30 Jan Getting Over a Fear: Helicopter Style
In 2012, I conquered two of my biggest fears. I finally took a ride in a helicopter, and I got over my fear of flying in small planes by taking a flying lesson. It all started when I was in 3rd grade while visiting Paul Bunyan Land in northern Minnesota. My cousins and I wanted to sign up for a helicopter ride, but our parents decided that we were short on time and we would have to wait for another day. Only a couple of hours later, we heard that the helicopter we were about to ride had crashed. I’m not sure if there were any casualties, (I hope not) but none the less, it shook me to the core, and all I could think is “that could have been us”. Unfortunately, that feeling has stuck with me and even transferred over into my fear of small planes. But, I’m a big believer that the best way to get over a fear is to dive into it head first–unless it deals with creepy crawly bugs, then that rule doesn’t apply.
Despite my fear, I have been itching to take a helicopter ride for quite some time. On one occasion, I suppressed my nerves and booked a helicopter ride, but the operator got shut down before my scheduled date because the residents in the area were complaining about noise disturbance. So, when my coworker asked me if I wanted to join her on a helicopter ride last month, I jumped at the chance.
The flight we took was with Boca Raton Helicopters which departs from the small Boca Raton airport. As we sat in the lobby in cushy leather chairs, waiting for our pilot, my heart began to pound. I tried not to think about it. Once our time arrived, our pilot drove us to the helicopter on a golf cart and that’s when my nerves really started to get the best of me. We took a few pictures, and before I knew it, we were hovering over the ground and my fear was gone. That’s when I started to enjoy the ride.
The tour we went on was the Adventure Tour package. With full frontal windows, the helicopters offered amazing views from all directions. We started out by heading south towards the Pompano Beach Lighthouse and then circling back around to fly north along the beach. There were numerous sharks in the ocean that day, and the water was clear enough for us to get a good view. Our pilot also pointed out what is rumored to be Oprah’s yacht and under construction house, which was so large it looked like it should be a resort.
The flight was short, about 20 minutes total, but it was so much fun–Boca Raton Helicopters did a great job, and guess what?! I actually felt safe! I can’t wait to have the opportunity to go on another helicopter ride soon.
