11/10/09 Tuesday evening from 6:30 to 8:30

12/5/09 Saturday morning from 10:00 to noon

Go here for Cleared for Takeoff class details and the sign-up page.

Need Help Getting to the Gates?

Our monthly Cleared for Takeoff class met this weekend at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix.  For two hours, fearful flyers shared, learned, and asked Capt. Ron about fear of flying, takeoffs, turbulence, and landings.

Capt. Ron  patiently answered questions and made new fear of flying fans  with jokes like these:  “Turbulence bothers me in the cockpit because I have to put down my copy of USA Today!”  One woman told Capt. Ron he should be on Oprah because he’s so “caring and compassionate.”

During class, I always remain in the background, listening to students’ questions, jotting down blog ideas.  Fearful flyer questions are good writing fodder.  But during this Cleared for Takeoff class, I asked my own questions: “Where are all the men?  Are women the only ones afraid to fly?”  The majority of fearful flyers who come to class are women.  Is fear of flying a female problem?  Should we blame fear of flying on the fact that we’re the weaker, fairer sex?  Could it be related to hormones??

Men do go online to order our Chicken Soup for the Soul Presents the Fearless FlightKit. They order downloads of our online Cleared for Takeoff class. But by and large, they don’t go public with their fear of flying.

Why not?  That four-letter word they don’t like to use:  FEAR.  And I’m not talking about flying fear.  A lot of men are scared to admit they’re scared to fly.  It’s about being brave. Being MANLY!  It’s a macho thing not to be seen as a “wuss” about flying.  So many men suffer in silence.  They creatively disguise their flying fear by saying things like:  “I’m bothered by flying” or ”I’m not a very good flyer” or ”I really hate to fly.”

So all you fearful flyer guys, as Dr. Phil says, “It’s time to get real.”  It’s time to bring your fear of flying out of your carry-on baggage.  Again to use Dr. Phil’s words of wisdom, “You can’t get over what you can’t acknowledge.”  And there’s nobody better man than Capt. Ron to help you overcome it once you do admit it.  He gets what it’s like to be a fearful flyer.  He’s been there!  He always begins class with the story of his first flight, which made a fearful flyer out of him until he finally overcame it to become a pilot.

We at Fearlessflight.com aren’t going to laugh at you or embarrass you or shame you.  We recognize that flying scares the #@)?!#! out of you.  You’re actually allowed to be afraid.  And we don’t care whether you’re a man or a woman.  You just have to want to become a better flyer.

About the Author:  Diane Owens has been helping people overcome their fear of flying since 2005.  She writes about fear of flying for Fearless Flight.com and assists Capt. Ron Nielsen in spreading the message that flying is the safest way to travel on the planet.

We don’t advocate alcohol as a way to cope with fear of flying, but we do tell fearful flyers that if medication such as Xanax can help get them on the plane and take the edge of their fear, then yes, get a prescription from your doctor and use it. Fear of flying can be overcome, but trying to fly “cold turkey” with no medication or new knowledge and coping strategies may further traumatize you and keep you in fear of flying mode for a long time to come.

Once you’ve managed to get yourself on a plane after being fully prepared to tackle the flight, you may have an AH-HA moment about your fear, just like Ray Bradbury did. And then the world will be at your feet, just like it was for him.

This class covers takeoffs and turbulence as well as presenting strategies for coping with fear of flying.

Although the class is free, please register here so that you can receive email directions to the class.

What surprises me is that for many, getting airborne provides no relief.  Instead of feeling comforted by the acceleration and climb, many fearful flyers have a nagging dread from the thought that the airplane won't be able to sustain its momentum and will "settle" back to Earth.  Not likely!

In all my years of working with fearful flyers, I've heard a million questions and I love answering them.  I'm always listening to what they tell me about what bothers them.   And I always learn something new!

You see, we bring our own perceptions, our own "stories" to fear of flying and what we tell ourselves about what's going on up there.  I love it in our live Phoenix classes when someone asks a question and when they hear the answer, I can just see the relief my answer brought to them. 

Sometimes just one piece of information–the right information!–is critical in overcoming fear of flying.

So learn all you can about takeoff.  You can start with my informative article about takeoff.  Get the facts and get clear on what's going on during all that "rockin' and rollin down the runway." 

My goal is for you to eventually be able to say to yourself, "So what's the big deal about takeoff?"

A fearful flyer in class admitted that her fear of flying was centered on being afraid to fly over water. “I’ve never flown over an ocean,” she said. ” In case of an emergency, where does the plane land?”

The obvious difference between flying over water and flying cross country is the absence of land underneath.  So we increase the amount of fuel reserves and have very specific (and stringent) rules for returning to land at various points along the way.  In other words, there is a certain point going either direction at which we return to the point of origin or continue to the destination if a contingency came up.

You should know that even before an airline can operate these kind of flights, they must conduct “proving runs” over routes of similar length in the United States demonstrating that they could handle a flight of similar duration over water without relying upon suitable landing alternates along the way.

Airplanes fly routes every day from New York to LA.  It’s slightly farther than flying from the West Coast to Hawaii.  I’ll bet as a passenger you likely don’t think about this as much on a cross country flight because there are many suitable alternate airports underneath as we fly across the country.  Trans-continental flights happen daily in both directions, and it is extremely rare that a flight has to land because of mechanical problems.

Mechanical problems–oops, don’t be worrying about that now too!  As an alternative to your worry, I suggest focusing on the tremendous mechanical reliability of airplanes.  The built-in redundancy, layers upon layers of backup systems, and incredibly reliable engines make the possibility of a mishap the remote possibility that it has become.  In fact, airplanes are so reliable that you would have to fly ONCE a day EVERY day for over 15,000 years to be statistically at risk of being in an airplane crash!

If you don’t think you can focus on anything but your fear of flying over water, I recommend you purchase Chicken Soup Presents The Fearless Flight Kit™ available at Fearless Flight.com. The kit is designed to help people overcome their fear of flying so they can take advantage of the wonderful convenience of traveling on a modern airline and arriving rested and reaady for business or recreation.  The Flight Harmonizer CD™ in the kit is uniquely designed to distract you from your fearful thoughts.  Many people are flying free from fear courtesy of this unique audio distraction tool. Some people find it so effective that they fell asleep while flying the first time they listened to it.

It’s all about where you’re focusing your thoughts, and if you cannot focus on anything but your fear, it makes flying very difficult.  The Flight Harmonizer CD is a huge help to taking your focus off your fear—whether it’s flying over land or water!

When not airborne, he hung around the airport and was permitted to move about from plane to airport to facilitate changing to other flights. As interesting as the myriad of activities he engaged in to occupy his time and distract from his fear were the comments from readers of the article.  Some questioned the validity of his fear versus the publicity-stunt aspect.  While there may have been some mixed motivation, I found his activities to have a basis in some sound strategies for fear of flying. 

For instance, he uses  the Sky Mall catalog as a means of distraction.  Check out this funny video from the Boston Globe article to see what I mean, and then the next time you fly, you can use the Sky mall catalog to distract you from your flying fear as you and your seatmate discuss the unusual items you can purchase.  Perhaps a snow cone machine is in your future?

Then, check out an article I wrote about fear of flying that was triggered by the Boston Globe article about Mark Malkoff.

I came across this column called Feeding the Fear of Flying about the writer’s fearful flyer husband.  The couple’s solution to cure fear of flying made me smile and reminded me of what we advise fearful flyers to do.

The writer described her own fear of heights (which doesn’t bother her in an airplane) and told how her husband has tried everything to get over his fear of flying.  Well, not everything, because he hasn’t come to Fearless Flight.com for help to my knowledge!

The one thing that made him feel better was to fly in one of those small twin-prop planes, the ones that scare the pants off me.  Give me a big solid commercial airliner and I’m great.  Put me in one of those little tiny cans, and I suddenly remember MY fear of heights.

The writer guessed that her husband’s fear of flying was less in a smaller plane because he felt more in control.  He could see the pilot.  Not being in control seems to bother 90% of the fearful flyers I work with.  I just spoke with someone earlier today who realized that this was a large part of his fear.

The writer and her husband have read that some airlines are considering putting on one of the radio channels a live voice feed from the cockpit to calm the passengers. Pilots can choose to speak on the PA system when they want, but with this live feed, the passengers would sample everything that goes on in the cockpit.  Meet the pilots…up close, personal, uncensored.

Until that day comes with the Pilots’ Cockpit Radio Show, I’d suggest doing something else to Meet the Pilots.  Ask to pre-board because you’re a fearful flyer.  Tell the flight attendants that you’re afraid to fly and that it really helps you to connect with the pilots.

I just spoke with a woman who followed this advice, and it made a huge difference.  She had flown only twice in 38 years when she decided to tackle her fear. She bought the Fearless FlightKit with the Flight Harmonizer, then came to the Cleared for Takeoff class and heard our advice:  Meet the pilots.  She said the pilot was very kind and even took her into the cockpit for a few minutes.  During the flight, she kept her eyes closed, listened to the Flight Harmonizer, and visualized being a cork on the water.  It worked!  Now she’s looking forward to many more trips to make up for all that lost time.

You CAN overcome fear of flying by doing something different.  OR you think of all the things the airlines can do to make you feel better about flying.  I’ve learned the answer is inside you, not inside the cockpit.

About the Author:  Diane Owens has been helping people overcome their fear of flying since 2005.  She writes about fear of flying for Fearless Flight.com and assists Capt. Ron Nielsen in spreading the message that flying is the safest way to travel on the planet.

Our first task was classroom setup, which may sound unimportant but really isn’t.  Eric and I are both pilots for the same airline.  We actually flew together as Captain and First Officer over fifteen years ago.  After a quick re-introduction, we were soon working together.  Since we had been locked out of the classroom until a custodian arrived, setup time was shorter than we anticipated. Eric and I had to have a plan of action prior to entering the room, and we had to complete the set-up once we gained access to the room.

And why is this so important?  This was actually a perfect demonstration of Crew Resource Management.  Flight crews are trained to be objective, cool, and collected.  We are groomed to be team players.  We are goal-oriented people.  This is, quite possibly, the most important keystone in airline, or aviation safety.

Once Eric and I agreed on the set-up details, we rolled up our shirtsleeves and made it happen.  We even revised the plan as we went along.  This team effort allowed us to have the room ready in time for our fearful flyer students.

Flight crews fly airplanes in the same fashion.  These checks and double-checks and our refined attitudes contribute greatly to airline safety.  It’s not just the pilots and flight attendants who have this attitude:  Virtually all work groups within any airline share these essential characteristics!  It is a fact:  There is no “I” in “TEAM.”

For the duration of the class, I was the camera guy to film Capt. Ron teaching and the fearful flyers’ questions.  This meant that I needed to be in two places at once.  I compromised and placed the camera on the side of the classroom, simply pivoting the camera to view Capt. Ron and the specific student asking a question.

As the class began, Eric listed on a dry erase board some key concerns of the fearful flyers.   After two hours of enthusiastic classroom discussion, Ron wrapped up the formal portion of the presentation, and Eric then took the floor to discuss some specific topics about the Airbus.

Eric has a great deal of experience with both the Airbus and Boeing aircraft, which are both commonly used by the airlines.  He discussed the differences in the various sounds and sensations of flight in these aircraft.  Then he answered questions about turbulence, rain shower activity, and airline flight after dark.

After the class, some students remained to ask specific questions of us pilots.   In effect, we ended up with three independent discussion groups.  The students went  from group to group to get their specific questions answered.

In conclusion, it was a great experience to volunteer at the Cleared for Takeoff class.  It has been said that if you want to learn a subject, then teach it.  The questions of the students and their courageous sharing of their concerns has provided me a new perspective as an airline pilot.  I look forward to volunteering in the future!

Capt. John who has been flying since 1983 and has logged 20,000 hours of flying is today’s guest blogger.