Question about motion sickness

futurepilot1

futurepilot1

Well-Known Member
Ok...I have now been on two different flights where I got motion sickness to the point where I couldn't continue. Both of them had some pretty good turbulence. My question is two-fold

1. Is it possible that being prone to bad motion sickness may make it impossible to complete my Private Cert...in other words, have any of you ever had a student, or heard of one that couldn't finish for this reason?

2. If not, then what are some tricks/tips to make it go away?

Thanks.
 
futurepilot1 said:
1. Is it possible that being prone to bad motion sickness may make it impossible to complete my Private Cert...in other words, have any of you ever had a student, or heard of one that couldn't finish for this reason?
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No. I've heard of a lot of reasons for not finishing, but perpetual motion sickness has never been one of them. You'll be fine. Some people adjust to flying slower than others. No big deal.

futurepilot1 said:
2. If not, then what are some tricks/tips to make it go away?
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Probably doing a Google search for "overcoming motion sickness" would tell you more than I could. But off the top of my head:

Don't be afraid to cut a flight short, especially on turbulent days. It takes time to build up a tolerance to motion. The only way to build up a tolerance is to expose yourself to whatever makes you sick, but only for brief enough periods that you don't *actually* get sick. Over time you'll find you can stay out longer and longer, in worse and worse turbulence, until you can eventually handle anything.

Never fly on an empty stomach.

Never fly after eating heavy, greasy food.

Keep looking outside, far away, at the horizon, no matter what, while flying through turbulence.

Keep the cockpit cool and well ventilated.

Take slow, deep breaths, and try to force yourself to relax and enjoy the ride. I know--easier said than done. But seriously, being tense and nervous only makes an upset stomach worse.
 
I also got motion sick on hot turbulent days. Eventually it only happened on spins or on the first flight after I hadn't flown in months. And then it just stopped altogether for no reason.

I'm sure there are some human beings who never get over it. But the vast majority who get motion sick are like you or me. Follow jrh's advice and it'll pass in time.
 
jrh said:
No. I've heard of a lot of reasons for not finishing, but perpetual motion sickness has never been one of them. You'll be fine. Some people adjust to flying slower than others. No big deal.
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Thanks

jrh said:
Never fly after eating heavy, greasy food.
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Big FAIL on that one...had a Double Quarter pounder with chees right be fore:D

jrh said:
Keep the cockpit cool and well ventilated.
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Big affirmative on that...I have done that ever since the first time I got motion sickness the first time
jrh said:
Take slow, deep breaths, and try to force yourself to relax and enjoy the ride. I know--easier said than done. But seriously, being tense and nervous only makes an upset stomach worse.
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Thanks for the advice
 
I've heard ginger works.
Bananas.

I had one student that puked the first handful of flights.
His body got better at it as time went along and he stopped puking.

I currently have a student that will pop on bumpy days, especially if he takes a break from flying; he is mostly done with his instrument now.

I went to school with a guy that puked his first nine flights and on his tenth he held it down, he flies 121 now.
 
futurepilot1 said:
have any of you ever had a student
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A buddy of mine, now a CFI, told me he used to get sick on every flight for his first 20 hours or so into his private. It goes away with time in the airplane. If you want to fly, this won't get in your way.

jrh said:
Never fly after eating heavy, greasy food.
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Bummer. I never did aerobatics unless it was after a nice big, often greasy college food, meal. But I have also never had motion sickness issues.
 
futurepilot1 said:
Ok...I have now been on two different flights where I got motion sickness to the point where I couldn't continue. Both of them had some pretty good turbulence. My question is two-fold

1. Is it possible that being prone to bad motion sickness may make it impossible to complete my Private Cert...in other words, have any of you ever had a student, or heard of one that couldn't finish for this reason?

2. If not, then what are some tricks/tips to make it go away?

Thanks.
Click to expand...


The Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge has great information regarding the questions you have.
 
Also, try not to think about getting sick. It sounds simple but it seems to work for me.

If I concentrate on the task at hand and the flying, and not think about "oh, I think I'm getting sick" then the motion sickness seems to reside.

It's hard not to think about it when you feel it coming on, but if you can force yourself to concentrate on the flying it should help.

Was up doing unusual attitudes + partial panel under the hood the other day while practice teaching my instructor. It was pretty damn bumpy and I started to get a little queasy - tried not to think about it and it went away.

Blast of cool air helped as well.
 
In addition to what everyone else has said so far, I'll suggest these: Sea-Band wrist bands. I was never one for amusement park rides, and I'd often feal nauseous during my first few flights; even getting air sick a few times.

Desperate to try anything, I picked up a pair for about $10 or so from CVS, and my next flight was 1.7 hours and I didn't feel a thing. Are they actually effective, or was it psychosomatic? I don't care, they seemed to do the trick. In fact, they worked for me today... my first attempt at spin training for my CFI left me feeling a little green after my instructor demonstrated two. We went back up today, and I put them on for the first time in years... and I could've spun that Super Decathlon all afternoon!

There are more expensive, battery-powered ones advertised in Sporty's, too, but I've never used them and haven't heard if they're effective... Try the $10 ones before the $100 ones.
 
jrh said:
Never fly on an empty stomach.

Never fly after eating heavy, greasy food.

Keep looking outside, far away, at the horizon, no matter what, while flying through turbulence.

Keep the cockpit cool and well ventilated.

Take slow, deep breaths, and try to force yourself to relax and enjoy the ride. I know--easier said than done. But seriously, being tense and nervous only makes an upset stomach worse.
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:clap: The same can be said for skydivers, minus a couple


Also, tell your instructor when you start to get sick. I often ask students how they feel after a round of steep turns, hood work, or whip stalls (j/k). I find that many need a little break before continuing.
 
Dont sweat it I used to get sick as well when I first started to fly. For me it seemed mostly in my head. Once I learned to stop worrying when I am going to get sick and just worrying about flying the airplane I was fine. I now fly aerbatics every now and than in a decathlon and I'm fine. It will pass.
 
There was a student at the school where I used to instruct that would blow on every flight. He could go for about half an hour then he'd get out the sick sac. Once he was done, he'd finish the scheduled instruction and do fine.

On the helpful side, I got a little green doing unusual attitudes. My instructor told me to fly through it and focus on the distant horizon.
 
futurepilot1 said:
Ok...I have now been on two different flights where I got motion sickness to the point where I couldn't continue. Both of them had some pretty good turbulence. My question is two-fold

1. Is it possible that being prone to bad motion sickness may make it impossible to complete my Private Cert...in other words, have any of you ever had a student, or heard of one that couldn't finish for this reason?

2. If not, then what are some tricks/tips to make it go away?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

No, I don't think that you could have motion sickness to the point where you can't finish your private.

As for a suggestion, staring out at the horizon has always worked for me, or something that seems steady and stationary. Only times this hasn't worked for me is when I was in IMC. Whatever you do though, DON'T close your eyes. It will only make it worse.
 
futurepilot1 said:
Ok...I have now been on two different flights where I got motion sickness to the point where I couldn't continue. Both of them had some pretty good turbulence. My question is two-fold

1. Is it possible that being prone to bad motion sickness may make it impossible to complete my Private Cert...in other words, have any of you ever had a student, or heard of one that couldn't finish for this reason?

2. If not, then what are some tricks/tips to make it go away?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

If nothing else works for you, I would suggest calling your doctor and asking him to call in a script for a few scopolamine patches. I have had great experiences using them to deal with motion sickness on my boat. I generally don't get sea sick but if I am doing am anticipating a rough crossing (esp. if I am singlehanding and know that I can't take the chance of getting sick). They are easy to use, and the side effects are minimal for most people.
 
IIRC scopolamine is not allowed by the FAA. In fact, you can't use prescription medications for motion sickness.
 
I've had several students who would always get sick in the beginning of their training. Every single one of them finished their privates, and most went on to instrument, commercial, multi, etc. Flying for most people, and new pilots is a new sensation. That extra axis of motion will screw with their body. Just be patient and take the advice above.

Another thing to consider, is when you do your training. If you find yourself getting sick, and if its possible, try doing your lessons early in the morning. During the early hours, the sun hasn't had time to do its thing to the earth, so bumps are less, winds are calmer, and... its not as hot. This approach helped a couple of my former students who once they got used to it, could fly in anything.

Heck, I even used to get so motion sick I couldn't ride in the back seat of a car. It'll pass ;)
 
The Mythbusters did an episode on motion sickness. They found that ginger pills were more effective than other remedies.
 
The only times I've been queasy in an airplane were when inverted flight was involved. The first aerobatic lesson I had, I started feeling sick, I let the instructor know, and he started asking me open ended questions to get me talking. I realized after about a minute what he was doing, but it worked.

When you start getting sick, tell your instructor all about your job, significant other, cat, whatever. But something to get your mind off being sick.

It works for me anyway.:)
 
Like was said before, don't be afraid to tell your instructor how you are feeling. If you need a break, take one. If you want to do something else for awhile, ask for it.

Also, try hard not to think about it going into the flight, or any maneuver you usually get sick on. I know it's easier said then done, but just try not to worry about it too much.

Finally, just to add to all the other suggestions, make sure you drink plenty of water, especially as summer is nearing. (Dang, I am not looking forward to another Texas summer)
 
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