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This article is from the Isaac Asimov FAQ, by Edward J. Seiler ejseiler@earthlink.net and John H. Jenkins jenkins@mac.com with numerous contributions by others.

2.11 Is it true that Isaac Asimov had a fear of flying?

Yes, the same author who described spaceflights to other worlds and who

argued valiantly for the cause of rationality suffered from an irrational

fear of heights and flying. This had the consequence of limiting the

range over which he travelled throughout much of his life.



Asimov discovered that he was acrophobic at the New York World's Fair in

1940, when he took his date and first love Irene on a roller coaster,

expecting that it would cause her to cling to him in fear and give him a

chance to kiss her. Instead it was he who was terrified while his date

remained perfectly calm. Two years later, his wife-to-be Gertrude

convinced him to ride on a roller coaster at Coney Island, and he was once

again terrified.



Asimov did in fact fly on an airplane twice in his life. The first time

he did so while working at the Naval Air Experimental Station in

Philadelphia during World War II. While working on dye markers that made

ditched pilots more visible to rescue searchers, he developed a test to

compare dye visibility that did not require a plane flight, but in order

to validate his test he volunteered to fly in a small plane to observe the

markers. He was so absorbed in his observations that he didn't suffer

from any undue fear. His second plane flight took place on his return

from his army station in Hawaii, in which he flew aboard a DC-3 to San

Francisco.



After his military service in Hawaii in 1946, Asimov never ventured so far

from home, and did not often travel great distances. When he did need to

travel significant distances, he usually took a train, or rode in someone

else's car, until he learned to drive in 1950. Oddly enough, he found

that he felt quite comfortable behind the wheel of an automobile. In the

1970s he and Janet travelled by train to Florida and California, and they

took several several sea cruises to such places as the Caribbean, West

Africa, England, and France.







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