Chat Wednesday 9 PM - 11 PM Eastern Time
Free Group Phone Counseling With Capt Tom Wednesday 10 PM - 11 PM Eastern Time
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when asked to enter the conference ID 9352101 followed by the # sign
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What Makes A Good Commercial Pilot?
NPR host Neil Conan interviews New York Times aviation reporter Matt Wald and airline captain and author John Nance. Nance points out that a push for standardization and quality control in airline pilot training has paid off handsomely in increasing safety.
Regarding their discussion about experience, I think it is important for an anxious flier to understand that current simulators so accurately reproduce the experience of operating a jet that a new pilot today has more experience with abnormal and emergency situations that any pilot would develop in an entire career a few years ago.
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Dealing With Risk
Each of us gets a certain amount of built-in ability to deal with uncertainty. When anxious about an outcome, some of us handle it better than others. We therapists believe it has a lot to do with the relationship a young child has with its caregivers.
Most of us look back and think of early life as secure. We don't have the comparative experience of growing up in several families. So, individuals don't recognize how different these formative years may have been.
But therapists, who work with many clients, come to recognize the vast differences that are so easily invisible to others.
But therapists, who work with many clients, come to recognize the vast differences that are so easily invisible to others.
The major difference, we believe, is whether or not the caregivers "tuned in" enough to actually feel what the child is feeling. Or, whether they tried to intellectually figure it out.
A child who develops in an environment where there is a feeling connection from the caregivers feels connected. Connection is important to security being built in that will hold up years later when dealing with uncertainties.
A child who develops in an environment where there is a feeling connection from the caregivers feels connected. Connection is important to security being built in that will hold up years later when dealing with uncertainties.
When parents connect with a child only intellectually, the child may develop without ever knowing what truly human relatedness is. It is nevertheless missed because we are genetically encoded to need the feeling of being connected.
Fast forward to adulthood. If we are physically with someone and feel connected, we feel secure. Where the problem comes is this: is there enough connection built in that we still feel connection when alone?
Fast forward to adulthood. If we are physically with someone and feel connected, we feel secure. Where the problem comes is this: is there enough connection built in that we still feel connection when alone?
If connection is not built in solidly enough that connection remains real to us when alone, we have anxiety when facing uncertainty. We look for relief/ We try to establish certainty. We look for enough control to take out the bothersome uncertainty. And, we want a way out if things don't go well.
If we have both control and escape, we feel synthetically secure.
But when flying, these two "security blankets" (control and escape) are taken away.
We, thus, are thrown back to only the built in semi-security of early childhood. It isn't enough. We panic.
But when flying, these two "security blankets" (control and escape) are taken away.
We, thus, are thrown back to only the built in semi-security of early childhood. It isn't enough. We panic.
I'm reminded of Thomas Wolf's book about astronauts and test pilots, "The Right Stuff". As I see it, the right stuff is the ability to deal with tremendous uncertainty, and while doing that, maintain emotional regulation well enough that emotions don't interfere with the thinking needed to deal with major risk to their life.
What we aim to do in the SOAR Program is to take the amount of "right stuff" - the ability to deal with uncertainty - that you have and amplify it enough for you to deal with a very minor risk to your life. Airline flying is about 99.9998% safe. There is very little available to do that is that safe. Even staying home and doing nothing may involve more risk than that.
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"Skeptical . . . because I've tried so many things in the past."
Hi Tom. I just made my first flight in a long time thanks to your course and practicing the exercises. I feel great.
The cabin lights went off for about a second (a few times) while we were cruising and I realized that nothing dangerous was happening. It made no impact on my brain. I had to think hard that in the past such a thing cause anxiety. My movie was just rolling along as it would with a "normal" person.
My anticipatory anxiety hit me hard a few hours before the flight. Strangely, it went away the instant I handed the boarding pass to the attendant. It also felt reassuring to touch the outside of the plane as I walked in. From then on, I was a 1 or 1.5 out of 10 on the anxiety scale. Same on the return flight the next day. I need to keep working on that. Seemingly the only problem I feel I have yet to conquer is the anticipatory anxiety.
Anyway, thanks again for your dedication to this process. The people I said I was flying to visit didn't believe me and were sure they'd get a phone call from me bailing on the whole thing. But I never came close to that point. I was going no matter what. When I walked out of the terminal they were wide-eyed to see me and couldn't believe it that after a few weeks of taking your course I was on a plane...and enjoying it.
What convinced me to go was that feeling you talk about . . ."I'm going even if it kills me." I got that feeling a few days before the flight. I was a little skeptical about the strengthening exercises working because I've tried so many things in the past, but I can say that they definitely do.
I knew what all the sounds were (luggage, speed brakes, landing gear, and so forth), felt connected with the ground when I couldn't see it, knew about the captain and co-pilot were doing, was aware about all the backup systems, actually saw a sign on the runway reading "Noise abatement after take-off" so I knew what to expect and that it was completely normal, etc. I truly felt safe. It was fun to fly.
The cabin lights went off for about a second (a few times) while we were cruising and I realized that nothing dangerous was happening. It made no impact on my brain. I had to think hard that in the past such a thing cause anxiety. My movie was just rolling along as it would with a "normal" person.
My anticipatory anxiety hit me hard a few hours before the flight. Strangely, it went away the instant I handed the boarding pass to the attendant. It also felt reassuring to touch the outside of the plane as I walked in. From then on, I was a 1 or 1.5 out of 10 on the anxiety scale. Same on the return flight the next day. I need to keep working on that. Seemingly the only problem I feel I have yet to conquer is the anticipatory anxiety.
Anyway, thanks again for your dedication to this process. The people I said I was flying to visit didn't believe me and were sure they'd get a phone call from me bailing on the whole thing. But I never came close to that point. I was going no matter what. When I walked out of the terminal they were wide-eyed to see me and couldn't believe it that after a few weeks of taking your course I was on a plane...and enjoying it.
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SOAR Will Work For You Too
SOAR was established in 1982 because no programs existed that could help people with moderate to severe difficulties. Even today, no other program offers help that is effective except for mild difficulties. No matter how difficult flying is for you, we can help.
- Call me at 877 332-7359 between 10 AM and 6 PM Eastern time or
- Set up a time online at http://soar.genbook.com
- No Charge. No Obligation. Just get the information you want.
Or Enroll Right Now And Get This Over With
You will feel better as soon as you make the decision.
You will feel better as soon as you make the decision.
- Accelerated courses give you the most help possible in the time you have available.
- A twenty-minute private session and unlimited group counseling sessions are included.
- What you pay is 100% transferable to the SOAR Video Course 11 DVDs.
Start viewing on your computer screen in two minutes.
- Get a compact version of the SOAR Course.
- Load it on your laptop, iPod or other media player. More info.
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Unsure Which To Choose
If you are unsure which is best for you, please call me at 877 332-7359 so we can talk it over. You will feel better as soon as you decide to act.
We are always here to help. As you go through the program, call or email whenever you have a question or a concern.
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Patrick This Week
Pilot Salaries
and Safety: Do poorly paid pilots make the skies unsafe? Speaking before
Congress last week, captain Sully implies they do.
and Safety: Do poorly paid pilots make the skies unsafe? Speaking before
Congress last week, captain Sully implies they do.
"... Pay scales
for pilots have dropped by 30-40 percent on average. Salaries at regional airlines
average under $20,000. After the long and arduous path he has followed to get
there, a first officer at the controls of a $25 million regional jet brings home
roughly what he'd make working at the mall.
for pilots have dropped by 30-40 percent on average. Salaries at regional airlines
average under $20,000. After the long and arduous path he has followed to get
there, a first officer at the controls of a $25 million regional jet brings home
roughly what he'd make working at the mall.
Being a pilot at a
regional was once a stepping stone to a more lucrative slot with a legacy
carrier. Nowadays many pilots are finding out that a job
with a regional means a career with a regional. This prospect has more
regional pilots are bailing out of the business, and the replacement pool isn't
nearly as impressive as it used to be. The average experience level of
new-hires has fallen dramatically.
regional was once a stepping stone to a more lucrative slot with a legacy
carrier. Nowadays many pilots are finding out that a job
with a regional means a career with a regional. This prospect has more
regional pilots are bailing out of the business, and the replacement pool isn't
nearly as impressive as it used to be. The average experience level of
new-hires has fallen dramatically.
For the major airlines, on the other
hand, the pool of highly qualified applicants is anything but diminished. .....
"
hand, the pool of highly qualified applicants is anything but diminished. .....
"
For the full article, click here:
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Discuss Or Schedule An Individual Session -- Call 877 332-7359
Call between 11 AM and 6 PM Eastern Time (same time zone as New York)
You'll reach me easily. The toll-free number rings my cell phone.
Call between 11 AM and 6 PM Eastern Time (same time zone as New York)
You'll reach me easily. The toll-free number rings my cell phone.
- find out how I can help you with flying
- discuss the possibility of a counseling session
- set up a time that fits your schedule
Outside the U.S. and Canada call 203 258-4803
- a twenty-minute session is $60.00 if not enrolled in a course.
- one twenty-minute session is free if enrolled in any course.
- additional twenty-minute sessions are $60.00.
- two one-hour sessions are included in the SOAR Guaranteed Program
Schedule An Individual Session Online
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