Pilots that overcame their nerves: What changed it for you?
Posted by flying--squirrel@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 88 comments
Hi everyone!
I'll keep it short. I'm a female student pilot and although I've flown solo already, I'm still trying to deal with shaking the nerves off for solo flying. The thought of landing is what really challenges me. I feel confident right up until I'm on final, then I usually go from 'This is amazing, I love flying!' to 'I'm alone and this is crazy' in my head. I don't want to be fearless, I just want to shift my negative What If mindset to something positive.
If anyone has a one-liner mantra or an anecdote to share, I would truly appreciate it so much.
(I know this has been asked before and I'm sorry - I don't have many connections in the aviation world as I'm still very new, any pilot's advice is invaluable to me!)
deltajvliet@reddit
Try singing or humming a song you like. Found myself doing this my first solo, and it got me out of my own head.
andrewrbat@reddit
Focus yourself on the job not the emotions.
Im a legacy airline captain and there are still things that make me slightly nervous ( sim check-rides mostly đ) anytime i feel my nerves coming into play i remind myself that i can easily do the thing i need to do, and im only nervous because someones watching not because Im doing anything wrong.
Same logic. Focus and know that you can do it. You have landed safely dozens if not hundreds of times by now, your instructor would never risk your life, his(her) certificate, and a perfectly good plane if there was any doubt. Your mind is the only thing slowing you down. You seem like you are overthinking things. I also do this. I just remind myself to get out of my head and into the task at hand and it goes well. Hope this helps.
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
That's amazing and so cool, I aspire to be you one day! I appreciate you sharing, sometimes it's hard to imagine a legacy airline captain is nervous for anything haha - and you are right, I'm definitely overthinking it and will work on this for my next flight, thank you for the reminder that my instructor also believes in me!
andrewrbat@reddit
We are still human, by this point we just have the knowledge and experience to get past our nerves lol
Fluffy_Duck_Slippers@reddit
Female 747 pilot here. I mentor ladies like yourself along their aviation journey. I didn't have ANY connections either so feel free to send me a msg any time you have questions. My schedule doesn't make replying in a timely fashion easy but I'll definitely get back to you.
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Wow, that's amazing, you're amazing! I will for sure do that, thanks a million.
Fluffy_Duck_Slippers@reddit
Anytime! I totally had the 'this shit is crazy' thoughts sneak in when I was solo too, my advice would be, forget mantra and one liners and make your brain work. Think of a scenario in that moment that you'd have to deal with.. for example imagine you see a landing gear wheel above your windscreen on final, what would you do? If you tried to reduce power and your throttle was stuck at full power, what would you do? If your comms died? A bird hit your windscreen at you can no longer see? What if someone walked across the runway when you were in the flare? At all other times, practice keeping your mind clear.
altandii@reddit
The thing that helps me through every landing is you can always go round, itâs simple and itâs honestly helped me a lot as I get in the mindset of just set it up and if you dont like it just go around and I rarely ever have to!
Feel like it genuinely takes a lot of the pressure and nerves off to have to get it right
LaloMcNombres@reddit
It will get better the more you do it- but one thing i would see in students is nervousness to use full control inputs when needed.
Use all the inputs necessary to stay on speed, glidepath, and centerline. Keep flying it all the way to the ground and then keep flying it.
And remember to always be primed and ready to go around. As long as you have fuel there is no need to land right now.
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Thank you for your reply - I'll be sure to keep this in mind on my next flight, full control inputs!
LaloMcNombres@reddit
To be clear- as much as is needed! But donât be afraid to use everything at your disposal.
jimcarroll_cfi@reddit
I think every pilot has fears when they first learn to fly. Whats amazing to most, is they manifest most severely after solo. And I think theres the clue.
Youâre not afraid of flying, youâre afraid of being unable to handle challenges on your own. This then is the objective â to gain enough experience to convince yourself your success is not due to luck â but to your hard work & sheer determination to succeed.
Time will eventually calm your anxiousness. As will additional ratings. Most pilits start to feel more confident after they earn their instrument rating.
In the meantime â tely on your grit & deterimination to get you through. You havenât found a skill you couldnât master, and for sure you wonât let nerves stop you now.
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Reading your reply had a pretty profound impact for me and it was incredibly well said - I'll come back to it whenever I have doubts moving forward. Grit & determination. Thank you for the perspective and encouragement, truly I appreciate it.
arcticslush@reddit
If your instructor had any shred of doubt you were not capable, they wouldn't send you solo.
Just remember there is someone who has full trust in your abilities. You can do it, so just focus on getting it done.
And: you can always go around... đ¶
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
The amount of times I've watched that YouTube video is unhealthy hahaha. Thank you for saying that though, really shifts my perspective. I appreciate it.
Gabriel_Owners@reddit
Ever since my first solo landing, I was like "Wow I can't believe they're letting me do this by myself. This is AMAZING!"
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Lol my thoughts exactly!
oh_helloghost@reddit
Do it more and donât sweat it too much, youâre still learning.
I donât think a healthy dose of imposter syndrome and paranoia is a bad thing in student pilots. Itâll help you make conservative decisions until you have built more experience.
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
I agree 100%, I do think for the most part my nerves do help in the way that I'm constantly trying to improve, ensure safety is #1 and triple checking everything. Thank you for the encouragement!
eSUP80@reddit
Trust your training and fly more
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Thank you!
usmcmech@reddit
Iâll let you know when I figure it out.
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Ahh thank you for the reply - Hearing that someone with that much experience and knowledge still can go through it, makes me feel much better. I just need to accept it's normal/expected, and we push on anyway.
monoshellos@reddit
Seems a little silly but during my first solo my mantra was âI donât want to pay $10,000, I donât want to pay $10,000âŠâ because âdebtâ is far worse than dying to me. Muscle memory kicked in driven by not wanting to pay extra and my landing was butter.
Your instructor has deemed you safe enough to solo and you should trust in their judgment.
Redfish680@reddit
Tell yourself that taking off required more controls to accomplish and was a whole lot harder than landing, which is just glorified floating down!
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Haha love this.
insearcofaction@reddit
I second what the last two comments have said. Hopefully your CFI has taught you slips and skids, soft field and short field landings and takeoffs, wind correction angles on final and crosswind landings. If so, you have all the tools you need to be safe and the experience to be confident in yourself. You got this be proud of yourself and go stick those landings! Takeoffs are optional but landings are Mandatory!
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Well said! My instructor has been awesome and taught all that you've mentioned, we're nearing the end of my training pretty soon here. Thank you very much for the reply, I really appreciate the encouragement.
Ok_Truck_5092@reddit
I have 300 hours and still get nervous flying alone. You have to do it anyway.
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Awesome, I can't wait to work my way up to 300 hours one day!
Mundane-Reality-7770@reddit
Fly more
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
That's the plan! :)
Mispelled-This@reddit
You should be nervous on takeoff and landing; those are highest-risk and highest-workload parts of a flight.
The trick is to use that to help you focus on doing all the things right, not waste it on what-if nonsense.
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
You're 100% right, thank you for your reply.
VileInventor@reddit
Stop caring âiâve done this a million times, if i make a mistake now my training failed somewhere along this path so who caresâ
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Thank you!
kiwi_love777@reddit
I flew into Maui last year⊠runway 2.
070@42G52.
By some miracle I greased it AND got it in the centerline.
My legs were trembling at the end of the runway after cap took over the controls.
Like Sinatra used to say when you stop being nervous then stop doing what youâre doing because you donât care anymore.
Repetition is what makes your nerves go away⊠but then one day youâll have to fly a jet into Maui and itâll be gusting and youâll be just as nervous as the day you solod in calm winds.
CZ-Czechmate@reddit
Remember the first time you drove your car alone or took the training wheels off. You survived. Your instructor will solo you when you are ready. They will know when you are ready long before you know you are ready. Remember one of those first dates where you worried about does he like me, will he kiss me, what if I don't like him, etc etc. All that silly stuff that filled your head and now you look back and laugh. Yep this is like that too. Worry for no good reason. Now fly the plane as you are taught. Remember 100's of thousands of others have done the same and you can too.
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Thank you for taking the time to reply - every comment really is making a difference for me!
Santos_Dumont@reddit
Every time I have been in a sketchy situation in the plane Iâve gone into execute mode and just stopped thinking. This is from the hours and hours and hours of training.
In one case of really really bad mountain wave I had the shakes for a couple days. A shot of whiskey is what cured it. Then I was like ohhh this is why pilots head straight to the bar after a flight.
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
That sounds so rattling, glad everything turned out okay. I'll definitely keep at it, just have to believe the confidence will come eventually!
Mobe-E-Duck@reddit
Repetition, procedure, reminding myself to slow down.
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
That's a big aspect of it for me, will make a bigger point of it in the future to slow down more.
lnxguy@reddit
Nerves are a self preservation response. They are good. You work around them to maintain your composure and you may not notice them as much when it really matters.
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Thank you!!
hhjijnnm@reddit
I almost died on an approach solo in a thunderstorm in a c172
171900Z 14024G42KT 1/2SM +TSRA VV013 25/21 RMK AO2 PK WND 15042/1858 WSHFT 1840 LTG DSNT ALQDS P0028 T02500211 $
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Absolutely insane. METAR just kept getting worse, and here you are to tell the tale, glad you're okay.
kevinossia@reddit
Practice more.
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Thanks!
JT-Av8or@reddit
Started flying in 1987 and have over 14,000 hours. When I stop getting nervous on short final Iâll let you know. Iâm sure itâll be any day now. đ
Being nervous keeps you sharp. Embrace it.
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
LOL. I'm absolutely honoured to get so many replies from pilots with an insane amount of hours, thank you for saying this and taking the time to comment - feel the fear and do it anyway!
Altruistic-Ideal-277@reddit
Student pilot here, I start verbalizing my flows just before joining the pattern calling out airspeed, aim point , centerlineâŠâŠseems to help
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Thank you - I love that many of these comments are reminding me to vocalize everything I'm doing. Will be changing that next flight!
StrikeAPose69_420@reddit
I'm right there with you! The only answer is to get more reps. Prepare fully before every flight so you start out ahead of the airplane, and then just execute
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Thank you for your reply! Start out ahead of the airplane, love it.
El-Clinico-Magnifico@reddit
For me, I was afraid of spins and stalls in a climbing turn. Honestly I just studied and chair flew the maneuvers enough that I was one step ahead of what was going to happen. Am I still nervous, absolutely but I am better prepared which helps.
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Ahh yes chair flying helped me with spins as well! Preparedness is everything!
cez801@reddit
Itâs not unusual, I got my PPL 2 years ago and still get a bit nervous. I have 160 hours and just over 300 landings.
More landings helps, managing landings in tougher conditions, landings at different airports.
My mantra today tends to be â I trained well, I have done this beforeâ
But still feel the nerves.
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Thank you for your reply - it helps SO much hearing from other pilots with more experience that they've related or still relate to this.
elan890@reddit
Every time I went for a solo flight during my private I was waiting for someone to come out and stop me. I couldnât believe they were letting me take a plane by myself each time. But I did it, got my private, and now itâs something I do for fun!
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Haha that's so awesome, it really is an insane responsibility. So glad you did it and got your private!
GoobScoob@reddit
Experience and training
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Thank you!
Neither-Way-4889@reddit
Honestly, I was probably too focused on flying to be scared.
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Thank you for your reply!
NearPeerAdversary@reddit
Just remind yourself that you've been trained for this and you've done it before. Less competent people than you do this all the time. No big deal, and go arounds are always an option.
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
You made my day, thank you - becoming a pilot means so much to me so that was really cool actually reading your comment; Good points as well, I'll keep at it and build that confidence.
TxAggieMike@reddit
Voice your concerns with your current CFI and ask for their wisdom.
In addition to teaching you, they should be acting as your primary cheerleader and doing all thatâs needed for you to achieve success.
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Thank you! My CFI is honestly amazing and super supportive, I'll open up more about next lesson.
Jeau_Jeau@reddit
Every (almost) anxiety my students had came from a natural place. Humans were not biologically meant to fly. Our brains try to protect us with instincts. Most of my students could be talked through with "it's my lizard brain, it's not as evolved, it's trying to keep me safe, here's why it's worng though.."
Landing is scary. You're going faster than humans normally go, and need to act correctly to not hurt yourself. Lizard brain is doing the math on the velocity vs squishy human bodies. Thanks lizard brain! But with practice you do know what to do to land! Deep breath and flare.
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Wow haha I love it, definitely resonated with me - thank you for this!! Makes total sense.
Golfer_Joe@reddit
Switching to cirrus. Everyone likes to make fun of life saving requirement, but I challenge those people to land a Cessna in a rural area at night when the engine goes out.
JSTootell@reddit
I am alone, and this is crazy.
Still can't believe I'm allowed to own my own plane, and fly it.Â
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
LOL, aviation is incredible.
Unable_Request@reddit
Perhaps allow the "What if?" Questions... And have answers for them.
What if wind shear? Vocalize the go around. What if we get low? Vocalize adding power. What if we get slow? Vocalize nose down, consider adding power. Can you trade? Slow and high, or fast and low? Vocalize the trade.
More hours! My first cross country really boosted my confidence Â
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Thank you for your reply! Reading all these comments has already helped with the nerves, will be vocalizing everything from now on.
TxAggieMike@reddit
Approaching midfield downwind, I ask students to take deep breath and slowly blow out all anxiety and tension.
And wiggle fingers, toes, eyebrows, ears and hair to relax muscles.
From initial configuration through touch down they are to vocalize out loud what they are looking for, doing, and sensing.
Speaking out loud aids in maintaining focus and accomplishing the desired task.
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
This is a really great point, I definitely go quiet when I'm on my own. I'll change this tomorrow - thank you so much!
BarnackIIIF@reddit
>"Speaking out loud aids in maintaining focus and accomplishing the desired task
Exactly. It also let's the CFI know what the student is thinking.
Mundane-Reality-7770@reddit
Vocalization really helped me with my confidence and my flow. It also let's that examiner know you know what you're doing even if execution was borderline.
After you pass it puts anxious passengers at ease. Have had more than one person say that alone gave them confidence we weren't just full sending it and there's a method to the excitement of flight
Vast-Negotiation9068@reddit
I find I don't have time to think about it being scary if I'm paying attention to my altitude, speed, traffic, birds, wind, etc.
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Very very true, thank you for your reply.
BarnackIIIF@reddit
OP: \^This is the way. On final I am continuously processing: Glideslope...Speed...Centerline...Glideslope...Speed...Centerline...
This runs as a continuous loop and any fear that creeps in, gets pushed out.
And remember, you can always go around if something doesn't look right.
blitzroyale@reddit
If you're not being busy you're doing something wrong my instructor said for instrument
DoomWad@reddit
This. Occupy your mind with what's important. If your brain is in landing mode, keep it there.
Avreal_Valkara@reddit
Just keep flying the plane until it's back on the ground and becomes an awkward car. If you have some panic, store it until you're done flying the plane because you really don't have the time for it. Once you're no longer flying the plane and it's stowed away where it can't get in trouble, because I swear the things are like toddlers, then feel free to do all panicking you want. Panic is definitely a ground activity
flying--squirrel@reddit (OP)
Thank you so much for your reply, I'll remind myself of this tomorrow.
rFlyingTower@reddit
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
Hi everyone!
I'll keep it short. I'm a female student pilot and although I've flown solo already, I'm still trying to deal with shaking the nerves off for solo flying. The thought of landing is what really challenges me. I feel confident right up until I'm on final, then I usually go from 'This is amazing, I love flying!' to 'I'm alone and this is crazy' in my head. I don't want to be fearless, I just want to shift my negative What If mindset to something positive.
If anyone has a one-liner mantra or an anecdote to share, I would truly appreciate it so much.
(I know this has been asked before and I'm sorry - I don't have many connections in the aviation world as I'm still very new, any pilot's advice is invaluable to me!)
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