Re: Airsickness and PPL stalls

PPL Training

Airsickness and PPL stalls

GoatAir 28/08/2009, 7:17 PM
Hi all

I've had a couple of flights at Classair in Biggin Hill, Kent and thinking of doing the PPL.

Thing is I'm not too great with g force despite loving the flying.

In particular I am concerned about the stalling and spinning as part of PPL.

Is it really bad?

To indicate how I cope with g forces I was just about ok on Blackpools pepsi max, but threw up after Alton towers Nemesis ride!

Any advice much appreciated!

Re: Airsickness and PPL stalls

Aviator|Chris 28/08/2009, 8:23 PM

Hi there buddy!

I too find the g-forces involved in flying un-comfortable, and i'm 5 hours into my PPL.

But the thing is, if you are a "no un-necessary excitement" kind of pilot, then the g-forces will rarely reach uncomfortable levels.

Throughout my lessons I only experience an un-comfortable g-force maybe 2-3 times max, while my instructor displaces the aircraft in order for me to correct it. I am not one for extreme rides generally and you wouldn't find me getting onto any big roller-coasters like Nemesis or the Pepsi Max!

Spinning just makes things out the window, spin, but I dont find this un-comfortable at all when I know how to fix it. Stalling is a subject that, once understood is not such a big deal either when it comes to how you feel.

If you are concerned over any of the manouvres upsetting your stomach, visit a flying school, explain and the instructor can go through those with you slowly and see how you feel?

All the best.

Re: Airsickness and PPL stalls

CFrost 28/08/2009, 9:00 PM
Hi GoatAir,

To be honest I think you would have to be mad not to embark on a PPL because of G force. I am roughly 30 hours into my PPL and found it to be a little uncomfortable at first, but now I can honestly say that I don’t feel it on the flights anymore. Not sure whether its because I don’t mind rollercoaster’s and therefore don’t dislike it as much as you but I think you will find that there will be only 3 or 4 occasions in your training where you may experience any significant G.

When I did stalling I hardly felt any G because you are thinking and recovering so quickly that you don’t notice it. And anyway the sort of G that we will experience as PPL holders is so short that if you blink you will miss it!

Regards

Chris

P.S welcome to the forum! And you are very lucky to be able to fly from Biggin Hill

Re: Airsickness and PPL stalls

TimmyP 29/08/2009, 2:23 PM

Hi GoatAir.

I've had real problems with airsickenss in my first few lessons as discussed on another thread, but now it's getting better (I'm about 7.5hrs at the moment) and I hardly notice it. I was really worried about stalling though, but in reality it's nowhere near as dramatic as you would think so probably will not be a problem, it's actually an oddly comfortable situation to be in, and the only significant G is if you're pulling straight back into a climb after a stall.

I found turns the worst, but now I'm getting used to it and only felt rough when we spent the whole lesson doing them. I'm sure steep turns will bring it all back later but as stated above, these aren't something that you'd really do under a 'normal' PPL flight once you've qualified, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

If you're really worried why not ask the instructor to demonstrate a stall in one of your early lessons, just to reassure yourself. I'm sure if you explain your concerns they'll put you at ease.

Tp.

Re: Airsickness and PPL stalls

GoatAir 03/09/2009, 7:45 PM
Hi all

many thanks for your kind replies but since decided not to do ppl.

I flew to Newquay from lcy yesterday on an airsouthwest bombardier dash 8 300.

Essentially I was very airsick on the way back and shall we just say the sick bag was essential!

So decided not to pursue idea and pleased not spent money on it.

As much as I'd like to fly if I felt ok , the symptoms are simply too unpleasant.

Cheers
phil

Re: Airsickness and PPL stalls

Rolls 07/09/2009, 12:54 PM
I think it is a bit of a shame but can sympathise.

For all sickies out there, I have found that there are some pastels available from Boots called recover or relapse... or something like that (in a yellow tin) which are superb for controlling anxiety.. and also air sickness. With these i managed to go on a plane, and fly a plane (as per my first post on here!!!)

The pastels are best as they contain no alcohol (the drops and sweets do) so i stick to the pastels and can have as many as i like! :)

Re: Airsickness and PPL stalls

TimmyP 07/09/2009, 1:21 PM
That's a real shame Goat-Air.

As I've said above I had real problems on my first 3 or 4 flights, but I took the risk to carry on and it's completely gone now, and I'm only at 8hrs or thereabouts. Still if it's not to be, it's not to be.

Hope you find something else you enjoy to do instead. TP