confidence issues

[shafs64]

it would cut my flying to once a month. I started in GA and because of the cost and good old CASA where here to help you LOL. I moved to RAA to get more flying and I like RA aircraft power and climb performance.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

getting bounced around is the price you pay for flying a light aircraft. If its holding you back from flying, maybe you should reconsider.

 

 

[facthunter]

You need to have the seatbelts quite tight. I've hit the roof hard even when they were. Nev

 

 

[alf jessup]

Tighten the harness Shafs, ride the bumps, fly more and start to relax, the plane won't break

 

 

[facthunter]

You can get bounced around in big stuff too, but smaller is more reactive. You must be certain not to overcontrol. In turbulence on approach use power as an extra control, or you are making it hard for yourself. Nev

 

 

[shafs64]

I have considered going back to GA. but I feel the issue will just be there to. I need to work out a good approach and not be hard on myself if I have any setbacks. small step not to much to soon.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

you'll get there, its just a matter of working through the issues, of which there are always many.

 

 

[Jabiru7252]

would you guys think this is a bumpy ride

 

Yep! If you're bouncing about in your sit, it's bumpy. That's what I look for in my videos rather than what the horizon is doing relative to the aircraft.

 

 

[facthunter]

All aeroplanes fly much the same. The air they are in is not like a road or water surface where it's unusual to go towards the centre of the earth, whereas a a plane will go towards there if you don't do something about it constantly. It's 3 dimensional and you only stay in the air while you can move in it. That's aeroDYNAMIC and It's like nothing else you have ever done. It's not too forgiving if you stuff something up, either, but the air will support you safely if you heed the rules.. As far as air movements affecting planes go, I recall one night I went up over 3,000 ft with power off in an over 30 tonne aeroplane in a couple of minutes due to a standing wave over Tasmania. If the plane had been 10X the mass it would still have done the same thing. The AIR is your medium, and we are referred to as AIRMEN and WOMEN. sometimes. Nev

 

 

[tecnamdave]

shafs64

 

Hmm I wonder if we can find a nervous pilots club. or maybe I should say join the club. You are not alone I have had the same problem since I started flying 10 years ago

 

Almost to the point that I will not go up without company preferably of another pilot. And even then I somehow get out of my comfort zone. some times only doing one circuit and wanting to come back down

 

I have just had three months from flying for different reasons and am about to get back into it with a bit of a refresher course

 

 

[Jabiru7252]

Don't dwell on how rough it might be up there otherwise you won't go. When I get into the air, as soon as I stop crying I concentrate on the task at hand, that is, the navigation. (I use map and compass, not ipads etc.). By doing the 'real' pilot stuff you tend to forget about the bumps and wing rocking, that is, until you're back in the circuit where the crying starts again. Having said that, I do avoid hot days or windy days.

 

 

[shafs64]

I have done the one circuit and race back to the safety of the ground I shortest flight ever. Also received some strange looks back at the flying school. early days my leg would start shaking just before T/O and I would be so tense I would stop breathing!

 

Jabiru7252 thanks for sharing make me feel I am not alone.

 

 

[Icarus]

Gday Shafs.

 

I went for a quick TIF a couple weeks ago at Lismore. Jab 170. first time in light aircraft .Did this to see if I still want to learn to fly before spending the $$ on licence.

 

Warm day about 30*

 

Little wind.

 

Very similar bumps to your video.'

 

I asked the instructor why so bumpy up here , he replied 'thermal hot air rising, would be smoother above them clouds.' or similar remarks.

 

Was not too worried ,but it did take a bit of the fun out of it.

 

Not sure if the glass panel in the aircraft has a G meter ? ask the instructor .

 

If so you could have a look at that from time to time.

 

These aircraft will stay intact up to about 7-10 G. at MTOW even with the design category at + 3.8 - 1.52

 

I reckon even the biggest bumps would maybe hit 2 G

 

 

[shafs64]

Most RA aircraft are +4-2 g well that's what it says in the POH on the sling.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

I have done the one circuit and race back to the safety of the ground I shortest flight ever. Also received some strange looks back at the flying school. early days my leg would start shaking just before T/O and I would be so tense I would stop breathing!

that happened to me on and off, the key is managing the toxicity of adrenaline, no coffee or sugar, plenty of water and exercise, be well rested, relax and focus on flying the plane instead of the wind.

 

 

[Icarus]

The point is that the wings wont snap off at 4.1 g and -2.1g

 

The aircraft are tested up to 7-10 g.

 

look up aircraft wing testing , you will see tons of concrete bags on the wings and other methods.

 

watching the g meter should give you confidence that those bumps are not even remotely close to the category limits and even further from the actual structural limits. { unless you start to exceed Vno in extreme turbulence ie thunderstorms ,but lets not go there!}

 

 

[rgmwa]

I'm probably stating the obvious, but although some parts of an aircraft designed for +4, -2 g may fail at 7-10 g under test, it doesn't mean you can assume that there is more safety margin built into the aircraft as a whole than the limits specified by the manufacturer. The aircraft is the sum of many parts and being able to exceed the ultimate design capacity of one part, say the wing spar, may not tell you much about the strength the spar attach bolts and fittings for example. However, a properly designed and flown aircraft can probably deal with a lot more turbulence than most pilots would want to put up with.

 

rgmwa

 

 

[tecnamdave]

Welcome to the nervous pilots club, you are not alone I have the same problem, I started flying around ten years ago. I purchased my own plane but prefer to fly with another pilot or passenger.

 

I have been on about fore or five flights of one or two hours,tho most of the time just short half hour flights to the training area and back

 

Some times changing my mind after climb out and only doing the one circuit.

 

I have just had a three month break from flying so I am about to try again with instructor and to

 

There are a lot of folk that say you would never get me up in one of those things, or if they ever did never ever want to do it again

 

Us nervous pilots are some who are in-between

 

 

[DrZoos]

Wow, i would sell the plane and go. Do something else if it made me that nervous, or go get some therapy on realaxation, or what ever is causing the stress.

 

Are you able to put your finger on whats causing the nerves. Is it fear of height, fof the unknokn, lack of trust in ability, changing weather, structural failure, engine failure

 

You can overcome many of these with the right advice and training...for example i never had an irrational fear of heights, but doing a high ropes cause, my mouth would dry up, legs would shake a lot and i was very nervous...now im at the point after having done a few and positive self talk about trusting the harness that i can simply walk around like im on the ground, with no fear whatsoever...i even run and jump obstacles. for me the biggest thing in that transition to complete trust was, jumping off the obstacles and testing that the harness would actually catch me and knowing what that would feel like.

 

In flying you cant do a practice crash, but you can simulate most aspects , be well prepared for most and then learn about the limits of your actual aircraft...you can also study the weather a lot more etc...

 

One example i do is pick a section of runway that is my imaginary paddock, circle overhead and then from various heights do simulated engine outs into that "paddock" ...i simulate everything, right down to epirb activation, hatch opening before and after and smashing the perspex, pretending im upside down.....i do this regularly and especially in variable wind conditions, because the head wind component really changes the approach path a lot.

 

I also do lots of side slip approaches with and without flap, flappless, half flap and no flap landings and some. Times with slight tailwinds...

 

You can allay a lot of fears through practice for the what if...

 

But if all your flying is in fear of what if, you have to ask yourself why bother flying...its.meant to be fun...its expensive, it does carry higher risk than say golf or most other activities, so why do it if your not enjoying it...

 

 

[pmccarthy]

The common denominator seems to be frequency of flying. If I hadn't flown for three months I would be very nervous. When I flew club planes infrequently I would lie awake the night before worrying. But if you fly weekly, or about that, you build confidence and skill.

 

 

[alf jessup]

Shafs,

 

I personally think most of us early on think the wings are going to break off when flying in turbulence as that was probably my biggest fear at the start.

 

Like I said in an earlier post of mine when my instructor took over and tossed that J160 around like a rag doll my fear that the wings would break off went away in turbulence.

 

For what it is worth maybe get your instructor to come fly with you and throw the plane around in some 60 deg bank turns left to right one after the other and instilling in you that the plane isn't going to break.

 

It was probably the best thing to happen to me in my training, it worked for me and it could very well work for you and others

 

Cheers

 

Alf

 

 

[cscotthendry]

The common denominator seems to be frequency of flying. If I hadn't flown for three months I would be very nervous. When I flew club planes infrequently I would lie awake the night before worrying. But if you fly weekly, or about that, you build confidence and skill.

Which is a very strong argument for owning your own airplane. It doesn't have to be a million dollar machine, but having your own means that you can choose when to fly and how long to fly for. It also has the advantage that you can go to overnight or multi day fly ins. People who rent out aircraft are reluctant to let you rent them for overnight trips as they lose the availability of the plane for more hours than you will put on it eg, it costs them money.

 

 

[shafs64]

Addressing the fitness issue. I was a big caffeine person was drinking five cans of Pepsi max a day up until may this year when I ended up a guest of QLD health to remove stones. So i cut out the soft drink an only drink one coffee a day. I haven't flown since then. so it will be interesting to see if this changes anything.

 

Also when I was a child I had a big fear of bridges my mother had to drag me over them. I think cscotthendry idea of flying more will help. And drinking water and not caffeine before you fly is good to. and will check out some wing testing videos

 

 

[Dieselten]

Confidence for a pilot is a bit like money in the bank. You have to build up enough in the account until it begins paying some useful interest. Then you use the interest to get what you want whilst not having to draw down on the capital, so it is there and continues paying interest.

 

Confidence comes from flying frequently, but also from having instructors who recogise what you are apprehensive about and take steps to get you through your fears by explaining things properly first, then demonstrating them with you in the aeroplane, then getting you to demonstrate them without the assistance of the instructor, to the point where you are so familiar with the manoeuvre it is no longer an issue.

 

Stall and recovery is a typical case in point. Many, many students have an intrinsic fear of this "perilous and dangerous manoeuvre" because they don't know what causes it and how to recover. Once it is explained as a knowable and repeatable phenomenon, in which you can maintain control of the aeroplane at all times, then the fear is replaced by knowledge - and knowledge is power. With knowledge comes confidence.

 

Turbulent air isn't fun to fly in at all, and we need to remember that basically we are all flying for fun - even instructors are flying for fun because you can't make any sort of living out of teaching people to fly RA-Aus aeroplanes. A good instructor will recognise when the air has become such that the student has stopped learning and will call a halt to the flight before the student loses the confidence he or she has been trying to gain for the lesson. The instructor will say something like:-

 

"In my opinion the air has changed and we are now at a point where it isn't fair to try and teach you to fly in these conditions so we will land and call it a day". (I have yet to meet a student-pilot who hasn't agreed with this statement!)

 

The student will appreciate the instructor's judgement because it reinforces their own appraisal of the conditions - and thus their confidence is enhanced. It is also quite likely the student was simply too afraid to suggest stopping ("my instructor can fly in this so I should be able to, too"). Instructors can fly under far more taxing conditions that students, and there is always a commercial imperative to make the aeroplane "earn its keep" but the needs and progress of the student must take first place in these conflicting requirements. It is basically unfair and discourteous to try and teach a student in air they simply cannot learn in. It's also commercially very poor business practice.

 

Every pilot sets their personal limit as to the conditions in which they are prepared to fly or not. Some are very conservative, and live long lives although they may not accrue as many flying-hours as those of a more "adventurous" disposition. Others are bolder, and live more exciting, but possibly shorter, lives. "There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots" is a truism which contains much wisdom behind its obvious triteness.

 

To gain confidence, fly as often as you can. Fly in the best conditions you can. Build up that "bank-account", little by little, until it begins paying interest. It is said the student pilot begins learning to fly with two buckets; one marked "Luck", which is full, and one marked "Experience" - which is empty. The trick is to fill the bucket marked "Experience" before the bucket marked "Luck" is empty. A third bucket, marked "Confidence", is attached to the bucket marked "Experience", and (miraculously) they fill at exactly the same rate. Experience comes from flying regularly and flying well, with good decision-making allied with a knowledge of when it is better to be on the gound than in the air.

 

Most pilots are obssessed with how many flying-hours they have already done. For quite a few of us the better yardstick is "how many flying-hours are left in me", and the corollary of that is "how many of the flying-hours I have already done that I treasure as great moments in my life?"

 

An experienced pilot is a confident pilot, and pilots gain experience by having experiences - both good and bad! Good experiences build up the confidence in that bank-account. Bad ones force you to make a small withdrawal. Maximise the good experiences and keep the bad ones to an absolute minimum. Trust your instructor's judgement, but if you feel it is flawed, then be prepared to question it. A good instructor will not be offended but will appreciate your concerns. Instructors really crave feedback from students; continued dumb acquiescence isn't exactly reassuring if the instructor suspects the student is having difficulties but refuses to acknowledge them.

 

Find instructors who recognise your personal limits and stick within them. If you're not happy with the conditions, say so now rather than sticking with it because the instructor seems quite happy to grind away. Above all, recognise that instructors are not God - they are simply experienced pilots who have an ability to pass on knowledge to the next generation of pilots, and who have a desire to do so for whatever reasons. They are guides on a journey of discoveryand most of them want their students to be the best pilots they can be. Most students are just happy to find an instructor who relates to them and recognises their limitations and doesn't ask them to exceed them. The student-instructor relationship and dynamic is critical to the building of confidence. Like students, instructor are human, and fallible too.

 

 

[shafs64]

Thank you very well siad