Flying with small child?

[Ryan5252]

Quick question for those in the know. I am reaching the later stages of my PPL training and if all goes to plan should have my licence before the 'glorious summer weather'. I have a 4 year old boy who loves planes (kinda been forced on him!) and am excited to bring him flying. Im only starting to realise the implications of what could happen if I flew with him in a two seater plane with no one else to supervise while I fly. It has to be said he is very good for his age and quite mature but who knows what could happen in flight. I suppose it is not outside the realm of possibility he could attempt to play with controls, he could get air sick or any other number of unforeseen circumstances could arise. I would of course take a long time getting him used to the plane before flight; let him walk around it, touch it and sit in it. Then the flight itself would of course be short of no more than 15-20 minutes max.

What im wondering is if there is anything else I have not considered or if anyone has additional advice about flying with a small child for the first time?

Any advice, as always, is greatly appreciated.

Ryan

[austerwobbler]

I use a car booster seat so my lad could see out the side window a bit better,and not to much angle of bank in the turns untill he's comfortable , and maybe just a circuit first and see how he handles it !

Have a great time and "make it a great memory for both of you"
Austerwobbler

[RINKER]

Good question so heres my experience with my children.Forgive me I don't fly fixed wing but I think similar in many ways to rotary.My children started seeing the R44 up close from an early age as I used to land in our garden a lot. Although they were excited about it when I landed and shut everything down as my wife brought them over to the machine I was not that surprised I suppose to find my older girl aged 2 at the time was very cautious about the machine and would not even sit in it. So we didn't force the issue.My little boy only 1 at that time was not that bothered as you might expect. A year later when my girl was 3 I had it home again and this time asked if I would bring her flying,my little boy now 2 was very interested but like his big sis the year before would not go too near let alone sit in it. So I popped her car seat in the back diagonally behind me ( I sometimes find some peoples first flight in a heli because of the bubble window to the floor in the front can feel a bit exposed ), fitted her headset ( which incedentally we practised with standard earmuffs at home as a game a lot to get them used to the idea ) After a chat over the intercom at which she was very excited with I started and lifted into a hover and she was very happy and then gently away for a truly memorable flight which she loved.A year later you guessed it my boy now 3 wanted to come up so ,this time with the two children in the back and my wife in the front we went for our first full family flight and it was wonderful to hear my little girl now 4 of course telling her little brother all about what to expect !.
So I would say bring him flying when you feel confident and wait until he is ready too.

R

[Gertrude the Wombat]

My experience, which is not rare, is that the children spend most of the flight asleep.

[Fly-by-Wife]

I first took my eldest flying when he was 6 (and a half).

I agree with the booster seat and would also make a few other points:

• Find out how sick bags open and seal before you leave the ground (wasn't a problem for him, fortunately)
• Ensure that he goes to the loo just before take off (halfway back from IOW @ 3000' - "I need a wee"...)
• Fly a few circuits before departing on a long leg to see how he reacts to the various phases of flight.
• Ensure that he is supervised on the ground while you are doing your pre-flight.

I also explained what we were doing / going to do and ensured that he understood that I would sometimes need him to be totally quiet so that I could use the radio - we had a signal for that.

He was actually very helpful, holding PLOG (and filling it in), maps, water etc.!!

Enjoy the experience.

FBW

[DX Wombat]

If you are really worried that he might accidentally touch the controls why not make sure the seat is as far back as it is possible to get it? Better still, if you are flying in a 4 seat aircraft put him in the back with his mum, granny, or grandad etc.

[mad_jock]

Or get him to hold the controls and try and not get pissed off when he is better than you.

To be honest I think it will be a minor miracle if he is awake after the power checks aged 4.

[Pilot DAR]

My experience, which is not rare, is that the children spend most of the flight asleep.

And your experience really shows well if the children sleep through your landing too!

My daughter delights in the following:

Family :: Mr. Bear flies! video by PilotDAR - Photobucket

[IFMU]

I took my oldest for the first time when he was 5, and my youngest when he was 6. My older boy was more nervous about things in general. We spent a lot of time just sitting in the aircraft (Cessna 140). I never suggested we go flying, just talked it up and waited until he asked me to go. First flight was 40 minutes, I was ready to make it shorter if there was any sign that he was not 100% into it. My second son is on the autistic spectrum, though very high functioning. His first trip consisted of a single trip around the circuit. Just wanted to see how he would do. Transitioned both kids to fly in the glider with me. They both like it a bunch.

The booster seat is critical. I have flown many kids, if they can see out to the front, they will look out. Otherwise they look inside and that can be bad.

At a young age scare then once, or some other bad experience, and they are done. Make your objective not to maximize flying now, but to maximize flying later. Now is introduction/brainwashing. Despite your desire to share flight with your kids, these flights should be biased around them, not around you.

My absolute best flights have been when I take my kids. It is a joy.

-- IFMU

[RatherBeFlying]

The master RBF first flew when he was two. The car seat secured him well enough, but I noticed on taxi that he would reach out to the yoke which was all the way back at the time. He was told not to touch without asking first and that worked out fine. He also had ear muffs.

His difficulty was crosswind landings when he could get sick in the flare -- that's not a time when you have enough hands; so, bring the normal small children items for cleanup and extra clothes

Somewhat later he took fright when approaching overwater. Your own children will have their own particularities and there will be times flying the a/c takes priority over placating the little ones

[trex450]

just beware very young children in the front in a car seat, they may try to fly with their feet, not too dangerous in the cruise (it will lead to strange looks around when you are drifting along thinking they are asleep and the aircraft performs an unexplained "nod") but obviously something to be aware of on the approach. They will love flying providing they stay awake, as a rule of thumb airsickness is not an issue under four The best thing about flying children in private aircraft is that they can have a go at flying, they are very good at it especially considering they are usually on instruments only due to height. Make sure that they have a headset though as over the years I have had experienced children who would not let go of the controls until they have had an explanation as to why it is important. Also of course it means they can feel even more part of the experience. Don't let their age put you off doing taking them flying but just make sure that you are comfortable with it to start with.

[jxc]

my kids love it 15, 8, & 6month just gentle climbs and turns for the 6month old one

[penguin-uk]

I took mine for her first flight the other day (since she was born anyway) at 4 months old - only a 30 min flight either way to start off. No problem at all and fell asleep just after takeoff and didn't wake up again until the car seat was being taken back out of the plane. Nice to know that she can now go and she her Nanny regularly who lives 5 mins from an airfield

[CessnaCJM]

Also remember that on on a longish flight they can lose interest in the if they are in the back very quickly - PSP3 seems to be the rage at the moment

[FlyingOfficerKite]

We used to strap our daughter into a car child seat and then into the aircraft using the seat belt - and ensured that she wore ear defenders.

We had a number of enjoyable days out and found that she more often than not fell asleep, but was never ill.

Flights were limited to around an hour.

Flew to Cark and visited Holker Hall - the man on the gate looked sideways as we pushed the buggy (with no car) - particularly when we said we had come from Manchester!

Flew to Wellesbourne and had a good day in Stratford.

Flew to Skegness for a fly-in (that won't happen again).

Flew to Caernarfon for the day.

All good fun.

KR

FOK

[S-Works]

Just make sure the window is big enough, you don't want to be battling against the airstream......

[Heliplane]

I still have not taken my eldest up yet (he's 2yrs 8 months) but when I do, I'll strap his car seat into the aircraft (I have done this some time ago with someone else's child and it worked very well).

I'll also make sure he has a properly fitting headset.

I'm planning to teach him to walk behind other aircraft on the ground (not too many pusher props around fortunately) and, an idea from a previous post, offer £1 for every aircraft spotted in the air!

In the meantime, he's enjoyed sitting in the plane and playing with the controls.

[BackPacker]

just gentle climbs and turns for the 6month old one

If you fly long-distance at a reasonable altitude, make sure you plan your descent well ahead, and really gradual. Small children cannot be explained how to "pop" their ears and this can be very painful, especially with a cold.

Initially I would plan on significantly less than 500 feet/min, and see how that goes.

[MichaelJP59]

Thought about taking mine (boy age 6) - though I reckon a factor is are they old enough to get out themselves after a forced landing. Or does no-one worry about that?

We all decide to take the risk of GA, most of us SEP in uncontrolled airspace (which is sometimes compared in level of risk to motorcycling) but should we decide for someone else who is too young to decide? I haven't made up my mind either way yet but wondered if anyone else had thought about it.

[fireflybob]

Recall my dad taking me up in the Chipmunk when I was about 7 years old circa late 50s - we also did a loop and a stall turn! Little did he know what he was starting!