Fear of flying

[bless 'em all]

On a more serious note.

Don't worry suity. Spoilers can be, and are, used in this way on approach as an assist for yaw control.

HTH

You're statistically very unlikely to die horribly in a twisted wreak of burning metal that's fallen from the sky. So keep on flying buddy!!

[nomadd]

It's the claustrophobia that gets me. I'd be fine with plummeting to my death as long as I could open the door and get out.

This^

Which is why I don't fly. *

(* Although I did my pilot's license years ago and was fine with that. Weird.)

[Peoplesoft bloke]

I used to loathe flying - had a real bad patch where I refused to do it at all - no back to normal, no real idea why. I don't like the claustrophobia and the experience usually stinks, but over the years, things are deffo getting safer. When I first flew in a passenger jet, you were still allowed to smoke and they regularly flew into stormy weather knowingly - now they don't allow either (storms only when no option), plus the technology has improved beyond all measure. People used to sympathise and say they hated taking off and landing too - but I never have, I love both as something interesting is happening - it's the boring bit in the middle I don't like.

[Lockhouse]

A family friend who was a 747 pilot always said that the first 30 seconds were the worst for pilots as you didn't have enough altitude to correct if anything went seriously wrong. He used to say once you were at altitude everything was fine, as the one thing you knew for sure was one way or another, you'd be coming down again....

[suityou01]

A family friend who was a 747 pilot always said that the first 30 seconds were the worst for pilots as you didn't have enough altitude to correct if anything went seriously wrong. He used to say once you were at altitude everything was fine, as the one thing you knew for sure was one way or another, you'd be coming down again....

Is this 30s from V2, or from a rolling start? Is it less for an A320?

[AtW]

A family friend who was a 747 pilot always said that the first 30 seconds were the worst for pilots

If it's the worst (and I believe it) just WTF pilots bank real hard soon after take off at Heathrow?!?!

[stek]

If it's the worst (and I believe it) just WTF pilots bank real hard soon after take off at Heathrow?!?!

They do that too at Dublin if taking off Eastwards off the main runway, plane still climbing and it's either all sky out the window or all grass...

Why do they do that? Is it keep the wear on the runway even? Even at Leeds Bradford they sometimes land from Bradford side rather than the big loop over South Leeds and over Bramley...

[doodab]

If it's the worst (and I believe it) just WTF pilots bank real hard soon after take off at Heathrow?!?!

Because the runway isn't pointing at your destination.

[doodab]

They do that too at Dublin if taking off Eastwards off the main runway, plane still climbing and it's either all sky out the window or all grass...

Why do they do that? Is it keep the wear on the runway even? Even at Leeds Bradford they sometimes land from Bradford side rather than the big loop over South Leeds and over Bramley...

Runways are generally oriented so that planes take off and land into the wind as this lowers the landing speed relative to the ground. Obviously the wind does change direction sometimes and when it blows the other way, they land the other way.

[Old Hack]

It's not flying to Luton that would every worry me, it would be landing in the tulip tip

I used to be scared of flying, scared poop less, but I guess age and flying so much, kind of immunizes you from it. Unless I have driven to an airport, I normally drink if I fly, basically as I might as well in a 'this could be the last one', morose kind of way.

I don't think you ever shake a fear of flying, you just learn to deal with it. Anyway, I don't think it's flying that scares me, it's crashing.