OT: Yikes!

It is totally safe. If you are sensitive to the motion of takeoff, etc. Try to sit on or near the wing if possible. I find that dozing off just before takeoff really relaxes me and makes the experience more pleasant.

Good luck - you'll do fine!

flying is statistically safer than many things. You don't gear braking your leg every time you visit the bathroom, right? yet people do fall in the bathroom, homes are dangerous places...just try not to think about it!!

Eat a little something, protein-ish preferably, before you go to the flight, and keep your blood sugar up. Take something in your purse, like a granola bar. Take bottled water and remember to drink it. Wear clothes that are not riddled with metal snaps, and shoes you can take off easily--you will have to take them off during the security check. You'll get through this. Have a great time when you get there! Sarajane

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Oh thank you for that Sarajane! I didn't think of that. I will now be wearing sandals, not tennis shoes! And I also didn't think of a granola bar or water.

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THANK YOU! LOL! I need to hear that.

I've got a seat in the rear of the plane (I didn't book the flight). It's not so much the motion of flight, it's the idea that I'm trapped in a metal coffin thousands of feet in the air. I do not like heights or closed spaces. But I have an aisle seat, so I don't have to subject myself to looking out the window. I probably won't be able to sleep, but I hope I won't be so scared I can't semi-meditate. Thank you all for the encouragement!

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Phone the airport and arrange to have a member of staff meet you at the entrance and wheel you to the check-in/gate/etc. Have you thought about something like Bach flower remedies - some of them are made to relieve anxiety etc. And yeah, statistically flying is about the safest way to travel, and if the worst should happen there's all the safety equipment and all the staff are trained to get you off the plane safely. Try taking a walkman with music you find soothing/relaxing to listen to during the flight - I have got through many scary/painful things using music.

Hope this helps,

Helen. x

That's odd - for me, I like sitting near the window. For me, the problem is only take off and turbulence.

The other thing I would recommend is NOT to look at the weather report between your origin and destination points.

And always remember - the pilot has a vested interest in getting you there safely. :-) So they will be doing their very best, and you will get there just fine.

Karin (private-ASL, commercial-rotorcraft, and believe me, I want to get there safely JUST as much as you do! :-)

Barbara Forbes-Ly>

I grew up in airplanes. My parents had a 4-seater when I was a kid, my first flight was when I was 9 months old. We flew almost every weekend the weather was good, right up til my folks sold the plane when I was 13. My brother just retired after 37 years with TWA, from flight engineer to co-pilot to captain, in several large aircraft. Personally, I'd rather be in an airplane than on the road. The majority of accidents that happen with planes (which are statistically minimal, considering the number of daily flights worldwide) are due to pilot error, though a very small number are from structural flaws. I get somewhat defensive when people say flying is dangerous. (Not directed at you, Valerie, just in general. )

I started learning to fly out on Long Island, at MacArthur airport (previously Islip). Believe me, I'd MUCH rather fly over and around JFK or LaGuardia than EVER be on the ground trying to get there!!!!! My ex MIL lived out on Long Island and I used to close my eyes and pretend to sleep while my ex drove through Brooklyn and Queens.

I honestly don't know what to say to comfort you because it's a fear I simply don't comprehend. All I can say is that, in the grand scheme of things, you're safer airborne than just about anywhere else. More people die in their bathrooms at home in a year than ever die airborne. (LOL isn't that a cheery thought!)

-- KarenK Desert Dreamer Designs

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vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from snipped-for-privacy@aol.comREMOVE (Valerie) :

]Any tips you all can give me?

i'm not going to be much help, i'm afraid. i either make sure i have a couple of stiff drinks [i'm allergic to alcohol, but the headache is better than the fear of flying] or take "motion sickness" OTC stuff [which makes most people sleepy]

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

's not what you take, when you leave this world behind you;it's what you leave behind you when you go. -- Randy Travis

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from snipped-for-privacy@aol.comREMOVE (Valerie) :

] it's the idea that I'm trapped in a metal coffin ]thousands of feet in the air. I do not like heights or closed spaces.

trust me - i'm right there with you!!!!!!!!

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

's not what you take, when you leave this world behind you;it's what you leave behind you when you go. -- Randy Travis

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from "Barbara Forbes-Lyons" :

]The other thing I would recommend is NOT to look at the weather report ]between your origin and destination points.

the ONLY thing that ever really helped me was to listen to the channel some planes have that allows you to hear the pilot talking to the various towers. that lets you know what is going to happen BEFORE the plane's flight changes. it made a world of difference for me to know ahead of time that the plane was going to turn, etc.

as Christy says . . . it could work!

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

's not what you take, when you leave this world behind you;it's what you leave behind you when you go. -- Randy Travis

I did that this afternoon. I didn't know I could do that. So that problem is solved! One step ahead now. ;-)

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Awwwwwwwwww! I don't know if you're so inclined, but my b-i-l, who gets nervous about flying and doesn't do it much, stops at the airport bar just before he gets on a plane.

You'll be fine Val! Sending you lots of confidence vibes!

Oh no! I don't think it is "dangerous". Just scary for me. I've had some bad experiences (when I was very young) and I think that's where the fear comes from now.

Actually it is for me. LOL!

Thanks!

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Yes, turbulence gets me. I am scared stiff of the idea that I'm being jostled by things I can't even see!

Oh I'm not!

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:-P You stinker!

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How long of a flight are you taking? When we have a long flight - 6 hrs or more - my DH takes benadryl so he can sleep through the whole thing. My own personal plus is that I have very little love of the open road at this stage in my life, so if it's an in-country flight, I just tell myself Yahoo, no 16 bazillion wheelers coming close to the car! No rain slicked roads to hassle with, no drivers with attitudes, no standstill on the beltway. (Are you sensing a definate preference here?) Plus - I can read while someone else is getting me from one place to another! If we crash - well, we all have to die sometime, at least it will be spectacular! Way better than wasting away from disease, I guess, as deaths go. And finally - om. You can't do anything about the ride anyway, so just ride it like the surf! Roll with it, go with it, read, think about where you're going and be grateful for how much faster you're going to get there! Also, PS you can bead on the flight and probably meet some cool people.

Yes, to the bottled water - or when they ask you what you'd like to drink, ask for ice water, not alchohol. You get easily dehydrated in a plane... because of the reconstituted air or something like that, I forget exactly (but that's not new). :) If it's a long flight, walk to the bathroom to help keep the water from pooling in your ankles. Then sit back and stare at everyone around you - make up lives for them... the where's, why's and who's of why they're traveling. Worked for me. :)

Calming thoughts, good vibrations and have a wonderful trip, Valerie! :D