Tales from a Bruised Mind

If I can remember correctly, the first time I ever went on an airplane was when my family and I boarded a flight to New Zealand for a holiday around 2004.

I was so nervous that I had the most intense butterflies in my stomach. I had never experienced that type of anxiety before, but it usually started an hour before take-off and went away after we got into the air.

I’m not sure exactly why I was so anxious, but I always watched TV with Mum and Dad and they’d often watch Air Crash Investigations. It’s a great show, but it made me a bit paranoid about what could happen when we fly.

I guess I knew the dangers of certain parts of the flight, which is definitely take-off and landing. I also understood that some crazy shit has happened in the past with planes, such as hijackings, engines exploding, loss of cabin pressure and more I won’t get into.

A fun fact about me is that although I hated flying when I was little, I really, really wanted to be a pilot. I wanted to fly the F-111 at Brisbane Riverfire doing a dump and burn out of the afterburners. I loved that each and every year.

Getting over my fear by learning about aircraft

Since 2005, I’ve been fortunate to fly to a lot of the world’s countries, including China, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the United States, the UK, France, Germany, Canada, and the Middle East.

I’ve also flown a stack of times to cities within Australia, including Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Cairns, the Sunshine Coast and even Orange!

I’ve flown on big planes (747, 777, 787), mid-tier planes (737-800, A330) and much smaller planes (Cessna, Dash 8).

So how did I get over that fear? Well, I did a nerdy thing and I learned how planes work and how safe planes are, especially when compared to other forms of travel such as car, bus or train.

I learnt all about what the different sounds a plane would make exactly meant, like when the flaps are retracting, or the landing gear is going down, or the huge rumble when the plane touches down (reverse thrusters and brakes).

Although there are a fair few different statistics on air travel, it’s widely said that flying on an aircraft is generally the safest of the lot. A Harvard University study found that in countries like Australia, America and Europe, the chances of being in an aviation accident is roughly one in 1.2 million, while the chances of dying in an air crash being one in 11 million.

To compare, the chance of getting into a car accident is much more common, at roughly one in 5000.

You have to remember that flying is done in a much larger space than our busy roads (and there is a lot less to hit), so that’s always positive.

Flying long haul to the other side of the world might seem terrifying, but you do get used to it.

It’s always good to have a bit of a distraction if you’re not so fussed on flying, like watching a movie or playing a game.

I guess the motto of this story is that fears can be conquered, but only if you face them head on. It’s the best way to fight any fear you have in life.

Best,

Zak