Airsickness

ircphoenix

ircphoenix

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ircphoenix
How do you guys deal with it?

During training I had issues with air sickness for 3-4 out of my 6 months. I thought I'd never get over it. Now that I'm not in the sky twice a week, I find it can creep up on me. Any pilots here still experience air sickness? And what do you do to combat it?

Side note: It could've just been that when I was safety piloting yesterday, there were a lot of abrupt corrections.
 
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ircphoenix said:
How do you guys deal with it?

During training I had issues with air sickness for 3-4 out of my 6 months. I thought I'd never get over it. Now that I'm not in the sky twice a week, I find it can creep up on me. Any pilots here still experience air sickness? And what do you do to combat it?

Side not: It could've just been that when I was safety piloting yesterday, there were a lot of abrupt corrections.
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Not being on the controls is a big contributor to airsickness so asking to fly for a few minutes can help settle you down. It's good to have something on your stomach but not a big meal beforehand. Coffee seems to make things worse for me, so I will sometimes skip it in the morning if I have an early flight. And, good airflow in the cockpit and having something to drink helps.
 
Never had to deal with it much until I started getting into unusual attitudes. Most of the time, non-issue, but some CFI's were MOST abrupt on their input changes.

Normal flying, never had a problem with it. My wife takes motion sickness meds if she goes up with me (and that's a BIG if). But yeah I'd agree airflow and fluids (cold preferably not warm) are good suggestions.
 
There's a product I used called the Relief Band. You wear it on your wrist like an upside down watch. It sends electrical impulses through the nerves at several different intensity levels. I had a lot of trouble with airsickness, still do, and the Relief Band really helped me out! They make a wrist band that puts pressure on those same nerves, but it was not as effective for me.

http://shop.reliefband.com/pages/motion-sickness
 
Abrupt corrections while hand-flying under the hood is more or less normal. At least more abrupt than VFR, unless the pilot is REALLY good.

I generally advise people to look at the horizon, which you should be doing anyway as safety pilot. In the clouds, look at the AI. The point is to look at something that doesn't move.
 
There are two things that help me when I get queasy in the airplane. I get the air moving in the cockpit and I climb to cooler air. If it's really bad, I'll get quite a bit higher and slow the airplane down and trim for level flight and just slow cruise for a few minutes with minimal control inputs. If all that doesn't help within about 10-15 minutes, I head for the airport and park for a while.
 
I'll second comments from MAKG1 --- lack of movement is paramount.
And when you do have to move (like to get on the ground in minimal time/cut the flight short) --- make all movements GENTLE and SLOW and COORDINATED -- banking, pitching, changing power (no yawing, except turning, but then, refer to Rule 1---> coordination).
[[ and stay away from lessons --- they are nausea producers (although I transferred nausea TO my CFII when I started IRA training :D )]]

And that means, that if you need a wide (10 mile) pattern for landing to minimize the nausea, then you use a 10 mile pattern.
 
I don't do well as a passenger in an airplane either. At the controls I'm fine. Just met a GA passenger that suffered very badly from air sickness. She wears those magnet bracelets and swears by them. She tried everything else but loves these things.
 
PilotRPI said:
I don't do well as a passenger in an airplane either. At the controls I'm fine. Just met a GA passenger that suffered very badly from air sickness. She wears those magnet bracelets and swears by them. She tried everything else but loves these things.
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Placebo power!! :D
 
Ginger chews are sposed to help

Not flying on a empty gut helps

Not talking about air sickness helps

Looking way out the windows at the horizon helps
 
Motion sickness is a poison reflex - you inner ear and eyes disagree, as can happen when you have, in fact, eaten the gas station sushi.

If you can keep your eyes and inner ear in accord, it helps prevent the nausea, or worse. VFR, keep your head up, eyes out. Glance at the panel, don't stare a hole in it.

What you eat, or don't eat, pretty much doesn't matter, except for the quantity and taste of what you puke up. You might stick to food and drink you don't mind seeing twice, and maybe limit the volume. Once you start feeling it, don't add any more volume by drinking or eating something. . .

Got this from Air Force physilogical training back in the day.
 
Sundancer said:
Motion sickness is a poison reflex - you inner ear and eyes disagree, as can happen when you have, in fact, eaten the gas station sushi.

If you can keep your eyes and inner ear in accord, it helps prevent the nausea, or worse. VFR, keep your head up, eyes out. Glance at the panel, don't stare a hole in it.

What you eat, or don't eat, pretty much doesn't matter, except for the quantity and taste of what you puke up. You might stick to food and drink you don't mind seeing twice, and maybe limit the volume. Once you start feeling it, don't add any more volume by drinking or eating something. . .

Got this from Air Force physilogical training back in the day.
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Yeah... I think the abrupt control inputs combined with me keeping my head on a swivel looking for traffic wasn't doing me any favors. I always try to crank the air vents wide open at my face, and that seems to help a bunch. Staring at the horizon never seems to help though. Even on boats.

I find that landing configuration seems to get me the worst... but that makes sense since you're lower, bumpier, and hotter I guess. When I'm actually controlling the aircraft I find that I don't feel it unless it is turn number 8 or 9 in the pattern.
 
I have an issue with it as well but I've found that a few ginger snap cookies before flying help me.
 
I've already had air sickness a few times (2 out of a total of three flights) mildly. I asked here and got some great advice, I use ginger tablets.

Not sure about the food, my instinct was to not eat before a flight but may try a light bit of food. Also I am sure the advice here about getting some colder air on you (though it can cause noise in the mic...still not sure how to get around that) helps. Some of it is pshycological I think. I mean, the worry of getting it (again) seems like it can cause one to overly feel FOR it and even cause it partially. Seems to me.

One thing I read, "Thinking pilots flight manual" by Rick Durden, he claims some studies have shown a very weird thing. According to the study, if a pilot (or passenger) starts feeling very queasy up in the air, if they land the plane before actually throwing up, the NEXT time that person flies they will have better tolerance for turbulence. On the other hand if they do get sick up in the air, while flying, their tolerance is diminished and will have more chance that the next time they will get sick.

Again, I think you worry about it, I can almost induce it on the ground just thinking about air sickness too much, is a clue that some of it is in my head. I'm older, and I think too our inner ear balance etc. may have become less flexible, that we may get it easier than when we were younger.

Great advice above about not fixating on a point, but look around.
 
I 2nd the reliefband. I used it for my flight training but eventually I guess I just got used to it as I haven't used it in at least 2 years.
 
ircphoenix said:
How do you guys deal with it?

During training I had issues with air sickness for 3-4 out of my 6 months. I thought I'd never get over it. Now that I'm not in the sky twice a week, I find it can creep up on me. Any pilots here still experience air sickness? And what do you do to combat it?

Side note: It could've just been that when I was safety piloting yesterday, there were a lot of abrupt corrections.
Click to expand...
Don't make abrupt corrections.
 
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