Airsickness... how can you tell?

[AerBabe]

I took a friend up for his first flight today. Pottered round the local area, flying in a nice 'passenger-friendly' way. Did a gentle flapless approach, and a godawful landing..

Anyway, I shut down the engine, and asked if he'd enjoyed it...
He said "I have three things to say. One, I was very impressed. Two, that was a cr@p landing. Three, I feel sick". I asked why he didn't tell me, and he said "I knew you'd come back, and I didn't want to". :rolleyes:

I'd asked him before we left to tell me if he felt unwell or uncomfortable. I'd also checked with him as we were flying how he was feeling. He looked fine, and kept saying he was okay. In retrospect I suppose he was fairly quiet, but I put that down to the fact that my spare headset is not particularly good, and the mic has to be unplugged after t/o, otherwise it can get very noisy. (I do tell people to plug it back in if they want to say something though ;) )

Are there any signs I should/could have been looking out for? I felt bad that I'd not noticed, although he said he didn't want me to know....

[ETOPS773]

Well..going by my cousin,she got really pale during the flight I took her on,and was very quiet.

And also she didn`t like looking out of the window,nor turning about too much.
Just staring at the panel / floor.
Some people are just not very good travellors I guess...but a good landing would help put that right.

Shame on you!!!:mad: :mad: :mad:

[Evo7]

Pale and quiet are the giveaways, I think. You could probably guess that something is amiss when the passenger stops chatting to you. I used to get a bit airsick when I started flying, and that's what I used to do. Just had a hugely fun hour of steep turns, stalls and spiral dives, so it must be all cured now. The AOPA aeros certificate has just gone waaay up my post-PPL 'to do' list :)

[QDMQDMQDM]

Pale, sweaty, unusually quiet.

The worry with airsickness is:

a) They'll be sick.
b) They'll faint.

Neither is pleasant, the latter is potentially a real hassle for all concerned. Plenty of fresh air is a good thing, a couple of tablets of cinnarizine before take-off is probably a better thing. In extremis, a tablet of Buccastem, absorbed through the lining of the mouth might be worthwhile, although typically their mouths will be very dry and so absorption limited.

In the last analysis you can only help people who will help themselves and if your passenger doesn't tell you there isn't much you can do.

QDM

[pulse1]

In many years of sailing I have noticed that excessive yawning is often a sign of approaching seasickness. (Either that or I'm boring them to death). Can't say I have noticed it in the air but I can only remember one passenger saying they felt sick after the flight, and she was sitting in the back so I couldn't see her.

[AerBabe]

I don't think it helped that it was getting pretty warm, and we were up in the Cherokee... which isn't renowned for its airflow! The other option would have been the C152, which is cooler, but not as stable... and a lot more cramped.

[BlueRobin]

AB, it's a very good chance that if you take newbie pax for the first time, they will be airsick. Now wheher practicable or not, staying away from turbulent air (i.e. nr hills and mountains) could help initiate the pax. Also, having the pax fly helps.

Stupidly took brother over the Brecons for his first flight. Very choppy! Luckily Dad knew where the sickbags were otherwise...

Soon as *I* started flying rather than have the FI fly me, my airsickness was cured. Naturally, it's because I'm a far more smoother pilot than he! :)

A simile is this. Remember when you were a kid and got a bit sick in the family car? Went away after you could see the horizon and definately didn't come back after learning to drive.

[AerBabe]

It wasn't too bouncy today (although I find it quite difficult to tell now). I did ask my passenger if he wanted to take control, but he said he'd rather not. Again this probably comes down to the headset problem. It's difficult to hear what I'm saying (apparently), so next time I could brief him on the ground about basic effects of controls.
I've taken a couple of other first-time fliers (in light aircraft) up before, and neither of them suffered from airsickness. At least they told me they didn't! Typically today was the first time I didn't have a sick bag with me... One has been placed permanently in my knee board now!

[fen boy]

My air-sickness has put me off offers of rides in some very nice aircraft in the past but although I have never actually been sick it's the fear of doing so that makes the problem worse. I agree that a good clue to someone feeling unwell would be silence and in my case a very fixed stare on the horizon as this helps.

I have to say it seems to be getting better with age. I used to experience problems on airliners as well but now all is fine. Perhaps its time I tried again.

[Evo7]

fen boy - what worked for me was to eat something before flying. Nothing to large or fatty - a bagel is ideal - but flying on an empty stomach seems to make it worse.

[big.al]

Aerbabe -

When I started flying I felt quite queasy at first. I was learning in Florida and I'm sure it was a combination of the heat, humidity, lack of aclimatisation and also the strange feeling of turns, especially steep turns.

I found carrying a bottle of cold water immensely helpful, and this could also be useful for your pax. I quite quickly get dehydrated when flying (probably the concentration) but there's no doubt that a combination of unusual motion and being too warm can lead to the thunder of chunder... Cooling down with a cold drink may help - it did for me. If you passenger goes quiet and looks flushed or starts to sweat, you'll know it's time to open the vents and get them some fresh air. There's also the altitude consideration - some people (especially those who are not too fit - to put it politely) react to relatively small changes in altitude/density, whereas the majority of people would not feel any different until well in excess of 5k.

If your passenger is really determined to pretend that all is well there may not be much you can do until it's too late. Perish the thought....

Al.

[FWA NATCA]

Aerbabe,

If someone gets sick while riding in a car or boat then they will get airsick. When in doubt, I'd strongly suggest a very short initial flight near the airport, then if no problems crop up enjoy flying further away.

The normal signs of air sickness, car sickness or sea sickness, is pale complection, sweating (when it isn't warm), tunnel vision (passenger is trying to focus on the floor, their lap, instruments, or another close by object, they refuse to look out the windows because it makes them feel worse). Then of course if it progresses the passenger appears green and grabs for the barf bag.

If you start noticing the symptoms, try to fly as smoothly as possible making as few gradual turns as you can. Try talking to the individual, point out an object ahead not off to the side of the plane so that they don't need to turn their head to watch it, then point out another object ahead. Sometimes this will ease the feeling of air sickness and allow the person to start enjoying themselves.

The safest thing for someone who has a weak stomach is for them to take dramamine or some other approved medication prior to flying so that they can enjoy their experience.

Mike

[foxmoth]

As Evo says linning the stomach with the right sort of food helps, the first sign as has been said is usually the pax going quiet.
Evo, if you fancy popping into the other club at Goodwood you can do the aero's there on the Robin - great fun. ;) :cool:

[Future Pundit]

AerBabe,

So when you are going to take someone for the first time and it is going to be bouncy, how often do let them take control?!

[Evo7]

foxmoth - was planning on it :)

[AerBabe]

FP, simple, if it was their first time I wouldn't take them if it was going to be bouncy. :)

[Bottle Fatigue]

With respect to airsickness I must admit I never, ever suffered from it until I started aeros.

The cure for me was to make absolutely sure that I had a substantial meal beforehand - a "proper meal" too.

Trick is to make sure I'm not hungry nor in need of a wheelbarrow in order to get to the plane, just enough in fact. This seems to do the trick.

As an aside - what is the legal position regarding letting pax take the controls?

[Whirlybird]

Let's not make too much of this. He didn't want Aerbabe to know, because he didn't want to come back. I used to suffer from airsickness, still do at times, though now only if doing aeros or being flown in extremely bumpy conditions (OK if flying myself). It's never stopped me flying, or wanting to, or liking it. And a regular passenger of mine tends to get airsick if it's at all bumpy, but still wants to come - so now I just give her a couple of bags in advance.

Some people go quiet because it's all new and exciting, so you can't always tell. But it's worth telling people that if they feel slightly sick, putting their hands (very lightly!) on the controls, looking ahead, and pretending they're flying works unless things are really bad. Just mention it, don't make too big a deal out of it, and probably they won't either.

And always carry a supply if sick bags!