Hi All,
I am looking for a broader perspective. I have a friend who is flying to Orlando with her family for vacation. She told me her husband and son might be a bit nervous about flying. I offered my (pilot) advice of ways I thought might help, but I figured it would be helpful to hear it from frequent flyers also. There have got to be techniques / thoughts that I've never thought of that will help make the experience more enjoyable for them.

What else has anyone told nervous friends/family about flying? Or, if you happen to be a bit nervous, what works for you?

Is there anything I can answer from the pilot perspective to help you out?

Thank you all so much!

Cap'n Dan

I think the best method is anti-anxiety medication. Short acting benzodiazeipines have a duration tailored to most domestic flight lengths. It reduces nervousness and may allow them to sleep. It does not involve esoteric methodologies about visualization or mantras, it does not provide logical--yet--completely--ignored statistics. They are simple to get and simple to use, just don't take them with alcohol.

Flying, with a few FT'er exceptions, is not something many have to do to often, so is not worth therapy. If you end up being a weekly FF'er, the fear will get less on it's own until flying is like getting on a city bus.

That's actually a good way to think of it - I have a friend who hates flying, but she says she just convinces herself that "It's just a bus with wings."

I would let them know that flying is the safest form of transportation in the world. You're likely about 10,000 to 1 flying to be killed in a car accident.

If they don't want to take anti-anxiety meds for the flight, they can try Dramamine (not the less drowsy version) or Benadryl. That should help them sleep through the flight.

^

I don't think that there is anything you can say to someone who has a fear of flying that is going to make any difference. Statistics and such are meaningless to someone who has this particular fear.

I think that there is a place for anti-anxiety meds and this is one of those times where I would probably advise it. (I am NOT a doctor, btw, just someone who has an opinion )

My DW thought she was scared to fly, until she rode up front.

Turns out she wasn't scared to fly, but claustrophobic. Of course the free booze up front might have helped.

+1^.. methods such as booze, closing eyes, meds, ear plugs, praying, etc.. whatever works.

I have graduated from terrified to mildy nervous flyer. Do the Dramamine for motion sickness but it also has a mild calming effect if I take it early enough.

I have found Logic Puzzles, cheap magazine style purchased everywhere, are great. They take so much concentration you forget where you are. During take-off I have to stop and pray, just get right back to the puzzle and next thing you know you are landing. I also write the time started at the top and this helps when you are delayed or doing circles, time management to when you can get off.

I used to have a terrible fear of flying, now virtually non-existent. There are a lot of strategies I used, but the most helpful was listening to music. I started with CDs, then MP3 CDs, then a big MP3 player, and now my second iPod. An iPod and a pair of noise-canceling headphones help enormously. The headphones help isolate you from sounds of the flight, and the music helps transport your mind somewhere else while your body is transported by the plane. Anti-anxiety medicine is good, though I always (and, actually, still) favor a stiff drink or two. I'd also recommend window seats. Flying results in a lot of unusual accelerations and decelerations that are unfamiliar to the body -- looking out the window and being able to orient yourself to the horizon makes it much easier for the mind to reconcile the strange sensations with what the plane is doing.

I'm still a bit of a nervous flyer and really hate turbulence. So when things get bumpy I will look around at the other passengers and the flight attendants. Seeing other people looking calm and relaxed helps to settle me down.

That reminds me of another tactic I used to use during my fearful flying days: Before the flight, I'd look into the cockpit and say, "hi," to the pilots. I'd always ask them how the ride would be. Regardless of what they said, knowing they were aware of flight conditions always made me feel a little less nervous.

Breathe deeply and imagine sunny beaches.. that or get knocked out with sleeping pills.. it all helps.

For the friend I would say, buy them a flying lesson.

My dad was scared of flying, but had to go to SFO for a conference (this was from MAN, so a pretty LH for a first flight). So my mum bought him a 1 hr flying lesson....

...30 years on and he is an airline pilot on 737, 757, 767, A319 and A320

So it certainly cured his fear of flying!

I too fall into the category of previously scared/horrified flyer to one that is mildly nervous, but can have it escalate with turbulence.

I think just the fact that I have flown more and more as I got older brought forth familiarity, which helps.

During the bad years, I tried a few meds and not only did they not knock me out they made me feel odd and the effects seemed to linger. So, for a few years I took NyQuil. It also did not knock me out but it seemed to subdue me for a few hours. Definitely stopped the heart palpatations I'd get as we were sitting on the tarmac waiting to take off. And, at least for me, it seemed to wear off within a few hours. The additional bonus was that it helped my sinuses, which can act up when confined in an airplane too long.

I still always take a couple of packets of nyquil with me on flights, but often don't use.