So I decided to fly..

[dave]

Hi.. I just registered here. Here's the story:

I flew for the first time in 8th grade, and I've only flown twice since then (I'm 22 now). I don't remember being afraid the first time, but it seems like every time since then I've been more and more nervous.

I have a flight coming up next weekend and it's really been bothering me. I considered not going on the trip, but decided to do it, and as it gets closer I'm less comfortable with the idea. This will be the first time I've flown without any family members, and in addition to flight-related stuff, I'm just plain nervous about going to a strange city and going through the airport "process" alone for the first time.

No part of the actual flying process by itself terrifies me. But I'm mildly afraid of heights, mildly claustrophobic, less than comfortable having no control over anything up in the air, and of course, pesky little thoughts of crashing and terrorism creep into my head even though I know they shouldn't. None of these things alone would do it, but I feel like they all add up into a giant ball of anxiety.

So.. I'm looking for some reassurance. I know some people have it worse than me. Flying, or thinking about flying, has never made me physically ill. I don't need a therapist. I would just like to not be so dang nervous.

I'm a very logical person, so if someone has a resource that can just pile on some reassuring stats about how safe it is to fly, that might do the trick. Any other thoughts or suggestions, obviously, would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[Barb-SAN]

I'm a very logical person, so if someone has a resource that can just pile on some reassuring stats about how safe it is to fly, that might do the trick. Any other thoughts or suggestions, obviously, would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Dave, and :welcome2:

I'm a big fan of FlightAware, a flight tracking website, linked here. http://flightaware.com/ It can be reassuring to go to that website and look up your particular flight, and then look up its flight history. If you register on the site (free), you can see the history for the past four months. It can be interesting to look at the route that the plane flew (not always exactly the same, as it can vary depending on the weather and the jet stream). You can even look at the "track log" and see what altitude the plane was flying for each minute of the flight.
Current statistics on that website:

CurrentlyTracking 1,637 airborne aircraft with 83,806,963 total flights in the database.
FlightAware has tracked 47,357 arrivals in the last 24 hours.

Please feel free to browse the forums and read some of the threads too, and I'm sure there will be other members along soon to share their tips. It sounds like what you are describing is the kind of nervousness I get when doing something unfamiliar for the first time. It gets more comfortable when the whole process becomes more routine. :thumbsup:

[dave]

Thanks. That is definitely helpful.

I've been reading a lot of these different posts also. Lots of them are helping me out.

[AndyR]

Hey Dave, we are all very logical people and I think that's what causes some of the concern. Most people simply discard any fear with the old "if it's my time" or "flying is safer than driving" adage. I think the fact that we are logical and analytical adds to the problem. We analyze everything that can go wrong and we figure that if there is even one fatality, then why not us. This is what I think anyway. For me, it's accepting that risk and going on with the flight.

I also agree with you that the whole airport process is part of the problem. I always felt that if I could drive to the tarmac and get on a private jet, I'd be just fine. I would suggest, if you have time, to go to the airport and do some test runs. Park, go in and get a feel for the surroundings. If that isn't possible, watch some videos on youtube.This will help you get comfortable with the surroundings. That's what I do. Good Luck.

[CAflyer]

You know the first time I was on a plane was in 8th grade too and at that time I wasn't scared at all and when I think back to those flights ( I took 4 flights back and forth to and from the east coast) they were kind of scary. I think because I was still young I trusted that "the grown ups" knew what they were doing. I really think as you get older you get more worried because you have to trust in yourself. My first flight that really scared me was my first flight alone and I was around 21, after that flight I was scared. It was a bumpy flight and I was all alone so I think that made me really question the safty of things. Since that flight I have had nothing but great flights but I always think something will go wrong. Coming on here last year before my east coast trip really helped and I continue to stay on the board because I find reading posts and writing some lets me get stuff off my mind. I noticed watching videos of take offs and landings helped a lot as well as pre tracking my exact flight.

[Kimmar]

Yep, I flew in 8th grade too, (not my first time though) and the plane we were flying did *three* aborted takeoff rolls, went back to fix a technical problem, and *then* tookoff into the wild blue yonder...

Was I worried? Noooooo. I was busy trying to impress a boy by rolling an orange *up* the aisle during takeoff...:D

That was a big plane too, the biggest I've ever been on, an L1011.

Then there was the time my family (4 kids) flew across country with a bad case of the stomach flu...Oy vay!!