Unsettled Feeling up High

Good to here that im not the only one, like I said, it only happens every so often at random when im at 7xxx or above. Docmirror, thanks for posting your thread also, I swear I did a search to see if there were similar threads.
 
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It takes a few years to get to this point, but when you are at 25,000 feet at sunset it is magical. My wife flew with me many times, and I can assure you that she thinks that higher is better than lower.

Bob Gardner
 
LowanSlow said:
Just seeing what every one has to say about this. Im a Low time Pilot,, you know,, the kind known as the "Pile-It" on at the end of the runway. Any ways, at times when I fly up at altitudes over 7,000+, I will occasionally get an unsettled feeling that might last a minute or two and then wear away, cant quite explain it (kind of like the nervousness of falling out of the plane if I look straight down?). While listening to a few guys I know at a fly-in recently, One just happened to bring up the same topic and confessed that they occasionally have the same unsettled feeling (one also regularly flies in the low to mid teens also). I guess im just seeing if any of you all ever have the same unsettled feeling while up high or if im just easily "a-scared" of being high?:dunno:
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I tend to have the same feeling when I fly above 12,000 feet --- but I've always attributed the feeling to hypoxia.
Methinks 7000 is a might low, but you might check your SPO2 with an oximeter and/or bring a Boost bottle of oxygen to test your reaction to more oxygen ...
 
Similar happens to me scuba diving. I am fine at depths as long as I can see the reef/bottom.

Once I swim past the edge of the reef over a deep drop and lose reference of the ocean bottom, anxiety starts to hit, sometimes at a panic level.
 
James331;1894771[B said:
]At work I'll break into the FLs half the time[/B], but for my personal flying I don't often go about a couple thousand feet AGL, just isn't as fun, besides seaplanes and taildraggers get nosebleeds if they fly to high :D
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On local flights I will stay at tree top levels.... On cross country flights in my death trap, I am as high as possible ( 12,500 up to 17,500) in case the Ford decides to blow up...

In my buddy's Citation CJ-4, we always cruise at FL450...... You can actually see the curvature of the earth up there.. Cabin altitude is 8000....

We practice grabbing the O2 masks since useful life is about 3 seconds if a window blows out...:eek::yikes:.....

Some biz jets cruise up to FL 510...
 
narchee said:
:lol:

Off topic but sometimes I wonder if there should be a FAQ for new users on who to ignore. The self proclaimed experts (but who are actually way off base) can give some dangerous advice sometimes. As a new user here though you don't know necessarily.
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Good suggestion.

We had one member banned for giving bad advice, who then came back using another name and got banned again.

I now have a gnawing feeling he's back yet again under yet another name - and posting to this thread.
 
Glad to know I'm not the only one....

But I don't seem to get that very often. I typically end up cruising over 8000' to get above the bumps. The only time I really get that odd feeling is when the sky is "milky" - that is not very clear making the horizon hard to see. (Still VMC, but with the nose up and climbing out, the belly gets a little less than happy about it.)

Kind of hoping I can start flying that IFR at some point but I don't have the scan down fully (plus I'm not rated - yet).
 
FastEddieB said:
Good suggestion.

We had one member banned for giving bad advice, who then came back using another name and got banned again.

I now have a gnawing feeling he's back yet again under yet another name - and posting to this thread.
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5 guesses who that might be...
 
JoseCuervo said:
Similar happens to me scuba diving. I am fine at depths as long as I can see the reef/bottom.

Once I swim past the edge of the reef over a deep drop and lose reference of the ocean bottom, anxiety starts to hit, sometimes at a panic level.
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Damn, that happened to me once as well. I was diving on the east end of Cayman, and took a little trip off the shelf. Something swam by and I got distracted, a little bit later I looked around and - ruh roh, where's the land!

I was gonna pop up to the surface, then I saw a light spot and started toward it, there was some sandy rock area near the shelf.

It was spooky out there. My dive buddy left me and chased a octo. We had 'the chat' once we got back on the boat. I didn't really panic, but looking down was -- unpleasant. I could see hell. ;)
 
docmirror said:
Damn, that happened to me once as well. I was diving on the east end of Cayman, and took a little trip off the shelf. Something swam by and I got distracted, a little bit later I looked around and - ruh roh, where's the land!

I was gonna pop up to the surface, then I saw a light spot and started toward it, there was some sandy rock area near the shelf.

It was spooky out there. My dive buddy left me and chased a octo. We had 'the chat' once we got back on the boat. I didn't really panic, but looking down was -- unpleasant. I could see hell. ;)
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Did it look like the Spin Zone..:dunno:.......;).....:D:D
 
N801BH said:
Did it look like the Spin Zone..:dunno:.......;).....:D:D
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Nope, way worse.

In open water when scuba equipped, you are floating if your vest is inflated perfect. It's very close to weightless but of course with a pressure on you of the weight of the water. At least for me, when I looked down, there was a feeling that at any moment my 'support' mechanism was going to give out, and I would plunge down. But - what makes it worse than sky diving you can't see the ground you are going to parachute to(or hit). There is a kind of feeling of infinity when you look into the depth and it just keeps getting darker, and darker, and darker, until there is nothing to see but blackness.

Empirically your mind understands that at some depth down there is solid ocean floor. It may be 300 feet, or 500 or 2000 but there is no way you can see it. What's more, there's some kind of compelling pull to dive and go find the bottom. It feels like 'just a little bit deeper, just a little more' until you surely die, and in dying you'll never be found or heard from again. Literally fish food.
 
Say.... I have the same symptoms diving! .

Why is it one feels like they will "fall to the ground" in wide open water??
 
Zeldman said:
I had a psychiatrist for a student when I was instructing. He explained it to me as not a fear of heights, but a fear of falling.
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For me it's more a fear of the sudden stop at the bottom.
 
docmirror said:
Nope, way worse.

In open water when scuba equipped, you are floating if your vest is inflated perfect. It's very close to weightless but of course with a pressure on you of the weight of the water. At least for me, when I looked down, there was a feeling that at any moment my 'support' mechanism was going to give out, and I would plunge down. But - what makes it worse than sky diving you can't see the ground you are going to parachute to(or hit). There is a kind of feeling of infinity when you look into the depth and it just keeps getting darker, and darker, and darker, until there is nothing to see but blackness.

Empirically your mind understands that at some depth down there is solid ocean floor. It may be 300 feet, or 500 or 2000 but there is no way you can see it. What's more, there's some kind of compelling pull to dive and go find the bottom. It feels like 'just a little bit deeper, just a little more' until you surely die, and in dying you'll never be found or heard from again. Literally fish food.
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Great description..... I grew up in Miami and dove alot off shore and in the Bahamas.....
 
woodchucker said:
I've got no problem with being in a little ol' Cessna; but put me on a ladder, the edge of the Grand Canyon, or a hot air balloon and it's full on panic.
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Hey, that's me! I can hardly stand being on a ladder or a roof, but flying a plane is no issue. Even my flight in an open door helo in Hawaii was not unsettling. Go figure.
 
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Gucci Pilot said:
I think it all depends on what you're flying. Helicopter guys get uneasy flying high, I get an uneasy feeling flying below 5,000.
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Same here. I typically fly between 7-10k in the Mooney. Typically less turbulence, smooth ride, and less traffic. I feel safer higher. I check my oxygen level periodically when around 10K to make sure I'm ok.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
I love flying high, cool and smooth, but my wife is very antsy above 10,000' (throwback to the very worst turbulence we ever experienced).
 
I too have this uneasy feeling of flying at 10K and above in my 172 or the 182.

I was flying with my CFII a few months ago in the G5 for a maintance flight. I was fine in the 30's but got the uneasy feeling at 40K and above. I kept telling myself the difference from mid 30's to the 40's was no big deal but to me it was.
 
I actually feel quite a bit of comfort hearing how many have the same issue as me with heights. It's really awkward explaining to people that I hate heights, but have no problem flying.

I got in a tethered balloon once... NEVER AGAIN. Also, same thing with SCUBA. In my certification class, on our final dive down to 40 feet, I ended up in a panic. Couldn't clear my ears and ended up losing my goggles somewhere along the way to the surface. Not sure if that's a related phobia or not.
 
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woodchucker said:
I've got no problem with being in a little ol' Cessna; but put me on a ladder, the edge of the Grand Canyon, or a hot air balloon and it's full on panic.
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Me too, I have no problem being in the plane but climbing a ladder makes me feel very uneasy. When I was younger being on a ladder, roof or any other high place wouldn't bother me. I figured it has something to do with age.
 
txflyer said:
This has come up before.

I think it's a point where you lose touch with the earth in an eyesight way. You can't make out houses or cars or minor features anymore, so your brain interprets that and goes into fight or flight mode.

It's the same shrinking feeling you get when you're out on the ocean way out and can't see land.
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Hmmm, I've not had a problem but rarely fly above 10,000 due to low engine power and mushy control feeling (went to 15,000 on a hot August afternoon, with -II and O2; later calculated DA = 18,800). Haven't had much problem on a ship out of sight of land, whether deep sea fishing or cruising. Unless the ship is rolling and yawing, which can disturb the inner ear.
 
acluffpoa said:
I become very nervous below 4500.
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Interesting. There are days I go flying and have to pull up to get into pattern altitude. No, I'm not kidding. I'll spend the whole flight below 1,000' agl. I've never had the feeling of uneasiness flying. I get it on the ground, but not in the air.
 
I think it may be Mr. Subconcious expressing trepidation, and annoyance, at Mr. Concious, for taking you thousands of feet from earth, and putting you in a position from which only your own skill and knowledge can save you. If even just a few things go a bit wrong, you will suffer a partucularly gruesome death, likely after enduring moments of hideous terror.

Sure, on a concious level, you aren't thinking about catostrophic material failure, raging fire, mid-air collision, or blueberry muffins - but your subconcious is aware and cognizant of all these things.
 
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