So I was wondering how common it is for people to suffer from airsickness throughout training or the rest of their career? Also whether or not most people over come it? Are there people who turn up to the dream job everyday and await the inevitable?
I am not sure that I can comment on how common this is but on the few aircraft I have flown in ( a hundred of so), I can name all the sickies I know.
Air sickness, from my limited observation, seems to be limited to a particular aircraft type or manoeuvre and an individual's susceptibility. Susceptibility seems to reduce with activity levels - the busier you are the less time you have to worry about being sick.
An Air Cadet was sick on two successive sorties in a Dominie - he had little to do. He was the only person I flew with who was sick in a Dominie.
A Navigator I flew with on Vulcan's was prone to sickness after being off flying for a period - 2-3 weeks - . He used to barf and then get over it.
My Captain was sick once but that was before we got airborne. Not sure the reason why but it was a Goose.
Another navigator used to hurl and speak at the same time during a particular bombing profile. Spectacular. He was a good bomb aimer.
An AEOp always took anti-airsickness pills before doing Stage 2 - an ASW training exercise manoeuvre. Oddly when we really went to action stations the adreneline overcame his sickness.
The last one was an experienced navigator new to Nimrods who never overcame his sickness. He was detached to Farnborough and put on the spin table and desensitised.
That was it. You might guess that likelihood it low and impact negligible.