Virgin's Flying Without Fear

Cured... Flying is now sexy

Had an awesome day. Technical info, relaxation techniques and perhaps most importantly, recognising the pattern of fear and breaking it. We got bombarded with information, and stuff to take home:

Did you know, for example, that during take-off, the angle of the plane is just 15 degrees?? Feels a lot more, and this is down to not being able to see forward. Our brains know we are moving forward, but can only see sideways, and as a consequence it is like we are blind - our inner ears therefore take over. But our inner ears are not designed for flight, and over-exaggerate every tiny movement. That's why pilots hardly ever feel turbulence - because they are looking forward (and they are at the front, which helps too in a 280ft plane).
Try this trick if you hate turbulence. Get a glass of water, beer, wine (whatever's your poison) and hold it in front of yourself on an outstretched palm. Look at the liquid. I guarantee you it is hardly moving at all. Imagine if you did that in a car...it'd spill everywhere. It's your inner-ear baby - lying about what's happening because it's not built for it. Look at the liquid and pretty much straight away the turbulence fades as you realise that the plane is actually moving less than your car...

I ended up being cool and calm in the departure lounge (even taking a photo of the plane!)

The pilot who lectured on how the planes work etc was a superstar. Everything about planes and flying was 'sexy' - it was infectious, and I found myself enjoying the flight. Genuinely. Looked out of the window through take-off, landing, banking... You name it, I saw it. And loved it!

My favourite quote of his came when he was asked about air pockets:
Captain Steve: "Word association. Say that again."
Fearful flyer: "Air pockets."
Captain Steve: "Bullshit."
He went on to joke, "You know how, when you're walking down the street, and the air disappears, and you fall to the ground?"  - some people actually nodded... "It's rubbish, air pockets cannot physically exist. Next question?"

Anyone who is scared, or even someone who just doesn't like it / feels uncomfortable, should go and register for this course. Phillipa will be beyond shocked at the difference between me before the course, and me now.

Check it out:

Little bit more like Tony Stark every day... :-)

I will baby, I will :-)

Fear of Flying

Only two more days before my course: http://www.flyingwithoutfear.info/

Normally I would be worried about a flight that's taking place in just a few days, but I'm actually fine. I'm wondering if part of the whole process is that I already expect to feel ok on the plane as the bulk of the course is before the 45min flight.
I'm already daydreaming about being cool and relaxed on the plane, when normally I imagine myself being terrified - I'm sure that this new mindset (y'know, looking forward to the course as it should cure me) is all part of it. I hope that the course adds a lot more though otherwise it'a a bit of a waste of money...

I would pay a lot more to avoid my usual shaking, sweating and swearing however. As would Phillipa.

Paperwork

We have to provide the company sorting our adventure (Aim4Africa - www.aim4africa.com ) with not only our passports and birth certificates, but also a document from an advocate stating that we have not been married before. Easy enough, but we also need to state what religion we are...

Neither of us believe in God (yet I still write His name in capitals?) but I've heard that in Muslim countries it is better to say you are Christian that say you have no religion. I'm wondering if we should just go the whole hog and convert to Islam before we go... As-Salaam-Alaikum :-) 

117 days to go...

Well, with 117 days to go we are nearly ready. We confirm the actual wedding details next week, but the bulk is complete. We fly to Tanzania on the 18th June and spend a few days on Safari at the Ngorongoro Crater, then move on to the Kirawira Tented Camp for more animal action and the wedding.
After that, we fly to Zanzibar for a honeymoon at a private villa, the Matemwe Retreat.
All in all, we have about 26 hours of flights, and so I'm off to my fear of flying course next Sunday (27th February). This is with Virgin, based at Birmingham. They say that they have a 98% success rate. Fingers crossed...
I'll update from the airport most likely :-)