Books to help address 'fear of flying'?

[Emerald flyer]

Hello,

does anyone know of any good books/websites that offer information about how to help people overcome or at least address their fear of flying?

A friend of mine would like to go for a flight (in a light aircraft) with me but is really nervous about it.
I've so far come across a book called "wings of discovery", has anyone heard of it?

Any suggestions would be very welcome

Thanks
EM
;)

[dublinpilot]

The answer I would give you, is not the one you want to hear. :ugh:

I would say that you shouldn't try to help in this circumstance.

I've read a few stories here and elsewhere about passengers freezing out of panic, and grabbing the controls (it's the most obvious things for them to hold onto) and freezing there.

These stories have been enough to convince me not to encourage a very close friend of mine, who has a fear of flying, to come fly with me.

If you do bring them, perhaps putting them in the back would be safest (even though it may not be the best place in terms of how comfortable they feel). At an absolute minimum make sure that there is a third person on-board that can deal with them if they panic, leaving you free to fly the aircraft.

As for a book recommendation, I'm afraid I can't help you out. But I thought you might want to consider the above.

dp

[strafer]

dp's got a very valid point there.

Personally, I think most fear of flying comes from lack of knowledge. You often hear people say that flying isn't natural, or how can that thing stay up. But you know that it's a matter of simple physics and the air doesn't care whether the aerofoil is attached to a bird, a bat or a spitfire. Maybe you could talk to them and try and find out what the exact cause of the fear is.

However, I did read somewhere that our fear response is located in the emotional part of the brain rather than the logical one, so you may be banging your head against a brick wall.

To answer your question - http://scaredofflying.com/FearofflyingHome.asp

[robin]

The best thing is to introduce the idea slowly and carefully. Never pressurise someone to fly if they don't want too

What I tend to do is to let them walk around the aircraft and to sit in it, either in the front or back so they feel comfortable. Then I take them away from the aircraft and have a cup of tea and watch others flying for a bit.

I then leave it to them to decide if they want to go for a trip or not. I've never had one refuse. But it is important that they don't feel pushed into doing it when they are not ready