Way back when I was instructing. I was teaching a guy on a trial lesson, he was having fun and neither of us noticed his girlfriend in the back seat starting to wretch. When I did eventually recognise the unmistakable waft of smell in the cabin i looked round to find she was being sick into something, oh no not a sickbag...but one of those cardboard funnels you use to fill up the oil !! The vomit was making a neat squirly pile like a mister whippy ice cream as it dribbled through the hole in the bottom of the funnel, all over my yellow tabbard on the floor !!!! Did make me laugh(much later on).

Used bag 1 on prev flight. (volunteer work for Air Force Cadets)
Pale face, sweating. "You are not going to hurl all over my dash. Take your shoe off.":E:E:E
It worked.
Headset bag (THEIRS, NOT YOURS) is another good alternative.
Heard of a no warning chunder where all the instructor saw was bloggs open his window and let fly. Instructor's window was open at the time and he only got it half shut before portions from the student's side whipped around in the slipstream. (Good reason to fly in balance!)
Saw cadet bragging about being the next Maverick. Big talk. Watched aircraft rotate (1st lesson), 50ft power off, land, inbound call including request for clean up due power chuck all over the dash. :yuk::yuk::yuk:

Hmmm! a little worrying this attitude?
 

Smiles and laughs!

A very experienced gliding instructor once told me the following - for use on "Trial Lesson / Air Experience" flights where you have already judged / ascertained they are only there for the ride and have no intention of returning:

• Note sudden quietness / student saying they feel unwell / other indicator of impending "blowing of chunks"
• Ask them if they are OK - if the answer is "no" / no answer / you think they are lying then
• Tell them if they put their mouth and nose inside their sweatshirt / shirt / blouse / ... and breath deeply and they will feel OK.
• Of course this makes them vomit immediately - but it's inside their shirt and you don't need to clean the aeroplane :E

OC619

:ok:nice tip:E

Encourage students to eat bananas befroe the flight. It doesn't prevent airsickness, but at least smells of banana on the way out again.

"Of course this makes them vomit immediately - but it's inside their shirt and you don't need to clean the aeroplane "

That really did make me laugh!

Although, I wasn't sick in neither my trial or first lesson which was just yesterday.. All what happened.. is I felt a bit weird -not sick- when we did the effects of the controls which end up in spiral dive.. two minutes later I was fine, on another one.. it wasn't as bad.. and hopefully won't be sick on any of my lessons :p

I instructed for three years, including formation and aerobatics and never had a student sick in the aircraft! :ok: (I did have one or two vomit after getting off. :) )

I used to get a bit ill when I began learning, and so was always sympathetic, and aware of the problem. Every time I took up someone new I gave them a short speech, along the lines of:

"Feeling sick is normal, some do, some don't - it has nothing to do with your ability. I used to feel sick, and the tendency goes away as soon as your body gets used to the new environment. the important thing is that you stop learning as soon as you start to feel ill - the "It's not so much fun anymore" syndrome, and after that we are just wasting your money. Please tell me as soon as you get that feeling, and we will level the wings and return to base, and stop wasting your cash."

That speech, so they didn't feel embarrassed and "hold on" until it was too late, coupled with a cheery "How do you feel?" after every series of manoeuvres, kept me vomit free for three years. :ok:

I once had a student open the side window in an attempt to get the "chunks" out the window. It was like one of those slow motion reels right before something really bad happens. As I was saying "noooo," the stuff went flying. :yuk:

airsick
 

hey whirly

this happenned to me
my third flight last week ...first flight was sick but can get an idea of wut my instructor was doing...second flight went good.but my third flight was messed up...i had these feeling..hell im never gonna make it this happenned specially when i was climbin and i went into nervous/panic mode i asked my instr to fly back ...was perspiring thruout....had teh feeling i would never be a pilot.....but i want to get thru this .....i was wondering if this could be a serious isue... the moment i press the PTT for radio i go blank...was so confused.

Benonianto,

Have a look here - Earning My Wings: a video blog about learning to fly

I was hopeless at working the radio when I first started (some may say that several thousand hours later, I'm not much better :O ). What I did was to write down everything that would happen during the flight in relation to the radio.

So... what I would hear on the ATIS, leaving blanks for the differences, (ATIS information ?, time ?, wind ???/??, visibility ?, cloud ?, temperature ?, dewpoint ?,).

Then what I would say to ATC, again leaving blanks for the differences (Ground, this is N????, at ?, with information ?, requesting taxi/clearance/?), exactly what their response would be, again leaving blanks for the differences. Eventually, I found myself using my cheat sheet less & less, until I stopped getting the "Oh sh*t" blank moment as soon as I pressed the PTT.

Doesn't solve the sickness problem, but maybe if you work on each aspect of the flight, and reduce points that are contributing to your nerves, one by one, the sick feeling will gradually disappear as well.

One of the most useful symptoms I've found - which warns, but does not prevent the 'event' is someone going quiet on you or becoming disinterested.

One trail lesson student was having a great time but then, as we approached the airfield, he went quiet and I asked: 'Are you feeling ok?'.

The prompt reply was: 'I feel BLAHHHHH' - all over the cockpit!

I always assume that trial lesson students will be excited, have just eaten and be looking all around taking in the sights and perhaps moving their heads up and down adjusting cameras and the like - all aids to motion sickness!!!

So I talk to them (to ensure they're not 'going quiet) and limit all turns to rate 1 (15 degrees angle of bank) and fly as smoothly as possible. Try not to surprise (and therefore alarm) them by doing something unexpected (even closing the throttle or lowering the flaps can induce anxiety).

In 18 years of instructing I've only had two students be sick - which I think is lucky. I'm not saying it's my flying or manner, just that I try and avoid the obvious pitfalls - and always have the fresh air vents partially open all the time come rain or shine.

Hopefully not :yuk:

SITW :)

From the other side, my personal record was 13 seperate incidents of being sick on one flight!

My Observer instructor was kind enough to keep count for me as I fought my way through 2 1/2 hours of chasing ships at 500' over the sea off the coast of Cornwall in the back of a Jetstream with a postage stamp window before doing expanding square searches. My nav cycle was almost a work of art, with leg briefings, turn onto new leg, post turn checks, chunder, radio work then back to leg briefings again and so on.

I left the aircaft utterly drained and holding 3 full sick bags as I ran out of stuff to throw!

My advice in no particular order is,

1. Alcohol within the previous 24 hours can significantly increase the risk of chunder.
2. Smooth flying helps avoid it.
3. Allowing them to fly or follow through on the controls is even better.
4. Make it clear that they are to tell you if they feel ill way before they actually start wreching.
5. Cold fresh air.
6. Stop doing whatever manouever it was which brought on the feeling of sickness and don't return to it if possible.
7. Return to the airfield as, once feeling sick, it will rarely disappear, but can ramp up very quickly indeed.
8. Airsickness is less likely if they have eaten a little while before flying.
9. Get them to look straight out ahead at the horizon when turning/manouevering. Head movement whilst manouevering will lead to full bags.
10. Don't risk it if they say they feel better. Bravado's no use when staring at the inside of a sick bag or wiping chunks off the panel.
11. If they are quiet they are probably suffering.


From a graduate of the RAF School of Aviation Medicine desensitization course!

Obs

My first ever student on his first ever helo ride got sick all over the place. He asked me to take control and I asked him was he alright, he then answered by getting sick out the door. Of course in the helo(with the doors off) all of the vomit flew back into the cockpit and all over the instruments and me!!
I promptly kicked the aircraft out of trim but it was too late. I sat it down and let him clean himself up and then headed back to the airport. I helped him clean up(if he was an arrogant person I would have let him do it himself but he was a nice guy). Plus I felt pretty bad for him because he was really embarassed. That was his last flight unfortunately.
In this situation I didn't have time to try and get him to look outside and distract him.I would have got him to get sick down into his tee shirt to save the cockpit. It was a memorable first instructional flight for me though!!:ok: