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The Grey Elf
Grey Havens
Apr 15 2015, 5:04pm
Post #1 of 41
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What is your attitude towards flying?
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As fans of JRR Tolkien and Middle-earth, all of us at one time or another may have cherished the dream of visiting Tolkien's birthplace in England or walking through Hobbiton in New Zealand. And for the vast majority of us, that would require a trip to the airport first. Does that prospect fill you with excitement, indifference or dread?
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Elizabeth
Half-elven
Apr 15 2015, 6:41pm
Post #2 of 41
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Unpleasant but necessary to do wonderful things.
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I just got back from a RT from Honolulu to NYC for the LotR trilogy concerts: 10 hrs non-stop eastbound and 11 westbound. Thank heaven, I was able to upgrade to first class, which entitled my granddaughter and me to lie-flat seats, but even so, it was both boring and exhausting.
Part of the cost of living in Hawaii is that it's at least a 5-hr flight to anywhere except the other islands. Nine hrs non-stop each way to Dallas to visit my son, daughter, & family (which I do at least once a year), and also nine each way to NZ.
(This post was edited by Elizabeth on Apr 15 2015, 6:46pm)
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Darkstone
Immortal
Apr 15 2015, 7:38pm
Post #3 of 41
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Though there was that one time in the '70s in an old rust-bucket 707 that had to make emergency landings at Midway Island and Wake Island on the same flight.
(IIRC, Meneldor has a worse tale about a 40 year old C-130 with cracked wings over the North Atlantic in winter.)
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BlackFox
Half-elven
Apr 15 2015, 7:45pm
Post #4 of 41
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The thought of it neither excites nor upsets me, so I went with the first option.
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Ataahua
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Apr 15 2015, 8:14pm
Post #5 of 41
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It's the airport rigmarole that gets up my nose.
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Brethil
Half-elven
Apr 15 2015, 8:28pm
Post #6 of 41
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I hate and fear flying, but its part of my life.
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Because my son loves flying - as in pilot - both fixed wing and helicopters. So I grin a sickly grin and wave from the tarmac when he flies during lessons. But I cannot stand it.
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Meneldor
Valinor
Apr 15 2015, 9:01pm
Post #7 of 41
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Been there, done that, got my wings.
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As a flight engineer, I flew in a C-130 at low level through mountain passes in Afghanistan to avoid insurgent missiles. That was a cool ride.
And back when I was a fool of a student pilot, I flew a Cessna 150 under power lines. Dumb, dumb, dumb! I still remember the way time slowed down as I watched the lines going up and over behind me.
A better memory is the best landing I ever made, back when I owned my own plane, a 1950 tailwheel Piper Pacer. It was a summer day on a grass cropduster strip, I flared the landing just right, three-pointed perfectly, and greased it on so smoothly that I only knew I had landed because I heard the wheels rumbling. And I could smell the grass as I rolled over it. That was a great moment.
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Gianna
Rohan
Apr 15 2015, 9:32pm
Post #8 of 41
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I don't particularly enjoy flying but don't really mind it either
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It's exciting when I do take a plane trip, because it's such a rare occurence, but to be honest it makes me rather nervous. I worry a lot about all sorts of stuff, and what better to worry about than my plane crashing?  Still, to go somewhere cool (like England or NZ  ), I would board a plane with barely a second thought.
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entmaiden
Forum Admin
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Apr 15 2015, 11:00pm
Post #9 of 41
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I have to fly often to my clients, so for me it's just another route to work. I've had a couple tense moments, but flying is very safe and fortunately, mostly uneventful. The logistics are annoying - packing, standing in line, flight delays and cancellations - but it's part of a work day.
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Dame Ioreth
Tol Eressea
Apr 16 2015, 12:53am
Post #10 of 41
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You've got wings on your t-shirt?
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My daughter's got them on her socks.
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Annael
Immortal
Apr 16 2015, 2:08am
Post #11 of 41
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can't beat it for getting places fast, it's safer than any other way to travel, and as Louis CK says, "you are sitting in a chair in the sky!" How cool is that?
I went through about a 10-year period of being afraid to fly. Don't know why. I avoided it as much as possible & had to take Valium to get on the plane when I couldn't. Then I got tired of not being able to go places far away, so I went to a hypnotist. It worked! Soon after I had to fly from Denver to Albuquerque, a notoriously bumpy ride, and it didn't bother me at all.
Good thing, as my three years of grad school required me to fly to Southern California 10 times a year. It became my commute.
My parents have been in a plane that was struck by lightning on takeoff and just last week my cousin's daughter and grandkids were in one that had a hole blown in it by a lightning strike - and apart from the bang! and flash they all said the planes didn't even wobble.
http://www.9news.com/...air-flight/25475021/
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Kim
Valinor
Apr 16 2015, 2:16am
Post #12 of 41
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I've never had a problem flying, but kind of lost my excitement for it when I had to travel a lot for work. I do still look forward to it in a way, but perhaps that's more the interest in getting to my destination.
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Starling
Half-elven
Apr 16 2015, 5:16am
Post #13 of 41
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I love that feeling as the plane accelerates and always try to pick the moment when we are going to leave the ground. One of the greatest experiences of my life was being on a plane with about 30 children who had never left Christchurch, let alone flown. Experiencing the moment of takeoff with them was priceless.
The flights I take tend to be pretty short, so I usually don't have time to get super bored. I always try to get a window seat if I can. I mostly fly to and from Auckland, and on a good day the views are amazing. One of the benefits of being very short is being comfortable in plane seats.
I can't say I adore Wellington airport landings. I recall one during a nasty Southerly, watching the horizontal torrential rain and the wild sea crashing onto the rocks, which were uncomfortably close, as the plane lurched and then landed at some ridiculous speed on the dinky runway...pull up...pull up etc. 
Unfortunately I am quite prone to motion sickness, and get this easily during turbulence. And since the earthquakes, I really hate turbulence, as it feels an awful lot like some of our aftershocks. We had some nasty turbulence during a flight to Auckland, and it lasted for two thirds of the flight. So no food or drinks, and nasty earthquake feelings and a sicky tummy. Ew.
One other thing I like about flying though is going to the airport. I love airports because they are always super charged with the emotions of all the people coming and going, and each person has their own story.
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Starling
Half-elven
Apr 16 2015, 5:18am
Post #14 of 41
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Let's charter a TORn plane. You can be the pilot and bring all the sibbies to NZ, and then we will have a big party. It'll be awesome!
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The Grey Elf
Grey Havens
Apr 16 2015, 11:05am
Post #15 of 41
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Why don't I win the lottery and buy one of those jets that Thorin, er, the Hobbit characters are emblazoned on and you fly the party to my place so I don't have to get on a plane! (I'll fell a few trees in the back yard for your landing strip. You can work with that, right Meneldor?)
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The Grey Elf
Grey Havens
Apr 16 2015, 11:18am
Post #16 of 41
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Figures that you enjoy flying, Starling
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Given that you have wings and all ....
Your story about experiencing flying with a plane full of children does sound like it would be pretty awesome. I wish I could be as carefree as them when I feel the wheels leave terra firma (*shudders*).
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Apr 16 2015, 1:15pm
Post #17 of 41
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I actually wish that airships would come back.
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What I mean is that I wish passenger airships would be brought back as the aerial equivalent of a luxury sea-liner. I like the idea of the journey being as enjoyable (or more so) as reaching the destination.
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Bracegirdle
Valinor
Apr 16 2015, 1:20pm
Post #18 of 41
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I have slipped the surly bonds of earth..
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I used to fly a lot, but since retirement not so much. I also did some REAL FLYING when I was younger (with a parachute); can you say “Whoopee!” and pee your pants at the same time? I took some flying lessons when I was younger but never followed through. Now the only flying I do is remote control. It’s fun!
I don’t mind the ‘flying’, it’s the hanging around part I hate. Hmm – **get here two hours early and be prepared to be groped**.
I do have lots of flying dreams though. It’s my favorite way of out distancing the bad guys, or whoever is chasing me.
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Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal
Apr 16 2015, 5:02pm
Post #20 of 41
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I love flying but I'm phobic about airports
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so I haven't been in a plane for about 20 years.
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Ataahua
Forum Admin
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Apr 16 2015, 7:34pm
Post #21 of 41
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I jumped four times in my early 20s - there is no adrenaline rush/flooding terror like throwing yourself out of an airplane. I'd like to go again sometime - tandem this time, so I can jump from a higher altitude.
Did you jump for leisure or because someone was barking orders at you?
(This post was edited by Ataahua on Apr 16 2015, 7:35pm)
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Starling
Half-elven
Apr 16 2015, 7:58pm
Post #22 of 41
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a tandem jump with Beorn? That could be good.
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Ataahua
Forum Admin
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Apr 16 2015, 9:22pm
Post #23 of 41
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Bracegirdle
Valinor
Apr 16 2015, 10:01pm
Post #24 of 41
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Ah, the long-gone early 20s . . .
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My x-wife and I jumped back in about 1963 when we were young and gay (happy that is). I made five jumps, all static-line. My next would have been a ‘free fall’ (pull your own rip-cord). But my x froze on her third jump and wouldn’t control her direction and ended up a half mile off target, so I made two more (she made no more) and then we both quit.
I recall quite vividly my last jump. As I was some two or three hundred feet from the ground a fairly strong wind came up and the ground and sage brush (the desert of Idaho) was zooming rapidly horizontally. I thought hoo-boy, I’m in trouble, and fell back to my training – knees (slightly bent) and feet together – look straight ahead - don’t look at the ground – you don’t want to know when you’ll touch down or you might tense up. Ah, a perfect PLF (parachute landing fall), if way off target.
Yes, I’ve had many escapades since but none quite as ‘terrifying’ (exciting) or adrenaline pumping as throwing oneself into the nothingness at 3500 feet… (With the small exception of some excitement in Vietnam. But that’s another story.)
If you and Beorn do a tandem I’d like to watch. Gonna need a big chute fer sure.. 
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