richas wrote:Green!

My eldest Grandkiddie, Levi, in the process of turning green on his 5th birthday 3 years ago:



Unfortunately, he takes after his Daddy, who often got sick on our family trips long ago, although surprisingly on this flight, his Daddy in the back seat said that he didn't feel any discomfort at all.

Then last year, on Caylee's 5th birthday, she proved that she didn't get green at all:



But Levi was in the back seat with his Daddy, and he turned green again. He didn't upchuck either flight, but he obviously wasn't feeling very good. I think Caylee would have been happy to fly for another half hour or more, but we landed out of respect for Levi (and because I really didn't want to have to clean the airplane!).

Cary

First flight lesson! Look at the concentration.

A1Skinner wrote:First flight lesson! Look at the concentration.

Excellent!

So happy to have kids that like to fly to adventures.




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First Family trip to KCHA, oldest is just about out, youngest asleep just after takeoff
Both still asleep at touchdown and taxi, and shutdown

Watching their uncle taxi in the "real" airplane.

sticknrudder wrote:

Watching their uncle taxi in the "real" airplane.

Can't get your pic to show.

Cary

I don't post much (I mostly lurk), but can't resist an excuse to show off my kid!





It takes him a while to realize that the earmuffs help him but after a little bit of fussing, he settles down.

LowTimePilot wrote:I don't post much (I mostly lurk), but can't resist an excuse to show off my kid!





It takes him a while to realize that the earmuffs help him but after a little bit of fussing, he settles down.

You really should put your kid in an FAA approved car seat, or alternatively use a CARES safety harness. You'd sure hate yourself if that cute little kid were to be injured!

Cary

Go with the car seat. I have a friend whose child was killed in the CARES harness. It's better than nothing, but not as good as a car seat...in the back seat IMHO.


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My son Eric who turns 17 next month and will take his check ride up at KCPU in our Husky.

[quote="Grassstrippilot"]...but not as good as a car seat...in the back seat IMHO.quote]
I don't want to kill the mood of this thread but I have to ask out of interest in safely flying with kids. I've seen you say this before GSP and I've seen the same said by another guy who was also present at the accident involving your friend. What is it about the front seat that makes it less safe for a properly restrained child?

In general, I think there is just more objects to collide with in the front seat. Yoke, iPad mounts, a panel that gets shoved back, etc. In this specific instance, if I remember right, the NTSB report showed that the seat didn't lock upright and folded forward on impact, allowing the child to collide with the yoke and door frame I belive. Meanwhile, the rear seat area was largely intact and survivable. Of course it does make getting out quickly more difficult.

I guess I should also say that the weak link here wasn't necessarily the Cares system, but the seat that folded forward. For smaller kids in baby carriers, I think it offers them more protection where in surrounds them more and has its own 3 point harness as well.

I'm no expert, but from this and the discussion on BCP, it appears the backseat most likely is a safer place. I'll still occasionally let the kids ride up front. But I do try to keep their seat back and shoulder harnesses on. My seats lock upright, like most do I think.

Sorry for the thread drift. Back to pics and kids!

Thanks for the explanation.

An old pic from 2013 to get things back on track. I think the camera was overwhelmed by all the pink

Son Jeff spots the Red Baron, while son Dave in back arms the guns. This was a few years ago while building S7. Son in front now a writer, youngest in back a PhD candidate in bio-medical physics. They grow up fast!

Drifting back to the CARES vs. child seat, the advantages of each are probably evident. First, just like tethering kids is safer in the back seat of a car, there's little doubt that they're safer in the back seat of an airplane--less to hit, primarily. The panel of just about every small plane made is anything but a friendly place to hit. And in addition, very few small airplane seat rests adequately lock in place--push on them, and most will unlock with not a whole lot of pressure.

All things being relative, I think that the child seat is probably somewhat safer, if it can be used. The problem is that most are pretty bulky and hard to install in a small plane. If there's room, though, and if they can be fastened securely to the structure with the seat belts, I think they're the better choice.

The CARES was originally designed to minimize bulk for folks traveling by airliner. However, it will work in a small airplane. I don't have a child seat, so when I've had kids in my airplane, they use a CARES, and it's in the back seat. I fashioned an extension to the strap that goes around the backrest using seat belt strapping, because the stock strap isn't long enough for the typical 2 person width of most airplane back seats. Then there needs to be something to prevent the back seat backrest from folding forward (the latch on mine certainly isn't strong enough to prevent folding in an accident stop, although it holds it in place during normal operations). I have a SS cable hooked to each of the upper luggage retainer eyes and to the top of the backrest, which limits its travel to an inch at most.

Our kiddies (grandkiddies for me ) are the most important things in our lives. Anything we can do to make them safer is worth it.

Cary

Sorry for the poor photo quality. My two month old daughter slept through her first flight. Ear plugs and a headband seemed to do the trick. The Cessna has plenty of room in the back for her car seat and my wife...lonely up front though! I can't wait until she's old enough to fly right seat with me!

Finally pulled it off. Wasn't really in a hurry to take the family up, but my daughter has really discovered what airplanes are lately and always points them out when she hears or sees them flying over. It's pretty awesome, she's only 19.5 months old.



Visited a friend's place here in the Willamette Valley. Aside from a concerned look when the engine fired up, and a little reluctance to wear her earmuffs, she loved the flying. I ordered a an actual child's headset today so she can hear us on the intercom. That part seemed to bug her a little, that our mouths moved and she heard nothing.


*Photo by S7Paco

Awesome!