Baby in a 172

[tmmorris]

Am I barmy to consider putting my 6-month-old in a car seat in the back seat of a 172? He's not easily scared, and loves the outside of aircraft (especially with the engine running) from behind a safety fence...

Problems I forsee:

(a) ear protection;
(b) ear popping (feed him on the way up/down);
(c) boredom.

Anyone tried it? I don't want to put him off flying!

Tim

[AfricanEagle]

BabyEagle's first flight was when he was 3 months old in a C172. He sat in the back with his mother and basically slept during the 20 minute flight.

Second time was when he was 9 months old, he stayed awake the whole time wide eyed.

Third time was yesterday (21 months): he sat in front on mother's lap and even held the yoke during cruise, pointing out at clouds oohing and aahing.

Regarding your questions I suppose it depends on the length of the flight: if it were more than 20 minutes I would consider ear protection.

In climbs and descents I have not exceeded 500fpm: make sure he doesn't have a cold. If he does experience sore ears he'll start crying and that will/should automatically clear his ears.

Boredom shouldn't be an issue: all the small kids I've taken flying after a while haven fallen asleep.

BabyEagle spent the rest of yesterday afternoon saying "aero - aero" and wanted to go back to the airport.

AE.

Please note, I'm not a doctor and the above is just my personal experience with my son.

[Flyin'Dutch']

They don't normally tolerate earprotection very well but you can give it a go. Peltor do a coloured helping.

I very early on got the kids to wear the kiddo's version of the 13.4 just so that they can hear you which they may well find reassuring.

I very much doubt whether some exposure to the noise will make them deaf later in life, but that is a risk which I am happy to take for my own off-spring.

After all they need to have something to moan about later on!

:D

FD

[treadigraph]

You'll only have yourself to blame, FD, when they claim they didn't hear you tell them to do - or not to do - something. :)

[stuartforrest]

Here is a picture of my daughter Lily in my 182 and she has flown a few times. She was two here but is a cerebral palsy sufferer and is very much like a 3-6 month old baby (not sure if this counts) and she liked it but the kids headset was still a bit big.

She predictably sleeps most of the way (after skillfully shuffling around to remove her headset.

Then again so does my wife and 7 year old. There is usually just me left to talk to myself and this happens even on a 1 hour flight. I must be really boring.

http://www.theforrests.co.uk/ebay/lily.JPG

[Flyin'Dutch']

SF,

Nice picture!

T,

Ah, you would think so but I have done a randomised control study!

I can confirm that the kids from the first batch (and therefore not exposed to aircraft noise from a young age) are now very much in their teenage years and don't listen at all!

I will report back when the second lot has come to the teenage era.

FD

[Thief13x]

I first flew in a plane when i was ten days old!:cool: my parents were in the process of moving from Detroit Michigan to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, and i got shipped via a 747:) Didn't fly again till i was 13, not because i didn't want to but because i never got the oppertunity. OC, up until 13 I was just dying to even visit an airport. I think that flight was a good thing, and flying your little baby might be too :\ :ok:

[M14P]

Just flew my six week old son today - he slept the whole time. I've flown regularly since I was ten days old.

Get the nipper in the aircraft and go for it!

[Squadgy]

Hi,

Want to take my 10 month old flying soon - recently bought a car seat which meets the CAA regs, but then realised that there is no diagonal belt in the back of the PA28, just a lap belt.
Don't really want to put my daughter in the front (with diagonal belt), as myself and Mrs Squadgy both have PPLs and want to share the workload, and in any case the car seat would obstruct the exit door.
Has anyone else come across this problem, and if so how did they get around it?:confused:

[Flyin'Dutch']

S,

When I bought the seat I made sure that it was useable with a tripoint belt as well with lapbelt only.

If it is new and you still have the packaging you can try to give it back as it does not do what you intended to buy it for.

FD

[Sultan Ismail]

Early days

Didn't break any records but my son was 30 days old when we flew from Heathrow to Geneva in a Swissair Caravelle (or was it a DC-9?).

The outstanding part was he travelled on his own passport, the people at Petty France were most impressed when I pitched up with an application and a photograph of a 7 day old child.

The passport photograph clearly shows my thumb sticking out from his left ear as I supported him in front of the camera.

By the time he was one year old he had flown in 707's to Johannesburg, 727's from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town and 172's between Cradock and Port Elizabeth.

In later years he worked for Swissair and jumpseated an MD-11 into Kai Tak. Lucky Bugger!

Start 'em young!

[M14P]

A few years back I acquired an airline-style extension seatbelt - can't remember how - and that was in use yesterday. I'm not convinced, however, that it's much good. Searching for an appropriate car seat.

[Squadgy]

Flyin Dutch

Have spent the last couple of weekends searching for a car seat like the one you describe, without any luck. Could you tell us what make your car seat is and where you got it from?? One dealer (Halfords), said that call BS compliant seats have to have a shoulder belt???

Cheers

Squadgy

[Flyin'Dutch']

S,

I bought it from a Halfords in the Netherlands.

It is a Romer King Isofix. They do have a four point harness (fixed to the child seat) but the seat itself can be attached with either a conventional seatbelt or a lapbelt only.

FD

Just got the paperwork out:

Romer King (with the umlaut points on the o but cannot find that on the keyboard)

www.britax-roemer.de

[Flyin'Dutch']

You can just type the link no need for the bits before and aft.

FD

[Flyin'Dutch']

Post the link and I will see if I can put it in

F

[BRL]

If you can wait a day or two, send it to me and I will host it and put it up here for you. I will not be able to do this until Tuesday as I am in France tomorrow very early until very late. Will not be untill Tuesday pm sometime.

[PH-UKU]

Thanks folks, I've worked it out now. Can't load images directly but need weblink which I will sort in the next few days when I can find my ftp software ......
:O

[Squadgy]

Cheers for the link Flyin Dutch. Checked the link out but it's suggesting that the shoulder belt is still required:confused:

Called Halfords (in the UK), who say they don't stock this seat and wouldn't import it. Have emailed britax roemer to see if they will sell direct.

Cheers for your help

[skydriller]

Baby skydriller is 2 years old and I intend to take him on his first aeroplane flight this summer. My problem is that Mrs SD HATES all forms of aerial transport, and will not go with us to check on the nipper. So my plan is to put him in his car seat in the back of the Robin with a close friend while I fly, or, get another member of the aeroclub to fly with us both in the back.....

However, if he likes it, I would eventually like to be able to fly with him by myself to visit grandparents for the day etc, but am not quite sure if its such a good idea to fly without someone else there to look after him in the back, because natually Ill be busy flying the aeroplane etc....What do you think? Anybody else done this?

Regards, SD..

[Kolibear]

M14P - Congratulations on the birth of your son - I hadn't heard. Hope everything is OK.

:ok: :O

[Flyin'Dutch']

SD,

The Robin is fantastic for that as with the wide range of CofG allowed I used to fly quite regularly with the nipper and the missus in the back.

Flying and driving are not dissimilar and crying nippers in the back can be a tad distracting. However if yours is as most are they will enjoy it for a bit and then go to sleep.

From 2 1/2 years onwards I took my nipper in the front. She loves it.

Have fun!

FD

PS See you are in Bordeaux. Hope to do some flying from Bergerac when we are there at the end of June.

[tmmorris]

Back to the original baby... I took him to Kemble on Tuesday and he was a bit nonplussed. Looked scared (not screaming, just a bit quiet) on the way there and had to sit on Mrs M's knee - much better there. Return journey better but I think I'll leave it a bit before taking him again.

Tim

[skydriller]

FD,

Thanks for that, makes me feel a bit better about the plan, 'cause just like his dad, baby SD likes all forms of transport we have tried so far, everything from airliners to tractors - Ive just been a bit apprehensive about taking him flying in a light aircraft myself.

Regards, SD

Oh, and if you should happen to visit LFDU in Medoc, be sure and ask for the Brit club member, Ill definitely swing by and say Hi etc... if Im not away for work...

[Flyin'Dutch']

if Im not away for work...

SD,

Let's rephrase that to: 'Your place of employment' You and I both know that dentists don't have to work for a living, unlike your poor relatives in the medical world!

Without digging out map no clue how far you are from Bergerac, however if it is not to far and there are some tasting places nearby I am sure that we could 'swing by' for a drink to the airfield and put faces to names.

FD

(You lucky so-and-so to be able to work and live in La douce and such a great area to top it all; :yuk: :yuk: envy and green)

[skydriller]

Well, I took my son for his first flight in a light aeroplane the other evening, and as I guessed, he absolutely loved it:ok:

I took him up in the back of a Robin DR400 strapped to his car seat, with a close friend along just in case of problems. Only 20 minutes, a quick flight over the house (which amazingly he recognised!!) and a flyby of the airfield to wave at Maman before landing, apon which screams of 'More, More More!!' were heard from the back!!:)

So, next thing is to have a longer flight, probably with another friend along, then its me & him on our lonesome!!

Thanks to all who gave advice earlier in the year,

Regards, SD..:ok:

[benhurr]

Took my children flying on Monday.

First time for my 3 year old who slept.

First time for my 5 year old who flew straight and level.

Second time for my 8 year old who did climbs/descents and steep turns (oops!)

As it is the summer holidays we had a day in Perranporth.

Tuesday, I was awoken with: "where are we going today dad?"

Aren't School Holidays great....?

[DX Wombat]

I'm not sure why you all get worried about taking a baby flying after all you wouldn't think twice about driving with him/her over a 3,000' mountain pass would you?

[DX Wombat]

SF I forgot to say that I think that photo is wonderful. I tried to show it to our physiotherapist who helps look after the developmental care of our premature babies but as we have only an extremely ancient NHS computer and an extremely efficient NHS firewall, it wouldn't show it :( I hope Lily is still enjoying her flying, she's a lucky little girl to have a dad who believes in treating her as normally as possible :ok:

[skydriller]

DX Wombat,

To me the difference between a car and a light aeroplane is that you dont generally need a headset in a car to combat noise and communicate, plus if there is a problem in a car you just pull over, stop and sort it, which is not so easy to do in a light aeroplane.....

.....which is why ( I have just found out!) it is not legal in France to fly in an aeroplane with a child under the age of 2 Years without another adult sat beside the child to supervise him/her. I dont think many mothers would think twice about driving down the road by themselves with their newborn offspring in the back of the car.

Just been flying again today with SD Junior and the father-in-law, about 45mins, next trip its me and the little-un by ourselves:D

Regards, SD..

[klausk]

Hi,

I've taken my bigger one (almost 3 at that time) twice into the plane. The first ride was a short 20min check to see the reaction. She refused to wear headphones, but otherwise enjoyed the trip and was "oooohing" and "aaaaahing" all the time and was happy to tell my wife what we did (ehhh, have I mentioned that my wife didn't know we were going flying?).

Cool, I said, so I took her again about a month later.

I guess my daughter wasn't in the mood that day and after about 20min of flying I noticed that she was quietly crying at the back.... :ugh: After that she refused to go into the plane. She wasn't scared but she told me that we had done "too many rides" when we landed.

My point is that if there is a success one time it doesn't mean you'll be able to get the kid into a plane succesfully every time.

I don't want to push her because I'm still hoping that she'll will find it interesting when she is a bit older. So far I wasn't lucky -- every time I invite her, she gives me a definitive "no, thanks". :{

Klaus

[LowNSlow]

On my last leave my 6-year old gave me a row for going flying when she was in school. I had to take her to the strip for 30mins of circuits. She is especially keen now that she has her own headsets (same as SF's wee lass).

[DX Wombat]

Sorry Skydriller, I was assuming (wrongly) that it was a matter of whether or not it was actually safe to take a baby up in an aircraft rather than a matter of adequate supervision.