This is what the training is for. To help you realize that it is the instructor who is most likely to get you killed, not the aircraft.
My daughter is terrified of flying but one day she came to the airport and just watched airplanes take off and land for a couple of hours. At that time I had some students and we were doing touch and goes. After watching the planes leave and come back in one piece over and over I asked if she would like to take a ride. She said she was afraid of the wing falling off. I told her It hasn't fallen off in the almost 400 hours I had been flying it so it would most likely stay on for the next 20 minutes. She went for a ride and loved it although she still isn't crazy about flying it did help her have a better perspective about it.
Well it seems that it's a constant battle as to who's gonna do the killing, the student or the instructor. I've never known anyone that lost a wing but I know several people that have airplanes with repairs to the landing gear ...
While undergoing a check-out in a 1977 C-172, for an unnamed FBO, the instructor presented me with a simulated engine failure 2500 feet above an airport. He expected me to land specifically at that field. The checkout procedure thus far had been if not particularly difficult, conducted in a way that only one method, (his method) was acceptable to this particular instructor for any given task. I was simply trying to please the fellow. But I digress. Getting back to the story, I immediately went to the best glide airspeed and it became obvious that at that altitude I would need to glide around for a ridiculous amount of time before executing the engine out landing. While enjoying the view and contemplating this waste of $’s and time the instructor turned and asked me “what are you going to do”? By now we had been flying 1.5 hours and I was feeling somewhat weary of the exercise, I crossed the controls and slipped it practically straight down for almost 2000 feet in about one minute. I could see and sense the CFI tense up as we approached pattern altitude. Breaking out of the slip, I went Key point entry-rounded base-to-final and greased it down. The wings did not fall off even though the noises were interesting. At that point the CFI said “OK let’s go back now”. I will add that I have immense respect for CFI’s, my father and grandfather were both CFI‘s in addition to their impressive flying carriers. Some of these young guys though can be a bit pedantic.But again, I digress.............
I could only find a few in-flight breakups of the 172: 1991-03-16: The pilot of the airplane exceeding the certificated never exceed velocity. The overloading of the wing attachment fittings while maneuvering was a factor in the accident. 2003-01-18: The pilot's inflight loss of control and the pilot's failure to recover from the resultant dive for unknown reasons which resulted in flight beyond the design stress limits of the airplane and subsequent in flight airframe breakup. 2003-03-21: The pilot?s exceedence of the design limits of the airplane, which resulted in the overload failure of the horizontal stabilizers, followed by the overload separation of the right wing and subsequent loss of control. 2018-07-13: Witnesses reported that the airplane was in a steep dive toward terrain and then they subsequently observed the wings departing the airplane at the same time.
Any time you want to say the phrase: “Hold my beer and watch this!” it probably means the bad-idea-bears are in charge.
As a fellow student pilot I’m not worried about the wings falling off, but am a little concerned about the flimsy seat position lock on Cessna 172’s. After reading about (I haven’t checked our rental yet, but next time I will look at it for sure) description that it is just one pin, not two, or three, and that it was designed when pilots, most people weighed more Ike 60-70 kg, (I’m 110), and pilots experiencing it suddenly giving way, with the inevitable reaction reaction that they pull back on the stick, can’t easily reach the rudder...has happened on takeoff.
When you get into the airplane and are seated comfortably, try your darndest to make the seat move for and aft. Shake the hell out of it. If this level of violence does not cause a pin to jump out of the rail, you are safe. ( During preflight, check the condition of the holes in the seat track to be sure that they show no signs of wear.)
I fly by the motto "There is no sense dying all tensed up." Early in my flying I was cruising along and started thing about how much metal was between me and falling out. WTH! There is actually a direct relationship between stress and fear. As long as you are comfortable that what you are doing carries a higher risk and you are prepared for the consequences then the fear dissipates. What might make you feel a bit better about the physical structure is if you go and read actual NTSB accident reports at https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/month.aspx You'll see how rare the physical failure is. It's the damn pilot you have to worry about.
I did exactly one landing in a C172 with my knees in my face due the pin slipping on downwind (flaps out, decelerate...slide to forward seat stops). In Class D airspace to make things even more exiting. In that case there was heavy turbulence the entire flight, and I guess the pin must have been latched enough to pass my normal "push seat back hard with feet on rudder pedals" check, but not enough to resist the deceleration force. Ever since then I've done the Cessna Wiggle and it hasn't happened again. The resulting landing was OK, but I don't want to repeat it!
Fly a Tiger sometime. Every time turbulence hits on a hot day I wonder if this is the day the glue melts. /just kidding!!
I used to suffer from flying related anxiety even as an instrument rated private pilot. After reading many articles, I took it on to fly four days in a row and it made a huge difference. I got very familiar with a certain plane I flew and realized that it flew the same predictable way based upon my normal inputs. I now currently try to fly at least 3 times a week and it has made a huge difference to my confidence. Not saying everyone can afford it, but the more often you fly, the more confident you will feel about both the aircraft and your own particular skills.
