Airsickness

[Ragansundowner]

I went for my first civilian aerobatic flight today and ended up getting a little sick towards the end. Motion sickness has never been a problem with me before (straight and level flight, roller coasters, you name it and I've been fine). I'm just wondering how quickly the body will aclimate and if airsickness during beginning aerobatics is a fairly common occurance? Do a lot of people experience it in the beginning?

Thanks,

R.S.

 

[talondriver]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Learn to perform under pressure, get use to wearing a helmet, shouldamapads and O2 mask (if you're going to SUPT) and try not to be apprehensive.

If it'll make you feel better--today I flew my first full up sortie pulling Gs in over three months and I was getting queezy just looking down and writing. The best thing to do is look outside.

Good luck

 

[Fury220]

Dude, my advice to you is to quote as many lines from Top Gun as you can while you're doing acro in the Tweet/Texan. The quote in your profile is a good start...and "Talk to me, Goose!" or "Wooo Hooo!! Jester's dead -- great balls of fire" will work, as well. j/k -- in all seriousness, you really can get used to all the acro, and it doesn't all get jammed down your throat (sts) at once. You'll just start with baby acro like the occaisional loop/aileron roll. At any rate, you'll probably be concentrating too hard to think about anything else. Best of luck!

 

[Toro]

Do a lot of people experience it in the beginning?

I've never been actively airsick, but I've felt queasy in my 'dollar' (first) flight of every aircraft I've ever been in, to include the Strike Eagle.

 

[weekendwarrior]

I found that it comes and goes between long absences of flying. I usually don't get sick, but if it's been a few months (like when I went to WOCS) then it takes a day or so to become acclimated. Each time you do something with some maneuvering, tighten up your stomach, keep they eyes focused outside, etc, etc. If it really bothers you, wear a releif band (the electrical one) for a few flights. They really do work very well, and for me I was acclimating at the same time.

Heck, I've been nautious in a simulator (both motion and non motion) before. No big deal, you'll get over it.

 

[Draginass]

Don't worry about it. More than just a few guys will be airsick to some degree starting out. You'll acclimatize. Don't psyche yourself out, but try and have a sick sack handy so you don't blow chow all over the instructor (although I'm sure he had it done to him before) or in your mask with it still up. You won't be able to breath and it looks pretty gross oozing out the edges. Also, if needed, expect to clean up the cockpit yourself after you land. I threw-up on my first 5 rides in tweets and I'm here to tell ya that you can't learn a darn thing while you're throwing up. If you get "actively" airsick, they'll send you to the flight surgeon who will ask if flying scares you. The correct answer is no, it's not scary, it just makes me throw up. He put me on a medication to take an hour before flying and that worked great for the next five rides where he took me off it and I never was airsick again. One guy in my pilot training class washed out because of airsickness but he was a hardcore case . . . . meds didn't help, his motivation waned, and he SIE'd.

 

[skyward80]

I haven't been "actively" airsick since I was about 7. Your dollar ride should be mostly straight and level with some G pulling. For me, every time I am introduced to something new that involves Gs, it takes about 2 rides for my stomach to be totally happy with what's going on. A lot of other guys I know around here are the same way. Nothing to be worried about. If you do feel like you might puke, tell your IP BEFORE it happens. He/she can help you out. Depsite any rumors you may have heard, military IPs are down-to-earth, no bulls*** people who just want to teach you how to fly. They will not try to make you sick for their own personal pleasure.

Skyward80

 

[Ragansundowner]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I went for my 2nd ride today, this time in the front seat, and was perfectly fine during everything. We were doing aerobatics of same intensity and duration as yesterday and I was fine. It helps so much just being able to see straight ahead.

-R.S.

 

[Birdstrike]

Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see you mention what type of plane you were in. If it was a 182 or something similar, the back seat can be rough. I only had problems in the back seat. My wife figured it might be an empty stomach so I started eating a fried egg sandwich on toast an hour before each flight. It worked for me.

 

[Ragansundowner]

The plane was a CJ-6A, very similar to a Yak Y-18A. A beautiful plane, it just doesn't have the best visibility from the backseat.

-R.S.

 

[talondriver]

Depsite any rumors you may have heard, military IPs are down-to-earth, no bulls*** people who just want to teach you how to fly. They will not try to make you sick for their own personal pleasure. Skyward80

If you puke, it's more paperwork for the IP. And it's all about a paperless Air Force for this instructor.
There IS pleasure in watching an arrogant ROTC or AFA cadet who thinks he's the next Steve Canyon puke after an orientation sortie.

 

[ellsworb]

I have come to the conclusion with a number of other aerobatic instructors that it all comes down to sensory overload. This is especially true in new airplanes. . everything just looks different. .its a different sound, different smells, etc. You just don't know what to expect. I had the most trouble going from the slick pistons to round engines. . i never knew what burn oil smelled like, or the dull roar of that engine. . but once I was inverted trying to keep my a$$ straight, things started going downhill.

Of the new aerobatic students i have gone through that continued instruction, i would say 80% got noxious on their first flight, and most of them were good to go from the 2nd one on.

Brandon

 

[jstock]

"There IS pleasure in watching an arrogant ROTC or AFA cadet who thinks he's the next Steve Canyon puke after an orientation sortie.[/QUOTE] "

This seemed to be true when we went for our incentive rides at Columbus. They had a burger burn and let us all pig out before our flights. I thought that that was sneaky. The first cadet said that he puked 5 times. I don't know if he was telling the truth but he looked like crap.
It was an awsome bunch down there though. They treated us very very good.

 

[skyward80]

It probably did not dawn upon them that the "Burger Burn" lunch might be lost in the air at some point. I see ROTC cadets, CAP cadets, etc. walk around all the time. The IPs are usually going out of their way to make everybody feel welcome. They do the same when you start training... until you screw up a boldface or something. After that, you have a hard time getting the time of day out of them.

It's all part of life. It's kinda fun in a way. You learn to like the rough-handed techniques these folks have. Of course, you have to be rough-handed right back at 'em (in a VERY respectful manner). My IP started complaining about having to use the john on an arrival last week. I started to give him advice such as "don't think about running water, sir" "sir, whatever you do don't think about the sound of a waterfall" etc. He started pounding on the rear panel and told me it was not too late to hook my lesson. I shut my mouth after that.

You'll love it when you get there! Just take a bag along.
Skyward80

 

[Stash]

Aero flight

Regan... I did the same thing (minus the airsickness) back in 1983, prior to my entry in the AF. I wanted to see if I could handle it. I never got sick, but like some of the others, I felt queasy after long non-flying stints. I think a lot of the airsickness comes from feeling claustrophobic and the motion seen when near the grounds or clouds. I'm about 75% for pukers when I give them incentive rides in the F-16. Guys, girls, doesn't matter. Actually, the ladies usually fair better than the guys. Don't get all frustrated with it. You'll get over it and have a great time flying. Remember, there's two kinds of aircraft, fighters, and targets. Soon, I'll be moving to the target regime so please, don't everyone get all upset at the egotistical fighter pilot, it's a JOKE!!! Cheers and fly safely,

 

[Terp737]

I never actually got airsick, but as a previous tweet FAIP, I have seen a few cases. Most students never get actively airsick. Some of it is dependent on the time of year and wx for their first few sorties. A hot, bumpy day in a tweet with no yaw damper and basically no air conditioner while wearing gloves, parachute, helmet, and mask is enough to make anyone not feel too good. Those that get airsick usually only have one episode. If you have too many, then the flt docs put you on meds for a few sorties (at least that's what they did a few yrs ago). Getting a few rides in while on meds is usually more than enough to relax most students enough that they never have a problem after that. There are the occasional few that never get over the problem, but I seriously doubt if you will have that problem if you are already out flying acro. You definitely want to eat prior to flying, but don't eat too much nor something that may come back up easy like a burrito. I remember alot of students swearing by saltines. Best of luck.

 

[skyward80]

From a reservist KC-10 tanker puke (to be):

NKAWTG!

Skyward80

 

[pilotmyf]

Spin Training

The only time in 900+ hours I got sick was during spin training for the CFI.(after a very large meal-stupid thing to do I do have a student that uses airsickness as a way to get out of training. Anytime there is an in-flight critique of his performance, it's like magic, He's sick all of a sudden.