flying

#1
volsgal03

volsgal03

Go Vols!!
Joined
Mar 13, 2006
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#1
Hey nation I was at lunch the other day with my brother and sister and they were sharing their stories about flying. They did fly on an airplane piloted by Neal Armstrong, actually it was his last flight. My sister sat on the runway in Montreal one time for 6 hours. If you have any to share I would love to hear them.
 
#2
#2
Air pockets make planes lose altitude...that is why I'm scared of flying. :good!:
 
#3
#3
Big chunks of metal are heavy and fall quickly to the earth without proper thrust, which is probably why I am afraid of flying. I developed a specific phobia in my mid-20's (no crazy flights or anything). I did skydive once while in med school, which was amazing, but may have contributed to my fear.

On a side note, benzodiazepines work wonders for situational phobias.
 
#6
#6
The thing about flying (and I fly a fair amount) is that once inside the plane, you are completely at the mercy of others. That includes the pilot, the mechanics, the air traffic controller, and the weather. That is always the scary aspect to me. I understand that flying is statistically safer but at least I'm behind the wheel when I drive.
 
#7
#7
I have seen enough people that design aircraft structure to be a little afraid of flying. :crazy:
 
#8
#8
I have only been on one flight in all my years of flying where I got truly nervous. Hitting air pockets and sudden increases or decrease in altitude make me uncomfortable at times. What I immediately do is observe the flight crew. If they get nervous, I get nervous.

Only once did I get "oh my god" nervous. Landing in Houston during a severe thunderstorm. Plane was dropping at points and you could hear the pilot accelerating sharply at points. Then they went in for a landing and it was too rough. The plane aborted landing and the pilot said we were going to try to land from the other side of the airport. I immediately had a large cold beer after getting off that flight.
 
#9
#9
Plano Vol said:
The thing about flying (and I fly a fair amount) is that once inside the plane, you are completely at the mercy of others. That includes the pilot, the mechanics, the air traffic controller, and the weather. That is always the scary aspect to me. I understand that flying is statistically safer but at least I'm behind the wheel when I drive.
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I agree. It's the absence of control that makes me uneasy as well.
 
#11
#11
I love to fly and have done so 30 or 40 times in my life, all on big commercial jets. If I see someone is nervous near me, I will always ask, "Do you smell gas? What's that scraping metal sound? I didn't hear the landing gear?"
 
#15
#15
I could see myself driving for the rest of the big trips I make... More for the love of the road trip, not for fear of flying.
 
#17
#17
TuskALoosa said:
I love to fly and have done so 30 or 40 times in my life, all on big commercial jets. If I see someone is nervous near me, I will always ask, "Do you smell gas? What's that scraping metal sound? I didn't hear the landing gear?"
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When flying from Atlanta to Dallas, I always wait about twenty minutes and then go take a dump. Even though there is not a direct outlet from the plane, I always find the act to be uplifting.
 
#19
#19
I wouldn't worry too much about pilots, maintenace, ATC, or whatever else. I think the nations airlines have a pretty good reputation established as far as flight safety goes.

Although I can tell you as an aircraft mechanic that planes break a lot. Not in the catastrophic way, but the little things that help keep it airworthy. From my experience planes are the exact opposite of cars. They truly do require routine maintenance.
 
#20
#20
I was once delayed for the proverbial "maintenance" issue. We waited and waited as they gave us the time estimates: "Ah folks, it should take about 14 minutes and we'll be on our way" They always use "exact" numbers like 14 minutes instead of 15 minutes eventhough it doesn't mean anything.

Anyway, after an hour we are informed they can't get the part we need but we are cleared to fly but we have to avoid flying through any clouds! Are they serious? Yes, the flight was from Jacksonville FL to Chicago but we flew west to about Austin TX then north and eventually back east into Chicago...
 
#21
#21
volinbham said:
I was once delayed for the proverbial "maintenance" issue. We waited and waited as they gave us the time estimates: "Ah folks, it should take about 14 minutes and we'll be on our way" They always use "exact" numbers like 14 minutes instead of 15 minutes eventhough it doesn't mean anything.

Anyway, after an hour we are informed they can't get the part we need but we are cleared to fly but we have to avoid flying through any clouds! Are they serious? Yes, the flight was from Jacksonville FL to Chicago but we flew west to about Austin TX then north and eventually back east into Chicago...
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probably had to refile the flight plan from IFR to VFR based upon some avionics malfunction
 
#22
#22
Driving in a car and you break down, you pull to the side of the interstate. Flying in an airplace and you break down, you die.
 
#23
#23
Plano Vol said:
When flying from Atlanta to Dallas, I always wait about twenty minutes and then go take a dump. Even though there is not a direct outlet from the plane, I always find the act to be uplifting.
Click to expand...

:lolabove:
 
#24
#24
Two stories:

-November 2000 - AirTran flight to Akron caught fire shortly after takeoff and barely made it back to the airport before being doused in foam. NEVER will fly ScareTran again.

About a year and a half ago I had the "pleasure" of sitting next to Cynthia McKinney on a plane from DC to ATL. We were held on the tarmac in DC and ATL after landing. Needless to say I am a little more careful about flights to and from DC from now on.
 
#25
#25
CSpindizzy said:
About a year and a half ago I had the "pleasure" of sitting next to Cynthia McKinney on a plane from DC to ATL. We were held on the tarmac in DC and ATL after landing. Needless to say I am a little more careful about flights to and from DC from now on.
Click to expand...

What a treat:lol::lol: How did you know...was she wearing her lapel pin:)
 
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