First spin = Airsick. What's next?

[gonad]

Newbie required editing

 

[Jim123]

Eddie Rickenbacker got airsick and he received the Medal of Honor (not for getting airsick...), so you're in good company. Like the others said, just stick with it. Not very many studs don't get over it.

 

[torpedo0126]

And try the spinny chair thing. It helped.

I had trouble with airsickness in IFS...I may be the first person to do this, but I am actually scheduled to get spun before my first flight. I was hoping to desensitize a little bit before actually going up...

 

[armada1651]

I've never been airsick so I can't speak to that, but as far as the "not being able to think" during the spin, I wouldn't worry about it. Your first couple times it'll seem like it's happening really fast, but it's amazing how much it [seems to] slow down after that. I feel pretty confident saying it will definitely get easier once you practice them a few times, and, as everyone else is saying, airsickness is very common as well, and most get over it. So don't stress over either thing too much, you'll be fine.

 

[yak52driver]

I cant' speak to military spin training procedures, but I get students from all over the midwest that come for spin training. Almost to a person they feel like the plane is spinning much faster than it really is and they have sensory overload going on. It's very common for students to think we went around three times during a one turn spin, there's just a lot coming at them in the initial stages of training. Some get motion sickness at first, but it goes away after their mind wraps around what spins are about. Hang in there, it will get better for you.

 

[redmidgrl]

Some people have different habits that work for them to avoid airsickness. Some I've heard include not eating, eating a tuna sandwich between brief and flight, eating the club sandwich from the Prop Stop before a brief, etc. As the summer comes on, and we all know how well the AC works in the T-34 (not!), just try to do your best to stay cool up there (I flew with the AC even in the winter), well hydrated, and well rested. Personally, I ALWAYS had to eat before flying PA's but different things work for different people, and you'll find a formula that works best for you.

~Red

 

[CommodoreMid]

Ditto on that. I've never gotten actively airsick, but if I don't have enough food in my stomach, I will get queasy, even on commercial flights! I've found my cure is basically to stuff my face- I've even eaten a ton of Taco Bell before flying and that's made me feel better. Of course, YMMV, and the downside to my approach is that if I did get sick after all the Taco Bell, the results would have been that much more disgusting.

 

[bunk22]

I've never been actively airsick but have felt queasy and sometimes, not food does it. Now as an IP, there are days I have felt not good and had to go fly...not eating was not good for my gut. Try eating, relaxing and don't think about it too much.

 

[A4sForever]

The only place I've ever puked is on the ground.

Sometimes in a toilet ...

 

[DocT]

I was all wrapped around the axel about getting sick because I heard everybody does in Fams. Self fulfilling prophesy: I puked my toenails up up on Fam1 in the 34. Take a ginger pill, concetrate on making the plane do what you want it to do, and really try and develop your SA. You'll be to busy to get sick.

 

[Ken_gone_flying]

I was all wrapped around the axel about getting sick because I heard everybody does in Fams. Self fulfilling prophesy: I puked my toenails up up on Fam1 in the 34. Take a ginger pill, concetrate on making the plane do what you want it to do, and really try and develop your SA. You'll be to busy to get sick.

How'd you do in PA's? Or have you done them yet?

 

[utak]

In Primary I puked twice in contacts, both of them were aggravated by the spin. Ironically, I puked literally right after I landed. Then I puked one more time during Forms, during the tactical G maneuvers.

Since coming to -86, during the T-39 I've probaly been more queasy and "passive" airsick then the average guy, but somehow I've never puked once, during Strikes, Comps, then the air-to-air syllabus after selecting Strike Fighter. But it did degrade SA quite a bit.

 

[MrF]

Ditto on that. I've never gotten actively airsick, but if I don't have enough food in my stomach, I will get queasy, even on commercial flights! I've found my cure is basically to stuff my face- I've even eaten a ton of Taco Bell before flying and that's made me feel better. Of course, YMMV, and the downside to my approach is that if I did get sick after all the Taco Bell, the results would have been that much more disgusting.

I puked on the first PA flight in primary. The doc thought it was because I hadn't eaten lunch beforehand. Fast forward to my first tacform flight in advanced (notorious for getting people sick). Thinking back to that flight in primary, I stuffed down a footlong subway sandwich right before I went up (I know, I know, but they had the $5 footlong special going on). After an hour of tacform, that footlong was back in a bag, then all over the cockpit.

There's probably a happy medium between those two extremes.

 

[torpedo0126]

I puked on the first PA flight in primary. The doc thought it was because I hadn't eaten lunch beforehand. Fast forward to my first tacform flight in advanced (notorious for getting people sick). Thinking back to that flight in primary, I stuffed down a footlong subway sandwich right before I went up (I know, I know, but they had the $5 footlong special going on). After an hour of tacform, that footlong was back in a bag, then all over the cockpit.

There's probably a happy medium between those two extremes.

I actually spoke with a flight doc this morning about airsickness. She said that she counsels people to eat 'bagels, saltine crackers, or whole wheat bread' and hour before the flight.

No fruits, vegetables, meat etc, except the three above items. Those 3 absorb the acid in your stomach that can cause nausea, where as stuff like fruits (yes, bananas too) will add to it. She said most of her cases who try that (in addition to staying hydrated) don't have to come back for the Barany chair.

 

[Praying4OCS]

Thanks for the info and stories. I'm sure it is a mental thing and a few chunks aren't enough to stop me. Maybe a kick in the ass is all I needed. I will say though, with the heat (and effin humidity) as it is this week...........it's gonna suck. I effin hate humidity!