first time flying

[nhbuck1]

My buddy and i are talking about an elk hunt in colorado next year, i never flew in a plane and im scared to death of them but i want to conquer this and do the hunt you only live once, how bad is it?

[Terry Green]

You are way more likely to die driving to or from the airport than actually from a plane crash....

Turbulence is normal don't sweat it.

[Etter]

Not scary at all. But if youre worried.....drink

[yeager]

Flew navy/commercial aircraft for 37 years and can't count how many times I've rode as a passenger. Like Terry said, it is a whole lot safer than driving in a car.

[AZWarts]

like Terry said you're more likely to die in the car on the way then you are in the plane. Don't worry about the turbulence pilots hate as much as you do. It spills our coffee and makes it hard to eat. conversation or looking out the window will help keep you distracted. Also if something is really wrong the flight crew will make an announcement so if you think something isn't right but everything around you seems normal, it is! tell the flight attendants its your first time flying and they'll probably take care of you really well.

[M60gunner]

I had that fear as well. But I believe mine was justified. The plane was a "bush plane" out of Red Lake, Ontario complete with flames coming out of the crowling. Thank God it was only about 30 minutes long flight.
 My next experience was a Boeing 707 taking 80 of us to MCRD San Diego. Over the Rockies the plane dropped but I was to busy wondering how a stewardess got in my lap. After that I kept hoping for a repeat of that experience but has not yet. You will be fine, you will be to busy thinking about your gear and if it is on your plane.

[Roadkill]

Took an OV10 into the dirt at the end of a runway inSotheast Asia once. Have flown military and commercial and bush planes all over the world.  Worry about your bow in the cargo bay to keep your mind clear. It is in more danger than you.

[Walt Francis]

Originally posted by Terry Green:
You are way more likely to die driving to or from the airport than actually from a plane crash....

Turbulence is normal don't sweat it.

X2

However, I have walked away from two aviation mishaps.  That said, I have walked away from close to a dozen mishaps in land vehicles.....Some times I think somebody up there is likes me.

[McDave]

Originally posted by Walt Francis:

However, I have walked away from two aviation mishaps.  That said, I have walked away from close to a dozen mishaps in land vehicles.....Some times I think somebody up there is likes me. [/b]

Well.... I don't know if they really LIKE you, Walt, but they certainly seem to be interested in you, or something.

[Matt Quick]

The elk hunt sounds great!  But why fly?  Don't get wrong. It's going to be a long drive but with a buddy you can drive straight through. It's tough to bring all the gear you need for an elk hunt if you fly. Plus the logistics of getting meat home with be tough and expensive.

[BAK]

It's not about dying, it's about the miserable 3rd world bus trip experience flying has become.

I just won't do it anymore.  I leave today for Denver for court and flying would have been nice if it was like it was back in the 60's.  Instead I'll spend 15 hours on the road, and glad of it.

[Horne Shooter]

I've flown all over the world (several times) but I'm driving to my elk trip this year.  First of all, I'll get to see beautiful scenery and when (if) I get my elk, I can pack it up and drive it home.  Shipping elk meat and horns is VERY expensive.  Save the flight for some other time and drive.

[Roy from Pa]

Etter..
Not scary at all. But if youre worried.....drink
X's 2
LMAO

[RJonesRCRV]

Yeager, sailors drive airplanes?

[Archie]

A commercial airline pilot friend of mine said something that really calmed my nerves (believe it or not)... When he told me that the g-forces it would take to break the wings of a jetliner would knock everyone unconscious first.  Seriously!

But I've flown all my life growing up in Alaska, flying all over the country to play hockey, then in and out of the country for work... Think of how relatively few airline accidents really happen, in relation to what happens on our roads with cars!  

The worst I ever had was on a flight from Fairbanks Alaska to Kodiak Island.  There was so much turbulence, I was expecting the pilot to announce that the stewardesses had to put their helmets on!  We were a little shaken, but never in any real danger.

No sweat!

[jsweka]

You will find that actually flying isn't the problem and won't bother you a bit.

It's all the people in the rat race getting through security, rude TSA agents, the idiot trying to cram a full size suitcase into the overhead compartment, the squalling kid in the seat behind you whose parents don't believe in discipline, the guy who had way to many drinks before he boarded, the sick person beside you that sneezes and coughs the whole trip, being crammed against the window or getting hit in the shoulder by every person walking down the isle to use the bathroom, and finally jockeying for position to grab your luggage at the baggage claim with the constant fear that you will never see your bag come out of the chute.    

Flying is fine.  Putting up with all the other crap is horrible.  There have been times that my flight has hit turbulence and the thought of crashing crosses my mind, but it doesn't bother me much because I realize that if the plane crashes, my misery will be over sooner than expected which isn't that bad of a thing.

[McDave]

The fact is, none of us know the time or place of our death.  It could be on that airplane.  Or anywhere else.  What does it really matter?  What really matters is how we live our life.  The one good thing that came out of my year in Vietnam was an acceptance of this, which hasn't changed in 50 years.  I'm sure that veterans of any war feel the same way.

The funny thing is, I can understand how someone could fear flying in an airplane even though they might also believe what I said above. Fear is not rational.  I had more fear over the years I had target panic than I have ever had of death, even though I wasn't in the slightest danger from target panic.

One of many things I used to defeat target panic was to learn to accept the fear, not try to block it or fight it.  If you allow yourself to experience fear, you often find out that it isn't such a big deal, and then it goes away.  Maybe the same thing would work with fear of flying.

[yeager]

Hey Jonesy,  we even let marines fly them too!

Flying is safer than walking on a hillside in Iowa, but I did see a piece of something fall off of a big four engine prop plane in the 60s and one day in the 70s a DC3 came low over town running on one engine and the other smoking.  I have flown small planes from grass farm strips with farmers that did not have a pilots license.  I did see one plane go down in a flat spin while hunting out side of Canton South Dakota years back.  I think it was a Balanca Champ, they were screwing around. I heard later that the pilot had either a stroke or a heart attack.  There were others that saw the plane go down, so I stayed away.  But anyway flying go-carts and warmed up commercial jets are not the same.  Those big jets have walk in toilets, with the flying go-carts you have to find a place to land to pee or get something to eat.  One note, even if a crop duster has two seats, DO NOT RIDE ALONG. The worst roller coaster ride I have ever been on.

[centaur]

Originally posted by jsweka:
You will find that actually flying isn't the problem and won't bother you a bit.

It's all the people in the rat race getting through security, rude TSA agents, the idiot trying to cram a full size suitcase into the overhead compartment, the squalling kid in the seat behind you whose parents don't believe in discipline, the guy who had way to many drinks before he boarded, the sick person beside you that sneezes and coughs the whole trip, being crammed against the window or getting hit in the shoulder by every person walking down the isle to use the bathroom, and finally jockeying for position to grab your luggage at the baggage claim with the constant fear that you will never see your bag come out of the chute.    

Flying is fine.  Putting up with all the other crap is horrible.  There have been times that my flight has hit turbulence and the thought of crashing crosses my mind, but it doesn't bother me much because I realize that if the plane crashes, my misery will be over sooner than expected which isn't that bad of a thing.

Lots of truth in the above statement. Commercial airline transportation is the safest mode of travel ever; too bad you have to fly with other humans who are rude, crude, and socially unacceptable.