I thought I would be afraid of flying, it turns out I actually love it!

I also enjoy the window seats!

Do the meds for motion sickness not help you?

@JenBeberstein they keep me from getting sick but still have a weak stomach.

You'd think they would warn people about the horn ahead of time. I wonder how many people have wet their pants from the loud surprise!

Much respect! Most people tend to avoid things that terrify them!

@JenBeberstein i do that all the time. i have ptsd (not connected with planes) and i avoid things i vitally need, medically. but it's REALLY hard to get from point a to point b, if they are across an ocean from one another, without a plane. (yes, i know about ships; i don't usually have that kind of time!)

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@genessa travel is so good for us, I think it would be beneficial if more people could afford to get out of their own bubbles more often.

@JenBeberstein i lived in japan for 10 years. i had to fly to visit home (america), to get my visa renewed (i went to south korea, as it was the closest country and i had to leave japan to do this), to visit europe at last (and i had to go to malaysia to do it cheaply lol). i couldn't avoid planes. within japan i traveled by train.

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@genessa I have never traveled by train, did you like it?

@JenBeberstein i love trains. american trains are not as comfy as they once were, but i love being able to stand between the cars and feel the breeze. riding on the shinkansen in japan is interesting because when i was last there anyway they only had one nonsmoking car, and the sumo wrestlers all travel in it. their heads touch the ceiling when they stand up. they ride sitting and reading manga (comic books). they're gigantic! that was my company when i rode the shinkansen in japan.

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@genessa sounds like an awesome adventure!

@JenBeberstein life is an adventure! i just muddle along but people have told me my life has been adventurous. i suppose in many ways they're right.

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Totally understandable!

The last few times I flew, there was barely any wait. Security keeps confiscating our toothpastes on the way home even though we get the toothpaste through on the way out of town with no problems.

@JenBeberstein I always get singled out for special attention, standing in a position my damaged joints protest mightily against.

I imagine people who are afraid are much less likely to become pilots!

@Lincoln55 -- Here's a story for you, or perhaps the foundation for one. I have an intense respect for (not fear of) heights and high places, but I have no problem with aerobatics in an open cockpit aircraft. This is something about me that I have pondered quite a lot. Why can't I walk out to the edge of the Grand Canyon, but I have no misgivings about nosing over and diving at the ground at 500 knots, or jumping out of a perfectly functional aircraft from 15k feet?

You have an explanation for that?

@evidentialist Perhaps you trust physics and engineering more than you trust nature?

@pixiedust -- I think not. Physics/engineering, after all, is nature, or at least a large part of it. As an engineer, I understand the mechanics of things and one would think that would cause me to be more concerned when in an aircraft than standing on the edge of a cliff. It's really something that has puzzled me for a long time.

@Lincoln55 -- Excellent.