On 23 Jul 2006 12:57:53 -0700, "minoad" wrote:

First, I am not a trained psychologist, nor do I play one on TV.
That said, I'll toss in my two cents worth.

I am curious why I was feeling fear givin all the above factors. Does
this mean I am simply not cut out for flying?

Not at all. I believe you were feeling fear because you were in a
situation that you momentarily felt you had no control over.


Is thier a way to short-circut this mecanism?

Yes, usually through the flight training you will receive in
controlling the airplane and reacting to unusual situations that
could arise. At some point you will find your reactions to be
almost automatic and will correct the "unusual situation" before it
becomes fearful.

Will this disappear with time?

Yes, with actual flight time and training.

And most importantly, why was my brain unable to overide my fear?

OK, here I'm going out on a limb and repeating what a well know CFII
out here told us in an unusual attitudes course. I don't know how
accurate this is, but here goes; The human brain can process about
ten bits of data at a time. The data input comes from all our
senses. After you get visual, auditory, physical orientation, and
all the other inputs there is not much left over to analyze what to
do with the airplane when it's doing something you don't understand.
that's when the memory of your training exercises and automatic
reflexes kick in, correct the unusual situation, and leave one more
data bit free to wonder about the beauty of flight.

The short answer is, your brain will overcome your fear after your
training lets you feel comfortable with the airplane as an extension
of yourself and you begin to feel like *you* are flying.

I am concerned that this may indicate a problem with me personally.

I don't know you, but if you are asking, it probably isn't just you.
I think most people have some doubts about their ability when they
first try something new.

Flying gets to be more fun the longer you do it. Enjoy.

Ron Kelley