Wires / Power Line Dreams

[okikuma]

Wires / power lines are always on my mind when I fly. Mainly because of a re-occurring dream I experienced all of my flying life. As I am taking off from an airport or helipad and start to climb, all of a sudden there are multiple power lines above me. I just "cannot climb" because there are so many. Interestingly, over the years, I have found that many other pilots experience the same type of dream phenomenon.

Do you have recurring dreams about dodging and not being able to climb over powerlines/buildings?

Inspired by a picture in the guillotine thread, I was reminded of a recurring dream I have where I'm dodging power lines and just can't climb over them no matter how much I try. I asked about 10 other pilots if they have this type of dream and about 8 said yes, pretty much identical. So I was...

www.pilotsofamerica.com

https://www.reddit.com/r/DreamInterpretation/comments/qnvho5

How many others on this forum have experienced the same type of dream?

Wayne

 

[RogerB]

Sometimes I slip on a banana peel in mine

 

[Smack]

I have a similar dream ... hmmm...... subconsciously, we KNOW.

 

[WaspAir]

I have had a variation of it many times. I clmb to miss wires only to see more ahead and above, so I do a climbing 180 turn, and find wires behind me as well. I keep turning, climbing, and finding every direction blocked at every altitude ever higher and higher.

 

[Mayfield]

My variation is ag ops.

The only possible approach to the field is under high tension power lines and I'm doing tomatoes.

Just as I approach the edge of the field, I hit the fence I didn't see. I wake up just as the nose hits the ground.

 

[Vance]

I had a power interruption descending for the Santa Paula airport (SPZ) and cleared the tall set of wires only to find a second lower set behind it and then a third set.

Thinking it must be a bad dream I tried unsuccessfully to wake up and landed on the railroad right of way in the lemon grove.

There was no damage and I was able to maintain bladder control.

I have not had this dream again.

I was flying from the Lodi Airport (103) to the Nut Tree Airport (VCB) at 2,000 feet when out of the smoke I saw the three antennas with the tallest being 2,049 feet in Walnut Grove.

I knew they were there and they were shown on my chart but I was a little further north than intended.

I was not able to wake up from that nightmare either.

 

[okikuma]

I had a power interruption descending for the Santa Paula airport (SPZ) and cleared the tall set of wires only to find a second lower set behind it and then a third set.

Thinking it must be a bad dream I tried unsuccessfully to wake up and landed on the railroad right of way in the lemon grove.

There was no damage and I was able to maintain bladder control.

I have not had this dream again.

I was flying from the Lodi Airport (103) to the Nut Tree Airport (VCB) at 2,000 feet when out of the smoke I saw the three antennas with the tallest being 2,049 feet in Walnut Grove.

I knew they were there and they were shown on my chart but I was a little further north than intended.

I was not able to wake up from that nightmare either.

About 20 years ago I was on a Southwest flight to Sacramento KSMF. The airfield was socked in with fog up to about 1500' AGL and below minimums. We were put into an IFR holding pattern that happened to be over those three tall TV towers (KXTV/KOVR - 2,049', KTXL - 1,965', and KCRA-TV - 1,900'). It was very interesting to see those three towers rise out of and above the flog layer. We were stuck in that holding pattern for about 30 min until minimums were met.

Here are several websites whereas one can locate TV and Broadcast Radio Towers (AM & FM) in their area.

Wayne

TV Broadcast Tower Locator - OTA DTv

Find TV Broadcast Towers and free TV Channels in your area. Get all the information needed for selecting and pointing your antenna. Use the tower map to check for potential ground interference such as hills and obstructions.

otadtv.com

Antennas Direct | TV Transmitter Locator and Mapping Tool

Find your nearest digital TV transmitter with Antennas Direct's mapping tool. It's a quick and easy way to find digital television transmitters (DTVs) nearest to your location.

www.antennasdirect.com

Radio-Locator.com

Radio Station Search Engine

radio-locator.com

 

[timdrnec]

I have had a variation of it many times. I clmb to miss wires only to see more ahead and above, so I do a climbing 180 turn, and find wires behind me as well. I keep turning, climbing, and finding every direction blocked at every altitude ever higher and higher.

I used to have the very dream that WaspAir describes. I couldn't have articulated it better...
The odd thing is that I had this recurring dream as a teenager long before I was (or even thought about being) a helicopter pilot.
Weird.

 

[Rowdyflyer1903!]

Wires / power lines are always on my mind when I fly. Mainly because of a re-occurring dream I experienced all of my flying life. As I am taking off from an airport or helipad and start to climb, all of a sudden there are multiple power lines above me. I just "cannot climb" because there are so many. Interestingly, over the years, I have found that many other pilots experience the same type of dream phenomenon.

Do you have recurring dreams about dodging and not being able to climb over powerlines/buildings?

Inspired by a picture in the guillotine thread, I was reminded of a recurring dream I have where I'm dodging power lines and just can't climb over them no matter how much I try. I asked about 10 other pilots if they have this type of dream and about 8 said yes, pretty much identical. So I was...

www.pilotsofamerica.com

https://www.reddit.com/r/DreamInterpretation/comments/qnvho5

How many others on this forum have experienced the same type of dream?

Wayne

I have a similar dream frequently. I'm down on the deck, screaming along desperately looking up to find a break in the maze of wires strung between tall pines and the narrow path, my dream has placed me in. Normally there is an opening which requires a hard pull bank and a knife edge to clear some unseen wires. Not fun! I gotta ask....were you naked too? just kidding.

 

[Chris Burgess]

Yep, had them also, been there, no T-shirt..!! Multiple wires that seem impossible to fly through around or under.

 

[Daniel Creech]

Not only has the dream of flying low level and trying to time my climb through a gap in the wires above occurred several times to me, I seem to have afflicted my wife with it too. She is not a pilot and has only flown in a glider twice. She reported dreaming of a low level glider flight with wires above and trying to climb through them. Seems this is a common occurrence in the pilot crowd, not so common with those casually involved.

 

[WaspAir]

I used to have the very dream that WaspAir describes. I couldn't have articulated it better...
The odd thing is that I had this recurring dream as a teenager long before I was (or even thought about being) a helicopter pilot.
Weird.

Yes, for me I wasn't always in an aircraft and sometimes I was climbing out from the street in front of my house. I remember being surprised about how unbelievably tall the poles were that held up the wires as I went up and up and up..

 

[okikuma]

Yes, for me I wasn't always in an aircraft and sometimes I was climbing out from the street in front of my house. I remember being surprised about how unbelievably tall the poles were that held up the wires as I went up and up and up..

My wire / power line dreams have always been in an aircraft. Either a helicopter or an airplane. Never a glider. Several have been while taking off from a street. Not always a runway or helipad. I have only had these dreams after I started flying, not prior. As a child, I would have dreams levitating upward off the ground. I don't label it as flying because there was no propulsion nor aerodynamic lift involved. Just defying the law of gravity.

I have two friends that are husband and wife. Both are psychologists and pilots. They have told me they have no clue why aviators have these dreams but wanted to "analyze my response." I told them that my reasoning is that for some of us aviators, the dreams are our subconscious minds reinforcing our recognition that flying into wires / power lines is hazardous and can be fatal and we need to never forget that fact. The question is, those aviators that have flown into wires, have they ever had these dreams prior?

Well, I have two other friends that have survived separate wire strikes while flying low, river running. One in a Citabria, and the other in a Hughes 269. The three of us recently had lunch together and I asked if they ever had the wire / power line dreams? Both said they never experienced those kinds of dreams either before or after their accidents. Two admissions is not a large enough sample to accurately measure a correlation. However, I think this might be the right question to focus on to determine if there is.

Wayne

 

[Gyro-nut]

I've had the same dream multiple times. I did not realize this was a common phenomenon.
It 'almost' kept me from learning to fly these wonderful machines; but luckily for me, my conscious mind just takes it as a warning to always be aware of my surroundings!

 

[GyroChuck]

I have not had any of the "Flying into Wires" dreams yet. But if I start having them. I'm going to blame this Post.

 

[WaspAir]

I have not had any of the "Flying into Wires" dreams yet. But if I start having them. I'm going to blame this Post.

Might be contagious, huh?

Many of my non-aviation friends have shared one of my other recurring dreams. You suddenly realize that you're supposed to take a final exam tomorrow, but you forgot about the course you signed up for, never went to class, the topic is something difficult like quantum mechanics, and some unspecified but horrible fate worse than death awaits if you fail. You have only a few hours overnight to learn everything from a whole semester. This dream tends to strike a few years after you've been out of school and no longer living on an academic calendar.

 

[Mayfield]

My variation is ag ops.

The only possible approach to the field is under high tension power lines and I'm doing tomatoes.

Just as I approach the edge of the field, I hit the fence I didn't see. I wake up just as the nose hits the ground.

As far as flying aerial application under wires it is pretty common, particularly in the south. Farmers want every plant to get the correct dose when applying insecticide. Coverage is a little less stressful with herbicides or fertilizer.

One more recurring dream I've had for over 50 years. Sometimes I'm wearing my LEO hat and sometimes I am a grunt. Usually I'm clearing a room. I see the shadow of the target extending across the floor at a corner. Just as he comes around the corner and I take up the slack in the trigger I realize my weapon is malfunctioning. I try to clear it, but I am really slow and I clearly see the target's weapon tracking towards me.

Uncomfortable feeling. Darn it Wayne, the favorite music thread is more fun

Jim

 

[Resasi]

During my time in this phase, I have been exposed to so many ways of passing on to the next, that I can only marvel at my continued existence in this one.

I consider myself fortunate, not to dream of that stage that propels me to the next part of our journey... while giving heartfelt thanks for my continued existence in this.

 

[Sv.grainne]

Lots of crazy dreams but nothing leading out of this life.

 

[GyrOZprey]

Crazy dreamer here also!

I have wanted to fly "like a bird" since I was a toddler! I have a visceral "fear-of-heights" ..when on my feet ... my stomach squirms, my knees go to jelly & I lock up & have to be very careful where I look or I will freeze-up!
A couple of years before we started our gyro-journey ..I discovered this reaction does NOT happen in any way shape or form ..WHEN I AM SEATED!

About the time I was at college I had a very vivid dream ...over & over , from 3 points of view experiencing & "observing " my demise in a small plane crash & burn! Location was near a fence-line in an "outback" Aussie wheat-field - the picture is so detailed in my mind - I could make a painting of it! The cruciform outline of the plane in the dirt was distinctive as a FW! I often wondered if this was a "past-life recollection???" - a future event premonition ..or just a crazy dream!

I have been up as a passenger in a couple of small FW planes several times since with-out fear (or "premonition") ... at University to take aerial photos of our college-dorm buildings! In Canada on a flying week-end adventure in Manitoba, and a few years ago with my Mom's friend based at Stanthorpe . ( She flies Aussie Outback Tours during the Aussie winter months) She took Mum for her last fly in a plane to look around our property and the beautiful Granite Belt area - a couple of years before my Mum passed!

I had absolutely no trepidation taking these flights .... especially as the terrain /environment was not at all like my dream-scene!