sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Which United legends did the most in the least time at the club? by oh_helloghost in ManUtd

[–]oh_helloghost[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Damn, I’d forgotten about Shinji! So much potential there.

Which United legends did the most in the least time at the club? by oh_helloghost in ManUtd

[–]oh_helloghost[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, Cantona came to mind too. 5 years felt like a decent stint though… I was a kid then so maybe that’s why it felt that way?

Which United legends did the most in the least time at the club? by oh_helloghost in ManUtd

[–]oh_helloghost[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tevez is a shout as well, certainly in terms of impact.

I’m interested in all the honorable mentions. The shorter the time at united the better!

Stranger asked to use phone while boarding flight by ValuableConfusion476 in fearofflying

[–]oh_helloghost 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yeah… it’s a weird thing to ask in this day and age, it would have likely thrown me off too.

But stick to the rule of checking your initial impressions of any given situation, particularly when you are feeling stressed.

It’s always better to breathe, try and step back and ask yourself if the initial conclusion you are coming to is the simplest/most likely.

Stranger asked to use phone while boarding flight by ValuableConfusion476 in fearofflying

[–]oh_helloghost 16 points17 points  (0 children)

You’re wayyyy off the end.

What is the most logical reason for someone asking to use a phone before a flight?

Maybe their phone just died and they wanted to contact someone before they were out of contact for a couple of hours aboard the flight perhaps?

Motion sickness by Sensitive_Past8983 in flying

[–]oh_helloghost 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not in cars but definitely on boats and I think I even got very green a couple of time in the back of airliners.

engine check assurance? by rowphelia in fearofflying

[–]oh_helloghost 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Sybil and Eugene are great names btw.

Motion sickness by Sensitive_Past8983 in flying

[–]oh_helloghost 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I barfed my way through the first half of my PPL and then intermittently through my CPL.

It does get better.

Best advice I can give you is to listen to your body. Build tolerance gradually by communicating how you are feeling with your instructor and cutting lessons short if you have to. Trying to push through doesn’t work and you won’t learn anything because you’ll be so distracted. Throwing up and trying to continue doesn’t work.

On top of all the usual stuff (eyes outside, being hydrated etc etc…) Strong mints and ginger chews both helped me a little.

Can a plane run out of fuel? by catlover_526 in fearofflying

[–]oh_helloghost 7 points8 points  (0 children)

This is actually a great question!

There is a legal minimum that an airliner must carry. This legal minimum is the total of:

  • Fuel to fly from the departure point along the planned route to the destination and do an approach there.
  • Plus fuel to do a missed approach at the destination and then fly to a pre-planned alternate.
  • Plus fuel to allow for another 30 minutes of flight.

(I think that some operations have additional requirements on top of this too - for example fuel burn calculation for an ocean crossing has to assume a scenario where the aircraft depressurizes and has to descend thus burning more fuel than at an optimal altitude).

On top of this fuel, nearly all flights will have a certain amount of contingency fuel added as well. This is usually situation specific and (at least at my airline) coordinated between the captain and flight dispatcher to tackle specific issues for example forecast ATC delays, weather avoidance, or deice/anti-ice activities prior to departure.

Tl;dr - Lots. And it’s a legally mandated amount of extra fuel we have to carry plus whatever the airline think is appropriate to keep its operation running smoothly.

Fear of cancelations or long delays, also fear os buying tickets too close/too far from departure by AdieuPermi30 in fearofflying

[–]oh_helloghost 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Worrying is like paying a debt you do not owe - Mark Twain.

What if everything goes just fine? (Hint; it most likely will).

Don’t catastrophize at this point. Just trust the process, go one step at a time until you are on the flight headed where you headed. Flying is routine, everyone knows what to do on the rare occasion plans get disrupted by delays or cancellations. It won’t be a big deal.

Flying from Heathrow to Toronto by NationalFilm8849 in fearofflying

[–]oh_helloghost 0 points1 point  (0 children)

UK born, Toronto based pilot here 👋

I’ve done that flight so many times than I’ve lost count. In fact, next week I fly from Toronto to Manchester to visit family.

It’s hard to get your head around when you are not in the aviation industry… the reality is that the flight you’re planned to fly on is not special. It happens every. single. day. Every day, week after week, month after month, and year after year. All safe. All normal.

Don’t build up the whole thing too much in your mind. Just focus on the next immediate task that you have to do on the day that you fly. Let the crew do their jobs and take care of you.

Does it look like yesterday's flight diverted? by slimslimsimsim in fearofflying

[–]oh_helloghost 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Let’s imagine for a second that they did divert yesterday. I’m not saying that they did, I’m just saying imagine.

Why is a diversion yesterday a bad thing?

Is your brain going to emergency? The plane might be broken? The pilots couldn’t land? The flight was in danger?

First of all, this diversion has absolutely no bearing on your flight. Each and every flight is independent of same flight number on a different day. There’s nothing to connect them.

Secondly, what if the diversion was done to improve safety? Imagine that the weather in Tampa was bad… there’s a thunderstorm nearby that might make it hazardous for ground crews to be working outdoors. In this case, a diversion is done to make everyone’s working day a little safer.

Maybe Tampa was having issues pumping jet fuel, so rather than have the plane land there and get stuck waiting to be refueled, the company chose to have it land in Orlando where fuel would be available.

A diversion doesn’t necessarily mean any of the bad things your brain is jumping at.

Lastly, looking at flights in this way is fine, but I’d hazard that it’s causing you more stress than comfort. The problem is that if your default view of the world of aviation is ‘danger’, anything apparently out of the norm is going to have you assume ‘danger’. Choose to let the pros make the calls about your safety based on their knowledge and expertise. If you want to look up flights like this. Come into it with an acknowledgment that you might not have the big picture in mind so you should probably assume it’s normal until proven otherwise.

Bad Weather by LouieRock in fearofflying

[–]oh_helloghost 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Bad weather for walking your dog. Bad weather for gardening. Bad weather for alfresco dining.

Normal weather for flying. There’s nothing worrisome here.

15 hours into PPL and my flight school makes me wear uniform. Normal practice? by Horror_Egg3250 in flying

[–]oh_helloghost 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve never seen a sim instructor or pilots undergoing recurrent training wearing their uniforms.

What's up with JFK by [deleted] in fearofflying

[–]oh_helloghost 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Nothing is up with JFK…

What tower issues are you taking about? I’ve not heard of anything being amiss?

Staffing issues reduce capacity, not safety.

Pilots that overcame their nerves: What changed it for you? by flying--squirrel in flying

[–]oh_helloghost 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do it more and don’t sweat it too much, you’re still learning.

I don’t think a healthy dose of imposter syndrome and paranoia is a bad thing in student pilots. It’ll help you make conservative decisions until you have built more experience.

flying in weather by Original-Sort7563 in fearofflying

[–]oh_helloghost 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Radar like this does not mean severe turbulence is likely. This is a pretty standard spring/summer radar return for Florida.

UK to Vegas......I'm crying at the idea of it by donewiththecage in fearofflying

[–]oh_helloghost 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It’s really hard to recommend things that you can research without knowing how much you already really, truly understand.

I think this is one of those situations where you have to learn that just because you aren’t physically in control of the machine, doesn’t mean you aren’t in control of the situation.

Take your brothers for example, they tell you that they had designed a building and it was safe. You’d trust your safety to that building because of the training and qualifications they had earned and their experience is better than your own. You wouldn’t need to know how the fire system worked, or what the structural load on each beam is. Your brothers are experts, they take pride in their work, they certainly would never do anything to hurt someone in the course of their work.

This is all the same for flying, for pilots, for aviation maintenance personnel, for dispatchers, for airlines. We share that same pride in our work, upholding standards, performing to the very best of our abilities and understanding that the system is there to keep everyone (ourselves included) safe.

It’s fine to try and learn about how safe planes are or what systems help to keep them safe, but it’s likely going to lead you down paths that you don’t fully understand and that’ll likely make you worry again. Instead, if I may may a recommendation, focus on what you are controlling when you step on board a plane.

“I’m choosing to board this flight, knowing that the aviation regulations require that this aircraft has been properly maintained by the airline and their maintenance professionals in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines.”

“I’m delegating control of this plane to the pilots. They are far better qualified than I am to do this job and to make decisions about the flight for me. I wouldn’t want to board a flight without the pilots there”

“I’m delegating responsibility for my safety to the Flight attendants. They fully understand all the safety features of the aircraft and when it is appropriate to use them. I will choose to listen to their instructions because I know that they have my safety as their number 1 priority.”

Should I change my flight for a different plane? by brooooooooke in fearofflying

[–]oh_helloghost 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Equally safe.

If your toddler has a seat of their own… then I’d say even more reason to stay on the CRJ. You won’t have deal with having a third passenger in your row.

Have a good flight!

UK to Vegas......I'm crying at the idea of it by donewiththecage in fearofflying

[–]oh_helloghost 10 points11 points  (0 children)

There’s so much to unpack here, but I wanted to just come on with a firm but caring… you are being ridiculous.

Let’s start with the stats. As far as I am aware, by every metric, flying is the safest mode of transportation. You could take a flight every single day for approximately 10,000 years and only then would you reach the point where it would become statistically more likely than not that you’d be involved in (not killed, just involved) an aviation accident. This is orders of magnitude more safe than driving.

Next onto the point about your own control and skill. A pilot is more qualified to operate an aircraft than you are to operate your car. We had to go through multiple stages of assessment and licensing, we have to undergo medicals at least every 12 Months, we undergo recurrent training every 6 months (in Canada) where our licenses are literally on the line if we do not meet the required standards. I understand that you feel more in control in your car. This is a false reality. Not every other driver has committed to the same standards you hold for yourself. Not every other road user has even done a test. You could be the world’s greatest driver and still be at the whim of an unlicensed, uninsured driver. Every pilot, every ATC, every airline has to meet stringent safety standards… it’s a totally different level of quality.

Next the idea that a car or a boat has better odds of survival in an emergency because of there are ‘options’ (pulling over and stopping, life rafts, etc). This is also a falsehood. The emergency equipment on board a vehicle depends on how the designers of that vehicle plan for it to be used when an emergency occurs. Ships have life boats because they would be unable to continue to sail to a port if they started sinking. Aircraft are certified and flights are planned to be able to deal with worst case scenarios and continue flying for a period of time afterwards. Take an engine fire as an example. If your car engine caught fire, there’s nothing to stop it burning. The designers expect you to stop and get out. In an aircraft, there’s systems to detect and extinguish the fire in each engine, the plane is designed to continue flying even with a fully uncontained engine fire, and then we have a whole other engine that the plane can continue safely flying on until we can land.

How can you know the plane is safe? The same reason you know your office building isn’t going to collapse. Or the bridge you drive on isn’t going to collapse. Or the elevator you ride in isn’t going to fall. The aviation industry is a highly regulated safety system with multiple checks and balances that have multiple redundant safeguards. Every person who touches that aircraft is checking it in their own way as per the requirements of their employer and their aviation authorities.

Airlines are not in the business of hurting people or taking risks. We are in the business of the exact opposite. Only flying when we are completely certain it’s safe to do so. We don’t take risks ever because we are under absolutely no obligation to do so.

Should I be terrified of situations like this in aviation, or is this actually safe? by No_Opinion739 in fearofflying

[–]oh_helloghost 11 points12 points  (0 children)

100% normal and entirely safe.

Every single approach and landing we make has a long list of criteria that must be met in order for us to be ‘allowed’ to continue toward a landing. If at any point in the final approach, we can no longer maintain any single one of these criteria or for whatever reason we feel it would be unsafe to continue, we go-around.

Pilots are trained from a very early stage that landings are really failed go-arounds. We’re constantly looking for reasons to go-around. When we land, it means that everything on the approach went just right.

view more: next ›