What's the Deal with Take-Off?

I fly all the time, usually for long distances. I am not afraid to fly, I am not afraid of turbulence and I am not afraid to land. But what's the deal with take-off? There is nothing in life more unnecessary to me than the process of taking off in a jet. There is no excuse for what transpires in those first few minutes of flight. I am clearly not scared enough to stop traveling, but it certainly bothers me enough to dread those first few moments of a trip.

First off, is it necessary for the plane to come to a complete stop right before it takes off? It slowly taxis around the runway, and if you notice, it sometimes revs up the engines to make you think it is about to take-off, when really you are still 17^th in line for take-off. After slowly touring every inch of your airport, the plane finally lines itself up for take-off. It comes to a complete stop, and then you hear a loud noise and "bam" you are flying down the runway at speeds unknown even to seasoned NASCAR drivers.

Ok, so I understand you need speed to take-off, but does the plane really have to be completely vertical when taking off? I feel like I am lying down in bed (although in my bed I don't have a head piece that jets forward forcing me to face my feet for the entire flight, but that is neither here nor there). Anyway, let's work on inventing a plane that can take off, at say, a twenty-degree angle, rather than a ninety-degree angle.

Ok, so you have officially lifted off and then what? We all know the answer to this. Immediately after taking off, no matter what direction you ultimately need to face, your plane will dip to one side and make a 360-degree turn. If the plane wants to turn at 36,000 feet, that's fine, because earth pretty much looks the same from that altitude. But when I am a mere 100 feet off the ground, and then the plane tips to one side, and I can wave at some guy in his backyard, that should be a hint that the pilot is turning just to have some fun. I am not blaming pilots for acting as daredevils. After all, if I flew a plane and knew that turning at take-off was safe, I would probably do it, too, for fun. But as a passenger, I'd rather we just take off in the general direction of our destination and save the turns for a higher altitude.

Ok, so you've taken off, made your treacherous turn, and then what? You guessed it. All of the sudden, the engine shuts off. Last I checked, planes need engines to fly. So why does it get real quiet? Usually, it's my own fault, because if I give my ears a moment to adjust, I realize that the engines are still on, I just couldn't hear them. But pilots should know that people's ears get clogged, and thus they should crank up the volume on the engine so that people know that we are not plummeting back to earth.

And what is the worst part of all this torture? The worst part is that during take-off you can't do anything! You must sit in an upright position, listen to no music, no electronics and no fun of any kind. They should just come over the loudspeaker and make the following announcement, "Hello folks. I know you are all terrified right now, but I must warn you than anything designed to take your mind off of take-off is strictly prohibited. Please stare out the window as I make a dangerous right turn. Wave at the guy on his front lawn. Then, brace yourself as I shut the engines off and see how long this thing can still fly. Haha. Now enjoy your peanuts. Such a big bag."

I understand that statistically speaking, all planes don't crash when taking off. I must admit that this statistic shocked me! I thought for sure that most planes can't survive take-off, and I've just been very lucky up until now.

All joking aside, fear of flying is a real fear experienced by many people. It saddens me to see people who forfeit the joy of traveling, because of their fear of flying. There are many helpful ways to overcome this fear. One thing that helps me is to look for websites that have questions and answers from pilots. The inspiration for this article came from a conversation I read with information from a pilot. I was shocked how he talked through the step-by-step of take-off. Everything that scared me most was actually a very normal, essential and SAFE part of take-off. Apparently, the engines really do silence for a few moments. Now I know not to panic.

Knowledge is power. Knowing what to expect before you fly can calm your nerves. Using humor to cope can also calm your nerves. Don't cheat yourself out of a life-changing experience abroad, because of fear of flying. Don't bail out on a cousin's wedding because it required you to get on a flight. Educate yourself, laugh a little, and brace yourself for the magic of flight!