I recently picked up a friend from Kidlington when out bound to Alderney and as we passed through about 6000 feet he started to be a little less talkative. He has been a pilot with a PPL for very many years but has not flown much in the last couple of years. By the time we were over the Solent at around 8000 feet he had become silent and then only spoke to say “Can we please descend to be nearer the surface because I feel very insecure this high?”
Has anyone had any experiences like this and what is the possible problem?
Interesting! I find that most people who are apprehensive about flying because they’re afraid of heights soon discover that flying is okay because somehow the sensation of “height” is less immediate than with other activities, such as climbing the stairs of an ancient tower, leaning over a cliff etc.
I had similar experiences when I recently took some older guys from my flying club along on IFR-flights. They were initially a bit tense when we first flew through a cloud as they did not have any prior experience with being in IMC (no turbulence during IMC, though) and were also not used to flying at higher altitudes of about 8.000ft AGL (we were on O2, so oxygen saturation or lack thereof was not an issue). However, they relaxed once the novelty wore off.
Probably a bit of apprehension from the unknown (“I know that a cloud is not solid, but …”) and that the view from the windows at higher altitudes is just not right, ie. not in line with what they are used to seeing from their own flying.
“Can we please descend to be nearer the surface because I feel very insecure this high?”
I would say: Can we please climb to safe altitude because I feel insecure at low altitude.
In case of engine trouble or an other emergency one has more time to think about, for reading the checklist and for reaching the next airport.
Also to mention to be clear of terrain, windmills, antennas….And over water there is a greater chance for reaching the shore within gliding distance from altitude.
It is completely normal – because most pilots are never taught to fly high, except the one prescribed hour (Germany).
It took me 3 years after i got my PPL to feel safe up high. Today low altitudes are what makes me nervous …
Took a friend to France and Italy, pilot too, and he was scared as hell at FL160 with the tubes in his nose… so i descended to FL120 and we proceeded without O2…
Flyer59 seems to have very plausible explanation, certainly for UK trained pilots. I did my PPL a loooong time ago and 2000 feet was about as high as I ever managed, even after I obtained my PPL, for quite some time.
It is completely normal – because most pilots are never taught to fly high, except the one prescribed hour (Germany).
Of course – and you might even have to fly at a flight level. All just tooooo much! 
The one prescribed hour in Germany at a higher altitude consisted in my case of getting out under the C-airspace of Frankfurt, torturing a 160hp C172 with 3 people on board to climb to FL100, doing a 180 und sneaking straight back under C.
Quite some experience that was.
as we passed through about 6000 feet he started to be a little less talkative
You would be surprised how many “non-aviation” passengers ask, very casually, how many feet there are in a mile
Then, with a straight face too, I spoil the fun by telling them the base of CAS where we are is 5500ft!
This must depend on personality, no two people are the same. Myself still suffer from fear quite a lot when flying, with always a big gulp of adrenaline just before take-off and one more just after. However as I venture further and higher, I am positively surprised at myself not getting particularly upset about either. Note however that I’ve never yet been higher than 4000 AMSL, so there might be some surprise in wait for me. Up till now, my reason managed to convince me that falling from 100’ is most likely as lethal as falling from 10000’ – the last probably being less painful.
