Once a fearful flyer overcomes his fear and actually FLIES, the transformation is incredible.

Take Gail, for example. She hadn't flown for 20 years when she took our Basic Class last fall. She was very afraid of having a panic attack on the plane, so the easiest way to cope had been to avoid flying. She and her husband had never been anywhere that they couldn't drive to in all the years of their marriage. Not being able to fly was truly limiting Gail's life.

"I need to do this"

Gail asked to be informed of the Advanced Class, and a unique opportunity presented itself a few months ago. We have been working on a DVD and needed footage of Capt. Ron getting ready to fly and walking down the aisle to connect with his passengers, something he does before every flight. Time was quickly passing--the captain's 60th birthday was only a few months away, so we decided to not only have a film crew capture footage of Capt. Ron, but to invite a fearful flyer to go along and be filmed. Since part of a fearful flyer's issue with flying is not being able to trust the pilot, what better flight could a fearful flyer be on! I contacted a few of the people who had expressed interest in flying with us. Although the flight was on a Saturday night AND the night before Easter Sunday, Gail decided to go for it, an adventure we were now referring to as the "Night Flight." Her husband Pete would come along as her coach, and I was to ride along with her in the next seat as extra support. And she could trust that the airplane was in good hands--Capt. Ron's!

Gail admitted being a basket case the day of the flight, but nevertheless she showed up at the airport that Saturday evening. She and Pete met with Capt. Ron for a pre-flight briefing. He reassured Gail, told her some details about the flight, and reviewed a few of the techniques she could use to cope. He also explained that she might try boarding the plane, then get off and re-board. After the briefing, he had us pre-board the flight and meet the flight attendants. Gail and Pete took their seats. A few minutes later, Gail got up, walked off the airplane, and then--yes!--chose to get back on again.

"Remember what Capt. Ron said"

As we began taxiing toward our takeoff roll, I reminded Gail of the details of V1 and V2 that she had learned during the Basic Class. That seemed to comfort her, knowing that if anything went wrong during takeoff that Capt. Ron had the option of either stopping the plane or turning around if we were already in the air. Nevertheless, she firmly gripped both Pete's and my hand as the plane began moving faster and faster.

Then....suddenly...we were airborne! Within a few moments after takeoff, Gail looked at me and said, "Piece of cake!" I still get goosebumps when I relive that moment. Here was a woman who had avoided flying for 20 years, and now she was telling me that it was no big deal! And she certainly didn't look like she would be experiencing a panic attack anytime soon! I felt so honored to have witnessed both her courage at facing her fear and her incredible transformation.

Eventually during the short flight from Phoenix to LAX, Gail admitted that the anxiety she had felt throughout the day before the flight was far greater than anything she experienced on the actual flight. On the turnaround flight to Phoenix, she actually fell asleep!

Oh, the Places We'll Go!

Pete was just as excited about his wife's accomplishment as she was because he realized how their lives would be different from now on--THEY COULD FLY! As we had taxied into LAX, Pete commented that he had never even been to LA before. Well, lookout world!