How To Overcome The Fear Of Flying – One Easy Tip that Cured Me Forever
My whole life I’ve really hated flying. Problem is that if you want a vacation in a distant place and flying is your only alternative then you’ve got a problem.
My fear would start the moment the flights were booked, so, while everyone else in my family were really excited about the vacation, I was dreading it. I’d do strange things like secretly going out to the airport and watch the planes take off and land trying to figure out how so such a huge weighty craft could even get into the air. A few books on the subject and then it was pretty easy to work out – but it still didn’t stop the enormous anxiety for me as I boarded the flight.
The worst thing about all this too was that my wife and kids were absolutely fine with flying and really enjoyed it, so, although I’d try to act like them so they wouldn’t worry, I knew they were aware of my fear as I wouldn’t talk very much and would just pick at the food and couldn’t sleep onboard long distance flights like them, so when we finally got to the destination, they’d be bright and breezy and I’d be so tired I’d have to immediately have to have a long sleep at the hotel before I could join them.
Anyway, a friend of mine came out with a suggestion one day that completely blew my head off. He said “Why don’t you learn to fly?” I said that was ridiculous. How dangerous would that be – a nervous passenger turning into a nervous pilot. He replied that he wasn’t talking about actually flying a real craft but that you can learn to fly online by way of a flight simulator and never leave your study chair or computer.
Well, I thought about it for awhile and had a look online to see how real these simulators are and what they cost. It turned out that 1) they are really cheap, some are even free and also the 3D graphics are absolutely unbelievable.
After some research I bought a flight simulator that was head and tails above the others. I found the free ones and the cheaper ones were very basic in what they offered. It actually came with DVD discs but when you play these on your PC you are automatically updated with the latest software they are producing and I’m supplied these updates for free for life. This was all for a package of less than $100.
First I learnt all I could about the software, then I choose my plane. I had a huge choose of over 100 different aircraft to choose from, from the 1907 Wright Brothers plane, through to a World War Two Spitfire and then through to modern aircraft like the Airbus A380, Boeing 747, or, military jets like an F-111, however, I decided on a small training Cessna, just like you’d learn on at a flight training school.
Next, you have to learn the controls which are very realistic and most in the cockpit are working instruments just like the real ones. The most importent of all is the joystick or yoke as it’s called. I started off just using the keyboard controls but then wanting a more real flight experience I opted to buy a real joystick (yoke) from a local electronics store for less than $100 as well.
So, then you’re on the runway for your first shaky takeoff. I defy anyone to get your first takeoff smoothly – it just wont happen – so be prepared just like a first training flight to experience the plane going left, right, up down – but with a dozen practice takeoffs they get smoother all the time. Then you’re up in the air. This was fantastic, looking out the cockpit and seeing just what a real pilot experiences. It was unbelievable. (the software is just extraordinary). After you spend some time on your flight simulator you’ll be able to choose up to 20,000 worldwide airports to land and takeoff from and the mapping is so good that in most circumstances you’ll be able to fly over the top of your own house. You can also experience changeable weather which can take you by surprise but give you the experience to tackle this just as the real pilot does.
So now I’ve graduated to flying a Boeing 747 commercial aircraft and I’m loving it. Now, before I travel on a long distance flight, I go on to my flight simulator and fly the distance myself before I jump on the real thing. I’m completely cured because I know exactly what the pilot’s up front are experiencing. Now I’m really excited about the upcoming flight instead of been petrified. So if you have problems with nervousness flying, go do what I did and instead of been terrified – go get a huge buzz instead. Visit our site to see more…
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