Paul Hickey: White-knuckled flying not worth it

Give me the drive to Wellington over a flight anytime. Photo / File

I can't really pinpoint when my fear of flying began. The three major air disasters of 2014 have certainly done nothing to quell my fears, and then last week I was in Taupo working when the skydive plane decided to conk out mid-air. Too close for comfort to be honest.

As a child I remember enjoying scenic flights over Rotorua when the "Helicopter Line" was based on Te Ngae Rd where the BMX track is now. Then there was my mate whose father was a deer hunter and we had weekend flights in his chopper out over the lakes.

When I was about 10, I took my first plane flight to Palmerston North via Hamilton and had a blast. A couple of years later was my first overseas trip and again I thought it was cool.

A lot more flights have followed, but somewhere along the line, something changed. Nerves, sweaty palms, crazy thoughts, weird rituals as I board the plane ...

The first time we all flew as a family, my kids were super excited. I tried, I really did. But I ended up moving to a different part of the plane so they wouldn't get upset, and Katie had to do all the parenting.

They all love flying by the way, and now put up with my weirdness on planes.

There are now even apps being designed to help out, but that makes me nervous just thinking about having my phone turned on, even in flight mode.

I can do it when I have to, but I'll take the six-hour car drive to Wellington anytime over a one-hour flight. Crazy, I know.

As a massive sports fan, I have taken great delight in the fortunes of our Black Caps side this summer. Let's hope that the form and consistency they have found rolls over into the next couple of months for the World Cup. As well as cricket, the other big summer sport across New Zealand is speedway, which attracts thousands of spectators every weekend. This Friday and Saturday the sports eyes are on Rotorua when we once again host the World Invitation Superstock Championships. Drivers from across New Zealand plus overseas racers, thousands of parochial fans, TAB betting on the event, fast cars, big hits, provincial rivalry, noise and atmosphere ... gee I'm getting excited already. Be at Paradise Valley Raceway - you know I will be!

While I've been off the radio in Rotorua since before Christmas, I have still been on-air on The Hits in other parts of the country, along with other sports commentary gigs around the place. But today I'm back into a kind of normality with my first full day in Rotorua this year and back on air in our Fenton St studios.

I'm looking forward to it ... catch you on the other end of the speaker.

-Paul Hickey is the host of the locally based 9am-3pm show on The Hits Rotorua 97.5FM. Follow on Facebook The Hits Rotorua and on Twitter @paulhickeynz