Flying Fear

Category: Understanding Flying

  • Excellent Video of Flight From Start to Finish

    Excellent Video of Flight From Start to Finish

    This is a very good video for those with a fear of flying. Watch the flight from start to finish (video is about 45mins long). Pay special attention to all the checks that the pilots carry out at various stages of the flight. [yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBTbTCLEp4M’]

  • Video: Go-Around Cockpit View

    Another quick video for you of a go-around, this time filmed from the cockpit. If you have a fear of flying, a go-around can seem a pretty scary event. As you can tell from this video though, it is a completely normal procedure. Notice how Air Traffic Control are asking the plane in front to […]

  • Video: Go Around (Missed Approach)

    A go-around (sometimes called a missed approach) is a perfectly normal procedure. At the time of writing, I have experienced four go-arounds in approx 3,000 flights – so although it is a normal procedure, it’s also relatively rare. But, you may experience one on your next flight, or maybe you’ve already done so and didn’t […]

  • First Time Flying? A Video of Take-Off

    As I’ve had many emails from first time flyers with questions along the lines of ‘what is take-off like?’, I have a quick video for you showing a typical take-off from Madrid Barajas Airport. NB: The odd noise you can hear as we go down the runway is my camera moving against the window – […]

  • Monarch’s Three Rejected Take-Offs

    You may or may not have seen this story featured in the UK media, but for those of you that have it’s simply another example of bored journalists sensationalising stories in order to sell papers – and generally breeding a fear of flying amongst the general public. In fact, SKY News reported that the passengers […]

  • Fear of Flying: Bird Strikes (Video)

    As a follow on from my recent comments regarding the US Airways incident in New York a few days ago, I thought it would be a good idea to discuss the implications of bird strikes on commercial aircraft. I’ve previously mentioned that bird strikes are relatively common. Although I’ve only experienced it once in 3000 […]

  • Scared of Flying? Let’s Put Things in Perspective

    I’m not going to insult your intelligence by implying that accidents do not happen. We all know they do. But, when I tell you that flying is safe, I do so with confidence. Firstly, I would like to share with you some statistics from the very informative The Flying Book: Everything You’ve Ever Wondered About […]

  • The Fear of Flying: What is a Rejected Take-Off

    Many people’s fear of flying stems from a previous bad experience whilst flying. I had an email conversation with a reader yesterday. This person had not been on a plane for 12 years due to what she described as an emergency on her last flight. Naturally, I wanted to hear the details to enable me […]

  • What to Expect When Flying: Pre-Departure (Part 2)

    Yesterday I began to describe the events and noises you can expect to see and hear before take-off. So, let’s continue….. Other noises you may hear at this point will be mainly hydraulic. The pilots will be working through their initial pre-flight checks and this may involve use of hydraulic systems. When the luggae hold […]

  • What to Expect When Flying: Pre-Departure

    Welcome to the first in a series of articles detailing what to expect when flying. My aim in this series is to better prepare you for your flight (whether it’s your first flight, or not) by detailing all the events, procedures and noises that you can expect to see or hear. Whereas I will try […]