Education and knowledge make the difference between a confident flyer and a nervous one, and Flying Fearless is based on this premise. People are afraid of what they don't understand and will often resort to inventing reasons for the unfamiliar sights, sounds and sensations of flight (or anything else they don't understand).

I know this to be true because I've invented some explanations myself for noises, smells or other sensations I didn't understand at the time (such as the proverbial "things that go bump in the night”). Somehow, the truth is rarely scary and often interesting, whereas notions conjured up to explain away things we don't understand tend to be unpleasant at best and frightening at worst.

I will confess to you, I had no idea so many people had so many concerns about flying. I love flying. Flying is not just my job and it's not just my career; it is my passion, and I find it difficult to accept that so many people are so miserable when they are under the care of such a highly trained and professional group as pilots.

I've come to the conclusion that there are really only four categories of people who fly:

1. You're so afraid you won't even get on an airplane. 2. You fly but you worry—maybe a little or maybe a lot

—but you worry. 3. You fly and you just have a question or two. 4. You fly and you love it or at least you don't mind it.

I'm in category four, of course, and I think your own category is easily decided. From what I can tell, the number four category—those who fly and love it or at least don't mind it—is the smallest by far. It is significant to note that many of the people who love to fly are either pilots or would-be pilots.

The point is, far from being alone in your fear or anxiety, you're one of millions of people who share your fears. It's almost like a secret cult of normal-looking but secretly worried or even terrified passengers. The average pilot is pretty much oblivious to the fact that what we do every day on the job is a source of terror, apparently, to millions of people.

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