My early flying experiences:
My very first flight was from Gatwick to Gurnsey when I was 18. I left the terminal and walked with the other 5 or 6 passengers to a big bendy coach and got on to be taken to the plane. I sat at the front and chatted to the coach driver about what it is like driving a bendy coach. As we approached a number of small jets the Stewardess who was travelling with us began to get us ready for boarding, checking we all have our passes. I was looking forward to a flight on a little jet plane.
Then the coach went passed the jets and stopped next to a tiny propeller plane that had a square section fuselage that was made of corrigated steel. The coach driver got out, helped unload our bags and then got in the pilots seat of the plane.
I got a seat by the door of the plane and was rather concerned that as we took off the single skin door was so flimsy that it flapped and flexed in the opening and I could see the English Channel through the gaps. Then I noticed that it was only held shut by a Yale latch!
I didn't take my seat belt off on that flight, or the return one.
My first helecopter flight was at a car show where there were helicopter flights as part of the entertainment. Four of us decided to put our money together and take a flight. We all got in to the back seat of the helicopter and I was last in. The ground crew told us to belt up and then they shut the door. I looked for my seat belt and found that the other three had got the belts wrong and I only had one half of my belt, the other half being used by the chap next to me and so on.
As we took off I hung onto the single bit of seat belt and the bottom of the seat. At some stupidly high altitude the pilot started to bank over on myside and circle. I had no belt and three guys leaning on me to get a look at the ground pinning up against the door. Then the door popped open a little and caught on the secondary part of the catch and I began to s**t myself!
By the time we landed my hand was bleeding from being cut on the underside of the seat rail from gripping it so hard trying to stop myself from falling out through the half shut door with no seat belt and three blokes pushing up on me to get a better look out of the window on my side.
The helicopter crew weren't even bothered when I tried to tell them as they were too busy getting us out the way for the next lot of paying passengers.
It didn't help my fear of heights.
