Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
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By timjenner
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1639674
Haven't tried a booster seat yet so perhaps they'll be fine. Would just feel more comfortable with something a bit more substantial to be honest - but then, my 4 year old looks vulnerable to me in a booster seat in a car too!
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By A le Ron
#1639705
Babelius in a Mothercare car seat in the Twin Comanche, aged three weeks
Image

Babelius in her Baby Banz ear defenders, on her way to Italy, aged six months


Babelius in a life jacket in the car seat in a Cessna 172 (another trip to Italy)
By johnm
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1639718
Joshcrane wrote:Hi

I’ve searched the forums but can’t seem to come across anything close to the answer I’m looking for. Basically I’m planning on taking my 6 month old son up soon but the PA28 I fly only has lap belts in the back. Is this the only way to fit the car seat and is it safe ? Let me know what you guys do.

Cheers

Since my grandson was 6 months old he's flown in the back of the TB 20 sitting on the raft secured with a lapstrap and proudly sporting his "ear fenders" and buoyancy jacket. Mind you he could walk at 9 months and he's a big lad.
By flyingphil
#1640107
Interesting thread.

I've taken both my children flying (8 and 5) and everything has been fine. One of the big issues for me is what happens if it all goes wrong and I end up messing up a forced landing, plane flips, there's a fire etc etc. Hopefully would never happen but it's a real possibility if you climb into an aircraft. With the 6 month old on board it's not just yourself that you need to extract from the burning wreck but also a baby in a car seat who absolutely can not do anything for themselves.
I'll continue to fly my kids but it's paramount for me that they understand and will do exactly what I say if things go wrong. I'm only just getting to the stage where I can trust them to do that.

Each to their own of course but I don't think I could take a 6 month old flying.
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By gfry
#1640135
flyingphil wrote:Interesting thread.

I've taken both my children flying (8 and 5) and everything has been fine. One of the big issues for me is what happens if it all goes wrong and I end up messing up a forced landing, plane flips, there's a fire etc etc. Hopefully would never happen but it's a real possibility if you climb into an aircraft. With the 6 month old on board it's not just yourself that you need to extract from the burning wreck but also a baby in a car seat who absolutely can not do anything for themselves.
I'll continue to fly my kids but it's paramount for me that they understand and will do exactly what I say if things go wrong. I'm only just getting to the stage where I can trust them to do that.

Each to their own of course but I don't think I could take a 6 month old flying.


To be honest you are only more worried because they are your children (I have the same thoughts when flying my kids), however the reality is the worry is or should be the same for all passengers as you cannot assume that anyone will behave exactly as you want in an incident and you cannot assume that everyone will be able to help themselves in the event of an incident.
By flyingphil
#1640139
Understood, but there's a whole additional layer of 'kid stuff' to deal with when flying them.

When I take my adult friends flying things are different. I know them as friends and generally know how they'll react in a stressful situation. There's always the possibility for surprises of course but if I tell them not to do A or not to do B and give them a reason then there's a 90% chance they'll follow those instructions.

With a child in an emergency you have the additional issues of them just being a child and not having the ability to understand or react as you may want, or even worse, just being naughty and doing exactly the opposite.

I've never seen this happen though, every child I've flown (not just my own) has behaved perfectly (sometimes better than the adults) and so maybe I'm overthinking it all. My original point was that the baby in a car seat is a bit of an additional liaibility in an accident (although no more than they would be in a car accident I guess).
By Maxthelion
#1640148
I recently flew both my children (aged 4 and 2) for the first time. I waited until then for two reasons - 1. I'm a lifetime tinnitus sufferer and i wasn't about to expose my children to aircraft cabin noise until I was sure I could protect their ears with a headset that wouldn't fall off. 2. I waited until they were both begging me to take them flying, as I didn't want to be that pilot dad who forces flying upon his kids.

There is no way I would take either a baby or a dog with me in a loud aircraft without ear protection. Something that can't talk can't tell you about the damage you've done. I'm not saying every ear will be damaged, but you'll have no way of knowing.
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By imperialsam
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1640205
My wife won’t let me take my 5 and 3 year olds flying, on the grounds that it’s an unnecessary risk to their safety for something they will get little benefit from at their age. Though I guess you could say the same about every car journey that is not strictly necessary.

Maxthelion wrote:I waited until they were both begging me to take them flying, as I didn't want to be that pilot dad who forces flying upon his kids.


This is my plan too. So far they are content with sitting in the front seats with the aeroplane in the hangar and ‘driving’ (gently) with the yoke.
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By PeteSpencer
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#1640206
imperialsam wrote:My wife won’t let me take my 5 and 3 year olds flying, on the grounds that it’s an unnecessary risk to their safety for something they will get little benefit from at their age. Though I guess you could say the same about every car journey that is not strictly necessary.

Maxthelion wrote:I waited until they were both begging me to take them flying, as I didn't want to be that pilot dad who forces flying upon his kids.


This is my plan too. So far they are content with sitting in the front seats with the aeroplane in the hangar and ‘driving’ (gently) with the yoke.


ISTR seeing somewhere ages ago that the risk of injury or worse in GA equates broadly to that of motor cycling.

You don't see many babes in arms on motorbikes....

I think your wife has a point.

Peter
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By skydriller
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#1640260
I see this equation Risk: Flying = Motorcycling coming up quite alot, yet somehow to me it doesnt quite equate correctly.

The big difference I think is that in Flying, the risk to you from other people's Eff-Ups is miniscule. On a Motorbike it is quite hefty - Ive seen someone else knock a guy off of a bike, and it was obvious the guy on the bike was innocent. The number of times I am on a roundabout and do NOT see a driver look at me approaching and they pull out in front of me such that if i didnt brake there would be a collision, is around 1 in 3 - and thats me in a large car, I dont ride a bike.

What Im saying is, in Flying the person most likely to be Effing-Up is me, the Pilot. My behaviour and performance are the most likely cause of any accident, so its me that needs to be on my game in the decisions I make. Mrs Jones with 2 kids screaming and fighting in the back of the car on the school run dont come into it.

Regards, SD..

PS: Having said that... I have actually seen a mid air collision... but then as this was Mig 29s at an airshow its not a scenario Im likely to be involved in any time soon... :mrgreen:
By Maxthelion
#1640292
I agree completely. I am a subscriber to the belief that motorcycling and flying present a roughly equal chance of death, and that far more of that risk is under the pilot's control than it is under the rider's. That is why I have and use an EC device. I generally (but not always, due to aeros) take a service, and I try to maintain a decent lookout. When flying aeros I'll frequently inform the local LARS unit what I'm up to so they can steer people around me. I abhor being low and slow at the same time, and although Itake on some risks that other pilots may not, I'm choosy about those risks. I guess what I'm saying is that I try my best to enjoy my flying whilst managing the risks involved in order to minimise the chances of coming a cropper due to bad luck or my own mis-handling.
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By imperialsam
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#1640306
I don't know whether they are statistically equivalent or not, but I find that motorcycling is a useful comparison to make when you want to explain to passengers that GA flying is not without risk, whilst not terrifying them so much that they spend the whole flight worrying about all the things that could go wrong.

I ride motorcycles too (well, a 125cc scooter), and my wife won't let me take the kids on that either :wink:
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