do airline pilots ever get motion sickness?

Question

i have my private pilots license and when iam flying the plane in turbulence i dont get motion sickness but if iam in the back seat i do tend to get it. is this normal and should i still pursue being an airline pilot

Answer 1

Big Bruce is absolutely correct but let me add to what he said...

Passengers always tend to get sick more than pilots because they usually direct their attention to what's *inside* the plane rather than what's *outside*. As a pilot you're always going to be too preoccupied flying the plane to be much affected by (or even to notice) airsickness. It's all mental.

I'd be willing to bet that passengers who have a window seat are much less likely to become airsick than passengers seated next to the aisle because the window seats offer scenery and outside visual references which help prevent spatial disorientation.

First, let me ask you: are you pursuing, or intending to pursue, your instrument rating? (I'm currently working on mine)

Flying under actual IFR conditions is a whole different ballgame because that's when you'll experience steep turns, climbs, turbulence, etc., and it's tough when you have to endure these things while flying in the soup, with no outside references available to take your mind off of what's going on. The other night during my lesson I became a bit dizzy making the transition from instrument to visual on the final approach (after a two-hour flight at night, under the hood, I was ready to call it quits).

If you actually did have an actual condition such as vertigo then your AME would've uncovered this during your physical (which I assume is not the case).

So, I think you'll be fine as an airline pilot. Besides, what's the worst case scenario? ...you could always bring a paper bag with you. Nothing to be ashamed of, every pilot has one in his/her flight bag.

Answer 2

Yes. No. Sometimes.
It depends on health, weather conditions, turbulence, lighting, and maybe even lightning.
If a person is at the controls it is less likely to develop motion sickness than if they cannot see a relationship between the motions they see and the ones they feel.
A car driving on a bumpy winding road may be fine for the driver, but kids in the back seat will often get motion sickness because they cannot see the road ahead and relate the motion of the car to the road.

Flying at night in a storm can cause severe vertigo for a pilot, which is a horrible sensation, especially if you KNOW you're spinning or pitching in the wrong direction, even though your instruments tell you something different. That's exactly why a pilot MUST trust his flight instruments to tell the truth at all times. If vertigo strikes, the only way to get through it is to either have someone else take the controls, or trust the instruments completely and do what they say.

Answer 3

I know a pilot with over 15,000 hours. He has been a pilot for 20 years or so, and he still gets airsick sometimes, (not enough to actually use a bag...but pretty nauseated anyway).

I think sitting in the back of a small aircraft makes all of us sick, especially when a new pilot is flying...or one with poor rudder coordination.

Don't let the backseat experience discourage you... follow your dream.

Answer 4

I have gotten motion sick once in a plane, as a passenger (flown many times). I fly a plane for recreation sometimes, and have never gotten sick. I have a friend who flies commercially, and he says that you see what is going on and expect the airplane to move the way it does, so you don't get sick. Also, you get used to it.

Answer 5

Well, I can say that I have never gotten motion sickness on any airplane. When I am traveling in the back of the plane, I usually fall asleep.

Answer 6

yea ive been a pilot 4 8 years. i love flying but when taking off and turning i feel it alot & really feel sick on land like im constantly swaying like you would stand on a moving small boat as it bounces up and down

Answer 7

Of Course you should still pursue it !!! Don't let a little vomit stop you !!!! It will help keep the weight off to pass that avaition medical !! Kiddin !!

Answer 8

yah, it's totally normal. dont worry about it.

Answer 9

no most likely because they always fly and are used to it

Answer 10

i don't know why don't you go ask a pilot