Silverwing
04-06-2009, 03:12 PM
I did it! Whoo, what a great feeling.
The flight out happened on the 22nd of March and was tracked by my fiance as well as some lovely people here. Virgin Atlantic and in particular the pilots, were wonderful. I was allowed to meet all the pilots on the flight out and was even sat in the cockpit and shown what all the different systems were. I had taken some of my pills because I'd gotten myself in a bit of a pickle when I first reached the airport and was calming down by the minute. I got to my seat and made it my own by getting comfy and arranging everything in my hand bag so it was easy to reach.
My boss held my hand during takeoff, which was really smooth. The whole plane shuddered just after we left the ground which made me squeak but having asked the near by hostess I was told is was very normal and was just a bit of turbulance.
Once I was up in the air my heart rate finally started to decrease. I normally cry during takeoff but I was dry eyed and thankfully just a little shakey once we had leveled off. Understanding how the plane flew made the whole thing a lot less of an enigma so if you hate take off's as much as I do, go read up on how the plane works. It is super helpful.
For the first hour I tuned into virgins fear of flying channel which helped me calm down further. After that first hour I was starting to get bored. I couldn't watch a whole movie because my concentration was so scatty. Instead I watched a lot of tv shows that virgin had available which helped pass the time. My DS was also very helpful as a time sucker.
One of the pilots came back to see me about an hour before landing to tell me that it was likely to be a bit bumpy because of the wind but that the plane could take it easily and the pilot I'd met earlier was very good at landing in windy conditions. This made me feel so good. The landing itself was not actually too bad. I even felt pretty safe as we got closer to the ground, realising I was in a beast of a plane and it would take a lot to make something go wrong.
My week in San Francisco was ace and I would definately go again if I got the chance. My flight home came around far too quickly.
The flight back was a little different. Security in the States meant I wasn't allowed to see the pilot and I was branded a 'risk' by the woman at the gate. Telling a crying, shakey passenger that they might be dragged off the plane if they don't calm down...doesn't calm them down. Anyway, half a pizza later and a large gulp of water and I was steady enough to board the plane. The flight crew were lovely and made me feel at home. Take off was smooth although there was a lot of turning after we got in the air. The stewardess had pre warned me though so I was not too panicy.
My concentration levels were much better on the way home so I was able to watch a couple of movies all the way though which passed the time super fast. About half way through the flight an announcement came over our head phones that if we looked out the left of the plane, you could see the northern lights. At first a load of passengers rushed to the left hand side of the plane and I got scared that the plane would tip over. This never happened, in fact the plane stayed perfectly straight. After people had settled again I went and had a look for myself. WOW. It was so beautiful and I can't believe I got the chance to see them.
There was a bit of turbulance during both journeys but nothing to get worried about. I read in one thread here that someone just said to themselves 'it is comfort not saftey' during bumpy bits and I did the same. It was a really good way of getting through it.
Landing was a bit hairy coming into London. We were put in a holding pattern during our descent which was pretty smooth but the wings were constantly going up and down as we made our final approach which freaked me out a little bit. Once I was down I let out my breath and did a little jig in my seat. I was so proud that I'd flown both ways without a major panic attack. I don't know how much of that is due to the pills I was given, although I'm told I was given a very low dose, but none the less I am so glad that I did it. My new memory of flying is one of general calm and marvel at how silly I was being when I freaked out on my previous flights all those years ago.
Thank you so much to everyone here. If I hadn't found this forum I would have struggled and possibly not gone at all to San Francisco and missed out on one of the best adventures I've had in a long time. :grouphug:
The flight out happened on the 22nd of March and was tracked by my fiance as well as some lovely people here. Virgin Atlantic and in particular the pilots, were wonderful. I was allowed to meet all the pilots on the flight out and was even sat in the cockpit and shown what all the different systems were. I had taken some of my pills because I'd gotten myself in a bit of a pickle when I first reached the airport and was calming down by the minute. I got to my seat and made it my own by getting comfy and arranging everything in my hand bag so it was easy to reach.
My boss held my hand during takeoff, which was really smooth. The whole plane shuddered just after we left the ground which made me squeak but having asked the near by hostess I was told is was very normal and was just a bit of turbulance.
Once I was up in the air my heart rate finally started to decrease. I normally cry during takeoff but I was dry eyed and thankfully just a little shakey once we had leveled off. Understanding how the plane flew made the whole thing a lot less of an enigma so if you hate take off's as much as I do, go read up on how the plane works. It is super helpful.
For the first hour I tuned into virgins fear of flying channel which helped me calm down further. After that first hour I was starting to get bored. I couldn't watch a whole movie because my concentration was so scatty. Instead I watched a lot of tv shows that virgin had available which helped pass the time. My DS was also very helpful as a time sucker.
One of the pilots came back to see me about an hour before landing to tell me that it was likely to be a bit bumpy because of the wind but that the plane could take it easily and the pilot I'd met earlier was very good at landing in windy conditions. This made me feel so good. The landing itself was not actually too bad. I even felt pretty safe as we got closer to the ground, realising I was in a beast of a plane and it would take a lot to make something go wrong.
My week in San Francisco was ace and I would definately go again if I got the chance. My flight home came around far too quickly.
The flight back was a little different. Security in the States meant I wasn't allowed to see the pilot and I was branded a 'risk' by the woman at the gate. Telling a crying, shakey passenger that they might be dragged off the plane if they don't calm down...doesn't calm them down. Anyway, half a pizza later and a large gulp of water and I was steady enough to board the plane. The flight crew were lovely and made me feel at home. Take off was smooth although there was a lot of turning after we got in the air. The stewardess had pre warned me though so I was not too panicy.
My concentration levels were much better on the way home so I was able to watch a couple of movies all the way though which passed the time super fast. About half way through the flight an announcement came over our head phones that if we looked out the left of the plane, you could see the northern lights. At first a load of passengers rushed to the left hand side of the plane and I got scared that the plane would tip over. This never happened, in fact the plane stayed perfectly straight. After people had settled again I went and had a look for myself. WOW. It was so beautiful and I can't believe I got the chance to see them.
There was a bit of turbulance during both journeys but nothing to get worried about. I read in one thread here that someone just said to themselves 'it is comfort not saftey' during bumpy bits and I did the same. It was a really good way of getting through it.
Landing was a bit hairy coming into London. We were put in a holding pattern during our descent which was pretty smooth but the wings were constantly going up and down as we made our final approach which freaked me out a little bit. Once I was down I let out my breath and did a little jig in my seat. I was so proud that I'd flown both ways without a major panic attack. I don't know how much of that is due to the pills I was given, although I'm told I was given a very low dose, but none the less I am so glad that I did it. My new memory of flying is one of general calm and marvel at how silly I was being when I freaked out on my previous flights all those years ago.
Thank you so much to everyone here. If I hadn't found this forum I would have struggled and possibly not gone at all to San Francisco and missed out on one of the best adventures I've had in a long time. :grouphug: