how are you with flying?

Ruz

man I hate it, any thoughts. I get a big freakout everytime I have to get on plane
i have been a on a plane around 15 times  so far but certainly it does not agree with me. recently did a 15 hour flight
and just freaked out . must travel by steamship in future. airports suck anyway, especially charles de gaulle, sorry french polycounters but man I just hate that place
landing is the worst, last one we just hit the ground like a brick aggh feel like I am on a  giant  metal bird full of petrol

CompanionCube

turbulence still freaks me out but i love take off, the whole build up to it i'm pretending i'm like a mech pilot preparing for launch or thinking about the BSG viper launch. I'm 33....single....rethinking life now....i hate flying....

Ruz

I am ok with turbulence it's the take off and landing that gets me. I hate that big acceleration thing

Joopson

Personally, I dislike flying, but only for the effects it has on my body. Makes me feel like I have a bad cold, until I land. I don't mind takeoff or landing, or turbulence even. The process is just a total chore, and so I bear it as such, and try my best to enjoy it. (Movies, music, podcasts). I also always sit by the window, so I can look out if I feel inclined.

But it's pretty amazing we can fly anywhere in the world for fairly reasonable amounts of money, and in general, that outweighs the negatives for me.

Ruz

the worst thing is my wife and daughter are totally cool with it. there is just me freaking out even after 6 glasses of wine:) it s not just a jokey thing though it really does have a bad effect on me.

AtticusMars

The flying itself I don't mind so much, but I have this intense fear of getting diarrhea on a plane and having to wait in line for a bathroom.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Also don't really enjoy airports, I find them confusing to navigate.

Ruz

AtticusMars - I can kind of sympathise as if you are on a plane that is full the toilets are generally always engaged. yeah i just get panic attacks on a plane. I don't want to go in to details too much as its a really personal thing.I get a bit 'fighty' as well

AtticusMars

I hear you man, I spent weeks agonizing over my last flight soon as I learned I had to do it, and it was only a 4 hour trip. You might try talking to your doctor about it, they may be able to prescribe you a few pills of some anxiety medication just for the trip.

Edit: I had diazepam for my last trip, it takes 20~ mins for the effects to set in and my attitude was pretty much that I'd use it as a last resort if things got too bad. I didn't have to, but luckily it was a comparatively short flight. In your case it sounds like your anxiety is pretty bad, not my place to tell you what to do but for me I felt a lot better knowing I had the option of taking something to sedate myself to avoid a panic induced meltdown in a crowded airplane over the fact that the bathrooms were full.

I know these things sound silly to think about (my case anyway) but yeah, people do worry about this kind of shit.

Mstankow

I love flying. And the whole experience really. I love waiting at the terminal. I love take off and landing. Turbulence makes me think of Star Tours. I prefer window seats and I like to sleep on flights. Also cause Super Metroid is on 3DS, I find myself playing through that game on flights. Also, I have all of Rick and Morty on my cell-phone thanks to Amazon video. Alaska is my favorite airline for that because they have power outlets.

I find flying pretty relaxing.

Ruz

Attics Mars - yeah had the diazepam 5mg  + a bunch of moonshine lol
still did n't help.  I have actually flown without any pills /booze etc but either way it just does not agree with me. Tbh the landings on this trip were really bad so that dId not help either. First landing was full brakes with smoking tyres second one was just like a big brick hitting the floor aggh

AtticusMars

Damn I'd probably be enjoying a nice nap with alcohol and diazepam, sorry to hear it was so bad.

I'm still hoping in the future telecommuting will take over most service industries and self driving cars will make intercontinental travel more practical so I can avoid planes all together for everything except international flights.

RyanB

Listen to this and soothe your nerves
https://archive.org/details/CausticSoda-S01e18-AirDisasters

 

Synaesthesia

The last time I flew, I white-knuckled the seat in front of me and left hand imprints in it. That was 2008 - I should probably just get over the fear. I'm more likely to die driving than I am while flying, and the competency required for driving is many orders of magnitude less than what's required of a pilot.

m4dcow

Couple years ago I would fly from my home island to go to school in Florida a couple times a year, but those flights are under 3 hours so they were fine, and I've only done transatlantic once and that was under 8 hours... but 15 hours is pretty insane. The actual flying is fine for me, I just don't like the airport experience mainly from worrying about not having some document or fucking up some immigration form and sitting in that weird room while they verify my visa.

On another note, flying domestic within the US sucks I don't know if there are different regulations for how much space you're allowed to give passengers on international vs domestic, but my 6ft3" fat ass didn't enjoy flying from Orlando to San Francisco for GDC.

Ruz

The funny part was that flying from Paris to Newcastle  I grabbed the man's head in the seat in front of me rather than grabbing the seat when we landed
m4dcow yeah I am fairly big  too so not much space on the long haul leg of the light from Seoul. 
Anyway I think I am just 'that guy' when it comes to flying. I drive a lot and am fine

Kwramm

CDG is just not a nice place to start any flight. Although it's gotten much much better in the last 10 years. A lot depends on the airline's staff too. Just from a feel-good factor I love KLM. There are better planes, and other airlines with really good staff, but for some reasons the staff there always seems really happy and enjoying their work. maybe they go to a coffee shop before the flight, I dunno, but their happiness has a really relaxing effect. Much better than the trained efficiency of some other airlines' staff.

Ruz

Kwramm
Yeah Amsterdam is a great airport,had a reasonable flight going there, though a bit nervy still.
re the staff on KLM going there, they were great. Some of the Air france staff were great too coming back, but one steward was obviously racist and he made the flight a misery for everyone. never again - will always try and go through Amsterdam if possible though it's a bit dearer.

Steve Schulze

It's the confined space that does it for me. Planes seem specifically designed to trip claustrophobic anxiety. I usually get used to it after an hour or so, but before that it's all short breath and heart palpitations.

Drocho

I love flying, myself. But I can see why it would make somebody uncomfortable.

musashidan

Living in Australia the last 5 years so I've done my fair share of flying back and forth, home to Ireland. For me it's multiple pints in the airport, valium on the runway.....:)

Also, for long haul I always try and book the flight at my natural bedtime so getting a kip is always going to be somewhat easier.

I feel your pain. Especially all the 'terrorism' bullshit that we have to endure at the airport. 

kanga

Ruz said:...., aggh feel like I am on a  giant  metal bird full of petrol

Yeah. What a way to go!  

Poribo

I don't mind flying, though I haven't flown overseas since I was really young. I usually fly 2 times a year between states.
There is only one time I recall being afraid, during landing the plane felt it was descending unusually fast. It didn't help that it was a rainy night on a tiny ~25 passenger plane.

Darth Tomi

Synaesthesia said:

The last time I flew, I white-knuckled the seat in front of me and left hand imprints in it. That was 2008 - I should probably just get over the fear. I'm more likely to die driving than I am while flying, and the competency required for driving is many orders of magnitude less than what's required of a pilot.

Ha. Did that the last time I flew and we hit turbulence. Thought we'd fall out of the sky.

Prime8

I actually enjoy the take off and landing. I usually fly long distances and cannot sleep on the planes, so I spend most of the time drinking and are completely tiered on arrival.

AtticusMars said:

The flying itself I don't mind so much, but I have this intense fear of getting diarrhea on a plane and having to wait in line for a bathroom.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

...

I have the same worries tbh. especially during long periods when it's not allowed to stand up.

Ruz said:

...I get a bit 'fighty' as well

Sounds quite serious, maybe you can get some help? If you start a fight on an plane you can get into real trouble, financially as well. The chance is probably higher than any accident.

Ruz

yeah it was pretty bad this time around. might just avoid flying for a while since I have no plans to do so in the forseeable future.
TBH it was an incredibly stressful day , lack of sleep, bit dehydrated etc.
The 'fighty' bit related to the steward who was being really horrid to everyone. probably I would normally just ignore this kind of crap, but it was one of those days.
was n't really a fight as such, just a small exchange of robust opinions.
rest of the cabin crew were great really.

.polygon

Xanax, or some other kind of anti anxiety pill will definitely help. A Dr. would get you a few for flying

Ruz

yeah seems like Xanax is the way to go, heard good things about it on flying phobia type forums.
if the plane does crash at least I will be mellow:)

vertex_

In my teens I was intimidated by flying. Over the past years I have taken an interest in commercial airplanes and aviation, and I invest a few hours a week into using flight simulator. Now, I look forward to flying, although I will say the long hauls are still a pain in the ass

So what cured my phobia of flying is learning about aviation and the inner workings of planes, and how pilots do their job. Taking off at high speed in a commercial airliner has become a thrill for me. I once flew over the Canadian prairies during a lightning storm which was a stunning view.

Synaesthesia

I grew up playing Microsoft Flight Simulator (5.1 to 98, then got back into it with FSX), built scale models of aircraft, read all about aeronautics, etc. I'm not as frightened of flying itself as I am of entrusting someone else to fly me around. It's an irrational fear.

vertex_

@Synaesthesia yeah I believe the whole distrust of someone you may not know flying you around in a giant metal tube. I guess that's why many people choose to drive long distances as opposed to flying.

VelvetElvis

You tend to get over your fears pretty fast once you've flown enough. I've been in planes that have been struck by lighting when landing in a thunderstorm, had emergency landings for both mechanical and medical emergencies on board, had a fuel pump go out just as the plane was accelerating on the runway, etc. You learn that if it's your time, it's your time. That and you have to learn to trust that your pilot wants to go home to see their family just as much as you do, so they will do whatever it takes to ensure that.

When I fly, I try to fly Southwest as much as I can here in the states as the crews on those planes are generally this side of awesome and can make you feel pretty relaxed. Nothing worse than a shitty flight crew to make the flight seem even more terrifying.

Besides, it's not the crash that will be the worst part. It will be the 30 seconds of screaming as you plummet to earth that will be terrifying.

Bruno Afonseca

I've never thought twice about flying but I have all sorts of weird emotions when I do, I'm mostly cool on the outside but my palms are sweating and jaws clenching. I don't mind 20h long bus trips, and if it's a short trip, say Montréal to NYC or Toronto it's so much easier to do on a bus instead of dealing with all that taxi-airport-security crap.

That said most of my flights are between North and South America so not really doable in any other means until teleportation becomes a thing, so flying it is.

Boat rides though, the last few I had were super rough...

Ruz

http://www.ex-parrot.com/~chris/sucks/flying.html