Scared of Flying?
Re Taxydual's dit about the Tonka in the Falklands: we sadly lost a Puma within days of arriving in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe for the monitoring of the 'ceasefire' and 'elections' (yeah, right... sigh). Despite the arrival brief from a member of the RhAF about the primary hazard in such a wide-open country being from wirestrike (they'd lost 3 a/c in the preceding year due to this reason), the crew were brought down while flying at high speed along a road. The wires they hit were between 20-30 ft above ground at the point of contact; they hit them with their tail (ie the wires had gone over the main rotor). What a waste.
Referring back to previous posts, I used to have the ones about trees too. Just like the wire-related dreams stopping after I started my current role, the tree-related instances stopped during my 3-year stint in Borneo where we would get right down into and under the canopy. One major HLS by a research station required letting down into a gap 3-400m from the site and flying up the river under the canopy to get in.
Referring back to previous posts, I used to have the ones about trees too. Just like the wire-related dreams stopping after I started my current role, the tree-related instances stopped during my 3-year stint in Borneo where we would get right down into and under the canopy. One major HLS by a research station required letting down into a gap 3-400m from the site and flying up the river under the canopy to get in.
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I have no fear of flying as such but I do have a significant fear of landing. This started to afflict me around the point where I had accumulated around 2000 hours PIC on 20 or so different aircraft types. As far as I can tell it started following what had been described as an unplanned and excessively heavy off airfield landing due to mechanical failure. Fortunately although the aircraft was a write off no one was seriously hurt. The following day I had a check out on an identical aircraft flying around the circuit for about an hour with a QFI on board doing all the usual stuff like EFT, SF, etc. and had no problems.
Shortly after I had a none flying overseas posting and I did not fly PIC for just over two years. However when I came back to flying I started to have a problem on finals very much to do with judgement of height and distance (real or imagined). Something a bit like what golfers call the "yips". After a couple off serious near misses I stopped flying. Even 30 years later I still have the same problem when sitting in the right hand seat as a passenger alongside a competent PIC.
Shortly after I had a none flying overseas posting and I did not fly PIC for just over two years. However when I came back to flying I started to have a problem on finals very much to do with judgement of height and distance (real or imagined). Something a bit like what golfers call the "yips". After a couple off serious near misses I stopped flying. Even 30 years later I still have the same problem when sitting in the right hand seat as a passenger alongside a competent PIC.
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DOF (#142),
I think fear of (a bad) landing is fairly common. After all, we all know that in the air a properly trimmed aircraft flies itself. All you have to learn is one little trick (to get it into the air), and one big one (to put it down again).
In my case, landing-phobia led to crap approaches. My clever Instructor sensed what was wrong, and we did a string of low-level overshoots, going lower each time round, approaches got much better (as I was free of my phobia), till at last my Instructor said (about !00 ft), "Now land !" - it was a 'greaser'. My phobia vanished.
In my case, I found the trick was, not to fix your vision on the tarmac in front of the nose, but on the far end of the runway, that way you can feel when it is ready to "sit down". Worked (most times) for me.
I think fear of (a bad) landing is fairly common. After all, we all know that in the air a properly trimmed aircraft flies itself. All you have to learn is one little trick (to get it into the air), and one big one (to put it down again).
In my case, landing-phobia led to crap approaches. My clever Instructor sensed what was wrong, and we did a string of low-level overshoots, going lower each time round, approaches got much better (as I was free of my phobia), till at last my Instructor said (about !00 ft), "Now land !" - it was a 'greaser'. My phobia vanished.
In my case, I found the trick was, not to fix your vision on the tarmac in front of the nose, but on the far end of the runway, that way you can feel when it is ready to "sit down". Worked (most times) for me.
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Not scared. Not now, anyway.
Sometimes can't shake the images of absent friends.
Survivor's guilt?
Daft really, crawled out of the burning wreckage myself, but I made it out of that one, they didn't out of theirs.
Was scared for a while afterwards. RadAlt was best friend and worst enemy at the same time.
And still feel silly for even mentioning it, when others paid such a price.
Sometimes can't shake the images of absent friends.
Survivor's guilt?
Daft really, crawled out of the burning wreckage myself, but I made it out of that one, they didn't out of theirs.
Was scared for a while afterwards. RadAlt was best friend and worst enemy at the same time.
And still feel silly for even mentioning it, when others paid such a price.
