New Pilots and Airsickness

[Flight_Line]

[font=&quot]I wouldn't worry about Dramamine or the ginger pills. Give them a try and see if they work. As for eating or not before a flight that is something that you are going to have to experiment with. I know guys who can't eat at all before a flight where as myself, I need to have had something to eat in the last couple hours. I would feel not sick, but just kind of blah if I hadn't had anything to eat. Especially if a student was flying a little funky. Think about what the circumstances were last time you got sick in a plane. Just one thing I have noticed is that if someone is going to get sick it is after a 360-degree turn.[/font]

 

[mattpilot]

spartan you say?

Nice place, just very expensive. They raise the rental rates every 6 months. Just last month they upped everything by 15$. C152 is now 130 and a C172 is 150.

Btw, please try not to puke into the aircraft i'm going to fly next Also, try not to urinate in one (true story: i returned an aircraft last month 'cause it smelled like someone just took a piss in it ) Must of been one of those chinese guys that run around at spartan :/

Anyhow, enjoy your stay

 

[Khirsah]

$130 for a C152?!?!

Please tell me cessna made a twin engine 152 that no one's ever told me about.

Is that price with or without an instructor?

 

[bobbysamd]

Airsickness

You'll be fine, and without drugs. Just watch what you eat before flying. Also, if you feel that an attack is coming on, open the vent for cool air. Also, surprisingly, if you are doing the flying a sudden onset of airsickness can disappear.

A lot of airsickness for new students comes from the shaking of turbulent air. One gets over it with time and getting used to flying. I was training one of my very first solo students during an August in Oklahoma City. The air was bumpy because of low-level convection. During each flight my student got sick and we had to cut short his flights. We were on a schedule and I was worried he wouldn't make it. I turned to a more-experienced instructor for advice. He told me to keep working with the kid because as long as the student was flying the airplane he wouldn't get sick. He had completed all of his pre-solo training, so I got him out in the pattern for some touch-and-goes in the evening before the sun went down. As soon as he was landing safely consistently, I soloed him. He did fine - and did not get airsick.

I recall reading in Chuck Yeager's biography that he got airsick during his first few flights. Look at the flying career he went on to have and, I would say again, you have nothing to worry about.

Good luck with your training.

 

[Pugh]

Yeah the prices are amazingly outrageous. Im hoping to win the lottery between now and September 21st.

Glad theres somone going to Spartan here. And don't worry, I have good aim at both ends. If you could go ahead and give me the N # of the Pee Plane, that would be helpful in avoiding it

 

[mattpilot]

@khirsah - price with instructor... and without - before this month, it not only was cheaper by $15, solo was an additional $20 cheaper. Now they eliminated that too.

It is a 141 school with great maintained planes, but i do wonder where all that money goes. :/ I suspect the recent price increase was due to the fact that were getting some 30 new planes this year. Almost doubling the fleet - I guess someone has to pay for it



@Pugh - Even though the smell was horrible, the maintence guys tried to explain it with regular water. They said the water/rain on the old interior caused the smell. Maybe, but it still stunk like piss in that machine

 

[TonyC]

Although I've never done this, I've heard it works wonders. Since I taught Tweets for a few years, I ran across several folks who had a little difficulty with Acro... and the hot, loud, uncomfortable, vibrating twin jet with off-axis seating.


Anyway... you know those merry-go-round things you find on children's playgrounds? They're round, they rotate on a center post, and they usually have several handles that rise vertically from the perimeter, and then turn diagonally down towards the center. Kids hang on the handles, run in circles, and then hop on. If you move towards the center, the whole thing spins faster, as you move towards the outside it slows down (conservation of angular momentum, for you physics types).

What you want to do is lie down on one of those on your back with your feet towards the center, and your head near the outer edge. Hook your legs or feet around one of the handles so you won't be thrown off, and have your buddy spin you around. Look up at the sky - - yepp, it'll make you dizzy. Keep your eyes open and start doing situps as you spin around. As you change the orientation of your semi-circular canals and accelrate/decelerate the spinning, your inner ear will go nuts, and your stomach won't know what hit it. Spin and do situps until you puke. Then do it some more... until you puke... then do it some more... until you don't puke. Go home, eat dinner, lather, rinse, and repeat.

If you can get your stomach and inner ear used to that sort of manipulation, a little training ride in bumpy air should be a piece of cake.

 

[OtterFO]

TonyC, that sounds hidious! I want to puke just thinking about it.

To the origonal poster, Go to your local marine supply store and get "Sea Band" They are an accupressure device you wear on your wrists. Work wonders I've had passengers use them with great results. Also, my father used them to fight the nausea involved with Chemo. If you can't find them locally, I think they are available on the Sporty's website.

 

[weekendwarrior]

Don't eat anything for at least 12 hours before your flight,

I disagree with this one. That is what used to make me feel sick. Eat something lite, like some crackers or something. It will help stabilize your gastric fluids in your stomach. You know, give them something to work on while you fly instead of tasting them.

Another thing that works wonders is the Relief Band. I've got one that I keep for passengers. I used it for the first few flights in the Bag while flying the Apache. Really works, and is worth the money. Once you get used to it, you won't need it anymore and you can sell it on Ebay.

 

[Pugh]

Thanks for all the advice...I'll take it all to heart. Except maybe Tony's...thats a little too crazy for me

 

[apdsm]

No matter what....now listen up....DO NOT THINK ABOUT NOT THROWING UP WHILE YOU ARE FLYING!!!!!!