Fear of Flying
 

I am a very nervous flyer. I really hate turbulence. I usually try to time flights so that I minimize the chance of turbulence. Is a non stop flight from Boston to Las Vegas one of those flights that will probably always have some turbulence? Would I be better off to fly early in the morning, or late at night? Any insight would be appreciated

I think you'll always encounter turbulence when you get towards Vegas. From what I've read the Rockies region causes a lot of it. My Vegas - Chicago flights in January was very turbulent. In and out of Denver a couple of weekends ago was bad too. Not sure time of day makes a difference.

I'm a nervous flyer, too, but I know in my head that there's very little to worry about. I imagine you know all this already, but read this blog post about turbulence from a Southwest pilot.

http://www.blogsouthwest.com/2006/06/08/turbulence/

There's also Turbulence Forecast.

http://www.turbulenceforecast.com/

I find a full stomach helps to lessen the reaction to turbulence. Seriously. Bring snacks.

My son who is a pilot tells me that it's smoother to fly at night, since the heat of the day cause difference in the air pressure which can cause turbulance. He also tells me that a plane will not fall out of the sky, and basically when you hit turbulence it's like driving on a bad road or throught a storm. I used to be like you about flying, but after listening to him, I do feel much safer. Good luck.

Turbulence won't make the plane fall apart, if that is what you are concerned about. Boeing performs a destructive test on all models during which they force the wingtips up with jacks or cranes until something finally cracks...when the wingtip has been deflected ten feet or more. In normal service they might deflect a few inches.

Maidalsabel, thanks for clarifying re: time of day. I didn't know about that.

To add to Maidalsabel son's comments - it's not just the air pressure but the fact that the heat during the day creates convection currents and atmospheric layers can heat at different temperatures - thus contributing to turbulence. This effect also is one of the reasons thunderstorms form more often during the day than night, and why air around and above mountains can ofter be rougher.

So yes, flying at night is usually/often smoother.

I am a nervous flyer with a brother who is a pilot.

He one explained to me that planes flying through turbulance is like a boat moving through waves. There is always a lot of up and down but that's what the craft was built for.
I found that reassuring.

Another nervous flyer - my strategy is to look at the flight attendants. If they are chatting, reading, serving drinks and acting as if this happens every day, then it probably does. If they are putting on parachutes, oxygen masks and praying, then I know to worry. The latter has never happened yet, but that does not stop me from looking at them whenever there is a blip from smooth flight.

LOL Gail, I do the same. From my isle seat.

Yes, I do this too - but I often imagine worried looks on their faces! When we landed at Phoenix a few years ago, it was so bad that we were all laughing - "it's like a disaster movie" my son said - and he wasn't wrong!

I don't like flying, but think it's magic to be so far away from home in a few hours! I look at it this way. Odds are that we will arrive safely, so I should enjoy the flight and not worry needlessly.

The big BA jumbo birds have little maps at the back of their seats (also movies, but I prefer watching the map!) and they tell you what height you're at. It's quite remarkable that despite seemingly dropping hundreds of feet in the turbulence, you hardly move at all! And for every down there is an up!

<i>Another nervous flyer - my strategy is to look at the flight attendants. If they are chatting, reading, serving drinks and acting as if this happens every day, then it probably does. If they are putting on parachutes, oxygen masks and praying, then I know to worry. The latter has never happened yet, but that does not stop me from looking at them whenever there is a blip from smooth flight.</i>

This is me to a T. The worst flight I was ever on (Chicago to San Francisco), they actually did have to put away the carts and sit with seat belts on most of the trip. When we landed I asked where the flight fell on a scale of 1 to 10 and they agreed it was at least an 8 -- they probably weren't as scared as the rest of us, but at least they acknowledged how awful it was!

Try this:

Think of a plane as a boat riding the waves, but the waves are air, instead of water. Turbulence is just the air boat hitting some airwaves and bumping along. They don;t stop the boat from moving forward.

The waves don't sink the boat.

Trust me, it helps.

Sorry! That was what someone else said, but I hadn;t read the responses before posting- but it's true.

Maybe you can tell us all what it is you are nervous about.

And also- how funny that there are at least two Fodorites with brothers who are pilots!

Fly United and hope that the pilot turns on Channel 9 so you can hear air traffic control (they usually do). You'll hear pilots and air traffic control discussing ride quality and you'll know what's going on, including your pilot's efforts to find smooth air, which is actually something they care about.

Here's the problem (for those of us who are nervous flyers):

<i>Turbulence is just the air boat hitting some airwaves and bumping along. They don;t stop the boat from moving forward.</i>

So the boat sinks, you get out and swim. The plane sinks and you crash to the ground. I'm not saying it makes sense, only that that's how nervous flyers like me think of it. I really should take one of those classes.

dmlove - The ship sinks because it took it water. The plane can't &quot;sink&quot; because there's no water to be taken in.

Think about this - the NOAA will fly aircraft INTO the strongest hurricanes to take scientific measurements.

rkkwan, I know &quot;intellectually&quot; that what you're telling me is correct. Doesn't help when I'm on the plane :)

No one likes turbulence. Pilots don't like it because you don't, and they do everything they can to avoid it. No pilot will fly any closer to a thunderstorm than s/he has to, and because summer flying is full of thunderstorms, there are lots of delayed flights in the summer.

That being said, there are certain conditions and places that are always going to be &quot;choppy&quot; (bumpy) or turbulent (whoa). Head winds invariably create the bumpy kind of turbulence that pilots call &quot;light chop.&quot; It is absolutely not dangerous, ever.

Mountains can create air currents called standing waves, and mountains often are turbulent when they heat up between morning and evening, since hot air rises and the mountains channel it up, thus flying over the Rockies or Alps at night or early in the day is better than flying later.

Landing in Las Vegas is always going to be at least bumpy because of the temperatures causing convection and the mountains. But your pilot expects it and has flown it many times, so you don't need to worry.

The scariest landing I have ever experienced was at Dubrovnik in Croatia, where strong northern winds called the Bura hit a cliff at the end of the runway and have no where to go but straight up -- bouncing into planes that are trying to go down! But dozens of planes land there every day in every kind of weather.

I don't like turbulence, but reason and a little Ativan will get me through it!

Cross Dubrovnik off my list! (just kidding)