I have that exact phobia. Turbulence rarely bothers me but I always think the plane will malfunction during takeoff/landing and explode into a fireball. :aiyo: And it always happens on big jets. For some reason I’m not the least bit afraid of little propeller planes exploding.
Thats interesting. To my personal experience I only have had rougher turbulences on those tiny “city hoppers”. Planes that carry around 20 to 50 people or so. Reason is easy, they don’t fly that high up so you will spend most times in the clouds where you will find most turbulence. I have flown myself too (ultra lights) and have to say: I loved bumpy flights, the more the better! It is almost like motor cross, but than three dimensional lol. Off course it makes a big difference if you are in control or not. Same with being on a ship in very bad weather (size doesn’t matter much). If you are on the bridge you won’t get sea sick easy but man, when you are back in your own cabin, you will feel the world is going up side down and back. Ps even experienced sailors can and will get seasick from time to time. I even know a captain would would always be seasick and with his head in a bucket half the time (hilarious off course).
My trick to get over the boredom of flying is to try to be as tired as possible. A short flight of 1 or 2 hours is sort of ok but on longer ones I try to be asleep as much as I can. Go party the night before or spend that night packing or behind your pc and hope you won’t fall asleep at the airport. Especially for cross Atlantic flights of 13 or 16 hours this system works great for me, no matter flying East or West. I arrive fresh and have no trouble at all with jet leg. I can imagine this will work also against the fear of turbulence. It wouldn’t be the first time if I fell in a coma as soon as I sat in my seat (always a window seat) and would only wake up again as we touched down. I never noticed the plane taking off and missed all meals. Man did I have a good party before that flight lol (in BKK).
If you travel with your kids and spouse this is no option off course but you may feel more relaxed to know that if the damn plane would go down, at least you go down all together!
My experience with the use of alcohol or sleeping pills isn’t very good. First of all I don’t want to smell like an alcoholic when I stand in front of Customs upon arrival, second you get the trouble of that constant peeing. I hate to bother other people if I have to climb over them. Also mostly I never wear shoes and the longer the flight, the filthier the toilets are. Most sleeping pills either don’t work at all or they knock you down so hard you feel like shit when you do wake up…
It is actually quit funny, with the risk of bragging I have to admit I almost completely lack having any fear at all. I know, that is not good at all and that will probably get me killed some day. I once threw a glass of Champagne in the face of a very big black guy during New Years Eve in Paris on a packed Champs Ellysee. This idiot pushed me (and everybody else too) over in a rough way and that pissed me off big time. I didn’t care less if he was 160 or 190 tall but my glass (the content, not the cup)landed in his face anyway. Off course I didn’t see there were not just one but four of those big black guys and they were not at all impressed by my 60 kilo’s nor by my attitude. In a split second there was a big circle of free space around us. I did manage to get away, together with my 3 Asian skinny friends. Actually I should say; someone pulled me away by my arm before I even noticed what I was up against. I did get hit my one of their bottles (on my back) but we all got away unharmed and at least I showed some big mouth, no matter his size, that he can’t get away with everything.
So, to have some fear isn’t that bad at all I guess.
I’m quite afraid of flying. I went through a faze when I wasn’t afraid for a while, after a boyfriend explained the mechanics to me once, but I still get afraid now. In fact, I’m planning on flying in June and already starting to dread boarding the flight. I never was afraid much of turbulance, though, until one very rough flight that I won’t describe in deference to Tomas’s current state.
I just have to force myself to breathe deeply and steadily. When I get the chance, I have shot of whiskey (just one, though, because flying is so dehydrating, anyway). I can’t even knock myself out because there’s no way the kitten’s gonna sleep! He does provide a lot of distraction, though!
When I was young, thin, and blond, I could calm myself by distracting myself with conversation with some guy seated around me. Now that I’m middle aged, thicker, and graying, and flying with a kid, guys seated around me go out of their away to avoid talking to me! Ha.
I used to get nervous during turbulence as well and since I have to fly quite a lot it wasn’t fun. Then on one Japan - California flight they warned us on take off that there was the remnants of some typhoon kicking about the Pacific and the first 4 hours out of Japan were going to be rough. They got as far as trying to serve dinner but once the first few trays started bouncing around the cabin they called it off and we all strapped in for the ride. It was epic. Overheads popped open, cabin crew staggering around clutching the seatbacks, people ooohing and aaaahing, kids crying, etc. for 3 hours. N times worse than any turbulence I’ve experienced before or since, and that’s what totally cured me. Now I don’t bat an eyelid, I always think, ‘well it’s not nearly as bad as that Japan flight, and we made it through that just fine.’ and I go back to sleep. As a remedy it wasn’t fun, but it was effective.
Women na??? Talk to them!!
Women na??? Talk to them!![/quote]
That’s not the right level of distraction. Doesn’t matter any more, anyway.
I made it back home without incident. I ended up in the very last row on a 747-400 and we hit a bunch of turbulence on the descent and we bounced all over the sky for 20 minutes or so. People were actually barfing, it got so bad, but it wasn’t as bad as plasmatron’s flight of horror.
I made it through just fine, and I think I’ve figured out the formula for staying calm during a turbulent flight.
I’ve become a lightweight drinker, so just one beer actually calms me down. That, and having a chat with the people next to me, if there is an appropriate opening. It’s a distraction technique. I’m a typically expressive personality–connecting with people is at the top of my hierarchy of values, so a good, meaningful chat can get me through the worst flight.
Tonight, there were a couple of nice people sitting next to me. There as an opening, and we ended up chatting all the way through the worst of the turbulence. One of the people I was talking with was far more freaked out that I was, and I actually comforted him.
So next time I fly (about a week from now–6 flights in 5 days!), I’m going to have a few beers and either put on a movie, listen to some loud tunes, or chat with people if there’s a chance to.
When I was younger I had no problems with turbulence. I lived 800 miles away from my parents in high school, and I would be flying on Dash-8s and smaller aircrafts frequently to come back for visits. Rollercoaster turbulence but I enjoyed it.
Then, as an adult, you become aware of your mortality. I’m a bit of a nervous flyer and have had some really bad experiences. Flying from Prague to Cairo on Czech Airways a decade ago, our plane hit an air pocket and dropped a few thousand feet. People were screaming and praying etc…pretty scary stuff.
Since that time, I have a rule about flying…1-2 drinks an hour…on an eleven hour flight, that is usually 11-15 gin and tonics. A few lorazepams in for good measure and I’m a relaxed Captain Trips. 
These days I sometimes have to take helicopters and seaplanes to make work appointments, but I can’t drink on these short day trip flights…that’s the hardest for me…doing it sober.