Scared of heights!

[Guest jab_a_roo]

Hi fly gurls & guys,

 

I am thinking of starting to fly but I am scared of heights! Any of you guys in the same boat as me? What did you to overcome this? Any tips appreciated!

 

 

[DarkSarcasm]

I'm not scared of heights myself (falling yes, heights no) but I do know two guys who both work as pilots (one as an instructor) who are both scared of heights...so maybe it's different being in an aircraft as opposed to a tall building or something? (Hope this helps even a little)

 

 

[rdarby]

I won't stand near the window in a high building but flying is fine. I am in control and that seems to take the fear away. Ryan

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

take up skydiving!

 

actually i'm scared of heights, especially the height that if you fall from you die in agony on the way to hospital.

 

 

[dazza 38]

Hi mate, Welcome.I hope you enjoy it hear.Im not scared of heights, but i do get that sensation if standing near a edge of a cliff, being drawn to the edge.(I work on High Rise Construction LOL).

 

Tips- you get used to it.

 

 

[bones]

Yep i am, hate getting too high for no good reason, actually thats i lie, even when i need to get high i hate it,i flown to ingham a couple of times, the range between here and there is about 4200' i fly over it at 4250', just high enough to clear the trees, dont know what it is, cant get the idea of what the altimeter is saying im so high, but im only 50' above the trees, but it doesnt make sense.

 

Im good to about 2000', if i go higher if i can occupy my mind with stuff, i be right for awhile, after that nope count me out.

 

So if you want to fly low im the instructor for you :)

 

Its a personal thing really, i know another guy, who still can not fly higher 1000' he been flying for 15 years

 

 

[Thalass]

I'm much the same. If i'm up on a scissorlift or something I'm fine, until i lean over the edge or something! It's more a fear of falling. If there's a fence, or even better if i'm strapped in to a seat, i'm fine.

 

But my mum is terrified of flying, no matter what. I suppose everyone is different.

 

 

[Guest jab_a_roo]

I've often thought that there must be cool pilots out there that are scared of heights but can fly fine. Thanks for the heads up fellas. Looking forward to hitting the skys!

 

 

[Boofhead]

I have done over 300 skydives and the height never scared me in the slightest, and the same for flying, in fact the higher the better as far as I'm concerned.

 

However, I am scared of heights in that I HATE being on top of buildings near the edge, or cliffs, whatever. I can't stand watching other people walking right up to the edge, it gives me the willies. It's human instinct to back away.

 

I think the big difference is in flying/aviation activities you are in a void, where as on top of a building you have a reference from your position all the way to the ground.

 

 

[maddogmorgan]

Hey Boofhead,

 

You hit the nail right on the head...it is all about a visual perspective...many people have this. (There is a term for it but can't think of it off the top of my head) I get that awful feeling in the pit of my stomach looking off a building, but 5000 AGL it's no problem. There is also an element of learned behaviour, a young child will have little fear but as they are taught that something is dangerous...you get the drift. It's also useful to pilots in that it helps us to judge speed when we are landing. At 10000 you cant tell by ground reference how fast you are travelling but at 50 feet you certainly can!

 

 

[flightygirl]

hi jab.

 

if you have a true fear of heights and it is going to stop you from getting into an aircraft, then you might want to consider consulting a psychologist who can do some systematic desensitisation with you. basically it would involve exposing you slowly to your fear while at the same time reframing the irrational thinking that is fueling the fear. (yes i am a psychologist). if you are really commited to flying and your fear of heights is stopping you then i recommend you give it a go... its a very effective method of overcoming fear or phobias.

 

Rach

 

 

[chrsq]

I am scared of heights, anything over 5m.

 

When I first started lessons I thought that I would not be able to handle it and had a few lessons where when we banked to the left I would be leaning up to my instructor with my head on their shoulder. This would have been ok if i had a female instructor but it was a 60 year young CFI who would laugh and reasure me that it would soon go away. He was right, the more I took control the more the more I forgot about falling out the door.

 

I have now my GFPT and have no problems in an aircraft........ still **** scared on tall buildings though.

 

 

[sfGnome]

I'm the other way around I think. I'm not at all bothered by heights, be they cliffs or tall buildings or whatever, but the first time that my instructor tipped the plane forward and left (demonstrating incipient spin or something), I just about wet myself.

 

Doesn't bother me now, but geez I got a fright at the time! Don't worry Jab. You'll be ok.

 

 

[farri]

Ok guys and gals,here`s a fact,used to teach it to my students.

 

The only two fears that we are born with, as part of our instinct, are," The Fear Of Loud Sound/Noise " and " The Fear Of Falling ",every other fear is a learnt fear.

 

I think the fear of heights is linked to the fear of falling, and by accepting that this fear is natural and that we will never loose it, we can then go on to deal with it,each in their own way.

 

I`m not ashamed to admit,that after 25 years of flying,half of those instructing,I`m still dealing with, " The Fear Of Falling ".

 

Cheers,

 

Frank.

 

 

[Tomo]

I'm not particularly comfortable standing near the edge of a tall building, or cliff... but if it has a rail or something I'm right. I'm usually more scared of my younger brother or sister failing off than myself! I've had to grow used to it though, as when you're climbing over tall machinery, up silo's, working on tall buildings... you just have to grin and bare it! The view is often worth it anyway.

 

I took three people flying on the weekend that were scared of heights, I said it was ok, cause most pilots are!!

 

The only real time you will feel you are falling, believe it or not, is on climb out if you look down. It creates a reference point or something, and then vertigo sets in, then fear... etc As soon as I take off they usually hold onto you (similar to what you did I guess Chrsq) I don't mind it as long as I can still operate the controls!

 

Quickly get them to look out, rather than down, and it will help a lot. Once you're up and above 1000ft it doesn't seem to have any effect with reference to the ground. Coming in to landing doesn't seem to bad I found, as they are looking out the front, and I usually talk them down anyway, so that may help.

 

Sorry about the rambling, but Go for it Jab, if on your first couple of times you feel weird, look out the front/ horizon and not down. It will help a lot.

 

And if for some reason you can't handle it, and feel sick, just tell the instructor and he will land, you aren't obligated to do a 'set' amount of airtime, so don't force yourself all in one hit, as you don't want to scare yourself of flying, rather, you want to slowly get used to it. And trust me, you will. (We did the same thing for my Mum, she used to get sick quite easily, or feel sick, and it just wasn't fun for her... so we just did little bits at a time. Now it doesn't effect her at all.)

 

Take care, have fun, and let us know how you go! :thumb_up:

 

 

[Sloper]

l dont like heights at all, still dont.

 

But in aircraft l am fine.

 

regards Bruce

 

 

[planedriver]

flightygirl is dead right, there is an old saying that goes something like this-------gradually do what you fear most, to overcome fear!

 

It used to work well with the "dragonlady" (mother-in-law).

 

 

[Gibbo]

hmm.. No fear of heights only falling. lol. I'm an Ex-windmill mechanic so you do get over it when you spend your days up the top of a NT windmill.

 

I notice than I have no real sense of height until i'm about 300' from the ground and then I am very aware of it. I found the same thing when I had a few goes at skydiving in my youth.

 

I'm yet to try an open cockpit and I suspect that I may be feeling it a little more intensly.

 

Gibbo

 

 

[GraemeK]

Total fear of heights, floor to ceiling windows on tall buildings etc freak me out (I have a corner office about 40 floors up, full height windows and I can't make myself go near them).

 

But flying? Like others have said, no problems at all. Dunno why, maybe being in control is a factor - or maybe it really is a fear of falling rather than a fear of heights. Either way, go for it!

 

 

[dazza 38]

Hi Guys, it did take me a while to get used to height working on high rise. Most buildings i have worked on are around the 40 to 50 floor range.But Q 1, was something else, a little scary, when we plumbed the penthouse Pool and Spa, it is on the 74 floor (i think), no glass at the time because they were well behind about 30 floor below us, installing.Anyway we had temporary hand rails made from scaffold.To stop us falling out LOL. 77 floor we had gas heaters, on the mechanical floor above the observation deck.That is high, and it felt high, and a little scary.But after a few days, we got used to the height. Since it has opened, i have been up to the observation deck a few times.It is amazing how many people will not go close to the windows, as they are Full Glass, floor to ceiling. I think being scared of heights is more common than not.

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Talking about working at height.

 

A couple of photos of a mate who put the skywalk on Centrepoint Tower in Sydney.

 

On some stages of it a harness just caused to many problems. So it was dispensed with.

 

The one were he is having a smoke has been made into a anti smoking T shirt. caption is 'smoking is dangerous for your health'. The whole photo album of how they built the skywalk is pretty amazing. would have made a great doco.

 

 

 

 

[farri]

Maybe "The Fear Of Falling" is an incorrect description, more accurate would be, "The Fear Of Hitting The Ground" .

 

I took a very experienced, senior commercial pilot, who had been through the RAAF and flown just about everything there was to fly,for a flight in the Drifter.

 

Before we went up I briefed him on the fact that because he`d never been in something as exposed as the Drifter before, he may feel a little insecure,but not to worry, because,"The only fear of falling out, was the fear of falling out, itself "

 

So off we went and when we got back, I asked ," Did you enjoy that ", and you can believe this,it`s true, he replied, " Loved it,but I was sitting there thinking, What the f*****g hell am I doing up here in this thing,I could fall out of this".

 

I kid you not,I still get a chuckle out of it.

 

Frank.

 

" Flying Is Easy,Crashing Is Har".

 

 

[GraemeK]

"It's not the falling that hurts, it's the sudden stop at the end".

True - mate of mine who worked on building Nauru House in the '70's always reckoned he carried around a lump of 4 by 2. If he fell off he reckoned he'd put the wood under his feet, then jump off it a few feet from the ground. Less distance to fall!

 

 

[farri]

Off topic.....But.......,on a serious note,last year,my nextdoor neighbour,a 73 year old canefarmer,(no jokes about canefarmers please ), was at the top of his 6 meter ladder,cutting a branch off a tree,didn`t have the lader secured to the branch and when he cut the branch,(no he didn`t cut it on the wrong side of the ladder ) ,the branch sprund back, knocking the ladder off the branch.

 

As the ladder reached vertical,he managed to get about a meter down the ladder ,realising he was in Big S**T he decided to jump rather than come down with the ladder on top of him.

 

Went to the doctor for checkup,hardly a sratch,doctor said " Don`t do it too often,most people who fall 4/5 meters die".

 

Used same ladder myself after cyclone Larry,had it fully extended,on the back of my ute,well secured,and using a chainsaw at the top of it,Man was I nervous.

 

By the way, The commercial pilot I spoke about earlier,purchased a recreational AC,not a Drifter however,with his qulifactions he was able to fly out of Cairns airport,now retired to due to health.

 

Should you read any of this, N........, old fried,I sincearly hope you are well and happy.

 

Cheers,

 

Frank

 

 

[Gibbo]

[ATTACH]11582.vB[/ATTACH]

 

This should make you shudder then. lol