Air sickness (Any advise?)

[Bruno Silva]

Hi everyone, I have just started my PPL.
We haven´t started flying yet but I´m a bit anxious cause I had a not so good experience a short time ago.
I´ve always wanted to be a pilot but never really flew much on light aircraft... A few months ago I went with some friends on a Cessna 172 and everything was ok while I was at the front seat, but when i moved to the back one I got sick. So sick I could feel it hours later lol... :}
Now I´m a bit scared it will happen again!

Is there something I can do to avoid it or is it normal???
Will appreciate any opinions you may have!!!!

Thank you all very much!! :ok:

[LocoDriver]

Hi There Bruno.
You will find that when you start flying, you PROBABLY wont have any problems with air sickness.
Make sure your instructor knows your problem , and he/she can ensure that
you are comfortable, by restricting angle of bank, descent rates, etc etc.

Early lessons are not very long, that will help you become used to the motion of the aircraft.
Should you have problems, consult your doctor, he/she will be able to provide a medication to assist, for DUAL flights only) to help you de-senstise.

In my exerience, most students I have had, have had no problems after a few lessons, but it is important to have a caring instructor.
It is also important not to worry about 'air sickness'when you are flying, concentrate on
the lesson.

Good luck and enjoy the flying!

Locodriver
(Chief Flying Instructor of an Aero club, In New Zealand)
:ok: :ok:

[Whirlybird]

I've been flying for years, and I still tend to get airsick as a passenger...but once I'm doing the flying I'm absolutely fine. And the more you fly, the better it will be anyway. But it's quite a common problem, so as Locodriver said, tell your instructor.

[Jamongris]

If you were ok in the front you will be even more ok when piloting. In sailing, if someone gets motion sickness the advice is always to focus on the horizon. When piloting you are more focused on whats going on outside so your body is more able to link the sensation of movement to actually moving across the land, so you are less likely to get motion sickness.

You may find it re-assuring though to make sure you have on you, or within easy reach a sick bag though. The knowledge that you are not going to make a mess all over the place if you are sick can be comforting and relax you.

[modelman]

I reckon you will find it like some people car sickness-passenger=sick
driver=too busy to even think about being sick.

Relax and be careful what you eat before your lessons-just a bit of toast maybe.

Good luck
Modelman

[HiFranc]

I reckon you will find it like some people car sickness-passenger=sick
driver=too busy to even think about being sick.

That may play a part but, from what I've experienced (and read), there's more to it than that. In terms of cars, research shows a driver whilst driving naturally moves his/her head in a way that minimises the risk. From my experience on buses, I find that having a good view ahead helps significantly (which is why I'd never sit on the right hand side of a bus[1]).

[1] In the UK anyway.

{edit} Just had a thought (though may be wrong):
Where's the balance point (not sure of the technical term) of a C172? If you're in the back, and the pilot pulls back on the yoke, would the passenger go up or down? If the passenger moves downwards, then you'll be in a situation where the balance organs say you're descending but your eyes say you're climbing which can, for some people, induce travel sickness.

[Pull Back]

Hi Bruno,

I have always had a motion sickness problem, I am a bad car passenger, and although I love roller-coasters or aeros, I am always restricted by that queasy feeling. Anyway back to the point, I know I have a problem so make sure I plan ahead to minimise it.

My first ppl lesson - I threw up :yuk:
My second lesson - I threw up :yuk:
My third lesson - I felt dodgy. :\
My fourth lesson and then on in I was not sick, I had a few dodgy moments for example steep turns and spiral dive demonstrations.

Anyway things that work for me;

1) Dont over dress, I never wear more than a teeshirt on my top half when flying.
2) Eat something before flying, but not too fatty, do a search and you will find loads of recommendations, anything with ginger worked for me (biscuits or tea).
3) Plenty of fresh air in the cabin
4) Let your instructor know early if you feel hot and sweaty - the first signs
5) Plan ahead, have a chuck bag in reach if you know its there you probably will not need it
6) Where possible keep a feel of the controls even if not flying
7) Keep looking out as much as possible ( a good idea anyway ;) )
8) And best of all dont worry about it, the worrying about feeling sick will probably make you feel sick
9) Dont worry about calling it a day for that particular lesson if you come over queasy, better to stop there and get back on the ground than add another bad experience.

Oh and you will get used to it!! The body seems to desensitise after a while, so dont be put off by a couple of bad experiences. I have been ppl flying for about 3 years now with no further problems either P1 or as a passenger. Having said that I am sure if I got into something aerobatic, i could be made to be ill very quickly!! :yuk:

If you are still worried, do a search for remedies, there are plenty available that do not involve chemicals.

Good Luck - and control it rather than let it control you!!

Cheers,

PB :ok: :ok:

[Bruno Silva]

Thanks alot!!
Was getting worried about it but your words made me look at it in a different way!!

You all take good care!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:ok:

P.S. Please feel free to still share your experiences... it´s very interesting and helpfull!!!

[Tarq57]

Proceedure for using the bag if it becomes necessary:
1) have it ready, open end UP. Check the closed end really is closed.
2) Open the bag and make a little space inside it, but allow for expansion.
3) make a circle with thumb and forefinger, or similar shape with two hands if required, fold the top inch (2-3 cm or more) of the bag back over the fingers.
4) Seal the bag around the lips.
5) Puke. You're aiming for a clean launch that fills the bag from the bottom up.
6) When finished, screw the top of the bag closed.
General: Have a water botlle with you. Have a second bag ready.It's amazing how more comes out than seemed to go in.
Don't laugh. I've seen and heard of some interesting misuses.(Including a manufacturing defect alluded to in [1]). Also people aiming at the bag from afar. This is a fun little procedure that can be practised at home without the need for expensive simulators and examination. Having had a drill for this, you probably won't need to use it. Like many things in aviation, if you have a plan for the unexpected, old Murphy goes and picks on someone else.
Ref#7, Ginger has a reputaion for preventing/easing travel nausea. You can buy it in herbal or homeopathic form at most pharmacies.
Have fun with your flying. (maybe later, you'll have occasion to brief pax on the above procedure. It can be quite comedic! :ok:

[pulse1]

Hi Bruno,

I'm sure you will be OK. I have never been a good traveller, used to be continually carsick as child and was sick on my first flight in a Chipmunk. I have done a lot of serious sailing and I have always had to be careful if going down below.

I have only felt sick twice as a pilot in 250 hours power and about the same gliding. Once was doing continuous tight turns and the other was soaring in a very robust thermal. In both circumstances I could stop the process and recover or, in the glider case, land fairly promptly. I can now usually manage about 10 minutes of well flown aerobatics (not by me) before I start to feel the cold sweats.

[Henry Hallam]

Along similar lines, any suggestions for preventing or dealing with sickness in passengers? Two of mine got it so bad the other day that they had to take the coach back from Sheffield to Cambridge. The ride was a little bumpy, but only just noticeable to me really. I don't think there was much I could have done about the conditions without going IMC to get above the cloud layer, but I have a feeling that I could have handled the situation better than just telling the guy in the back to look for a sickbag...

[Milt]

Air Sickness, Sea Sickness - Motion Sickness.

After a lifetime of flying military and civil I can still feel terrible after several sessions of 6 turn spins or when flown around by another pilot in an un-cordinated manner.

Those who are discomforted by unusual motions obviously have the greatest sensitivity to the lower thresholds of small motions. They will feel what an aircraft is doing soonest and have the potential to be the better and smoother pilot.

As soon as you get the feel of stick and rudder your senses will know what to expect and there will be no motion sickness. There is a nervous feedback loop in there somewhere.

Go for a flight with someone doing areobatics - you and I will always have to have a sick bag handy! Do them yourself and then the someone may need a sick bag.

Let us know how you get on.

[Keep it straight]

one off my mates in agflying always get very sick the first day or sometimes 2, after a break like inbetween seasons.he uses an empty instand coffee jar with a screw on lid for his tummy contents:yuk: , also uses those travelcalm pills but they dont seem to do him much good. after all the drama from the first day or two he can enjoy work again. :ok:
so dont worry to much. you will get over it!! have fun

[Superpilot]

Keep it Straight,

I'm just like your friend. If I have a gap of more than 4 weeks of flying, I still get sick. I've been flying for 6 years and am approaching 150 hours.

Some other things that I have learned over the years:

If you're heavily into your Flight Sim's (like me) this makes your brain believe that you can fly a plane without experiencing the movements associated with real flying. So when you get into a real plane you are not expecting to be thrown around - and it all comes to you as a surprise. :yuk:

[Keep it straight]

i was talking to a sim instructor in NZ wen i did my license and he told me that some studends get sick in the sim. this is however a full motion sim or whatever the call it. it just amazed me how reall they must be. But than he may well have been pulling my leg. anybody any knowledge on that?

[pulse1]

I went to one of these combat flight centres in Los Angeles with a colleague. I had 30 minutes in an F16 cockpit with the scenery projected onto the wall in front of me. It was rather like a giant version of FS2004.

I flew at low level down a canyon which was great fun and then shot up some oil rigs. Afterwards, I definitely felt sick for about an hour. Interestingly, my colleague also felt sick and he has 2000 hours in Phantoms.

The next day I had 90 minutes in a Stearman at Chino which included about 15 minutes aerobatics followed by about 20 minutes chasing other Stearmans at low level round a lake with me doing the flying and didn't feel sick at all.

[rotorfossil]

Motion sickness is a complicated subject. Broadly people fall into four categories:
Those lucky B.....s who never feel ill.
The vast majority who feel a bit queasy when introduced to a new motion, car, boat or aeroplane but pretty quickly adapt and are ok thereafter.
A smaller group who adapt very slowly (in my case almost two years) and are then ok if maintaining a regular exposure to that particular motion. Sadly, in this case the adaptation seems to be quickly lost.
An unlucky few who will always feel ill.
One of the curious features is that individuals are sensitive to different motions. I've never been car sick but my wife who can stand aeros without effect, quite easily feels ill in a car. I don't mind bashing to windward in a yacht but felt ill very quickly on the rolling and pitching decks of Rescue Launches.
If it is of any interest, I've noticed over the years that far fewer people seem to feel ill in helicopters than fixed wing. I don't know if this is due to the different motion or the generally better view of the outside.
Whatever, always make sure that your instructor knows the moment you are not feeling so good. There is no point in trying to be a hero, you are just wasting valuable air time. I suffered from one instructor, an ex Black Arrows Formation pilot who was always taking the controls and honing his aerobatic skills. It wasn't a lot of fun and did nothing to reduce my sensitivity! Sitting there whilst someone else flies the aeroplane is much more likely to make you feel ill.

[MyData]

As a child I was ill in cars, ill on 'flat' channel crossing etc. and eventually grew out of these.

Then in my first PPL lesson I started to feel queasy and we headed back. Since then I started to take a couple of ginger capsules before each flight (from your local health food shop).

Over the next year or so I stopped taking the ginger and had no queasyness. I now keep them in my flight bag for passengers.

BUT - I was having an IMC lesson in cloud last week. And it came on like a rush - awful. Again, it was the end of the lesson so no real issue as we decended to VMC and I was fine again. Must remember to take the ginger tables before IMC lessons!

Then yesterday I took a passenger up for their first GA flight. I knew this chap was a bit worried of getting ill so we planned to take off, climb in the circuit and if he didn't like it we would descend. About thirty mins in, he comments on it being a bit bumpy but not too bad. I had to smile, I thought it was about as smooth as it could be, so I guess over time you desensitise to the light turbulence caused by gusts.

On the subject of recovering from the symptoms - do a search for 'P6 acupressure motion sickness'. I tried putting pressure on P6 (inside of the wrist) when feeling queasy some time ago and it *did* work. I just forgot to use it last week!

[DeeCee]

Maybe this will help. If you feel sick, look as far away as possible e.g. the horizon. This works for me when ever I have been bumping around in hot weather with a long way to go. You should feel the effect within a minute or so.

[Bruno Silva]

Amazing how common it is... I always considered the "getting sick issue" as a TABU among pilots. Was kinda worried that I wouldn´t fit in the tough NEVER GET SICK profile :D but now I see it´s quite a natural thing!

It´s also very interesting to learn how different people have different ways of dealing with it. I gotta take note of all of them eheh :}

Safe flights for everyone :ok:

[Whirlybird]

Was kinda worried that I wouldn´t fit in the tough NEVER GET SICK profile

Bruno,

We're not all tough. Some of us get sick, get lost, get scared, get tired. We're just like everyone else, ordinary people.

At least, I am. Maybe I shouldn't speak for the other super-people on here. :)

[Keep it straight]

i think i am one off those lucky ones, only time i got a bit uncofortble was under the hood in the few hours off instrument training they give you. only time i get a bit uncovertable is wen i go over 2000 feet, but that may have something to do with scared off heights.

[Craggenmore]

Bruno,

Your dilemma reminds me of an old Tommy Cooper joke..."Doctor, Doctor, every time I poke myself there it hurts?" "Well don't do it then Sir!"

Seriously though, we had a chap who had to leave commercial flight school because he was continually ill. Bear that in mind if you want to go the whole way with flight training.

Have your eyes tested also. If your sight is deteriorating without your knowledge then that could possibly be the reason.

i was talking to a sim instructor in NZ wen i did my license and he told me that some studends get sick in the sim. this is however a full motion sim or whatever the call it. it just amazed me how reall they must be. But than he may well have been pulling my leg. anybody any knowledge on that?Yes, if the visuals are out of synch with the motion then then it's curtains for everyone who's inside :yuk:

[Tarq57]

To Keepitstraight
When I went through ATC training there was an old WW2 vintage link trainer set up and working, complete with motion and a licensed instructor. I logged about 20hr in it. Occasionally felt queasy during/after, but not to the point of stopping the sim. But usually felt totally disoriented for a minute or two upon completion. This was a brilliant ADF trainer; you could see the plot of where you flew, and how egg shaped the holding patterns were, drawn with pencil on a chart table mechanically linked to the beast. Took up a whole room, but in my opinion far superior to a laptop job.

[Human Factor]

A Mars Bar and a full fat Coke about half an hour before wheels-up works.:ok:

Sure, after a while your teeth will rot and you'll be too heavy to get airborne but I promise you it genuinely works. Something to do with glucose in the stomach... :confused:

[Keep it straight]

markjoy, that sounds like a lot off fun. i have seen those things on tv. but didnt realize that they still get used.
on the subject off being airsick, there is a book written by a NZ chap, called "flying low" forgotten name off author. but maybe someone else knows, anyway it is about the early days in topdressing and the author taking up flying and spent quit a bit off his early training :yuk: . he got over it and went on to topdressing for a career:ok:
So dont give up!!

[Bruno Silva]

Have your eyes tested also. If your sight is deteriorating without your knowledge then that could possibly be the reason.
That´s a good point, but shouldn´t that be detected when we do a Class 1 medical?? I did mine last here and will renew it (Class 2 this time though) this month... I´m convinced there´s no better place to find any eye problems than the Class 1 medical.
Anyway I will play safe and avoid being too much time at the computer.
I know how my eyes feel after being looking at the screen...
Cheers everyone :ok:

[Chippik]

I remember from the BBC series "combat pilot" that one of the pilots' started getting airsick so they sent him down to a med section at Farnborough? for desensitising treatment. does anyone know if it is avail to the civil population?

Neil Williams said that when he felt his G limit reducing he'd come back down and have something to eat (something more substantial than a Mars bar).

there is also a degree of getting used to it plus fittness as well I think, from what I believe if you are shorter and/or have some muscle you can cope with g much better than others.

[1972]

As people have already said, worry about getting sick and the psychological effect may make you more susceptible. There's no rule as to when you'll feel ill and when you won't. Take a sick bag or something similar if you’re worried about making a mess and keep it close to hand. If you do need it, you'll need it fast. But try & put it to the back of your mind.

In my case I don’t feel sick on rollercoasters or passenger jets but light aircraft has been a different story. About 5yrs ago as a back-seat passenger on a scenic flight (my first time in light aircraft - 172) I felt a little unwell but no accidents. Then about 2yrs ago I did a Tiger Moth aeros flight; someone else flying it, not me! The aeros were fine but on final approach I felt really sick. Even back on ground, I continued to feel like ****e. My balance was upset and walking felt strange. :\

Obviously aeros aren't part of the equation in PPL, but if you do feel sick, don't get in your car to drive home. Stupidly, I did, and things got worse, to the point where I stopped at the side of the road to force it up. :yuk: Problem solved.

I'm now a student pilot, four lessons in. My first lesson was fine until final approach (again) when I felt rough as guts. The guys told me later the feeling would ease the more flights I did. They were right. It's never been a problem since. Yesterday I was flying 30 degree turns, circling about 5 times in each direction and I felt fine.

The most valuable piece of advice here (drawn from my own experience) is to look outside as much as you can. You may be fixated a little too much on instruments at first (I was) but apparently this is a major contributing factor of air-sickness.

BTW, your first couple of lessons may all seem very complex but by lesson 3 & 4 you'll really start to feel you're understanding things better and your enjoyment levels will only increase! :)

Try to study diligently, regularly. Keeping your head in the books between flights makes it much easier to grasp things at pre-flight briefings and allows you to think quicker in the air. Right after each flight, go back to your Flying Training Manual (and BAK) to re-live your lesson by re-reading the corresponding chapter. It helps to cement in your mind all that you've just learned in the air, & it also helps you to more easily understand the theory. Lastly, concentrate on your flying but don't forget to savour the experience, have fun and stay relaxed. All this definitely helps your technique. Enjoy! :ok: