Kimmar
09-26-2007, 02:19 PM
Completed 2 flights in one day. Flew from Ottawa, Ont, CA to Toronto, Ontario, CA (YOW to YYZ) and return the same day, with an 8 hour break in between.
I didn't get a good nights sleep the night before, and was therefore not as good as I hoped to be. I was extremely tired, as I woke up about 15 times during the night. Up til that night I had been sleeping fine, and I even took a sleeping pill to help (non-prescrip) but it only served to make me dopey, not sleepy! LOL
When my dh and I arrived at the terminal I had forced myself to eat a bagel and banana, so I wouldn't feel sick, and was pretty tense. On a scale of on to 10, (10 being not getting on the plane) I was about a 4. That's still not bad, cause the last time I flew I was at least an 8! I had prepared pretty much, but the thing I hadn't prepared for was the *waiting* at the airport. I could deal with all the rest of it, but having to wait for an hour before the flight (when tired) was bad. I reminded myself that this is the worst I would feel, but I really didn't want to be feeling that bad anyway!
My dear sweet hubby snuck off to the gate and asked the Westjet staff if I could meet the pilot. They brought the First Officer off the plane to meet me. He was kind, and re-assuring, and confident. He boarded us right then and there, ahead of everyone else. He invited me to the cockpit to check it out (I told him I've flown in Cessna's) and showed me around. Came and checked up on me in my seat, before we left, made sure the F/A's knew about my situation, and came and checked up on us *after* the flight was over. What can I say, I'm thoroughly impressed! The flight itself was not to bad, I stayed at a 2 or 3 out of 10 for most of it, and held my dh's arm for all of it ! LOL (40 minute flights). Didn't watch TV, or read, or do anything I brought, but did watch the little screen that showed altitude and airspeed and found that comforting, as I've been watching the flights on Flightaware and could see everything was *normal*.
The Cessna flying helped tremendously. I couldn't watch the takeoff (height thing) but closed my eyes and it felt *exactly* the same as flying in a small plane, which re-assured me that all these movements are *normal* and fine. Takeoff was bit bumpy (cross wind takeoff) til about 3000 feet, but I get that in the Cessna too, although the bumps seem *much* bigger in a smaller plane! LOL
Cruise was smooth, I was sitting in row 3, and never even heard (or felt) the gear come up. Dh joked with me saying we must have left it down for such a short flight. Did I mention that dh is like a kid in the candy store? He *loves* to fly, and everything about it, but has been pretty much grounded for 25 years because of me. Banking felt normal, again because of the Cessna, and landing was good. Seemed to take the pilot a long time to actually "touch down" but that's probably normal, I just don't know it.
I was *thrilled* to be in another city, with my dh, and happy that he finally got a chance to fly again. He jokingly said if I didn't go he was just gonna go without me. I told him "Good, I want you to." and later told him that I had the boarding passes for the return trip, in my purse, so if he left without me and my purse he might find it kind of hard to come home...LOL
We had alot of fun in the city, visited a friend and had a steak dinner. They were all proud of me.
I however felt disappointed that I didn't do better, but realized it was probably because I was exhausted. Being tired just makes everything worse.
The return flight was at night, and that made me more apprehensive. (I was probably a 4/10 waiting for the flight) Westjet booked the whole first row for 6'7" dh and scaredy cat me. They wouldn't put me in a "emergency exit" seat (aisle, row 1) but gave me the window, dh the aisle and pretty much guaranteed us no one would want to sit between us! LOL We switched to dh window and me middle, (holding his arm hostage again) right before we left. No one else attempted to sit in our row.
Again dh asked for me to meet the pilot, and again they brought him to me in the waiting area. He invited me to see the cockpit, and watch the pre-flight, which I did. He showed me the TCAS system (turned it on and everything) and we talked about how far aviation had come in so short a time. I stayed up there until they f/a's were closing the overheads and pretty much ready to go. Jumped in my seat, watched the pre-flight instructions from the f/a's and was ready to go. I was about a 3/10 during takeoff, because Toronto is probably the busiest airport in the whole country, and it was night. It actually turned out to be the best flight of the two for turb. There was *none*. Climbed out very smoothly, and dh told me to take a look at the lights over the city when we hit about 2000 feet or so. It was *amazing*, but I forgot to keep my camera out, so no pics. I quickly went to 2/10 and mostly a 1/10 for most of the climb and cruise.
The sky was clear and the moon was nearly full so we got to see the moon shining over Lake Ontario, and it was beautiful. I've never seen a sight like that. Landing was good, we saw lights at every city and town along the way and it's a totally different kind of experience than flying during the day. Next time I'm going to sit on the left hand side of the plane however, so I can see the airport when we are arriving at our destination. I'd like to see it all lit up from the air. I was probably a 2/10 during final descent and landing.
We landed uneventfully, although a bit harder than the first flight according to dh, but the oxygen masks didn't pop down, so it couldn't have been too hard! LOL I was however very glad to be home after such a stressful day. I've decided I must live a pretty good life, cause I'm not used to dealing with stress for very long stretches!
I've realized that I'm going to have to *really* work on the anticipatory anxiety, as that was clearly the worst of the whole thing. I never bolted, and kept my butt on the plane no matter what (pride! LOL) so I consider it a victory, and have beaten the monster back into the closet, but need to work on keeping the door shut and locked now.
Thankyou all, without the internet resources I *never* would have made it! I did *both* flights without feeling like I was going to throw up, which is a real victory for me!
I wrote Westjet and thanked them for their service, I was so pleased. They deserve some credit too. The crew's confidence, and enthusiasm for flight is contagious and I would highly recommend *everyone* who is afraid to fly meet the pilots. It truly does help.
I didn't get a good nights sleep the night before, and was therefore not as good as I hoped to be. I was extremely tired, as I woke up about 15 times during the night. Up til that night I had been sleeping fine, and I even took a sleeping pill to help (non-prescrip) but it only served to make me dopey, not sleepy! LOL
When my dh and I arrived at the terminal I had forced myself to eat a bagel and banana, so I wouldn't feel sick, and was pretty tense. On a scale of on to 10, (10 being not getting on the plane) I was about a 4. That's still not bad, cause the last time I flew I was at least an 8! I had prepared pretty much, but the thing I hadn't prepared for was the *waiting* at the airport. I could deal with all the rest of it, but having to wait for an hour before the flight (when tired) was bad. I reminded myself that this is the worst I would feel, but I really didn't want to be feeling that bad anyway!
My dear sweet hubby snuck off to the gate and asked the Westjet staff if I could meet the pilot. They brought the First Officer off the plane to meet me. He was kind, and re-assuring, and confident. He boarded us right then and there, ahead of everyone else. He invited me to the cockpit to check it out (I told him I've flown in Cessna's) and showed me around. Came and checked up on me in my seat, before we left, made sure the F/A's knew about my situation, and came and checked up on us *after* the flight was over. What can I say, I'm thoroughly impressed! The flight itself was not to bad, I stayed at a 2 or 3 out of 10 for most of it, and held my dh's arm for all of it ! LOL (40 minute flights). Didn't watch TV, or read, or do anything I brought, but did watch the little screen that showed altitude and airspeed and found that comforting, as I've been watching the flights on Flightaware and could see everything was *normal*.
The Cessna flying helped tremendously. I couldn't watch the takeoff (height thing) but closed my eyes and it felt *exactly* the same as flying in a small plane, which re-assured me that all these movements are *normal* and fine. Takeoff was bit bumpy (cross wind takeoff) til about 3000 feet, but I get that in the Cessna too, although the bumps seem *much* bigger in a smaller plane! LOL
Cruise was smooth, I was sitting in row 3, and never even heard (or felt) the gear come up. Dh joked with me saying we must have left it down for such a short flight. Did I mention that dh is like a kid in the candy store? He *loves* to fly, and everything about it, but has been pretty much grounded for 25 years because of me. Banking felt normal, again because of the Cessna, and landing was good. Seemed to take the pilot a long time to actually "touch down" but that's probably normal, I just don't know it.
I was *thrilled* to be in another city, with my dh, and happy that he finally got a chance to fly again. He jokingly said if I didn't go he was just gonna go without me. I told him "Good, I want you to." and later told him that I had the boarding passes for the return trip, in my purse, so if he left without me and my purse he might find it kind of hard to come home...LOL
We had alot of fun in the city, visited a friend and had a steak dinner. They were all proud of me.
I however felt disappointed that I didn't do better, but realized it was probably because I was exhausted. Being tired just makes everything worse.
The return flight was at night, and that made me more apprehensive. (I was probably a 4/10 waiting for the flight) Westjet booked the whole first row for 6'7" dh and scaredy cat me. They wouldn't put me in a "emergency exit" seat (aisle, row 1) but gave me the window, dh the aisle and pretty much guaranteed us no one would want to sit between us! LOL We switched to dh window and me middle, (holding his arm hostage again) right before we left. No one else attempted to sit in our row.
Again dh asked for me to meet the pilot, and again they brought him to me in the waiting area. He invited me to see the cockpit, and watch the pre-flight, which I did. He showed me the TCAS system (turned it on and everything) and we talked about how far aviation had come in so short a time. I stayed up there until they f/a's were closing the overheads and pretty much ready to go. Jumped in my seat, watched the pre-flight instructions from the f/a's and was ready to go. I was about a 3/10 during takeoff, because Toronto is probably the busiest airport in the whole country, and it was night. It actually turned out to be the best flight of the two for turb. There was *none*. Climbed out very smoothly, and dh told me to take a look at the lights over the city when we hit about 2000 feet or so. It was *amazing*, but I forgot to keep my camera out, so no pics. I quickly went to 2/10 and mostly a 1/10 for most of the climb and cruise.
The sky was clear and the moon was nearly full so we got to see the moon shining over Lake Ontario, and it was beautiful. I've never seen a sight like that. Landing was good, we saw lights at every city and town along the way and it's a totally different kind of experience than flying during the day. Next time I'm going to sit on the left hand side of the plane however, so I can see the airport when we are arriving at our destination. I'd like to see it all lit up from the air. I was probably a 2/10 during final descent and landing.
We landed uneventfully, although a bit harder than the first flight according to dh, but the oxygen masks didn't pop down, so it couldn't have been too hard! LOL I was however very glad to be home after such a stressful day. I've decided I must live a pretty good life, cause I'm not used to dealing with stress for very long stretches!
I've realized that I'm going to have to *really* work on the anticipatory anxiety, as that was clearly the worst of the whole thing. I never bolted, and kept my butt on the plane no matter what (pride! LOL) so I consider it a victory, and have beaten the monster back into the closet, but need to work on keeping the door shut and locked now.
Thankyou all, without the internet resources I *never* would have made it! I did *both* flights without feeling like I was going to throw up, which is a real victory for me!
I wrote Westjet and thanked them for their service, I was so pleased. They deserve some credit too. The crew's confidence, and enthusiasm for flight is contagious and I would highly recommend *everyone* who is afraid to fly meet the pilots. It truly does help.