Your Flying without Fear Course

(If you use your sat-nav to get here use Departure Lounge Cafe as your destination as most nav systems will direct you to a dis-used farm track a mile away!)
We’ll meet in the Cafe before the course starts to enjoy a cup of tea or coffee and to get to know each other. We’ll talk about the things that make you anxious about flying and to get a plan of what we’re going to talk about during the day.

We’ll stop for other breaks and have lunch in the cafe at about 1245. The wingless and engineless plane that we’ll spend most of the day on is a 30-second walk from the Cafe entrance.

Your classroom for the day is a de-commissioned airliner… it has no wings and no engines so we’re not going to trick you into flying. It stays firmly on the ground. The seats have been re-arranged to give you more room but not too much as to make it unrealistic. We’ve got sound and videos to help to re-create being on board and taking a flight. Your fear of flying is a learned fear and so you can unlearn it …and the plane is where we’ll do that and where you can learn to be comfortable in a friendly and non-threatening environment.

The hardest question I ever have to answer about the course is What do you do? The answer is simple but difficult to explain because we do what you want us to do. If you want to talk about turbulence we’ll talk about turbulence. if taking off scares you then I’ll explain everything you need to know about taking off. If you want to know how to deal with panic attacks or claustrophobia we’ll talk about that. It’s not scripted so the explanations will be the ones you need …not the ones I want to give you.

We’ll use sounds and videos to explain what happens at any part of your flight. Most people are interested in all the support services that make your flight safe, engineering, Air Traffic Control, Pre-flight boarding procedures. We’ll explain how planes fly in a way you’ve probably never seen.

The most important feature of the day is that you’ll be relaxed, you’ll enjoy it and you’re certain to laugh along the way because your fear is a learned fear and we’ll help you to unlearn it.

The first thing you’ll learn is that you’re not alone with your fear. Over 40% of the population are anxious about flying.

You’ll learn that planes don’t fly because of magic, they fly because they have to … they can’t do anything else if certain conditions are met. Flying is governed by science and facts, not feelings and guesswork.

You’ll learn how to use breathing and muscle routines to calm yourself. Not mumbo jumbo stuff but good sensible down to earth stuff that works and is easy to do.

You’ll learn how to stay in control and apply facts instead of being overwhelmed by feelings and fear.

I started my flying career in 1959 when I flew gliders in the Air Cadet movement. When I was 16 I realised that the only way for me to fly planes was to get my own licences and find work privately. I didn’t have the confidence and neither did I feel up to the standards required by the Air force or Airline sponsored schemes.
I spent several years as a hospital porter paying for my flying lessons. When I qualified for my Instructor’s certificate I was fortunate enough to get a job at the flying club where I had learned to fly. Through the years I gradually reached the standard of an airline pilot’s licence and was lucky enough to find a job with B.E.A which subsequently merged with B.O.A.C. to become British Airways in the 27 years I flew with them I was a captain on the Boeing 757 and B767. I was also a training and check pilot.
I am still involved with pilot training, teaching new pilots the interpersonal skills required in airline operation and training airline captains to become training pilots. My wife and I between us have 6 children and 13 grandchildren. Vivienne helps me with the courses and with most of the admin duties. She was a Traffic Dispatcher at Southampton airport for many years and was part of their training team.

It works because you are at the centre of the course. We do what you need not what we think you might need. We answer the questions that you ask … we don’t tell the story from our point of view because this is about you and your needs. It’s your fear, your day, and most importantly it’ll be your fix. The plan is to plant a seed so that you can go away nurture, feed, prune and enjoy the fruits of your efforts. You’ll have a lasting strategy for dealing with your fear.

We don’t leave you to your own devices after the course. We’ll stay in contact and give you all the support you need. Part of the course deal is that you can come along, at anytime, free of charge for a top-up course. We’ll send you emails to stay in touch and give you guidance and support whenever you need it. if you connect with me on facebook messenger I can talk to you during your flight if your plane is wi-fi equipped. How’s that for a personal service? We’ll also enrol you into the Premium on-line course free of charge where you’ll have access to the world’s biggest resource for fearful flyers.

If you would like to receive Helpletters periodically to give you support and guidance after your course please click on the subscribe button but ONLY WHEN YOU HAVE PAID FOR AND COMPLETED THE COURSE, otherwise they will not make sense to you and they will be out of sequence. Please do NOT sign up for newsletters unless you have attended the course.