From: amazon@sgi.com (Stormwind)
Subject: Re: Motion 'Discomfort'...
Organization: X Industries, Heavy Weapons R&D
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1992 01:00:56 GMT

(Dan Kerl) writes:
>1. Do I get to look forward to getting this way every time I take a training
>flight, or will this condition pass with experience?

it may pass with experience.  i used to have
an aversion to anything less than 1g.  i can
now handle less than this provided it's not
on a regular basis.

>2. Is medication counterproductive?  My instructor feels it is, and states that
>"I'll get over it after a few flights."

medication is a crutch.  you can probably 
compromise, and try the old mint tea trick
(peppermint tea is a harmless herbal substance
that has a reputation for calming peeved tummies).
or bring ginger ale with you (ginger does the same
thing).  i like to bring full boxes of ginger snap
cookies with me when going deep sea fishing,
and the last trip found me with a cookie perpetually
sticking out of my mouth while reeling in rock cod.
interestingly enough, i was the least sick person
on the boat (16 foot seas), not counting the crew.

>3. Are there any tricks (short of not flying) that might help?  My instructor
>also said that not concentrating on objects in the cocpit helps.  I was trying
>to practice doing scans of the surrounding airspace, since I wanted to start
>developing this habit as soon as possible.

ask the pilot to fly straight and level, concentrate
on the horizon, and image yourself in your favorite
place...perhaps, on a warm island somewhere.  breathe
deeply and try to remember what the sea air smells
like.  i've found this helps calm down and end nausea
in many different situations, but it's best to have someone
else drive while doing this because you're concentrating
hard on something other than flying.

my first time up in a small aircraft, my current
instructor decided to introduce me to "wingovers".
eventually both he and the co-pilot decided to cease
and desist after discovering that they were going to
have to peel me off the ceiling.  they'd never seen
anyone expand to fill all available space before.

at any rate, i discovered a similair reaction to flying
in a sailplane.  thermals are bumpy, and i especially
didn't like the dropping sensation they induced.  thus,
on nearly every flight, i *encouraged* my current
instructor to do as many wingovers as he wanted to so
i could get used to them.  i realized this was working
when he finally had to stop because HE was getting
nauseous.

shortly after this i bought a season's pass to great 
america, our local amusement park, and spent several
days riding the hairiest rides there, especially The Edge,
a nasty creation where you sit in a cage that drops straight
down from about five or six stories up.  it was this 
particular experience that finally got me over the edge
(so to speak) with my little problem.

i just completed my first solo cross country yesterday.
on the way home, i flew through a number of thermals.
i was more worried about the plane assuming unusual
attitudes than i was about my stomach revolting, and at
one point i was addressing the thermals thanking them
very much for their help, but i'd pass on climbing up any
higher, thanks.

>4. How does one deal with nausea in tight situations?

image yourself in a pleasant situation, and breathe
deeply.  calm your stomach down.  cold air helps
immensely, and cool mint tea does wonders.  if you're
stressed out, you will get nauseous faster.  while waiting
to go on a practice grid search with CAP a few years
back, another senior member described airplane sickness
in such graphic detail that i got nauseous while sitting
on the fence on the ground at the airport, strictly from
anticipation!  i had my revenge, though....HE was the 
one that got nauseous in flight.

>I'm really excited about getting to do this.  I hope that this motion sickness
>thing is temporary.

don't be afraid to work it out.  in many cases it's a 
lot like seasickness...you gradually become insensitive
to the sensations that cause you problems.  

					stormwind

					hell's amazon
Newsgroups: rec.aviation