Fear of Flying. Airports

At the World Fear of Flying Conference this year a recommendation was made to ICAO ( the World Governing body responsible for aviation) that airports and airlines should take more responsibility for passengers who have a fear of flying.

I agree with this because as this picture shows airports are not user friendly places for anyone...let alone someone with a fear of flying.

International Flight Connections to the left and International Flight connections to the right.

Keith and the team

Fear of flying. Technology

To a pilot...this picture is a perfect office to work in. The ergonomics are perfect, the layout of the instrument panels present all the information a pilot needs to operate the aircraft. The beauty of flying this aircraft would be the ease with which a pilot could 'read' the instrument panel.

A fear of flying is also about accessing information...the more a fearful flyer knows about flying, the more confidence is gained...and that helps to avoid negative thoughts and replace fiction and fear with facts.

To help you access information on this blog we limit the number of posts displayed to about 20 of thew 60 available.

Keith

Fear of flying. Video help

The fear of flying can be overcome. This video is one of forty three soon to be available on the website. They are designed to let you see and experience the things that cause you concern. And you can choose when to watch them...according to your feelings at the time. As the video runs there are captions that describe what is going on in a way that is useful to anyone with a fear of flying. There is nothing in them which will surprise or alarm you. These are the facts and truths about flying...if you don't have the facts your fear of flying and negativity will always control you.

Keith and the team

Fear of flying. It can be overcome!

After a great deal of anxiety and messages on the forum, Jane overcame her fear of flying and managed a trip to Egypt.

If you want to know how she did it go to the forum and look for Janeybee.

It wasn't easy for her but I think the pay off was well worth the effort, tears and courage.

Well done Jane from everyone at flying without fear.com

Fear of flying. Engine reliability.

One of the regular questions about a fear of flying that I'm asked is about the reliability of engines. Now that two engined aircraft are frequently used on intercontinental flights that's hardly surprising. But jet engines are very different from the old piston engines shown in this picture. Jet turbines are used in the production of electricity and they run for years without stopping. Because they are so simple there are fewer things to go wrong with them. If you have a fear of flying think of a jet engine like this...and it really is this simple...and therefore is very very reliable...A jet engine sucks in cold air at the front through the big hole heats it up in the middle and then forces it out of the smaller hole at the back. It's the same principle as an inflated balloon being released...though much more controlled!

Keith

Fear of Flying. Listen & Go.

Hi

Some years ago I met the actor Jasper Britton who came on a Simulator fear of flying course...a little later I met a lady who said that an Audio CD would be a great help to anyone who had a fear of flying...as long as I included the sounds of things that you can hear in a plane. The two meetings resulted in our Listen & Go...flying withoutFear CD set.

I wrote a script which Jasper very kindly offered to narrate. His reassuring voice and 'inside' knowledge of a fear of flying has resulted in a very 'listenable to' set of CD's that run for nearly four hours. We have two track of very relaxing music that British Airways used on their flight entertainment channels. You can hear extracts on the web site.

Having the ' sounds' of flying available when you are relaxed sitting in an armchair or while you're in your car is a perfect way of becoming acclimatised to them. One of the ways to overcome a fear of flying is by this graded exposure technique. They are very good value compared to many of the help products that are available to anxious flyers. Why not check out the extracts and testimonials now?

Keith and the team

The fear of flying.The pilot's job.

When I started flying in 1959 pilots were expected to be individuals and forthright leaders. Their decisions were expected to be followed without question and everything about them wsa based on the military stereotype. And that's why so many people with a fear of flying are pleased to discover that the 'Hollywood pilot' isn't anything like the real thing.


The training that I now do is with newly qualified pilots, or very experienced ones. The new ones have to learn effective flight deck behaviour through a subject we call human factors. They learn about team building and leadership, decision making, situational awareness, communication, human error and enough other stuff to fill three days. The experienced pilots I deal with are learning to become training pilots. We do seven days of learning and teaching theory including two days of simulator flying. After years and years of doing everything correctly it's great to become a student again and fly the simulator like a student pilot to test the skill and patience of new trainers.

Why this blog about what I do?

First I want you to be confident that though I'm retired I'm still in touch with operational pilots and secondly that although pilot training is intensive and requires high levels of skill... they are skills that anyone of average intelligence can aquire. So if your fear of flying involves worrying about what the pilots are doing and whether they can 'manage' it's time to accept that they can. Forget the Hollywood nonsense. Pilots are ordinary people.
Check out the pilots on our video page.



Keith

Fear of flying. Travel Tip.

Don't make your fear of flying worse by ignoring it and just hoping that when the time comes to step on board you'll find the courage. Careful preparation of your mind and body will make it easier to resist the negative thoughts that control your actions.

If we were preparing for an interview or an examination it's unlikely that we'd stay up late or go to a party the night before...it's unlikely that we'd leave home late and just hope that we'd get there on time...it's unlikely that we'd choose the clothes to wear just before leaving...it's unlikely that we'd get fuel up the car on the way ... and so on. Preparation relaxes the mind and body will help you to deal with your fear of flying more effectively. Our in flight pocket guide will help you before, during and after your flight.



Keith and the team.