My travel history is long and varied. I began traveling in anger in my early twenties. I was traveling 100,000+ miles per year — almost entirely by air. All domestic. I was primarily flying for business. I was usually on a different plane several times a week. I loved flying.

Then in 1982 a flight I was on (Airbus A-300 if I remember correctly) did a plumment. It was surreal. I was sitting in the first row of first class in the right window seat. I was looking out the window when all of a sudden the level horizon shifted very much towards the vertical. I could hear the automated messages coming from the cockpit "Pull Up" and "Overspeed" being the most prevelant. I was sure I was going to die. I remember thinking, "I hope it doesn't hurt."

It seemed like forever but it really was only about 6-7 minutes when we leveled off and flew on towards New York with considerable "chop" (like driving on a cobblestone road that is in disrepair.) The pilot came on the intercomm and announced that Air Traffic Control had us come down a little early and we would arriving late — I call bullshit.

We were at an altitude of about 12,000 feet and stayed there the remaining hour or so to New York without holding (I think we were landing in LGA). I never did find out what happened even though I asked. My suspicions have always been mechinical issue, near miss (evasive action) or a deep stall.

The next week I had to fly to Chicago. I remember taking a swallow of soda as we began the take-off roll and I swallowed it when we touched down at O'Hare. I had the flop sweats like you wouldn't believe. I was like a claustrophobic in a closet the entire trip. I spent the whole 4 days of the conference dreading the trip back.

I had a holiday flight to Bermuda booked for two weeks later. I tried Valium and Librium in an effort to stave off the panic. No joy.

I didn't fly commercially for 32 years after that.

I had to go to California about 3-4 times a year, Denver several times, etc. I drove or I took the train. Finally it was too much. My ex-girlfriend's father owned a Cessna 172 and had been trying to get to go flying with him for years. I called him the Sunday after I returned from my most recent drive across country (early August 1986) and asked if the offer was still good. He said yes and we met at Caldwell, NJ airport (CDW).

We took off and I was terrified. About 400 feet up he asked how I was doing and I said, "Don't go left, don't go right, don't do anything." He said, "Take it" and took his hands off the yoke. I grabbed my yoke and tried to figure out what to do. He said, "Just make gradual movements, nothing sudden." He gently guided me through the next hour and a half flight over northern New Jersey, southern New York and the Hudson river by Manhattan. I was concentrating so hard to fly (not kill us) that everything else just faded away. The next morning I signed up for flight lessons at CDW and received my private pilot's license on Christmas Eve. Took Amtrak down to Texas the next day to pick up my new plane.

That was a freedom I can't really explain. It was the difference between taking a bus and having your own car. We could dump the kids in the back and fly down to Disneyworld on a whim and be there in 5 hours (did that twice). I could travel more for business. It was great. (remind me to write about the "Ski World" trip sometime)

I still had some issues. If there was too much sky in the windshield I got very uncomfortable. I tended to cruise within a couple of thousand feet of the ground. Weather could be a problem. Normally it would take 12-14 hours to fly cross country (usually stayed overnight somewhere nice). Being a non-instrument rated pilot I was at the mercy of the weather, I would get stuck in podunk places waiting out weather for a day or four. On balance it worked out well and I accumulated over 1,100 flight hours.

Then about 8 years later someone stole all the avionics out of the plane (radios, nav gear, autopilot, etc). About $50,000 worth. Put in a claim to my insurance company who then went belly-up in a state without an insurance fund.

So that was the end of that. Didn't have the money to fix or replace and not being able to fly commercially affected my career. I had to turn down a CTO position at a decent sized company in Phoenix, AZ because air travel was required. It was so bad that I would start having serious anxiety just watching movies where they were filming inside the plane.

So what changed? Why are you reading my travel blog?

In the end of 2015 I really, really, really had to go to a week of meetings in London. When I thought about the trip it wasn't with the same dread and anxiety as normal so I figured I could try it. I found a stupid cheap Virgin Atlantic upper class R/T for $1090 during a flash sale for early January 2016. Booked it. Asked my doctor for a prescription for Valium (10mg). And took the trip.

I survived. The valium did the trick. I've been VS gold since 2016 and as of June 2021 I'm Gold until October 2023 (I currently have 1825 tier points and expect to earn 350 more by the end of September). I fell into United silver status in 2018 and kept it for 2019. In 2020 and 2021 I have qualified for Premier 1k through January of 2023.

Air travel has changed a lot since 1982. From a comfort point of view: not really for the better (although I'd argue that business class is usually far superior to the old first class cabin); From a safety point of view: It's SO far ahead.

So since that trip in 2016 I've flown over 320,000 miles (by June 2021) thanks to mother's little helper. I've been to places I never thought I'd be able to visit except via cruising. Because in many respects it's been a new learning experience and it's still fresh in my mind I'll be able to share tips and tricks and reviews that may bring a new perspective.