Well, I am about to welcome into the world my first child next month. She will take co-pilot duties pretty quick. When mom's busy, we will be off for $100 jars of Gerber.
What kind of hearing protection is out there for the real little ones? I have some for my dog to wear flying but that is a last resort. Also, any ideas on taking care of their eustacian tubes and inner ears?

Peltor ear muffs for kids. Cheap and light. My kids like to wear the dave clark headsets now and then so they can talk on the intercom but they alway like the peltor. I wouldn't waste money buying youth size headsets, most have the same earcup size with smaller headbands. Most adult headbands can get pretty tiny.

Nice photos Buzzlatka! I also used Peltors for both young'uns up to about age two. One each in pink and blue "kids" style. I find they come in very handy for lots of noisy situations. I keep them on a peg in the shop next to my own when not flying. My kids like the colors, which helped get them to wear them.

Earlier I tried a product called Earplanes. They are reusable silicone earplugs with a porous ceramic core for equalizing pressure. They come in Jr and Adult sizes. Well-made, but I can't say that they were ever a big hit with my kids. As far as ear plugs went, cotton balls were tolerated much better.

This is all in relation to my humble O300A. When going out for an hour behind an IO540, say, I give them the Zulus, and wear the backup headsets myself. Now that they're a bit older, it's fun conversing about the sights and the control inputs.

As for equalizing, nursing is about the best ticket there is. Pacifier probably works the same. I bet you'll find that she falls asleep pretty darned fast and stays asleep at least until the descent, if not the roll-out.

There are some good threads dealing with child seats, and altitude considerations on here as well.

Best wishes for the new family!

Ok Buzzlatka, those are about the cutest pictures of kids flying I have ever seen especially the little one helping daddy read the approach plates . I just got my plane back in the air and can't wait to take my son (18 months) flying with me. He is already an airplane nut like his daddy, and loves to watch airplanes flying overhead. I think I will try the spare headset on him, but he might just prefer the muffs. I just need to figure out some way to boost him up so he can see outside better.

I bought a SoftCom C-45-10 for kids--smallest I could find, with smaller ear cups and shorter mike boom. Kinda cheapish construction, but hard to beat for the price, $88, and they're super light weight. I thought it would be good for the little Angels I take on Angel flights now and then. But it would be way too big for an infant.

We used to fly a lot when my kids (now 42 and 46) were little. We used the foam expanding plugs in their ears, which worked pretty well. Often at higher altitudes they'd drop off to sleep, and when we'd start to descend, the littler guy would wake up screaming--cleared his eustachian tubes right now! Seriously, letting them cry takes care of it when they're not nursing.

Cary

I would avoid taking little ones up if they have a head cold or sinus congestion. It's the descent that's the most problematic, when ambient pressure is increasing. If the inner ear doesn't equalize, besides a child crying in pain, I understand it's possible to cause permanent hearing damage.