was stretched out over 2 weeks) I recall being super-afraid of my first jump. I kept always wondering whether I would really be able to jump when the moment came, and was afraid to make a shame of myself. AFAIR the majority of my fellow course participants felt more or less the same, w/ one exception: There was that farm type of guy who eats an ox in the morning, afterwards solo ploughs the field because the ox is dead etc, who simply couldnt understand what problem we had: He would laugh at the sheer thought of being afraid, call us sissies etc, more or less in that plan (but amiably still).

Well, the big day came, all lined up... One refused to jump, guess who?

What I understood that day was that he simply had not had enough fantasy to be imagine what earth looks like when viewed in air current from 600 mtrs and to be afraid of a situation he couldnt "imagine", so also he hadnt had the time to prepare for the shock of looking down from there and asking yourself: "What the hell am I doing here????!" like we others, we had mentally gone through the agony and death fear several times and were prepared for the moment and could execute despite fear when he couldnt.

So, to repeat: Fear is a good thing because it stops you from doing stupid stuff (like jumping from planes) and more than often its just the sensible condition to have, and being afraid is a sign of intelligence and intuitive capabilities.

Now, another thing is how to deal with it and overcome if you need/want to.

Here I have a special take: What are you afraid of? "Simply... crashing" and, I assume, the following associated red card for further active participation on this planet.

You got fantasy, intelligence and imagination? Fine:

Sit back, close your eyes, and imagine a horrible death by drowning... AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!

Or how it is to burn to death in a car wreck, the smell, the panic!.... Or slowly dying by liver cancer, the pain, the horror when your flesh starts fouling up...

Point is: One of the infinite ways to die will be yours. Period.

Tomorrow a car runs you over and most probably you will still have the time to hear your bones crushing and wonder what *that* sound was?... Try and imagine them all in gross and crude detail: What you feel, what you hear, what you see and smell, make it three-dimensional and as livley as you possibly can, like for 10 days imagining how a first jump off a perfectly intact plane will feel like...

Now, that done (and having come out of resulting therapy ), take a plane crash death for comparison: No big deal, one of the better ways to go: If youre extremely unlucky its 5-7 minutes of spiralling down while conscious and (for g forces) not able to move a muscle... and then its lights out. Pffflllattt!! . Finished. There are worse ways...

I think the way to go is not to be less afraid of flying (heck, myself having moved one or the other a/c have a funny gut feeling today sometimes when flying as an impotent pax in the rear!) but instead to learn to be more afraid of the other risks of the day that you take w/o thinking twice and relativate the fear this way.

Try and explain to your husband one day (while already boarded) how you imagine a crash exactly in this plane would progress ("...see the fat lady over there? Will she shriek or rather shout?....") in normal voice, you will forget all fear, simply for bursting out in laughter when you see the faces of the above mentioned managers around you that have overheard your 3-d live description...

Fears are relative and overcoming them can be fun, at least thats how I treat mine.

Rattler

Mistress, As you know, I fly to Cuba all the time, and always with AT. I'm going to Varadero at the end ot march again, and I can't wait, counting days...

...I've began the regiment of oodles of sex to calm my nerves....

Does this involve sex with another person?

...I've began the regiment of oodles of sex to calm my nerves....

Does this involve sex with another person?

Vantine's day is coming up, Verbal. Let's get our wives drunk on chocolate and see what happens.

Man, Rattler, you are in a brutal mood today!



When we flew to Canada the first time, I searched at FRA still in a book-shop for a book to read . There was a pile with aviation stuff, and there was that book, I always wanted to buy but always forgot too.
The name of the book is" Runter kommen sie immer" (they always come down gain) from Tim van Beveren. So I started reading this book when we were seated, and people were looking like 'why does this idiot read such a book in an airplane.'

...I've began the regiment of oodles of sex to calm my nerves....

Does this involve sex with another person?

Vantine's day is coming up, Verbal. Let's get our wives drunk on chocolate and see what happens.

That's why I envy you, Halfie!

Does this involve sex with another person?

Vantine's day is coming up, Verbal. Let's get our wives drunk on chocolate and see what happens.

Half Bottle and Verbal,

This fine specimen of a Dummy Woman happens to be a close personal friend of mine.



She is very discreet and I can get her phone number for you. Let me know if you are interested......just trying to help out a couple of fellow Dummies.


Back on Topic......Sindeewell, don't worry about your flight. You'll be on an Airbus and any Dummy can fly those things.

Several of my close female friends swear by copious amounts of various cocktails while awaiting the flight and as many as time will allow while enroute.

Several of my close female friends swear by copious amounts of various cocktails while awaiting the flight and as many as time will allow while enroute.

The question then is: Who will carry them out of the plane at the destination airport?

Mistress, As you know, I fly to Cuba all the time, and always with AT. I'm going to Varadero at the end ot march again, and I can't wait, counting days...

ZM...I'm counting the days too...WOOO HOOO. We just booked the trip on Friday night so I really don't have to wait that long.

Mistress, As you know, I fly to Cuba all the time, and always with AT. I'm going to Varadero at the end ot march again, and I can't wait, counting days...

ZM...I'm counting the days too...WOOO HOOO. We just booked the trip on Friday night so I really don't have to wait that long.

If you'll flash the windows on your way over, I'll get my telescope ready.

Lets see...

I have never read a FoF thread so I dont know what is appropriate and what not, just let me state the following is serious and wellmeant.

Fear as such is nothing bad, its healthy. Being able to feel fear of certain things is a sign of intelligence and fantasy: You need to prevision and be able to imagine *future* delevopments from a current situation to see a threat and get worried.

When I learned parachuting in the military (so long ago that the chutes were still round and training was stretched out over 2 weeks) I recall being super-afraid of my first jump. I kept always wondering whether I would really be able to jump when the moment came, and was afraid to make a shame of myself. AFAIR the majority of my fellow course participants felt more or less the same, w/ one exception: There was that farm type of guy who eats an ox in the morning, afterwards solo ploughs the field because the ox is dead etc, who simply couldnt understand what problem we had: He would laugh at the sheer thought of being afraid, call us sissies etc, more or less in that plan (but amiably still).

Well, the big day came, all lined up... One refused to jump, guess who?

What I understood that day was that he simply had not had enough fantasy to be imagine what earth looks like when viewed in air current from 600 mtrs and to be afraid of a situation he couldnt "imagine", so also he hadnt had the time to prepare for the shock of looking down from there and asking yourself: "What the hell am I doing here????!" like we others, we had mentally gone through the agony and death fear several times and were prepared for the moment and could execute despite fear when he couldnt.

So, to repeat: Fear is a good thing because it stops you from doing stupid stuff (like jumping from planes) and more than often its just the sensible condition to have, and being afraid is a sign of intelligence and intuitive capabilities.

Now, another thing is how to deal with it and overcome if you need/want to.

Here I have a special take: What are you afraid of? "Simply... crashing" and, I assume, the following associated red card for further active participation on this planet.

You got fantasy, intelligence and imagination? Fine:

Sit back, close your eyes, and imagine a horrible death by drowning... AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!

Or how it is to burn to death in a car wreck, the smell, the panic!.... Or slowly dying by liver cancer, the pain, the horror when your flesh starts fouling up...

Point is: One of the infinite ways to die will be yours. Period.

Tomorrow a car runs you over and most probably you will still have the time to hear your bones crushing and wonder what *that* sound was?... Try and imagine them all in gross and crude detail: What you feel, what you hear, what you see and smell, make it three-dimensional and as livley as you possibly can, like for 10 days imagining how a first jump off a perfectly intact plane will feel like...

Now, that done (and having come out of resulting therapy ), take a plane crash death for comparison: No big deal, one of the better ways to go: If youre extremely unlucky its 5-7 minutes of spiralling down while conscious and (for g forces) not able to move a muscle... and then its lights out. Pffflllattt!! . Finished. There are worse ways...

I think the way to go is not to be less afraid of flying (heck, myself having moved one or the other a/c have a funny gut feeling today sometimes when flying as an impotent pax in the rear!) but instead to learn to be more afraid of the other risks of the day that you take w/o thinking twice and relativate the fear this way.

Try and explain to your husband one day (while already boarded) how you imagine a crash exactly in this plane would progress ("...see the fat lady over there? Will she shriek or rather shout?....") in normal voice, you will forget all fear, simply for bursting out in laughter when you see the faces of the above mentioned managers around you that have overheard your 3-d live description...

Fears are relative and overcoming them can be fun, at least thats how I treat mine.

Rattler

Rattler,

While Gerry might think you brutal...I found your post very well thought out and very insightful. Thank you. Indeed, what you say above is all very true believe it or not, I have, to some degree perhaps, tried this little method. But, thus far, it hasn't really worked. Yes, I'm afraid of crashing...and dying. But what enforces that fear is that I am not in control of the situation...ie: I'm not flying the plane. In all honesty, I am a really shitty passenger, whether its a bus, car, train or plane. My husband, a man who has driven more than a million accident-free miles in his career as a truck driver, is not allowed to drive whenever we go anywhere. Thankfully, over the years, he has learned to take the passenger seat, deal with the kids and read the map on all the car trips we have taken over the years! (God Bless HIM!)

However, I am making a conscious effort to confront my fears and deal with them as I do not want to look like a complete idiot in front of my kids...nor do I want my youngest to sense my fear (once they smell fear they will use it against you!)...actually, I don't want to scare her with my fear. Up until now, Mommy has never been afraid of anything including monsters in the closet or under the bed/spiders/mice etc. I don't want her to lose that "faith" that she has in me.

Thanks again Rattler for your thoughts. It does indeed put a new(er) light on things.
Cindy

Mistress, As you know, I fly to Cuba all the time, and always with AT. I'm going to Varadero at the end ot march again, and I can't wait, counting days...

ZM...I'm counting the days too...WOOO HOOO. We just booked the trip on Friday night so I really don't have to wait that long.

If you'll flash the windows on your way over, I'll get my telescope ready.

I will try to get a window seat!

...I've began the regiment of oodles of sex to calm my nerves....

Does this involve sex with another person?

Yes Verbal...I know its hard to believe...but yes...with another person

...I've began the regiment of oodles of sex to calm my nerves....

Does this involve sex with another person?

Vantine's day is coming up, Verbal. Let's get our wives drunk on chocolate and see what happens.

Ohhhhh Gooood Halfie...I love the way you think!!!!!!!

Back on Topic......Sindeewell, don't worry about your flight. You'll be on an Airbus and any Dummy can fly those things.

And that is suppose to make me feel better?

Wow, you get sex with OTHER PEOPLE??? All this time I've been doing it myself...


As for your upcoming flight... better you than me!

Like you, I have a lot of trouble with takeoffs. To the point of hyperventilating, etc. Landings I like. I know that's not logical, but I feel ok since I'm "almost there" at that point. I have problems the entire flight but the one thing that truly helps me is distraction, distraction, distraction. I have a hard time concentrating on reading or listening to music, but taking pictures helped a lot. I kept the camera glued to the window, taking pictures of clouds, the ground, anything and everything. That is the one time that I really 'forgot to be afraid'.

Learning as much as I could about planes, and the various noises they make helped too. Not only on AD but in several fear of flying books, CDs.

I think having the kids with you will help also, since you will be busy taking care of them some too.

(topic moved to the new Fear of Flying Forum )

Ok folks...seeing as how the Fear of Flying forum isn't up and running yet, y'all get to listen to me piss and moan about my fears as I get ready to fly to Cuba in 2 weeks.

So, here's the deal: Flying out Monday Feb 25th on Air Transat to sunny Cayo Coco....yes...the same airline who's tail thingy (don't you just love my technical terms?) fell off back a few years ago. I'm sure DH will regale me with ALL OF THE GORY DETAILS just to torment me.

Following Pipe's wonderful advice from another thread, I've began the regiment of oodles of sex to calm my nerves....though I think I need TDU & his Kama Sutra book.

What am I actually afraid of? Well, duh...crashing. I really need to stop watchin "Mayday" on the Discovery channel.

All joking aside, I'm really quite fine once the plane is up and leveled off...its just the take-offs & landings that I have issues with. This year, I will really have to attempt to hide my fear as we will be taking the girls with us. My oldest flew out west last summer and loves it. My youngest has never flown - so I really don't know what her reaction will be. However, she is quite adventurous and "feels the need for speed"...so I'm not too worried about her.

Thanks for letting me bitch...I am starting to feel better...a little...then again, it could be the pictures from the Kama Sutra book that I find comforting...

I´m happy that you took at least ONE advice from me. You can now procede to the next stage. Which was about mexican bean farts but I´ll allow you to skip it and procede to the Tadshikistan Tu-134 It´s probably hard to find mexican beans in that profane area you live in.

I´ll give you a serious advice. It may sound like a common-place, well, actually it IS a common-place, but you have to face your fears rather than running away from them. The proverbial Tadshikistan Tu-134 might be a parody, but well-traveled people like Hilditch or me know that it is not too far away from reality. I´ve even faced rotten An-12´s in the last forgotten shitholes of Russia and am still posting here. A small dose of fatalism might help, because when you stand in front of such a flying coffin, you have the choice between walking home (by crossing Russia) or board that thing and think of all those terrible car accidents that have taken much more lives, probably also from some of your friends or at least from somebody you knew. Now, how many friends or relatives have you lost in a plane crash?

Pipe

Ok folks...seeing as how the Fear of Flying forum isn't up and running yet, y'all get to listen to me piss and moan about my fears as I get ready to fly to Cuba in 2 weeks.

So, here's the deal: Flying out Monday Feb 25th on Air Transat to sunny Cayo Coco....yes...the same airline who's tail thingy (don't you just love my technical terms?) fell off back a few years ago. I'm sure DH will regale me with ALL OF THE GORY DETAILS just to torment me.

Following Pipe's wonderful advice from another thread, I've began the regiment of oodles of sex to calm my nerves....though I think I need TDU & his Kama Sutra book.

What am I actually afraid of? Well, duh...crashing. I really need to stop watchin "Mayday" on the Discovery channel.

All joking aside, I'm really quite fine once the plane is up and leveled off...its just the take-offs & landings that I have issues with. This year, I will really have to attempt to hide my fear as we will be taking the girls with us. My oldest flew out west last summer and loves it. My youngest has never flown - so I really don't know what her reaction will be. However, she is quite adventurous and "feels the need for speed"...so I'm not too worried about her.

Thanks for letting me bitch...I am starting to feel better...a little...then again, it could be the pictures from the Kama Sutra book that I find comforting...

I´m happy that you took at least ONE advice from me. You can now procede to the next stage. Which was about mexican bean farts but I´ll allow you to skip it and procede to the Tadshikistan Tu-134 It´s probably hard to find mexican beans in that profane area you live in.

I´ll give you a serious advice. It may sound like a common-place, well, actually it IS a common-place, but you have to face your fears rather than running away from them. The proverbial Tadshikistan Tu-134 might be a parody, but well-traveled people like Hilditch or me know that it is not too far away from reality. I´ve even faced rotten An-12´s in the last forgotten shitholes of Russia and am still posting here. A small dose of fatalism might help, because when you stand in front of such a flying coffin, you have the choice between walking home (by crossing Russia) or board that thing and think of all those terrible car accidents that have taken much more lives, probably also from some of your friends or at least from somebody you knew. Now, how many friends or relatives have you lost in a plane crash?

Pipe

Indeed, it is imperative that I face my fears - and I have over the years slowly confronted my FoF a little bit each time. My trip last year to Cuba wasn't bad - the flight down was worse than the flight back. The thing is, plain and simple, I don't fly frequently therefore it is difficult for me to consistently confront my fears. The last time I was on a plane (before last year's trip to Cuba) was 4 years (I think) prior to that when I flew to London (yes, as in England). The ironic thing: I LOVE to sit and watch planes take off and land. Go figure.

Oh...and in case you're wondering...I have lost 2 friends to plane crashes. They were on a corporate jet that went down a number of years ago. But that is certainly not where my FoF came from.

As usual Pipe, you have given me a clear and concise directive...to which I will say thank you. I will pass on the Mexican Bean farts (thats what I have a husband for) as well as the Tadshikistan Tu-134 (don't think they have any here in this profane area in which I live) but I will double up on the sex...just in case!

Cindy

Progress, Cindy, we are talking progress here! I´m sure you´re FoF substance to be polished. But remember, graduation exam is champagne, savage sex, a good book and mexican bean farts, all together in a flying Tadshikistan Tu-134!

Pipe

PS: I´m sorry for your friends, I really am.

Progress, Cindy, we are talking progress here! I´m sure you´re FoF substance to be polished. But remember, graduation exam is champagne, savage sex, a good book and mexican bean farts, all together in a flying Tadshikistan Tu-134!

Pipe

PS: I´m sorry for your friends, I really am.

Ok...Let me get this straight...so we all get to go on the Tadshikistan Tu-134, drink champagne & have savage sex, using the Kama Sutra book for reference all before the Mexican Bean Farts pollute the air 'till we pass out? Sounds like a good time. Who's in?

P.S. Thank you for your condolences. They are appreciated.