tomboo

I have 4 month old boy, when is a good time to introduce him to the high life?

I assume I just put the car seat in the plane next to the wife!!??

India Four Two

tomboo,

You're a month late. Took my daughter in a 172 at three months. Car seat strapped in the back (in an age where people looked at you funnily if you had a car seat for your kids). She slept the whole way and then dozed most of the day at our destination gliding field, where the wind rocked the wings.

gaxan

I flew my daughter aged three months ina Pa 28, Henlow to Huddersfield slept all the way! Some years later, aged 5 flew her in the Queen Bee for a quick circuit at Woburn - fell asleep again !!

gemma10

And dont forget the sticker on the rear or side window.

PompeyPaul

I didn't want to take my son flying until he could safely open the door and exit the plane himself. I was thinking 4 or 5 years old. 3 months?!?

HPMan

My youngest first flew when he was 8 weeks old. He was strapped in to his car seat in the rear of a PA28, sat next to my wife. With ear protection on and the engine started he was almost immediately asleep.

The only problem now is getting him out of aircraft ....

ChickenHouse

Took our youngest up flying when he was six weeks, but we had a FAA approved kids seat and a special helmet-ANR-construction from my best half life as a helicopter paramedics.

Chase_BHX

On a recent course met a balloon pilot who did the ballon inflation in the hospital car park and flew their offspring home.

Chris

abgd

I'm with PompeyPaul on this:

flying is about as dangerous as motorcycling and I wouldn't fly with my son unless

a) I was a lot more experienced and had to fly for some reason e.g. a farmer with a cub and a vast remote farm in Kenya whom I know of or

b) he was old enough to really enjoy it, and ideally to look after himself to some extent in case of an accident. And ideally with his mother.

I keep thinking of Neil Williams (the aerobatic pilot) who wiped out his whole family flying an IMC approach. Perhaps it's maudlin but I prefer flying by myself or with some rather lonely middle-aged friends whom I like very much but who have no close ties.

The contentedness I currently feel as a father and partner was very hard-won. It isn't an easy thing to find in life. I'm sure my partner feels that way about my son and myself also. I've met parents who've accidentally killed their children and it's not something I want to put myself, my son or my partner through.

I remember one of the paragliding magazines had a photo of a man taking his 6 month old flying in a tummy harness. One of the responses in the article consisted of the single word, 'why?'

YODI

I have 2 daughters, 6 and 8.

Last year My eldest flew with me and a friend in an EC120 but we agreed with the wife years ago we wouldn't all get in a PA28 with me flying and all of us in it at the same time.

PA28181

Took my kids once, never again, the flight had a different feel to it. One I didn't like, so never did it again.

Fishtailed

I'll bet the last three posters take the familly out in the car without worrying.
5 POB to the Isle of Man in a 172 was a grand day out.

F4TCT

The first time my daughter flew was when infact she was a fetus at around 9 weeks.

However she and the partner also went up with me for my CPL cross country flights (when she was around 15 months old). Strapped her in her car seat and then put the lap belt over the entire seat in the PA28. Worked really well..



Dan

Jan Olieslagers

Could you share details please? What child's seat and which ANR headset concoction?

For the rest it strikes me that many report what they did and how well it went, but as yet I saw no report of anything going wrong, and how. Yet there must be such stories. I would (emotionally) love to take my grandsons up but feel (brainwise) very hesitant.

abgd

Actually no - I don't have a car. Anyway, a better comparison would be whether you'd take your kids out on the back of your motorbike - the risks are roughly comparable i.e. an order of magnitude greater than driving. And why shouldn't I worry about driving anyway - he's more likely to die in a car accident than for any other reason.

I did take my little boy in the plane on Sunday. We taxied around the apron and he took care of the yoke entirely by himself. He didn't realise I was actually steering with the foot pedals and I suspect he might actually think we went flying - he's too short to see out of the window after all. He thought it was fantastic.

I will take him up at some point "Daddy take me in aeroplane! Take off! Fly!" but after he's big enough to see out of the window, for a start.

funfly

I don't actually see the point of it anyway.

Why ever would you want to take a small baby up for a joyride in a GA aircraft.

Fishtailed

abgd,
The problem with taking one of the lads on the bike was just that, only one at once, ( which I did, like my dad did with me), in the plane we could have a day out as a family. You're right about steering while taxying, the one in the RHS always thought he was doing it, great fun.

EDMJ

While I can echo some your sentiments, I think you are getting carried away a bit with this statement. Neil Williams flew a CASA 2.111 into a mountain in IMC, with his wife and two other passengers (not family) on board. Not quite the same, I think?

I can't really see the point in bringing children along in small aircraft who are so young that they don't realise what is going on. It's noisy (or an unfamiliar headset has to be worn), can be bumpy and in many aircraft they would be struggling to be able to look out the window.

Another issue is the seat belts. I've lost count of how many times I've seen children being placed in the right seat in a Cessna with no booster cushion or anything, and the shoulder belt strapped right across their throat, ready to kill them in an accident. Nobody would think of transporting their child in a car with such a seat belt.

JOSHUA

Possibly because it would leave them with one of their fondest ever childhood memories, as happened to me when my now deceased grandfather took me with him in a c172 when I was 6years old - it was my first ever flying experience and I remember it fondly.

I took my 4yr old daughter flying for the first time a few weeks ago, she now wants to fly with me every time I go!

I'm aware of the risks (I fly for a living), but I take calculated risk, which to be fair is what we all do as we go about our everyday lives. I want my children to share in my own great life experiences.

I must admit though, I haven't taken my younger son flying yet, mainly because he is still far less independent than my daughter and additionally is still not of an age where he easily takes instruction ie keep quiet whilst on the rt. distraction management is definitely very important if you're to fly with young children on board.

JOSHUA

Have just reread the quote - and actually small baby is quite different to small child. I wouldn't take a small baby unless another adult was on board and we had good reason to be going somewhere