So my boys are 4 and 5 and both are about 40 lbs. They've been flying with me since they were a couple months old in car seats. They are getting to big for the carseats with the shoulder straps so I'm wondering what to do now??? I feel like they're still kind of small to be buckled in with only a lap belt but maybe I'm just being a paranoid dad. I was flying in my plane when with my grandpa when I was their age in the front seat with just a lap belt. What do you guys do with your little ones???

Someone on here uses this: http://kidsflysafe.com/ I have no experience with it but it is what I plan to use when my kids are too big for car seats.

I have 5 and 8-year olds in booster seats sitting in the second and third rows. When I installed BAS harnesses in the first row I moved the single, diagonal belt from each front seat to the second row. This fits the kids boosters just right. In the third row they are just on lap belts.

Brett

I am using booster seats as well.. without them the belts in the rear seat can't be tightened enough for small bodies. And they get the kids up high enough they can see out the window.

Depends on how responsible a father you want to be. I'd carry both my boys in my 150, one beside and one in the back sitting on top of whatever was there, with a seatbelt through the two cargo hooks on the floor. Even carried my wife back there when she needed a ride (had missed a ferry) and her larger friend called shotgun. Never even thought about car/booster seats, but that's probably just the generation I'm from.

We use car seats until they get too big then move them to booster seats. As for the Kidsflysafe, we've thought about them...maybe better than just a lap belt, but I'd make sure they fit well and are made for GA seats. Seems there was some discussion about these this summer after the JC crash. You might search that thread.

I have a kidsflysafe CARES harness, which I bought to use on Angel Flights. I've only used it once, but it worked beautifully for a 3 year old. I had to lengthen the back strap with an extra length of seat belting so it would fit around the backrest of the back seat on my P172D, but that wasn't difficult. My IA had the necessary belting and hardware out of a wrecked airplane. I have contacted kidsflysafe to suggest that they offer a GA version with a longer backrest strap, but although the response was favorable, their website doesn't indicate that it has been done yet. The harness is made by AmSafe, the same company that makes many of the OEM belts for the manufacturers and the ones who make the airbag belts as well. It's good quality.

Cary

I put a lot of research into this subject, based on some of the vehicle accidents I have been to during my day job. I looked into the CARES product, and eventually came to the conclusion that I wanted something more substantial. I was able to find a few accidents where the CARES harnesses either broke or allowed the child to slip, albeit not all the way out of the harness, but enough so that many of the resultant injuries were probably greater. The problem with the harness I found was that the rear seats in the early model Cessna aircraft don't have a lock keeping the seat back from folding forward during a wreck, thus causing problems. I agree with many of these posts, that a booster seat is absolutely necessary for the kids if a full-back seat isn't used. When I researched the seats, I decided to go with the Diono brand seats (I don't remember what model), due to their ratings and also the measurements of the seat. Two seats will go side-by-side in the backseat of my early 172, as the seats don't have a lot of the plastic edge moldings as many of the new generation seats do. They are reasonably light and my five year old, who is tall for his age fits just fine, with lots of room to grow into the seat. Both of my kids like the added benefit of sitting high enough to look out the side windows. If someone needs more info please feel free to send me a message and I will do my best to help.

Jeff

Thanks for all the tips. Jeff, do the booster seats you got have shoulder harnesses built into them

Yes, they are a full size car seat, five-point belt system. They were the lightest and narrowest I could find and they are also certified by the FAA for use in GA aircraft. They were not cheap, but well with the piece of mind.

I believe, without going to the hangar, the model is the Radian R100 convertible seat. Hope that helps.

Second the Diono Radian seats, worth the money in my opinion

So my question on kids in the backseats goes like this. Can these child seats be used with the F. Altee Dodge folding seats? Or will they only work with the stock seats in a Cessna? I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, but would like to know as I'm hoping to be a Cessna owner one day, as well as a father, so starting to count my pennies already and decide what mods I should focus on...