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Millions of people around the world have an intense fear of flying. This may be caused by or related to disastrous events like September 11th, the fear of heights, fear of falling, or anxiety about dying in a plane crash. I am a pilot looking forward to a career in aviation when I graduate from college, so it may seem ironic that I was fearful to fly for a great deal of my life. Only in the recent 5 or 6 years have I been able to overcome the fear and realize how wonderful aviation is. I'd like to share with you exactly how my fear used to control my life and what I did to cope and overcome it. As a little kid I always was bothered by the usual fears of the boogie man and monsters in my closet or under the bed. But with the experiences learned by growing up I quickly learned that they didn't exist and overcame those fears. However, when the monster disappeared, more serious phobias entered my life. My fear of flying was created after a fairly traumatic experience at an amusement park. One summer day when I was 5 years old my brothers took me to King's Island amusement park in southwest Ohio. Being a very mild child not willing to take risks, I wasn't thrilled at the thought of riding roller coasters. At that time I was content with my life on earth and had no urge to go skyward. My brothers, being the adventurous trouble makers that they were, took me on on the biggest wooden roller coaster at the park and told me I was going to have fun. What I didn't know was that the 'fun' they talked about involved a huge drop of over 100 feet and a full 2 minutes of non-stop twist and turns that were not easy on the stomach. I hadn't ever experienced something like that before in my life, and wished that I would never do anything like that again. That day was the starting point of my fear of heights and the fear of falling. Shortly after that day I had a second traumatic experience: a terribly turbulent ride on a commercial plane through a thunderstorm. The feelings were similar to the day at the park: anxiety, tensions, and nausea. That day my fear of heights and falling evolved into an overally fear of flying. That experience didn't entirely stop me from flying, but it did make every flight I took less pleasant. For a period of time I'd be happy driving on vacations. For a few years this continued to trouble me in life. However, Decemeber 28th, 1995, my world of fear changed dramatically. My dad paid for my first flight lesson as a Christmas gift. I flew for about an hour with an instructor and absolutely fell in love with flying from that point on. The feeling I got from taking control and feeling the air flow under the wings and lift the plane skyward was incredible and momentarily blocked out any of the bad memories I had from the past. I was extremely nervous, and I was a little bit anxious because I had never quite flown like this before, but after a few lessons I think I became quite comfortable in the air. I guess you could say that I 'flipped a switch' and was instantly hooked on something I once considered to be my biggest fear. Present Day: That fateful day when I first took control of a plane and flew into the wild blue yonder changed my world dramatically. I liked it so much that my dad gave me the permission, and the money, to start pilot training at the local airport. Since then, I've earned my pilot's licence and am involved in flight training at Ohio University. Now, instead of thinking that flying high is torture, I consider it the best way to expand my horizons. Page by: Adam Joly To visit my personal webpage, click HERE |
A dizzying view of the first hill of THE BEAST at Kings Island. Riders get quite a view of the steep 110 foot drop!
To see more of THE BEAST as well as all of the rides and attractions at Kings Island, click on the picture to go to the home page.
This is an interesting picture of a Boeing 747 'Jumbo Jet' 30 feet above a very active beach before landing at a French airport. Click HERE to go to Boeing's Home Page
Every summer, at air shows across the country, thousands of fans can hear the roaring thunder and excitement of aircraft streaking across the sky. My personal favorite performance aerobatic group is the US Air Force Thunderbirds. They perform high speed aerobatic maneuvers and are the best of the best in the Air Force.
Here is a picture of a vertical close formation climb at 8,000 feet. As you can imagine, the fear of flying can make this experience quite unpleasant.
Click HERE to go to the homepage of Ohio University's Department of Aviation |
