My girlfriend is afraid of flying. She has never flown before but still.. Just thinking about flying makes here palms sweaty and her heartbeat rise. She had never seen an airplane up close or an idea what the inside looked like, no clue how the check-in works, how landing or taking off feels like. YAPC::Eu is some weeks away but she's been nervous ever since I told her we were going by airplane. In an attempt to calm her down a bit, we stopped by the airport on Sunday. It was the same airport as the one we'll use when we fly next month. I pointed out the different areas, the bulletin board, check-in desk, customs and gestured towards the tax-free terminal behind the customs desk. We stopped by the restaurant that has good view of the tarmac. Seeing how big/small an aircraft actually is, what the take-off angle and the landing angle is and how long it takes, hopefully calmed her down a bit.
Re:Flying?
Beatnik on 2007-07-24T18:06:58
My girlfriends philosophy: you can stop a car anytime you want it and get out. Confined spaces tend to get her nervous.Re:Flying?
jdavidb on 2007-07-24T19:37:01
My philosophy is that the damage done to me in an accident varies in proportion to the energy released in the accident, and that the kinetic energy in a moving object varies quadratically in proportion to the speed of the object, and that planes move significantly faster than cars, and that the potential energy stored in an object varies in proportion to the height of the object, and that planes are significantly higher than automobiles.
True, you have to consider the chances of the negative outcome actually occurring, and if it is significantly lower then that may well make it worth it. It does for me.
Oh, and for the record, figuring out what to do at an airport (which lines to get in, where to take my bags, etc.) bothered me as much as an inexperienced flyer as much as the fear of the plane falling out of the sky.
Re:Flying?
Dom2 on 2007-07-24T20:43:23
Airports are a whole new world of hate. I like flying. I hate airports. The fact that I need to spend three hours going through a grimy airport and having my shoes, belt, etc removed in some craptaculous display of security theatre really puts me off. I can't imagine why.Re:Flying?
jdavidb on 2007-07-25T04:38:22
Actually once I got used to them I learned to love them.
:) Re:Flying?
Aristotle on 2007-07-24T21:30:33
However the probability of a fatal collision in mid-air is… uh… remote. Rarely does a plane do 900km/h in circumstances where it might crash into things. Most crashes occur at speeds closer to 200-300km/h, which isn’t terribly much faster than a car speeding on a motorway.
Re:Flying?
bart on 2007-07-25T07:15:05
Most crashes occur at speeds closer to 200-300km/h, which isn’t terribly much faster than a car speeding on a motorway.It depends on how fast you tend to drive.Re:Flying?
Dom2 on 2007-07-25T07:20:45
Wrong. It depends on how fast the other idiot drives.Re:Flying?
jdavidb on 2007-07-25T14:59:29
I did address the fact that the risk is remote. But I was thinking more of a collision with the ground than a collision with another plane. The risk there is remote, too, but greater than the risk you're talking about.
Re:Flying?
Aristotle on 2007-07-25T15:14:11
That’s just what I was talking about: for a crash at really high speeds you’d need a mid-air collision, but most plane crashes are onto ground and occur at speeds that aren’t that far removed from a highway car crash’s.
Re:Flying?
jdavidb on 2007-07-25T16:57:31
Okay, you're talking about the following two possibilities:
- mid-air collision: extraordinarily small possibility, high speed
- ground crash near takeoff and land: small possibility, small speed
I'm talking about this possibility:
- plane falls out of sky from high altitude
Small possibility, high speed.
Re:Flying?
Dom2 on 2007-07-24T20:40:01
Yes, but so can any other muppet in a car stop yours.
