Flying in small aircraft does give you a more one on one feel of atmospheric phenomena. You will feel all of the bumps, thermals, wind shifts, etc.; this is all normal.

 

As far as GA safety is concerned it is on par with riding a motorcycle and not quite as safe as getting in a car; that's a statistic that commercial air travel can claim. As a GA pilot for 5 years I have lost acquaintances to crashes but it's mostly pilot error that caused them.

 

I wouldn't let fear get in the way of enjoying travel in a GA aircraft. It is a different experience and is certainly more intimate than flying along in an airliner with 200 other people.

I've got close to 1000 hrs P1 in real aeroplanes and I still get a little nervous before I fly. Helps to keep me focused!

 

PS: I feel much safer flying an aeroplane compared to driving a car. There are less idiots in the air..

Someone mentioned fear of open spaces. I have that as well and I am not fond of heights (but only if I am out in the open). Heights do not bother me if I am closed in. I flew a number of times with my brother-in-law in small single engine planes and loved it. Airliner flying is ok as well especially since flight sim flying has taught me to understand what causes the different sounds and motions. BTW when my brother-in-law passed away last year I did a memorial flight in FSX using a Cessna. I started from his small airport in Grimsby, Ontario, flew along the shore of Lake Ontario then up the Niagara River to Niagara Falls. After a couple of circuits over the falls I headed to back and landed at the Niagara District Arport in St.Catharines, Ontario. That was a trip we did quite often when he was alive.

Everyone keeps saying that the main danger in GA is "pilot error." Well, that's why I don't trust myself to do it! I make mistakes, especially when I'm under time or other pressure. Everyone makes mistakes. I read somewhere that most people can't drive for more than a mile without making some sort of driving error. Well, I probably can't fly for a mile in FSX without making some sort of flying error, either. We all make errors. That's what makes me nervous when I hear people dismiss GA accidents as pilot error.

Honestly I prefer simming to flying for real. The frame rates in the real airplane just don't compare to what I can get off of my rig.

There are less idiots in the air..

 

You'd be surprised hehe... I work on the other side of the radio...

 

Anyway to the OP, the first time I flew in a small plane I was nervous too. I'm not a fan of rollercoasters and amusement park rides so it was a bit interesting. Find someone you know who's responsible, or a good instructor and see if they'll take you up for a demo flight (might be free or cheap), tear up the pattern or fly over your house etc. There are usually barf bags in the back of small planes if you're not feeling good. It does happen :)

 

Everyone keeps saying that the main danger in GA is "pilot error." Well, that's why I don't trust myself to do it! I make mistakes, especially when I'm under time or other pressure. Everyone makes mistakes. I read somewhere that most people can't drive for more than a mile without making some sort of driving error. Well, I probably can't fly for a mile in FSX without making some sort of flying error, either. We all make errors. That's what makes me nervous when I hear people dismiss GA accidents as pilot error.

 

Yes we do make mistakes, but the key is to use good ADM Aeronautical Decision Making, ie use good judgement, think things through before you act. Obviously sometimes seconds count but it's rare to encounter some extreme danger right off the bat... over time your experience level will build and you'll feel more comfortable flying...

I don't actually like being near the edge of high buildings and stuff like that, but I will cheerfully fling an aeroplane all over the sky. When you are physically strapped to the wings, it is a completely different feeling from the sense you get when up near the edge of a parapet on a tall building, where you might conceivably fall, so it is very different when you are in control of the thing yourself sat in the pilot seat of an aircraft. If you are taught by competent instructors and learn good decision making and flying skills well, then you can put your trust in your skills, which gives you a good deal of confidence in the process of flying the aeroplane.

 

On the other hand, I did a parachute jump once - I hated every second of that LOL.

 

Al

Because if the engine on a car conks out, it doesn't have to make an emergency stop from 100 miles per hour in a nearby ploughed field bordered by trees before you can get out of it safely. :LMAO:

 

Al

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That's why my wife told me she would not get into a G.A. plane with me, unless it had both wheels and pontoons for every 'chance' you would have at a safe landing somewhere down below along the route. That's why I am looking at an older model amphib for real world aviation, later down the line. Without the amphib option...there would be no 'couple/family/friends air travel. I'm good with that....actually, truth be known, I have the same opinion. If I had a choice of 'two' identical items on my aircraft...it would be 'two' pontoons, over 'two' engines!

It's all about being in control for me.

 

I've gotten sick before in an airliner in heavy turbulence, tensed up in a heavy bank I wasn't expecting, etc. In cars, I often tense up riding as a passenger in certain situations. When I'm driving though I have no problems. It's just your body's natural reflex to situations it doesn't deem right.

 

In the case of GA planes, I was probably more comfortable sitting in the right seat of the Piper Saratoga over Niger, Africa then in the A330 that brought me there from France.

 

When you can see out the front window, know that everything is under control, and know you can do something about it if something goes wrong, you feel more comfortable or at least I do. I knew that I could land that Piper if the pilot passed out and I knew I'd be able to tell if someone happened immediately. In an airliner I'm in no control, can't see what's happening, can't see forward etc.

 

Another thing that helped me was realizing that the planes natural environment is in the air. The plane is not just waiting to fall out of the sky at the slightest mistake. It's also just as natural for a plane to fly in a bank, sideways, etc. as it is to fly straight. It's all the same air. Knowing this can relieve some of the anxiety many feel when the plane isn't flying straight and level. Turbulence is no different then a boat hitting waves. Yes, larger waves can damage it but that's why you pay attention to the weather and avoid it.

I used to be a white-knuckle flier in small planes (airliners were no problem) until I learned to fly one myself. Now, as long as I have the yoke in my hands, I'm good to go. Having never been a fan of rollercoasters, I still don't like stall training. Other than that though, I'm comfortable and happy in the air.

 

One thing that surprised me was night training. I'd been flying during the day for a year before I took my first night flight. Before going up I was excited to see all the lights below me and learn to navigate by the sparser visual references. Once I got aloft however, I was a little freaked out. It turned out that having no horizon to reference and not being able to see the land beneath me collapsed the world to the tiny confines of the cockpit. It gave me something bordering on claustrophobia. The brain is so strange.

This is so interesting. I hate driving. I am also far tensed driving on a crowded highway or driving around downtowns.

 

I am much more calmer when trying to land a tail wheel during gusty winds than when driving around NJ Turnpike or around Manhattan!

 

LOL :)

 

When learning to fly here in Texas, even the little fear/anxiety I had kind of dissipated when I did my first engine out land anywhere routine.. Where I came close to landing on a field before the instructor gave my power back. That was an epiphany that I actually have a good chance of landing this thing somewhere if an engine quits.

 

Not sure what I would have done if I were flying around Connecticut (where there aren't many fields like in Texas. CT is full of trees.

 

One more thing.. I have now developed is fear of mid air collision. Here in the DFW area on Saturday morning when the weather is good, its freaking crowded. I realized how crowded the airspace here was when I had the G1000 with TAS.. My gawd, there were so many aircrafts around me, all trying to stay below the DFW Class Bravo airspace (2500), but I couldn't see any of them with my eyes... that is my greatest fear. Around Denton, Alliance, Arlington, Hicks ...these are really crowded place. Once I even had a guy cut me off ... when I was on traffic (downwind). The greatest utility IMO about the G1000 is the TAS on it.

Because if the engine on a car conks out, it doesn't have to make an emergency stop from 100 miles per hour in a nearby ploughed field bordered by trees before you can get out of it safely. :LMAO:

 

Al

 

No some car drivers manages to do that without the engine conking out. At least in a plane the chances of a head on are minimal.

Well, I probably can't fly for a mile in FSX without making some sort of flying error, either. We all make errors. That's what makes me nervous when I hear people dismiss GA accidents as pilot error.

 

And how many of those errors you make in FSX leads to a situation that would be fatal in a real life situation? My guess is very few. Also in a flight sim anyone can jump into a 747 without a minute of training, and most likely they're going to crash. In real life however it takes 45 hours of training (depending on country perhaps) to fly a single-engine piston plane, unless your instructor says you need more than that. If you were to go through that training then I'm sure you'd be a just as safe pilot as anyone else, as long as you learn from the mistakes you make along the way.

It's a height phobia. It's what first gave me the willy's. I love flying small single engine aircraft but I wont get above the third rung of a latter without getting nervous! Getting on the roof of my house. No______ way!! 8000 ft FINE! :)

 

I'm exactly the same.

I think its because in a plane we are closed in.

 

Lee

 

It's a height phobia. It's what first gave me the willy's. I love flying small single engine aircraft but I wont get above the third rung of a latter without getting nervous! Getting on the roof of my house. No______ way!! 8000 ft FINE! :)

 

I'm exactly the same.

I think its because in a plane we are closed in.

 

Lee

It's actually pretty much the same thing, except for the landing. I took a flight in a 172 once at Redcliffe and The landing felt weird. Of course, this is Redcliffe, so it's right next to the ocean and some crosswinds. So what the landing feels like is that you basically glide and "hang" there, softly yawing from left to right, and then the wheels let out a screech and you're back on the ground.