First post here, so hello to everyone.

My daughter is almost four and wants to fly in my airplane. My wife loves to fly but hasn't flown with me since my daughter was born. I just had a son also that is one month old.
Therefore I have two options:

1. Take my daughter up in the plane alone?
2. Take the whole family, including my one month old.


Any tips, advice, and knowledge would be helpful in making a good decision and having a safe, fun flight. I would love to be able to travel with my family but I am currently on the "safety fence" about it.

c172,
You are in a different situation then me, but I have a rule. I give lots of kids their first airplane ride, but not until they are five. That is only because I don't remember anything I did before I was five, and I want these kids to go by my farm when they are older and say " that old farmer gave me my first airplane ride right there." Any earlier, it is a waste of gas.

I gave my son his first ride when he was a couple of months old. Many rides after that and he is now in the Air Force under going pilot training at Laughlin AFB, Tx. I guess I might have had a tiny bit of influence on his carreer selection. Guess what I am getting at is kids love the ride no matter what the age. I definitely agree with John though in the fact they rarely remember those things when they are under 5, but what the heck, I'm sure you'll be giving them more rides that they will remember. A person never knows when his last day or flight will be so why wait. I got over the "I'll do it tomorrow" mindset when I nearly lost my life in an accident. Life is too short.
Keith

I am not too concerned if the kid will remember the trips or not since they are my kids and I plan to fly with them when they are older as well. It is all about spending quality time with my kids, and sharing my aviation passion with the family. If I am going to fly and spend time and money on gas anyways, I should include the family when they want to go. So to me, taking my kid would not be a waste of gas.

However, when I am an old farmer and my kids are grown, I probably would have a similar age rule.

I am mostly curious about things such as will it hurt their ears? Altitude effects on babies? Car seat usage? etc.

Thanks for your input.

Ear protection is about the only thing that I would worry about when small. Started hauling my son around when he was about 5 months, and my daughter was 6 days old when we strapped her in and headed off to Canada for a week. They just sleep at that age in the plane. Ended up cutting foam ear plugs in half length wise to put them in their ears. I used rear facing car seats for both my kids till they got bigger. Russ

C172.
I didn't mean to imply for you not to fly your kids early. If I had kids they would go all the time.

On our AK camping trips our friends take their kids and dogs from almost day one. Last year we had a one year old and a three year old, plus a dog. You can see the hearing protection on all of them and they are week long trips. The kids are well behaved and we all love watching them discover things.

Both couples have two cubs. Usually the moms flies the boys and dad hauls the gear and dogs.

http://vimeo.com/

awesome vid patrolguy.

Thanks.

Fly your kids whenever you can.
For their first few trips, always handy to have another person on board to deal with any issues.
Our kids flew since they were less than a month old...slept most of the flights.
Use ear protection(as previous posters gave hints, cut foam plugs when kids are little and a stocking cap will keep small hands from pulling them out). Oregon Aero has smaller headset mod (short piece that fits between headset ear muffs)when they are a bit older, but not adult size heads yet. When you get the kids on intercom...make sure you can turn them off in the back seat (radio calls/sanity)
Figure out how the car seats will fit prior to showing up to fly and finding the door won't close... In a Maule, take out the bottom seat pad (rear seat) and rest car seats on the bar. It's better to ride in car seats and see out, than kid's squirming out of belts trying to see out the window.
GO TO THE RESTROOM BEFORE YOU LEAVE
Little boys can almost pee in a ziploc bag with a paper towel or diaper in it...but it's easier to carry another pair of pants and undies...
A Beach Towel is great for: covering up when it's cool, sliding under wet butts, confining barf to a smaller area, etc.
Along that line...do not let them eat Cheetos and Fruit Punch before you leave, unless you want that all over your back for the next two hours...Always have a trash bag to put the beach towel in after it's "used".
If we think of anything more (we are laughing at the memories)...I'll add it.

I've been flying with my boys since they were about 4 months old. They are now 2 and 4, and argue over who gets to sit in the front and help fly. I would recommend the red silicone type earplugs for the little one, and a children’s headset for your 4 year old. Keep both of them in their car seats, and have a fun trip with your family. They may not remember every flight, but you will.

Marshall

Some good advice from previous posters. I'd say, definitely take your kids flying as soon as possible.

Our oldest started flying with me at age 4, and our youngest was flying at just a few months. Actually, he was flying before we even knew my wife was pregnant!

It's best to have small kids in the back seat with another adult next to them in case they decide to try to take off headsets, etc.

You'll grow to love the "pilot isolate" button, especially when working a challenging approach in the backcountry while your kids are loudly playing "20 questions" on the intercom.

There are some pretty good kid-sized headset options. Hearing protection is definitely a must. Little kids sometimes prefer not to be plugged in to the intercom, I've found.

Nothing is quite as rewarding as being able to introduce your kids to flying. My 10-year old can now (barely) reach the rudder pedals in the 180, and she's loving doing Dutch rolls!

It may seem intuitive, but I've seen some folks' attitudes toward flying changed for the worse by abrupt maneuvering, turbulence, etc.

So, be careful, because you sure don't want to turn the kid off to flying completely, and it doesn't take many negative experiences for that to happen. Keep an eye on the child, and if they are even looking vaguely uncomfortable, figure out what's going on and fix it.

Also, if the kid doesn't want to fly, don't force the issue. Find an alternative. I have friends who went through that with their daughter. She loved flying with them for several years, then at age eight or so, she decided she really didn't like it. They dealt with it and didn't force her to fly. A couple years later, she was back into flying, and has been ever since.

Go easy, and enjoy. But, most of all, make sure THEY enjoy it.

MTV

Mine started riding in airplanes from about the day they were born, and that's been 30+ years ago now. We were living in Arctic Alaska, I was flying for the different outfits, and the airplane was treated like a car would be Lower 48. You got in, we went. There was no special treatment or big deal involved. Just a fact of life living where there are no roads.

And, I'm betting I've given rides to several thousand Eskimo newborn, heading home to their village from hospital. And watched those same kids grow up in the back seat of a C207. I can't ever remember a single one squawking about having to get into an airplane. Total non-event.

Gump

Before taking my 2 year old son up for his first flight, I put him in the back seat and just taxied around for awhile, then did some fast taxis. He seemed comfortable, interested and enjoying...So then I got Mommy to sit in the back seat with him for the first flight. Then his own first flight.

Since that time, airplanes have become his world. Airplane toys, airplane landings re-enactments. He now informs me every time he uses "back stick" when landing. When in the car, he's always the first to spot an airplane in the sky "look daddy! airflane!". He likes airplane videos (has watched Damian DelGaizo's "Tailwheel 101" over 100 times and never seems to tire of watching it first thing in the morning. Sure beats watching mindless, violent cartoons.

He actually takes off with his toy airplanes like a real taildragger bushplane....short roll out, tail up, rotate and climb. Then tells me "that's a good one daddy!", or when he lands he'll say "nice landing!". I'm certain that as long as his interest in airplanes continues, he will know how to fly an airplane long before he knows how to drive.

Both of my kids first rides were while they were still in the oven. After birth, both had flown by the time they were 6 weeks old. We used a car seat for them and put earmuffs on them when they went flying. They don't need, nor do you want them to have, microphones for the first year or two (I'm not so sure even now it's good). Take your family with you whenever you want and can talk them into going. Only thing I have noticed, is that for my kids, flying is just something you do. They definitely don't think of it as anything special and it's kind of like they think everybody must do this. I don't think they ever even think to talk about flying with their friends. Neither is especially interested in flying at this point, but that's OK with me. They do recognize that it is a lot nicer to fly somewhere than to drive (less time spent, etc.).

Wayne

As mentioned, great advice from all above.

My kids have both been flying since they were a few weeks old and both love it, or realize it is just what we do and how we get places. The thought that always goes through my mind is egress if we had an accident. I agree with putting an adult in the back with them if possible, but car seats will not fit in the front seat with the yoke so if you have multiple kids, this can be a challenge. My wife and I always do a quick brief on who is going to get which child out and how if we have a problem. My 4 year old is just now able to get out of her belts alone on her car seat and I have her climb in and out of the airplane by herself as often as possible so she is familiar. The only way my one year old is getting out is with help. I am a firm believer in a good carseat that is securly belted in. The kids have the safest seat in the plane when in that harness. That being said, I put my 4 year old in the front of the bonanza in a booster seat when my wife sits in back, but there is no control yoke in front of her.

My biggest fear is that if I or my wife were ever unable to help them get out and we were in water or on fire..........but, we do what we can to minimize the risk and then go about our flight.

Flying with my family has been very rewarding and something that I value and respect greatly.



Then.......


And now.....

All good posts above. Our boys have been flying since before they were born. They are now 6,4 and 2.

One note of caution flying with small people, especially infants, is to watch your rate of climb and descent. While it is an easy thing for adults to clear their ears, equalising pressure, not so for the small people. Food helps on multiple levels!

As mentioned previously, kids can change their perspective to flying quickly. Our 4 year old, having spent three years flying regularly looked down one day and decided that he wasn't keen anymore. We didn't push it and let him sit out the flights for a while. Then when he decided he wanted to go back up, we made sure he went out on blue sky days with no turbulence, until now he's happy again riding in the plane.

A second adult is a great thing in the aircraft when the kids are young; to help put the headset back on, hold a hand, clean up that liquid, where ever it comes from, dole out food and generally run cover for the one flying.

Car seats are great, and hold them well.
None of our kids wanted to wear headsets when they were small, until flights in helicopters made them change their minds.
1+ on the value of Pilot isolate on the comms box!

Now the big thing is who gets to sit right in the back, far from their parents 'helpful' reach.

Been riding with the little girl since about 8 months. Hearing protection is always a concern for me as well, but I try and keep them on her as much as possible:

I would also say that elevating the car seat so they can see outside is very important once they get old enough where they don't sleep the entire flight. I put a boat cushion or two under the seat before strapping it down.

fly wrote:...They may not remember every flight, but you will.

Reminds me of the c&w song "She thinks we're just fishing".