Are You Relaxed

[cblinton@blueyonder.]

After 18 months since my forced landing on the beach I cant help but still feel slightly NOT! Relaxed whilst airbourne.

Its almost like I am waiting for that BANG from the front end to happen any moment and cant really relax!

Just thought I would test the water and see if anyone else out there feels the same and if it ever goes away?

Cheers
CBL:ok:

[Circuit Basher]

Chris - I wouldn't say 'relaxed', but am struggling to find a word for it.

I'm trying to stay alert in case anything goes wrong, but not be so tense that all the control movements are jerky and mechanical.

I am definitely not relaxed when coasting out over a large expanse of water! :)

I think after your experience, you'll be expecting it all to go quiet up front and for oil-induced IMC at any minute. Just keep going and hopefully it will all fade into a distant memory.

Or play the statistics game 'One failure in every xxx hours'. If you've had your one, then the clock has got another xxx - yyy before it's your turn again.

Or you could be like Baldrick and carve your name on a bullet, so that you know where the one with your name on is!! ;) :D

[dublinpilot]

cb,

Count yourself lucky! Sometimes I find myself enjoying the view, and concentrating on navigation, and completely relaxed. I have to give myself a good talking to, to remind me to keep my toughts of wind direction and possible landing sites, and emergency drills in the front of my mind! :rolleyes:

And at least you know you've been there and got through it too :)

Anyway, I think you uneasyness is probably a good thing. I certainly get it everytime I open the throttle for take off, and I run through my efato plan in my head.

dp

[strafer]

I'm slightly surprised. I would have thought the fact that you made a excellent forced landing following a nasty incident would have made you more confident in your abilities. After all, if anything does happen again, you know you have the ability, (mental as well) to cope with it.

Are you still enjoying your flying? And (I'm not trying to be faecetious, I've got the upmost respect for what you did) do you feel your landing was a close call?

[Aerobatic Flyer]

CBL

Most of the time when I'm in the air, yes - I'm quite relaxed. Or, perhaps I should say "not anxious". However, like you I had an accident, and things haven't been quite the same since.

My accident was very sudden - everything seemed fine until we touched down, whereupon the plane flipped onto its back due to a problem with the ski-equipped landing gear. Here's a pic:

http://albumphotos2.wanadoo.fr/VOLUME004/979epy/ncbzd91x7bt6yfn/image/p2mw_4271444.jpg

The accident was in April this year. I was a passenger, and was unhurt. But I find now that I talk myself out of landing at difficult strips when I'm on my own, and suffer some anxiety before flying if I know that the flight is going to involve "difficult" flying.

It's very irrational, because I know that I'm not going to have another accident for the same reason, but the anxiety is there all the same.

You asked if it ever goes away.... I hope so!

Perhaps we need a self-help group for traumatised pilots!:)

[Evo]

Straight and level I'm like Circuit Basher, but as the workload goes up I worry less and relax more - doing aeros I just seem to have a mild curiosity as to why the world is rotating around me. :\

[cblinton@blueyonder.]

Thanks for your comments so far, it does really help to hear your feelings on this.

Strafer, your right it has made me more confident and yes I am still enjoying my flying and have recently been down to Spain and back with relative ease, however I depart from some airfields now and simulate what happened out of shoreham only to find that in some cases a similar chain of events in different circumstances would lead to a nasty end. Thanks for your respect and im sure i will sort it out.

I think the point is that I dont feel as relaxed at any phase of flight as I did before Worthing. Maybe it is the aircraft?, although it is flying very well and has had many gremlins ironed out that were there before the incident.

A/B, wow that looks like a close one and thanks for your comments. I think you hit the nail on the head with the anxiety!

Keep them coming :ok:

AND JUST RELAX!!!!!!!

For those who dont know about the incident!!


http://uk.geocities.com/gatsrsyndicate/pics_acc.htmhttp://uk.geocities.com/gatsrsyndicate/photogallery/photo7270/beached1.jpghttp://uk.geocities.com/gatsrsyndicate/images/plane.jpg

[Hersham Boy]

I get quite tense while flying, mainly because I am always waiting for something to go wrong or to discover some terrible mistake I've made!

Funnily enough (and, trust me, I'm frantically knocking on wood at this point), I think I might actually be more relaxed if I had had to deal with something like a forced landing as I would know (hopefully) that I could handle it...

Might be twisted logic that, though :\

Hersh

[tonyhalsall]

Don't know what your opinion is of micro pilots, but I'd suggest a trip down to the local micro strip and share a few stories with the microlighters. Forced landings are a much more frequent and real possibility every time you fly and the micro boys seem to deal with it in a very philosophical way.

Take a guy from our local Club who bought a Kolb not long after qualifying for his license - he came down in the circuit on his second flight due to fuel starvation and wrote off the a/c. Undeterred he went out and spent £30K on a Jabiru less than two months ago and just as his confidence was getting back his propellor disintegrated 1500' over North Wales last week-end. How this has affected him, I don't know, as I haven't been to the Club this week.

Your issue, is not in your ability - you clearly handled your engine failure extremely capably - the problem is a loss of confidence in the aircraft and the never ending 'what if' scenario - if you were over a foresty, if you were over mountains, the sea etc etc.

All mechanical devices are prone to failure - manage the risk that you take and the confidence will quickly return. Always planning flights over water, forests & built up area's will do nothing to alleviate your anxiety.

Personally, I think you did a marvelous job and that should give you confidence to handle any other in flight emergency.

Tony

[AfricanEagle]

I had an efato a couple of years ago: the first few flights after the event I found myself keeping an eye open for fields but soon relaxed completely without any worries on further flights.

This June while touring eastern Europe I had the engine splutter badly five minutes after take off but made it back to the airport with no problems (rather enjoyed the fire engines chasing me ;-)
)
Had the engine checked out and took off again for a 3 hour flight over the Bulgarian mountains. On arrival at destination I was totally relaxed and flew the rest of the 12 hours of the trip, (including an hour overwater crossing) without any concerns.

Maybe knowing now that I don't panic and can handle unexpected situations gives me a certain peace of mind.

I'm sure you'll soon be back to enjoying your flying without feeling unduly tense :ok:

AE

[cblinton@blueyonder.]

Work was cancelled this afternoon for a jolly over snowdon and surrounding area and I have to say I was very relaxed so there is hope yet:ok:

thanks to all for your comments

CBL;)

[Kingy]

I had a little engine failure-forced landing thingy last month. It really shook me up in hindsight.

It's probably for the better though, I take longer over my pre flights now (not that it would have made a difference last time) and I'm always looking for the 'next' forced landing field when flying.

All I can say is that I am in the process of doing a will... Perhaps its just I'm moving from my 'bold' to my 'old' phase!

Kingy

[Mike Cross]

I've gone through various phases.

I've never been afraid of trying things, working on the basis of "lots of people do this all the time". It's worked for flying, gliding, free-fall, diving and abseiling.

However any time I want I can induce nervousness by imagining a wing falling off. Wearing a parachute in a glider helps!

The confidence thing seems to ebb and flow a bit. I'm very at home in the Luscombe now but every now and then you find something you didn't anticipate. Sudden reduction in power earlier this year caused me to divert into Compton Abbas and was eventually traced to a valve guide breaking up, causing that cylinder to stop firing. Sudden total power loss just after take-off during my SEP renewal caused me to put it back on the runway sharpish (diagnosed as some water that had escaped the drain check). Landing at Bembridge with a crosswind, kicked off the drift, perfect! However I was just a smidgen faster than I should have been and she floated, during which we started to drift sideways and ended up rocking uncomfortably from one wheel to the other.

I don't think it a bad thing at all that we get our confidence dented. It makes us think about something that is in a glider pilot's checklist, Eventualities - what shall I do if.......?

No, it doesn't affect my enjoyment. :ok:

Mike

[BeauMan]

cblinton - I can't really offer any advice as thankfully it's not yet happened to me, but having just taken a look at the photos, I'd say you managed a difficult situation extremely well.

Yes, it could have been worse, but there are a number of reasons why it wasn't. Quick reactions, a clear head, good situational awareness, and good PFL training when you originally did your PPL. And as everyone else has said, it's now happened to you and you've come through it, so hopefully now you know a little more about your own ability to deal with the unexpected.

Looking at it from another perspective, as a passenger I'd feel very confident flying with you, as you've shown that you can deal with an unexpected drama and stll manage to deliver your passengers back to terra firma unharmed. :ok:

[EyesToTheSkies]

Flying the club '152 ysterday, the passenger side air vent with the thermometer attached decided to fall out of its tube, and onto the floor with a bit of a thump! A few missed heartbeats later, I decided I would add it to my own modified version of the club checklist!

[vfr-uk]

Half way through my PPL training (on about 4th solo flight in circuit) I had an EFATO at 500 feet.

It was fuel starvation - and my fault (didn't change tanks and believed the fuel gauge that read "FULL" - despite me thinking "I'm sure I haven't changed over"). I didn't handle the situation that well - but I got the plane back down on the runway (after a very low level 'circuit'), and no physical damage done.

I was as white as a ghost and petrified in the air during the event - not at all how I imagined I'd react in that situation. A lot of contemplation about what could have happened - especially if it ocured on finals, left me very nervous in a plane....

I nearly gave up flying, and it took months before I got back up there - but now I've passed my PPL, and I just love flying again... and obviously that situation is well understood now (and well trained for) and I'd be much more in control if a similar thing ever happened again. [Actually, in a later flight the T-bar on the throttle of the warrior fell off in flight which was also a bit unsettling although obviously it was still flyable. A couple of people thought I was a bit over cautious for landing the plane for that reason....]

So - I got over it - but I still have the odd 'moment' if the engine splutters or makes strange noises - and I imagine that will stay for a while.

Overall I'd say my confidence is less than it would otherwise have been at this stage, and I'm really annoyed about it - but I'll just hope it fades away one day.....

It seems like your forced landing was really well done, and all ended well - so I'd much rather fly in a plane with you than someone that hadn't experienced it!

[Grob Driver]

CBL…

Is G-ATSR still your bird? I was parked next to her this weekend at Le Touquet… She’s a very nice looking aircraft!

Anyway, looks like you did an EXCELLENT job of putting her down on the beach… I take my hat off to you!

Grob Driver

[cblinton@blueyonder.]

Grob Driver

She sure is mate, and thanks, the millenium engine is nearly run in now and is running sweet.

Thanks to all for your comments:ok:

[shortstripper]

You proved you don't panic, and that's the most dangerous reaction ... closely followed by complacency. As for being relaxed ...

I think I must be slightly strange? ... either that or it's just dulled senses? I'm very relaxed when flying, but not always when thinking about it. When things go wrong or there's a strange noise I seem to react rather indifferently? It's the same in my day to day life; if for example, a load bang wakes me and SWMBO at night ( no no, not THAT kind of bang :rolleyes: ) her reaction is fright, mine is .... lay there and analysis what it could be and once decided, go back to sleep!

I've had a couple of engine failures, and had military jets fly under me at 300' on finals in a glider! In these circumstances I felt quite relaxed (which must be odd ) and actually enjoyed the challenge of flying out of trouble.

Having said all that I do get anxious before flying if it's been a while .... but never during.

IM