Motion sickness in small planes

[CincyDavid]

I have started getting the AOPA magazine and have pondered going up for a short hop in a small plane, but I'm worried about motion sickness. I fly commercial airliners without incident, I can even read onboard, but I have to think that looking out the windshield of a little Cessna single would be a different thing. What percentage of pilots/passengers are prone to motion sickness and what are the best remedies?

I recently spent the weekend at Lake Cumberland, did fine on the boat, but got violently ill once we were in the water, floating around on noodles and rafts, where I could see the surrounding bluffs moving in relation to me, and couldn't touch bottom. Trying to be low-key while vomiting into the water without drowning myself was a drag. Took till the next day for my equilibrium to get back to normal.

 

[wwillson]

As a flight instructor, I have taken hundreds of people up in small airplanes for their first ride. I would say only about 10% feel motion sickness to some degree, but few actually get sick. Those who do have some motion sickness on their first flight, usually have no more symptoms after the third or fourth flight. Knock on wood, I've never had anyone vomit in the airplane. One key point, if you start feeling sick, tell your flight instructor to get back to the airport ASAP, they will not argue with you, trust me.

 

[EdwardC]

I've never been up in a small plane like that, but I do get pretty bad motion sickness sometimes. I take meclizine regularly through the winter time when I take public transportation. If I'm the passenger in a car, I'm usually fine until I look down at my phone. Like you, I have no issue on a commercial flight. I do think that unless you're doing some aerobatic type maneuvers, the motion of the plane would be very different than on the water.

If I was concerned, I'd take beforehand or at least bring a chewable antiemetic onto the flight.

 

[Eddie]

Take a DRAMAMINE anti sickness pill an hour before take off. Works wonderful when going out in the rolling Gulf of Mexico in a small boat. Ed

 

[kschachn]

I get motion sick very easily, just reading your post makes me nauseous. For a good chunk of my past life I had a job where I flew almost daily and I nearly always took Dramamine. Having food in my stomach helped to make it better (sometimes).

Your boat incident reminds me of a couple of particularly nasty flights, one was on a Saab 340 that had had a broken pressurization system. We had to fly at a low altitude and there were thunderstorms all around, the weaving and bouncing was horrendous. I was just reaching for the vomit bag when the pilot announced we would be 30 minutes early due to a very strong tail wind. That was enough to save me but I felt the effects of that flight for a couple of days.

 

[Virtus_Probi]

I would assume that aviation-specific forecasts exist and would see if you can check for expected turbulence...I used to fly from Dallas to a restaurant in OK with a landing strip with coworkers when I was young, we could rent a plane through our company and these two guys were both private pilots.
It was great fun until conditions changed a lot while we were eating and the turbulence was just brutal on the way back. I really felt like I was in a jar that was being shake rapidly and started to have morbid thoughts that maybe crashing would be a blessing...the experienced guys were uncomfortably, but they weren't worried in the slightest about getting home. Normally eating something makes me feel MUCH better when I fly (my first 5-6 flights were on an intentionally empty stomach and were miserable), but I had eaten SO much catfish this time that I got nauseous as all get out.
Dramamine might help, but my #1 recommendation is to eat a reasonable snack or small meal before you head out.

 

[Win]

Around here, this time of year, the thermals coming off the hot ground can make for a pretty rough ride at times. They can move a light plane around pretty good, and pretty abruptly. If you are sensitive to that kind of motion, wait for cooler weather to take a ride in a light plane.

You really don't have much sensation of speed until you are fairly close to the ground, and it's not going to be that fast in any event, so I don't think I would worry much about that.

edit: or take your flight right after dawn, when the ground is still cool. That's the best time to fly, anyway ....

 

[4WD]

Used to fly in STOL aircraft often … the big wings provided some wild roller coaster rides in bad weather … also had the bag in hand a couple times … but contained …
Can't say that about an offshore fishing trip with well worn and smoking Diesel engine … and I have made many long rides offshore … all kinds of vessels and parts of the world …

 

[cjcride]

Good points already made.

I might add early morning and early evening are quite calm in regards to thermals.

 

[CincyDavid]

I am intrigued by the prospect of flying in a small plane. My first flight was out of Lunken Airport (LUK/KLUK) with my dad and grandpa on a short sightseeing trip in some sort of small single engine plane in the EARLY 1970s. I think I've seen an old polaroid pic of us by the plane but don't recall the flight aside from that.

I used to get terribly carsick as a kiddo, bot once I learned to drive that mostly went away. I still can't read a book or look at my phone too long in the car.

Now, for my dumb follow-up question. I presume small planes aren't airconditioned. On the ground it must get toasty in the plane. What happens in the air, temperature-wise, on a warm day?

 

[Win]

Originally Posted by CincyDavid
..... , bot once I learned to drive that mostly went away. I still can't read a book or look at my phone too long in the car.


The pilot will let you rest your hands on the controls, maybe "fly" it some. That will help any motion issues you have. Just let go when told ....

Originally Posted by CincyDavid
On the ground it must get toasty in the plane. What happens in the air, temperature-wise, on a warm day?


It will be warm on the ground, another reason to do it at dawn. Most people leave the door ajar while taxiing; the prop wash will cool the inside. Light aircraft with two doors are better. Air cools at a constant rate with increasing altitude, so you will be comfortable above 3 or 4 thousand feet AGL.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted by wwillson
As a flight instructor, I have taken hundreds of people up in small airplanes for their first ride. I would say only about 10% feel motion sickness to some degree, but few actually get sick.

I wonder how many are "self-regulated," as it were. My younger brother is terrible with motion sickness. It wouldn't even cross his mind to get on a small airplane, much less to try some flight training, unless someone were forcing him at gunpoint.

When we were kids going on bush planes up north to go fishing, it was a very interesting experience, to say the least.

 

[Cujet]

As a child, I'd vomit on every car trip and plane ride. I found out while swimming in a friend's pool sitting on a low diving board, and rolling (pitching) forward into the water, that I'm sensitive to that direction of motion. My head would spin every time I did it. So much fun! Barf!!!

In an airplane, that's the pitch up/down motion of pulling the nose up or pushing it down, that I'm sensitive to.

I learned to address the specific motion issue by forcing myself to do the very activities that bother me. As long as I keep it such activities, I have no problems.

I've not grown out of it, I desensitized myself.

 

[Garak]

My brother become desensitised to much of it, one way or another. Long trips aren't so bad for him these days, especially if he's driving, and he does go on commercial airlines without much trouble. I know a VR thingy at Vegas was hard on him (to put it mildly), so I wouldn't be trusting him in a Cessna 150, much less on a roller coaster.

He was good on ships and short boat rides, but on the ocean on a fishing boat for two days as a kid was too much for him.

 

[DeepFriar]

I did one of those VR rides with the moving seats, etc. In Orlando in the early 90's. When the "log truck" left the highway and launched over a cliff all my internal gyros tumbled! What a terrible feeling, Lordy. CincyDavid, I grew up around Lake Cumberland and did OK but one squall in the Gulf of Mexico can still give me Mal de Mer. No problems with flying/driving though, the smell of well employed hydrocarbons apparently protects me. Anyone have a recommendation on those wrist devices?

 

[Garak]

I can't answer about those wrist devices. My brother and I both went on that VR thing in Vegas. The downhill skiing portion finished him off. He slumped in his seat, then bolted out of there before it was done, and was waiting for me when I got out. He had the same look on his face as he used to get when he was a kid and wound up on a little too adventurous of a theme park ride.

 

[CincyDavid]

No way on earth would I try VR. I tried to watch an Omnimax film once, maybe at Disney?!? Or it could have been at a museum somewhere. Either way, it was miserable, I had to RUN/STUMBLE out of there before I lost my lunch.