Flying (and irrational fear of)

It's most odd, bearing in mind that I have never had a bad experience on a
plane, and my father was a very frequent flyer for over 30 years with no
problems.

I intend to

Bugger, I love the Eurostar but couldn't suss out how to use it to get to
Amsterdam (didn't much fancy a city break in Brussels)

I am not really a flying scaredy cat, I just feel very uneasy about the
whole thing, and whilst in the air will be focussed on landing and getting
out of the bloody thing.

Yeah, I know, but someone has to die horribly in a plane crash, dont they.

Good point, well made (and you've never even visited my house).

Lucky bastards

--
Dan L (Oldbloke)

My bike 1996 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr
M'boy's bike 2003 Honda NSR125R (Going)
Spare Bike 1990 Suzuki TS50X (Patio Ornament)
BOTAFOT #140 (KotL 2005), X-FOT#000, DIAABTCOD #26, BOMB#18 (slow)

 

Don't think I haven't.

The oddest thing is, that a few years back I flew to Barcelona with my (now)
MD, who is an Aussie.

I felt quite calm sat next to him, as (in my head) frequent flyers don't
crash.

Fucking odd.

--
Dan L (Oldbloke)

My bike 1996 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr
M'boy's bike 2003 Honda NSR125R (Going)
Spare Bike 1990 Suzuki TS50X (Patio Ornament)
BOTAFOT #140 (KotL 2005), X-FOT#000, DIAABTCOD #26, BOMB#18 (slow)

 

Follow the signs.

Brussels is nice, actually.

 

When I was flying into Europe quite frequently I used to quite enjoy it
when there was turbulence and the whole plane felt like it was about to
fall out of the sky, it made the journeys more interesting.

I think my favourite flight was one I took to paris in a turboprop. The
side winds were so strong that the pilot had to fly the plane in almost
sideways, then level up just feet before he was about to hit the runway.

 

I don't mind rough flights on commercial airlines. However I once flew
over the grand canyon in a 15 seater prop plane... This was an
absolutely sickening 45 minutes.

All was well until we flew over the edge of the grand canyon and then
the thermals hit us and pushed us several feet up and the reaction of
the pilot to push the plane down was rather jerky, this continued then
for about 30 minutes.

I was surprised no one threw up.

 

I'd imagine it's a pretty ok way to go.

Better than watching your life ebb away with age anyway.

 

There are some fantastic restaurants around La Grand Place IIRC.

 

Dan L says...

You have a wife and a teenage daughter in your house, flying is much
safer than being at home.

--
Lozzo
Track pixie
GSX-R1000 K1
ZX-7R
GPZ500S

 

You wanna have the starboard engine go "bang" and start to trail
smoke. That livens up a journey no end.

Experienced similar flying into Inverness - I could see the whole of
the runway as we made our final approach - which is unusual from the
back of a 737.
--
| ___ Salad Dodger
|/ \
_/_____\_ GL1500SE-V/CBR1100XX-X/CBX1000Z
|_\_____/_| ..78875.../...19923.../..31251.
(>|_|_|<) TPPFATUICG#7 DIAABTCOD#9 YTC#4
|__|_|__| BOTAFOT #70 BOTAFOF #09 two#11
\ |^| / IbW#0 & KotIbW# BotTOS#6 GP#4
\|^|/ ANORAK#17 IbB#4 PM#5 WG*
'^' RBR 2005: Abandoned - Bronze Award.

 

Pisses me off when I get red wine or salad dressing down my shirt
though.

If I'm not eating, I like a bit of rough. [0] I particularly like it
if other passengers look like they're going to be sick because of it.
[0]

I took a horrid little prop plane on an island hopping thing, from
Barbados. On the way to Mustique, for breakfast at The Cotton Club,
the pilot's window bust open - which I found disconcerting.


[0] Ho ho.

 

Have fun, and no, I can't make it for a beer....

--
Dnc

B1200 - +30bhp ~|~ ZZR1100 - faster when upright
V2300 - flat cap and rug ~|~ VS800 - borked

MIB#26 two#54(soiled) UKRMMA#26 BOTAFOT#153 X-FOT#003

 

Bear says...

Larnaca in Cyprus is like that. One second you're banking at some
ridiculous angle looking out of the port side at the sea - which looks
to be horribly close to the wing tip - then it suddenly straightens up
and the wheels hit tarmac. Hong Kong is weird on take off IIRC, cos you
fly between the office buildings. Mind you, it was 1970 when we flew out
of there so things might have changed.

--
Lozzo
Track pixie
GSX-R1000 K1
ZX-7R
GPZ500S

 

You would have loved Kai Tak in Hong Kong arriving or leaving in a 747
400.

Mountains - check
Land - check
Tops of buildings within scraping distance of landing gear - check
Wave to people in the street - check
HK Harbour - check
Runway - check
Is this thing going to stop / take off [1] before we fall into the water
at the end or edge of the runway? - check

Chep Lap Kok is so boring in comparison. However the view on take off
over the Island and New Territories, if there is no cloud, is fantastic.

[1] delete as applicable for landing or take off.

 

There are bars along that strip of beach towards the airport where you
can sit swilling beer within a few metres of the end of the runway.
Almost looks like the planes going to come through the bar, strangely
they don't seem as noisy as would be expected that close.

 

Oh, yes. Pisses me off no end when that happens since when flying I'm
generally wearing decent shirts. Carry some detergent in my night bag
and a spare shirt "just in case".

 

I regret not having passed through Hong Kong on one of my trips to
Australia for that very reason.

 

Reminds me - last week, on my way back to my hotel from the exhibition
halls in Cologne, I saw another[1] JU52 on final approach to Koln/Bonn
Airport, where Lufthansa flies them from[2].

Marvellous. I never knew anything could fly so slowly and stay in the
air[3].

Anyway, mentioned it to one of our German contacts and his eyes lit up.
Seems he took his Dad on one earlier this year, because his Dad used to
fly in them, and loved them.

"When was that?" I asked innocently.

"Oh, he's 86," he answered, and then, with a grin: "His unit landed in
Norway in 1940, using JU52s...."

Brilliant stuff.

[1] Saw one in the same spot, a few years ago.
[2] Using pilots from their jet fleet. Apparently they fly them in their
holiday time, and fight for the privilege.
[3] I looked up the landing speed, out of interest. Final approach at
about 80 knots; touch-down at 70.

 

Definitely a highlight. I think I did Kai Tak twice, maybe three times
before it closed. I've done Chep Lap Kok 3 maybe 4 times since.

 

(The Older Gentleman) wrote in

Heh, I was standing on the 20th floor of a building that overlooks the
Rhine in Dusseldorf with a bunch of Germans from Siemens.

Making small-talk with a 55-60 year old bloke I observed that it was
interesting that on the right hand side of the river we had the
alt-stadt with its old buildings but on the left hand side it was all
ugly concrete.

The chap I was talking to said, with a very straight face, "At ze end of
de war ze Allied troops destroyed ze left bank so that zey could place
zeir artillery and bombard ze German troops in ze old part of ze town"

After the first couple of words I had one of those "oh shit" moments,
why don't I ever learn?

 

Eurostar to Brussels Midi, change to TGV to Hamster Jam. Takes about 6.5
hours.
--

Cheers!
Fr Jack
90 CB450DX (The Moped)
FRJACKUKRM AT GMAIL DOT COM
skype: fr.jack (without the dot)
We'll open up your eyes,
just to check that you're asleep, again