On Nov 9, 2:10*am, "Jack" None wrote:
I am learning to fly gliders and I struggle with motion sickness.

Reply from Bob Wander:

Hi Jack,
Take a number - you are not the first nor the last. I wish you well as
you ... become one of the birds like the rest of us.

Here is an excerpt from my book "Everybody's First Gliding Book" - the
excerpt addresses the newbie airsickness problem. Note that the US Air
Force chooses to confront, rather than ignore, the problem! If it
works for them...

Safe soaring,
Bob Wander
+++++++++
Excerpt from Bob Wander's "Everybody's First Gliding Book"
Truth… Or Dare?
There have long been two schools of thought regarding motion sickness
and flight training. The first (and to my mind, discredited) school of
thought is, essentially, to ignore the problem. Here is a direct quote
from the promotional literature of an American flight school: “Nausea
is rare among pilots. Occasionally it may take a few lessons to get
used to the sensation of flight. After a few hours in the air, normal
flight often begins to feel as natural as driving a car.”

Any instructor who has logged more than ten hours teaching flying will
tell you that the preceding statement was written by the marketing
department, not the flight training department. Among new pilots at
least, nausea is a very common occurrence. It's as common as moths, or
rats, or pigeons.

The second school of thought is to recognize the motion sickness
problem and its common causes. Here are several condensed extracts
from the United States' Air Force Flight Surgeon's Guide:
Motion sickness is a well-known phenomenon in humans in unusual
environments. Motion and acceleration effects in aviation are for the
most part highly respected, if not feared, among aviators. Motion
sickness is defined as a response to real or apparent motion to which
a person is not adapted; it is not a disorder, and the symptoms are
normal responses to an "abnormal" stimulus... Airsickness can be a
significant issue in flight training... The most complete models
include interactions or mismatches between perception, cognition,
affect, and physiology... The acceleration of normal gastric motility
(about 3 waves/min) to tachygastria (4-9 waves/min) accompanies the
subjective signs (pallor, apathy) and symptoms (salivation, sweating,
nausea, vomiting) of motion sickness. Motion sickness results from a
maladaptive physiological reaction. It is estimated that one hour of
simple classroom awareness training on the basics of motion sickness
(normalization and identification of symptoms, basic vestibular
physiology), along with rudimentary methods of prevention (foods,
dietary schedule, stress management, etc.) can reduce airsickness
incidence by as much as 30%.

The Air Force has chosen to recognize and manage the motion sickness
problem. We who fly gliders, or seek to fly gliders, should do the
same. It is nonsensical to deny that the problem exists.

So, you ask, what's a mother to do?
1. First thing is to recognize that most pilot trainees have some
degree of trouble with nausea/airsickness. This probably includes
you! Ask your instructor for advice on how to manage the problem.
2. Next, on those days when motion sickness affects you, recognize the
symptoms early and promptly terminate your flight.
3. Schedule some training flights when the air is stable and the ride
is smooth.
4. Track your resistance to nausea/airsickness. The vast majority of
pilots discover that incidents of nausea decrease in number and
intensity as their flight training program progresses. In other words,
the more time that you have in the air, the less bothersome that
airsickness is likely to be.

Eventually your body learns that the sensations of flight, while
novel, do not present an immediate hazard to your safety or well-
being, and you adapt to your new environment: The Sky.
-submitted by Bob Wander
-end