Turbulence Anxiety

Thanks Everyone! Its unamous I need to just deal with it and get used
to it... but keep the edge and the importance of attention to procedures
and Ill be ok! (Doug quit cryin' haha)

I look forward to being a part of the community and will continue to
follow along in the NG to learn more each day.

Take care!

P.S. Vote Republican!
(sorry had to do it)




"Doug" wrote in message
...
Hey all..

New pilot with about 15 hours, excellent instructor...141 school and
top quality aircraft....I have complete faith in my instruction and
aircraft and a sincere lifeong desire to learn to fly.

However....Turbulence locks me up!

I can 'play' pilot on MS Sim 2004 in any weather, condition or
emergency and meet the requirements for all the things I have learned
so far, but
the
moment I'm in the air and start feeling the bumps everything gets
thrown off and in my mind I "get behind" and feel like im playing
catch-up with simple manuvers thus making it a frighting experience.
Instructor says besides the death grip on the wheel I do fine but in
the melon things are chaotic. Put me in 'clear air' and I do well
and am in full command of
all
my responsibilities and enjoy the time in the sky.

My Instructor continues to find ways to help me and I want to punch
myself in the face for being such a punk but I wanted to ask if
anyone had any tips on how they may have gotten over the anxiety?

I tell my wife they are just speed bumps, she uses that and it helps her when
we are flying.

but turbulence is something that you will eventually get used to, go on a long
cross country during the afternoon when the thermals are kicking up and just
keep flying untill your comfortable.


Doug wrote:

Hey all..

New pilot with about 15 hours, excellent instructor...141 school and top
quality aircraft....I have complete faith in my instruction and aircraft
and a sincere lifeong desire to learn to fly.

However....Turbulence locks me up!

I can 'play' pilot on MS Sim 2004 in any weather, condition or emergency
and meet the requirements for all the things I have learned so far, but the
moment I'm in the air and start feeling the bumps everything gets thrown
off and in my mind I "get behind" and feel like im playing catch-up with
simple manuvers thus making it a frighting experience. Instructor says
besides the death grip on the wheel I do fine but in the melon things are
chaotic. Put me in 'clear air' and I do well and am in full command of all
my responsibilities and enjoy the time in the sky.

My Instructor continues to find ways to help me and I want to punch myself
in the face for being such a punk but I wanted to ask if anyone had any
tips on how they may have gotten over the anxiety?

I can tell you that when I started flying I wasn't very fond of
turbulence either. What made it even worse was the fact that I
started in a very small plane (Micro-light) in the summer in FL and we
had to really watch on climb outs especially if we had been flying for
very long or the engine temps would shoot through the roof so we were
stuck trying to cool the engine at very low altitudes so we could
climb some more to get to cooler temps. I think I added quite a few
new finger grips to the stick.

Since then I have bought my own experimental and started doing a lot
more afternoon flying if for no other reason to help me get used to
the "Speed Bumps". (Most of my flight training was done during the
winter so I had very smooth air almost all the time.) I can tell you
that it has helped a lot, I have gotten to the point that turbulence
doesn't bother me no where near as much now. I have even noticed that
rather than putting new finger grips in the stick now I have quite a
loose comfortable grip on it. I've also learned to ride it out and go
with it more rather than fight the whole time to keep the wings
perfectly level.

Hope this helps some.

Gary


On Thu, 10 Jun 2004 05:09:14 GMT, Doug wrote:

Hey all..

New pilot with about 15 hours, excellent instructor...141 school and top
quality aircraft....I have complete faith in my instruction and aircraft
and a sincere lifeong desire to learn to fly.

However....Turbulence locks me up!

I can 'play' pilot on MS Sim 2004 in any weather, condition or emergency
and meet the requirements for all the things I have learned so far, but the
moment I'm in the air and start feeling the bumps everything gets thrown
off and in my mind I "get behind" and feel like im playing catch-up with
simple manuvers thus making it a frighting experience. Instructor says
besides the death grip on the wheel I do fine but in the melon things are
chaotic. Put me in 'clear air' and I do well and am in full command of all
my responsibilities and enjoy the time in the sky.

My Instructor continues to find ways to help me and I want to punch myself
in the face for being such a punk but I wanted to ask if anyone had any
tips on how they may have gotten over the anxiety?

"Jeff" wrote in message
...
I tell my wife they are just speed bumps, she uses that and it helps her
when
we are flying.

We told the kids (when they were little) that it was "air road construction
potholes" g

That was something they could relate to, and never had a problem after that.
--
Jim in NC


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"HECTOP" wrote in message
...
I started my training in winter and it all went fine till I went to
Arizona
in April and got my first taste of thermal turbulence.

I learnt in Florida. Similar I guess. Fun when trying to fly accurately
under the hood, keeping an exact altitude and heading.

now flying even
through some serious shaking is like wrestling with an old buddy, more
like
a fun challenge.

Mmm, I thought that until I did a formation flying course last
weekend! Turbulence takes on a whole new meaning when
you're trying to hold 10ft from another plane.

I say you'll get used to it too, it's just human nature to
get defensive when the body position in space is upset, and the only way
to
overcome it is with training and time.

I need more formation training!

Paul

Why is turbulence so distressful and a big deal for a lot of people. Even my
instructor has asked me on a few occasions whether I was ok or not with
turbulence. I just looked at her puzzled like she was expecting it to affect
me in some way. Is it supposed to bother me? I have never given it a second
thought, really. However, people talk about it here so much is it supposed
to be a big deal? So what's up with it?

Richard

"Morgans" wrote in message
...

"Jeff" wrote in message
...
I tell my wife they are just speed bumps, she uses that and it helps her
when
we are flying.

We told the kids (when they were little) that it was "air road
construction
potholes" g

That was something they could relate to, and never had a problem after
that.
--
Jim in NC


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.701 / Virus Database: 458 - Release Date: 6/8/2004

"I'd rather be flying" wrote in message
ogers.com...
Why is turbulence so distressful and a big deal for a lot of people. [...]
Is it supposed to bother me? I have never given it a second
thought, really. However, people talk about it here so much is it supposed
to be a big deal? So what's up with it?

Turbulence doesn't bother you? Well, bully for you. Not everyone else is
comfortable bouncing around, and passengers in particular often really don't
like it. For most of my passengers, it's partly that they are simply not in
control, and partly a primitive emotional response that tells them that the
plane will fall apart soon. Of course, each individual is different.

Frankly, I pity you. Since you have no personal experience with the
discomfort that turbulence causes, you will have no empathy for your
passengers in turbulent conditions. It will be that much harder for you to
put your passengers at ease, and to remember to take steps to avoid
conditions they won't like in the first place.

Pete

I do notice turbulence, but it doesn't bother me or make me ill. You got me
wrong, though.... You see, I know it bothers people a lot, I just didn't
know why. I was guessing that it is because it makes people ill or it makes
them think something will happen to the plane. As far as passengers are
concerned, I will always be aware they may not have the ease of dealing with
turbulence that I do.

Richard

"Peter Duniho" wrote in message
...
"I'd rather be flying" wrote in message
ogers.com...
Why is turbulence so distressful and a big deal for a lot of people.
[...]
Is it supposed to bother me? I have never given it a second
thought, really. However, people talk about it here so much is it
supposed
to be a big deal? So what's up with it?

Turbulence doesn't bother you? Well, bully for you. Not everyone else is
comfortable bouncing around, and passengers in particular often really
don't
like it. For most of my passengers, it's partly that they are simply not
in
control, and partly a primitive emotional response that tells them that
the
plane will fall apart soon. Of course, each individual is different.

Frankly, I pity you. Since you have no personal experience with the
discomfort that turbulence causes, you will have no empathy for your
passengers in turbulent conditions. It will be that much harder for you
to
put your passengers at ease, and to remember to take steps to avoid
conditions they won't like in the first place.

Pete

I do notice turbulence, but it doesn't bother me or make me ill.

You should fly in the Owens Valley...I've been flipped upside down and have had
the controls ripped out of my hands. Makes for some fun days.




-John
*You are nothing until you have flown a Douglas, Lockheed, Grumman or North
American*

In article , Doug wrote:

However....Turbulence locks me up!

My Highly Significant Other is a nervous passenger, but she's a lot
more relaxed about it, after I explained that the turbulence is just
like potholes in th road. It's partly state of mind. That's why
practice helps.

My Instructor continues to find ways to help me and I want to punch myself
in the face for being such a punk but I wanted to ask if anyone had any
tips on how they may have gotten over the anxiety?

Start by not beating yourelf up. It's not that uncommon.


Morris