Fear of flying?

[Sky]

Anyone else suffer from fear of flying? I'm about to take an intercontinental, 8 hour flight tomorrow and even though I've some 35 flights behind me, I'm still nervous as hell. It's kinda interesting that the fear does not seem to lessen even though I fly more.

(For me the fear is clearly a control/trust issue; I'm the kind of a person who wants to be in control all the time and who has a hard time trusting others - on a plane you're literally putting your life in somebody else's hands.)

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I'm not afraid of flying. It's the DELAYS that give me grief.

This is why I always fly nonstop. I frequently visit New York City on vacation, and I used to take flights that stopped in Milwaukee. Well I soon learned that the officials at the Milwaukee airport are, to put it mildly, assholes. If there is even the SLIGHTEST sign of bad weather at your destination, they will delay your flight. Sometimes several hours (I was once stuck there for ten). I figured it's much easier to take a nonstop flight. Mild risk of a smaller plane and thus a cramped cabin, but it's worth it.

 

[scotpens]

. . . (For me the fear is clearly a control/trust issue; I'm the kind of a person who wants to be in control all the time and who has a hard time trusting others - on a plane you're literally putting your life in somebody else's hands.)

That's the reason why many people say they're afraid to fly. But are you fearful of riding on buses or trains?

 

[Sky]

. . . (For me the fear is clearly a control/trust issue; I'm the kind of a person who wants to be in control all the time and who has a hard time trusting others - on a plane you're literally putting your life in somebody else's hands.)

That's the reason why many people say they're afraid to fly. But are you fearful of riding on buses or trains?

No, not at all?
I have the (partly delusional) impression that if the bus or train breaks down or has motor trouble, I can just get off. Although last week coming home on a TGV traveling at 300 km/h I really tried to tell myself 'you know, this is just as bad as flying'. Didn't succeed, though.

It is maybe the very strange nature of flying at the height of 11 km combined with control-freakiness?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Trying to escape from an out-of-control train or car would, I think, be no safer than the plane. If things are that bad, you're just as dead.

 

[scotpens]

I have the (partly delusional) impression that if the bus or train breaks down or has motor trouble, I can just get off. Although last week coming home on a TGV traveling at 300 km/h I really tried to tell myself 'you know, this is just as bad as flying'. Didn't succeed, though.

Wow! That's more than 186 m.p.h. for us non-metric Yanks. I'd love to go to Europe or Japan and ride one of those high-speed trains. One of these days . . .

It is maybe the very strange nature of flying at the height of 11 km combined with control-freakiness?

I suppose “strange” is a matter of perception. I haven't flown a whole lot of times, but I never find the experience strange. It seems perfectly normal to me -- as normal as riding the bus or the train.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I really wish they'd build that Transatlantic Tunnel I saw on Extreme Engineering. Imagine going from New York to London in ONE HOUR!

 

[Lindley]

(For me the fear is clearly a control/trust issue; I'm the kind of a person who wants to be in control all the time and who has a hard time trusting others - on a plane you're literally putting your life in somebody else's hands.)

If it makes you feel any better, most of the flight an autopilot is doing the work.

Yes, I'm afraid of flying, just a bit. Any pilot who says they aren't afraid is lying or stupid. I let that little bit of nervousness keep me sharp every time I go up, especially flying solo when there's no one there to catch my mistakes. But I know I have the skill to fly safely, and the caution to make good decisions if anything goes wrong.

 

[scotpens]

(For me the fear is clearly a control/trust issue; I'm the kind of a person who wants to be in control all the time and who has a hard time trusting others - on a plane you're literally putting your life in somebody else's hands.)

If it makes you feel any better, most of the flight an autopilot is doing the work.

If someone's afraid of trusting another person with their life, I don't think trusting a MACHINE with their life will make them feel any better.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

If someone's afraid of trusting another person with their life, I don't think trusting a MACHINE with their life will make them feel any better.

Quite.

At least there are still human pilots on board. I would NEVER fly on a plane which was being flown only by autopilot. Would you?

 

[Lindley]

(For me the fear is clearly a control/trust issue; I'm the kind of a person who wants to be in control all the time and who has a hard time trusting others - on a plane you're literally putting your life in somebody else's hands.)

If it makes you feel any better, most of the flight an autopilot is doing the work.

If someone's afraid of trusting another person with their life, I don't think trusting a MACHINE with their life will make them feel any better.

In this case it should, though. If a pilot were hand-flying the plane the whole way, then they could get distracted at a bad moment and who knows what might happen. Plus, the focus necessary to fly for hours at a time can be wearing, especially in instrument conditions.

Autopilots don't get distracted and they don't get tired.....and they do have human backups sitting right there, ready to take over if anything unusual happens. It's a pretty good combo.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

"I just want to tell you both good luck. We're all counting on you."

 

[Lindley]

If someone's afraid of trusting another person with their life, I don't think trusting a MACHINE with their life will make them feel any better.

Quite.

At least there are still human pilots on board. I would NEVER fly on a plane which was being flown only by autopilot. Would you?

Considering that at present there are ZERO Category 3C instrument landing systems (rated for zero visibility, zero minimum descent altitude) anywhere in the world, no.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ But if there were, would you risk it?

 

[Lindley]

I could foresee a time when it would be safe. However, that time is not yet here. There are too many variables that can't be accounted for by ATC instructions or onboard sensors. Add to that the fact that the FAA is notoriously slow in its adoption of new technology, and even if the tech were available, you can bet they wouldn't authorize it for 50 years.

Still, the jets are largely automated. There's a saying I heard, told to new pilots being inducted into the ranks of an airline: "We already know you can fly airplanes. Now we're going to teach you how to fly computers."

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I'm not sure I'd risk this. Anything controlled by computers can be hacked. Imagine what terrorists could do with an airplane in this way. It'd be 9/11 writ large. And they wouldn't even have to risk their own lives - they could hack into and divert planes on a whim. It'd be even worse than the flying car problem.

 

[scotpens]

At least there are still human pilots on board. I would NEVER fly on a plane which was being flown only by autopilot. Would you?

No, and especially not if it was sent by this dude!

 

[Miss Chicken]

I don't have a fear of flying. I prefer to have a window seat when flying so I can watch the take off, landing and the scenery below me. For that reason I dislike (i.e find it boring) when I am flying over water.

I dislike airports.

 

[greenguy]

Go to doctor. Say you do not like flying. Obtain Xanax/Valium. Have a nice vacation.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

Surprisingly not, even though I am very afraid of heights. I even sit next to the window and look outside during takeoff.