I am in The Killing Zone

At 75 hours I feel like crap in fact and the more I fly the more I see
things or think about things or consider things that I never thought about
before.

You have, perhaps, put your finger on a phenomenon that I have heretofore
never understood: The "Former Pilot."

We've all met them. He's the guy at the party who says he has his ticket,
but "hasn't flown in ten years." Or he's the guy who "made it to solo, but
quit" due to -fill in the blank- reasons.

Perhaps all of these folks simply hit a wall of failing self-confidence such
as you're describing, and quietly decided to hang it up?

Lately Mary has been going through a period of what I call "increased
sensitivity" to flying. She's loudly voicing her displeasure with
turbulence, and -- when acting as PIC -- rapidly over-corrects against
bumps. This, of course, induces even MORE "turbulence," which makes her
MORE tense, and soon she's fighting the plane rather than flying it. And
having a crappy time doing it.

She passed through a similar period at around 200 hours, if I recall
correctly. (She has around 400 hours now.) She slowly worked her way
through it last time, working her way back into a comfort zone, and I expect
she'll be fine again this time, too.

Would she have quit flying at 200 hours, without me there to act as a
steadying influence?

I don't know.

All I can say is "Hang in there" -- cuz it gets better over time.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"