The first time I flew, I was 12 years old, and flew by myself, because of strikes on the Irish ferries,(had to get back to school).I have lost count of the number of times I have flown, must be more than 100, but I no longer will do long haul. Not because of fear, but because I do not travel as well these days. Give me a ship anytime.

I'm doing the 10 hour/layover/3 hour flight in about 3 weeks. That being said... I hate, hate, hate flying. I cry during take-offs and claw the seats during any sort of turbulence. But here's the quirk...landings (no matter how rough) never bother me. And I find using the toilet mid-flight really amusing. :)

I Absolutely LOVE to fly! I try to fly to Florida at least once a year to see my son and his family. Hopefully i can go this Sept. Can't wait to "soar" in the air!!!!!!!!

I can fly easily are really large airplanes, but the smaller ones--YUCK!!!

I'm with you. My Dad had a small plane so I flew a lot when I was a kid. Love the small planes...not so much the big ones. It's the hassle of security, and I agree, I keep trying to forget that I am just breathing the same air EVERYONE else has, not enough leg room, and as my horizons have expanded over the years, so has the rest of my body, I don't think there is enough room to sit and rest your arms comfortably, and if your in the middle seat...forget it! But I will do it as Kids and Grandkids live too far away, driving would use up too much of the vacation time.

My mother was terrified to fly. My oldest sister lived 2500 miles away and she really wanted to go visit, but a car, train or bus was out of the question because of her disability and time constraints. Finally she bit the bullet and we bought her tickets to fly from home (NYS) to my sisters (AZ). This was way before the high restrictions. My BIL was so worried about her that he asked and got permission to meet her at the bottom of the stairs of the airplane (they didn't have the 'walkway' into the building at that time). When my mom got to the bottom of the stairs she was all smiles and announced, "I'm getting a window seat on the way home!" I don't care to fly only because I can't get comfortable. The seats are just a little to high and my feet don't sit flat on the floor and that makes my knees ache. For fun I'd rather go on the train!

One of my daughters finally confessed that while coming back to the states when her hubby was stationed overseas, she took a tranquilizer and told her husband to watch their little girl. Said she knew he would take better care of their DD than a panic stricken mother!! So she slept most of the way, DH and DD seemed to have had a ball without her!!
Me, I love to fly, and even learned to fly on a long ago boy friends' plane, but new hubby stopped that. Then I wanted to parachute, but couldn't find any near here. Now I just got an email this morning about a Zeppelin Eureka, that has tours of the CA Bay Area!! Now that's what I want do do next. But I do understand that lots of people have fears that can not be understood, but should be accepted by others.

I agree, it is a hassel to get thru security etc, but so glad they have it...first time I flew in the last few years I wasn't prepared for standing barefoot with all the other people...ugh, coming back I wore socks then it was ok.....but I love to travel and if I can drift off or do a craft or read while traveling so much the better and have someone get me there along with a can of pop, I am for it. but I also love to drive and travel...but my folks live almost 2000 miles from us and it use to use up so much of our vacation time driving to and from....

I have a friend that does this too. She said it's works great!

My oldest son has such a fear of flying that he had to miss his youngest brother's wedding in Hawaii. It was really hard to have him absent and he felt awful but that fear is really strong.
I love to fly and am surprised b/c I have a million hangups lol :D