firstly welcome to simv . now on to the question, i to have wanted to be an airline pilot all my life and i to have small cases of fear of heights but thats mainly when i am say standing on a building  roof or something like that. have you been up on a plane if so does was it bad then? i have found when i am up there in my lessons i dont have any problems, as for selection i haven't seen a single thing about fear of heights in the requirements so it shouldnt be a problem.

good luck with it maybe see you up there some day:)

I have a slight case of being afraid of heights, but in a plane it all goes away. Be it FL390 or 3000. No idea why this happens, but it's good that it does. 

its strange how it works really. i personally have no problem being at 30000 feet infact i love it but i cant be on top of a 12 story building and look down without feeling sick, and theres no way i can look up when on said building

if you check into the history books....one of the most famous of all fliers in the world was pukin' his guts out on his first flight......and he went on to fly the highest performance aircraft for 60 yrs, and this is the truth.....how about Oct 14, 1947 ?

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I couldn't say more. Matt has it perfect. You wan't to make sure your instructor knows that you have a fear of heights. It is important to know, because even the introductory flight, you are doing a lot of hands-on flying.

-Brad

Hi all I was and still am scared of hights, I was doing cavity wall insulation on a ladder and "froze" about 10-12 feet up! that was 15 years ago. On friday 13th Sept 2002 I had my first EVER flight, 30 min trail from Blackpool (UK), there were winds gusting upto26Kts. The instructor let me taxi the Piper PA28 to the runway, he then did the mag checks got clearance and told me to take the yolk! he lined us up on the runway hit the power I pulled back at 70Kts indicated then the air turned blue! I wanted to LAND and NOW!! I was allmost too scared to look anywhere but instruments at 500 feet we turned, the turbulance was bad. After being buffeted around for 10 - 15 mins we came into land, having got upto 1000 feet, when we landed I wanted to go up again!
I have flown twice since from Blackpool, a one hour flight up to the lakes at 2700feet (the view is awsome) and another 30 min, upto 2000 feet and this time I landed the plane (only one bounce), both times I got "butterflies" on take off but then the thrill of flying took over. If you've read this far my advice is go for it have a30 min trial I doubt if you will regret it

General Charles Yeager affraid of heights? October 14th 1947 put the man in the history books for sure. It is quite an achievement to go from puking rookie to first man to break the sound barrier in the Bell X-1.

Just for braggin rights...

I have recently aquired a mahogany model of the Bell X-1 with the autographed right wing "Charles Yeager" acompanied by the model is a glossy color photo on kodak gold of him completing his signature.

Im scared shiznitless of heights while standing on anything much taller than 4 feet... but stick me in an airplane and for some reason it is not a problem.

explain that?

hello guys.wow this post is ancient.just for everyone's information i am now a fully fledged Boeing 737-400 co-pilot with a top airline in South East Asia and am currently doing the conversion to the Boeing 737NGs=)so yeah dont let that fear hinder you from going all out to achieve your dream!cheers!

Chalk up another pilot with a fear of heights.  Just looking at those pictures of steel workers on the Empire State makes me nervous.  No problem with flying - even took some aerobatic lessons once - bit of reluctance rolling to the right but otherwise great.  Never flew open cockpit and have wondered about that  .

Fozzer wrote on Aug 6^th, 2010 at 2:21pm:


How tall are you Paul?

Just saw this, after so many years..  Fear of hieghts is conquered by time and the minds ability to adjust. Every morning, (for the last 5 months) I climb into the basket of an 80 foot articulated snorkle lift. The first hour or so my brain is screaming "Danger" and my muscles stiffen up in the brace mode. Yes, as one post said, don't look straight up as you lose the horizon line. Don't look down, look at the horizon.. Usually after an hour or so the fear subsides. Of course that fear, is much, much better than no fear at all. 

Despite this being a massive necro, my 2 cents:

I hate heights*
I don't particularly like flying on commercial aircraft**

...Yet I want to become a military pilot.



*Having something strapped to me (parachute, climbing rope, etc) is absolutely fine. I trust those systems to work. Standing on the edge of a cliff is an entirely different matter

**Fear of terrorism more than anything else. I don't have an anxiety attack and I don't break a sweat, it's probably not strong enough to be called a fear, but it's a thought that remains in the back of my head.

beaky wrote on Aug 7^th, 2010 at 12:48am:


The opposite can/must be said for Helicopters...(sans wings).... ....!

Paul.... ...!

I believe the fear of heights vs. flying an airplane situation to be interesting. It seems that everywhere I go, there are more pilots scared of heights (including myself), than there are pilots not afraid of heights. Yet, when in an airplane, one would never know the difference. I believe this has to do more with a fear of falling, than with altitude itself. I know that if I stand at the edge of a cliff, I may fall off, but if I'm securely strapped into an airplane, I most likely won't.

I can spend ages, lying on my back, gazing up at the Moon, from Earth, with no fear of its great height!..... ....

My greatest fear would be, falling from the Moon, back to Earth!... ... ...!

Paul....Mooning again... ...!

I have a fear of falling, not heights.  That's why I'm good in a plane but not on a cliff edge.

Fozzer wrote on Aug 8^th, 2010 at 7:16am:

Astronauts get this very problem... It's not that they're floating, they're always falling, but so's the craft their in!

In space, nobody can hear you plummet. 

I took several hours of flight training in a Piper j3 60 years ago. I was getting excellent grades from my instructor and enjoying it immensely until one Sunday morning I had an inexplicable panic attack 4,500 up. I have flown as a passenger  many, many thousands of miles since in many types of aircraft and still get the shakes. Not an uncommon phobia. I have been advised to undergo hypnosis but I fear I might end up hating my dog.

OLD  LOL  I already hate my wife!!!    (just kidding) 

Moach wrote on Feb 2^nd, 2011 at 3:31pm:

You might have a point but I think there's an even simpler explanation. If you're at the top of a ladder or standing on the edge of a cliff the only thing preventing a fall is your sense of balance. One slip & you're gone.

In an aircraft cockpit you're in a completely different environment. Sitting in a hopefully comfortable seat in an enclosed space. Balance doesn't come into it. If you get up & walk through the cabin you can only fall as far as the floor.