Do you pretend to be cool during airline turbulence? (1 Viewer)

[Philip_T]

I wish.

 

[Tony Whalen]

Pretend to be cool?

Nah.

I just re-introduce myself to the in-flight meal.

Actually, I sit and smile. Meantime, I'm white-knuckled, and usually fairly certain that there will be a permanent imprint of my back in the seat cushions.

I hate flying...

 

[RobertR]

I remember one woman praying very loudly and vehemently after we experienced minor turbulence on takeoff. It was more bothersome than the turbulence.

I much preferred the jokes cracked by the flight attendant on another flight when we hit turbulence.

 

[DaveF]

I just stay calm, keep reading my book, and try to ignore any flutters of my heart. Rationally I know that there's no trouble, but emotionally it's unsettling at times.

Also, I believe fear begets fear, so "pretending" to stay cool is still helpful. If people started expressing their concerns, it could feed on itself and create more problems.

 

[Charles J P]

I guess I'm another that doesnt have to pretend. I've flown literally hundereds of times and although its not my profession, I'm very interested in physics, engineering etc. and really dont get bothered by something that's quite normal.

 

[Mary M S]

I love chop, most interesting part of the entire flight, including observing how many bumps, = white knuckles around you. Don’t know where I got the preference for flying gene, my brother is the King of blue knuckle flyers (cuts off his circulation).

It’s a lot easier once you have spent many hours in a Cessna 152 and C140 taildragger and get over the sensation of being able to put your forefinger on the inside skin and push ..with the metal bowing, like the side of a Coke can. You have the understanding of why the plane is moving around so..and whats going on. (For me half the battle in life is just wanting to know the …whys of).

One of my hairiest moments in flight was when my husband was low time (low time equating to ….wow! novice you lived to fly another day!) and took me up, he was still well under 100 hours, maybe only 50. I was still a nervous light-aircraft flyer. About my 2nd, 3rd trip ever in a small aircraft. He decides to show me negative g’s.

Moved his seat but forgot to cinch the seatbelt to make up for that slack. Went to negative g’s and I am looking forward tensely out the windscreen (since he had warned me) and I suddenly hear this:

KA-BAM!… which was the delightful sound of the ceiling of the plane reverberating from saying Hello to the crown of my husbands head.
I caught this not-logged-in-the-flight-plan maneuver, out of my peripheral vision. Only time in my life I almost had to take my hand just to force my own head to turn and look. I had NOT taken my tiny “Pilots wife course” at the time. And would have attempted things like steering using the yoke on terra firma, if I had had the good luck to somehow kiss earth again without balling up.

I know I had time to say at least 3 times before I turned my head to look. “Oh, my god …please let him be awake…PLEASE let him be awake!..he HAS to be awake..if the plane does not kill us...I'm going to KILL HIM!"

Every old rerun ‘airport’ style flight-attendant-in-the-left-seat movie I had ever seen flashed through my head. I was looking for the radio wondering, “How does it work?” before I could stand to turn and look at him.

He was grinning sheepishly and rubbing his head!

 

[Seth Paxton]

Flying a bit in smaller planes cured me of turbulence fear, as well as knowing some of the engineering going into planes. Bouncing on a boat doesn't mean its about to sink, so what the difference when you are in a plane bouncing on air pockets.

If the tail doesn't get above the nose, I'm not sweating it.

I do get annoyed with it sometimes though, holding your drink, bouncing you around and so on.


Holy shit, Mary. Now THAT would scare the crap out of me. Normal is one thing, a dead or knocked out pilot in a little 2-4 seater is another.

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

During some pretty good turbulence going into Denver from over the mountains the Frontier pilot got on and said "I appologize for the bumpy ride but we have just entered a school zone." Gotta love that pilot humor.

I pretty much just think of it as a rollercoaster.

 

[Mary M S]

"Holy shit, Mary. Now THAT would scare the crap out of me"

Yes, one of those moments when I really knew I was alive.
Because I thought shortly - I'd be dead.

The largest plane my husband flew (DC-3) when she was still in Dallas full time. These pics are of her now in Chicago.

http://www.ofoto.com/PhotoView.jsp?U...d=777723622105

Closeup of her nose art.

http://www.ofoto.com/PhotoView.jsp?U...d=505113622105

I flew her once (don't laugh Philip) and yes it was only for straight and level for 15min.

 

[Philip_G]

gotta start somewhere

I think I'd settle for 15 minutes of sraight and level in a DC3 too though :b

Why hasn't the bug bitten you yet? I'm actually pretty surprised..

 

[Lew Crippen]

Put me in the ‘ I’ve flown so much I just go back to sleep category’.

But for those who are concerned, there is this from Eric Idle (you could start a sing-along, as has been suggested):

And always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the right side of life...
(Come on guys, cheer up!)
Always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the bright side of life...
(Worse things happen at sea, you know.)
Always look on the bright side of life...
(I mean - what have you got to lose?)
(You know, you come from nothing - you're going back to nothing.
What have you lost? Nothing!)
Always look on the right side of life…

 

[Travis Hedger]

Last time I had turbulance was on SWA out of Vegas. I promptly ordered a rum and Coke, and I rarely drink.

 

[KeithAP]

After seeing Almost Famous, I just start singing "Peggy Sue".

My Dad had his private pilot license before I was born (I am 40 now). I used to fly with him all the time when I was younger to pancake breakfasts/fly-ins all over Northern California.

I started learning to fly myself but didn't finish. I did go through stall/spin recovery so a little turbulence doesn't bother me. Plus, as a matter principle, I try not to get worked up over things I have no control over.

Sure that initial jolt can be startling. After that, I just get annoyed.

-Keith

 

[david stark]

I generally don't get too bothered with turbulence, but the two most nerve wrecking incidents in a plane would be:

1. Flying from Brussels to Manchester (with British Airways I think). It was winter and there had been turbulence for a lot of the flight. Coming in to land the plane was still going up and down quite a bit and rolling from side to side. As we got lower and lower I thought if this keeps going on one of the wings is going to hit the ground before the wheels which can't be a good thing. Then moments (and it seemed like seconds) before actually landing the pilot levelled of the plane and it ended up being one of the lightest landings I've ever had.

2. Flying from Toronto ro Amsterdam (KLM). Again at winter (just before Christmas) so it had been a bit bumpy for most of the flight, but most of the landing seemed to be ok. I was sitting near the middle of the aircraft so I couldn't see too much out of the windows. I started to see some tall buildings out of the window so we were getting quite low. Then I could see some airport buildings and stuff so we were very nearly down, then engines roar and we start pulling up pretty fast. A lot of nervous looks at other passengers and everntually when we levelled off again the pilot came on the intercom and said we would be circling and trying to land again in about 10/15 minutes, no mention of the whay the aborted landing. 10/15 minutes later we come in and have a pretty ordinary landing to a round of applause from the passengers. No mention of why the abortion, I then had an hour to calm my nerves before a connectiong flight to Manchester.

 

[Philip_G]

that's great, you should continue your training some day.
However, the two aren't really related

 

[ThomasC]

Nope, I'm just cool. I don't think it's ever bothered me, even when I was a kid. It's kinda fun like a roller coaster ride.

 

[Mary M S]

"Why hasn't the bug bitten you yet? I'm actually pretty surprised..

Philip, - It did. Although I was the biggest chicken back then (several years ago) and I would like to try it now again the boys are older. I had an extremely conservative upbringing with a family that disapproved of my shenanigans at airports the years my husband flew skydivers, I made 5 jumps and flew when infrequent occasions rose to get flight time - but the guilt, -had me by the neck. Each time I saw my mother..(really a great mom) I was pounded with their opinion that I had no business playing around "off the ground" with two boys to raise.

I flew the 3 from right seat, as you know - not much to hold yoke steady at altitude. They did let me bank it slightly. Still it was a great experience.
My main time was in the taildragger which they purchased for taildragger experience for the jump pilots, - when they knew the 3 was going to be added to the little fleet. But at the dropzone, - times for a learning flight were sporadic at best so I had no formal schedule, which would have facilitated a larger learning curve. Some of my main flying in the 140 was straight and level to another airport for hour trips when we had a boogie over the weekend there. Not much goes on with one takeoff/landing to really learn muscle memory. And I missed most of these trips due to my boys. I did have takeoffs down, and my unofficial instructor was a good friend (not my husband) you know the rule - don't teach your wife to fly or drive!) but not the best at relaying his vast amount of knowledge. Retired Airforce who flew the U2 when it was top-secret over Russia. Currently an accident investigator for Teledyne Motors. (He sees the gore if something goes wrong in a 4-state area.). He swore he did not; but I think I had input help on the rudders every landing. (I was too busy to really watch his feet) And he always stated (he had flown a lot of different type aircraft) that this little 140 was the squirreliest out-of-rig plane he had EVER flown. (not the best setup for a novice!) One of the jump planes would have been a better choice. Let the yoke go ..the things would straighten up and practically fly themselves. (not so the 140) But they had enough hours on the motors of the 142? and 152 with the jump times alone. I never even got enough time to get past the discomfort of not being able to see out the windscreen on takeoffs till the tail came up. If I'm rolling forward 40-60 miles a hr, I like to see - forward!

I was affectionately called "our little airplane whore" (in a nice way at our dropzone, because when I accompanied the guys on their trips on the few occasions my mom would grudgingly keep the boys weekends. (she said she wouldn't if I was flying) (oh ..no mom I'm riding :wink: ). I always somehow managed to collect rides in antique aircraft at whatever airport we were at. (you know the flight community at the municipals). One of my favorites was doing a loop (talk about hanging from a 5-point - at what feels-like a barely sustainable power throttle across the top of it)in a WACO Travel Air Bi-wing.
I prob. could have just barly landed one of the jumpplanes without a ground loop if I had to, back then, -but it would be starting over again for me now.

The husband has not flown the skydivers for years since our business took over our weekends. He waffles back and forth on building his "dream car" or a plane. (We've had friends build them, such as a little Baby Ace). So if he does, we will see how I do then.

If I could go back and had ever flown in a light craft when I was a kid (instead of) after I was grown and married and locked into raising children. I would have gone into the military as an officer and tried to make it into flight school. If I had the right stuff I'd be a professional pilot now. You know the lure! I just wish I had been aware of it earlier when I could have aimed at it. Say in Jr High. (its one of the great sigh moments in my life, when I think on it, would I? Could I? really have. Philip ever flown a plane backwards? - my husband did the 140.

Lew, - thats one of top five dittys to sing during catastrophes!

 

[Philip_G]

I haven't flown a 140, you just don't see them around these days too often, unsure if many of them got ground looped and hauled off to the wrecker, or they just aren't popular, I don't know how many were built.
I did my private training at a smallish airport in Oregon, and saw a beautiful polished aluminum 140 in the pattern a couple times, I remember on an early solo flight I had a hard time not running right up the poor guy's ass in my 150, that says a lot when a 150 out paces you
IIRC they don't have flaps, sounds like fun to me

The only tailwheel experience I have is in a brief spin in a T6 texan, but I didn't get to land, and in a super decathlon, I really like that airplane and wanted to purchase a citabria for the longest time but the finances aren't there right now.

As to flying backwards, yes. I did a lot of my training in North Dakota (instrument, commercial, multi, CFI and CFII) and you could get a nice stiff westerly wind and fly the warriors backwards in slow flight, if I had a 150 there it would have done it. I do remember getting passed by an old VW beetle once in the 150 while following a highway on a solo cross country :b

I'm not so sure the pro pilot thing is for me. I'm happy with my job, and I'm secure. I'm sure your husband spends a lot of money with my employer

 

[Drew Bethel]

I always try to get a seat as close to the front as possible to lessen the effect.

 

[Mary M S]

"I'm sure your husband spends a lot of money with my employer"
What…you sell...superchargers?!
My husband has eyed the Harmon Rocket,- he liked its cruise speed of 200knots.
I do remember getting passed by an old VW beetle once in the 150 while following a highway on a solo cross country.
We used to do a thing called ‘flying the river’ at the private strip at the dropzones first location. It was a hoot to swing around from the runway to an open flatland field next to the highway built on a large embankment, before you’d make the turn to set up entry to the river run. (Not me …I was just riding). You could cut it very fine ‘ahem’ on legal altitude. Fly parallel to the highway and wave at the cars at eye-level. The kids in the back seats of SUV’s loved it.

‘Flying backwards’ I asked because most I’ve met when thinking of a wing flying Vs stalling assume it has to move forward to get lift. The guys at the airport told me my husband had done it. (The other young pilots would not attempt, -they said the idea freaked them out) but I would not believe that he had, (I had trouble with the concept) as I could often be their favorite pastime when bored - I told them they were full of it. One day the following summer when I happened to be onsite with a bunch of unhappy grounded skydivers waiting on wind velocity to die down. My husband hopped in the 140 and did it over the top of the packing area and peas. It is a bizarre looking motion …actual ground speed…backwards.

To those who white knuncle it. We are each of us, - more liky to buy the farm on our local expressway. Just think …in a plane.. at least you get more colum inches in the paper for a memorial!

PS. our 140 had aluminun wings (instead of fabric) electric start (no hand proping..most the time..if it behaved itself) and manual flaps ...using a stick which worked just like an old parking brake.