Fear of flying.

[caroljoyce]

Flying, how do you feel about it?

Hubby and I are opposites, I like it, he hates it... well terrified would be a better word!!

[Victors Mate]

Fear of Flying a rather strange book by Erica Jong never could understand it.

[Dragon Lady]

Love it! Mind you, except for just once, I have only flown via the courtesy of the RAF. I felt safer in RAF planes somehow!

My one time favourite was RAF Newton flying in Chipmunks. The cadets in the main went up once and came down with green faces and, understandably, did not want to go up again.

I had been told to "keep them flying" so I kept going up in their stead. I loved it when the pilots found a bit of open air space and did aerobatics! It's a bit scary the first time, but you soon get to enjoy it!

[Monika]

Was that RAF Newton, Nottinghamshire, DL?

[Maywalk]

NOT fear of flying Carol but the after effects that it left me with.

Ears bled and the pain was unbearable. I wanted to bash my head against the wall with the pain.
I only flew to Jersey but I never ventured doing it again.
I will leave that sort of thing to the birds.

[dita]

I had that happen to me Maisie, we were flying from Beijing to Shanghi, we were in a small plane, the pain lasted for days after, something to do with the air pressure I was led to believe.
I love flying and have travelled to quite a few far away places.

[Maywalk]

I have perforated eardrums Dita caused by the bombing during WW2.
They have got worse over the years and I now keep having infections in them.
I have special drops to put in them because nothing can be done about it.

[Monika]

I haven't flown anywhere for years because of the pain.

The only time I didn't experience any pain was once when we came home from the Algarve and the pilot must have been coming down very slowly for a long time.

There was no pressure, no ear-popping and no pain whatsoever and, if it was always like that, instead of being the exception, I'd fly tomorrow.

[rocky]

Fear of Flying a rather strange book by Erica Jong never could understand it.

Actually, I quite liked it ... but then, that was in my late to the party hippy dippy days ...

[Anya]

Erico Jong started the obsession with organisms, away from the top shelf, unleashed by Cosmopolitan and followed by every other publisher and broadcaster.

Not convinced it delivered a better world.

[dita]

That would have been awful Maisie, your ears already damaged. Can understand
that it would only make your travelling worse. There must be so many people affected by the blast during the war.

[Rowan]

Well it made me a bit happier!!

[mo]

No problem flying but Bill doesn't like it.

[Dragon Lady]

Oh gosh, I can imagine that people with ear damage do suffer! Normally a few hard swallows make your ears pop OK.

Yes, it was RAF Newton in Notts, Monika! Newton has its own little unmanned railway station. It comes as a bit of a shock at first when a voice comes out of thin air telling you where the next train in is bound! It quite made me jump the first time that I heard it.

[Monika]

I didn't know that, DL. Was that on the camp itself and not the village?

I live about 2 miles from Newton at a place called Radcliffe on Trent - bet you know it.

RAF Newton is now derelict and overgrown. The houses have all gone to wrack and ruin .

It was one of the sites which were being considered to being developed as new eco towns three or four years ago but it was knocked on the head, village protests and stuff - phew!

I should think you also knew RAF Syerston, too. In 1965, (Brian being in the Nottinghamshire Police Force) we were sent to live at the rural Police House on the Fosse at a place called Flintham and this house was directly opposite the RAF Syerston NAAFI shop where I did a lot of my shopping.

The cadets used to train there and they used to come in to land by flying very low over the farmer's field next to our house; I could easily have waved to them.