[Joshcrane]

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

[NDB_hold]

That’s what I did...

[PeteSpencer]

So long as the seat has its own belts to secure the child, it's OK.

Better still if the seats have a decent 'tilt' facility.

Peter

[dangerous pete]

I Personally wouldn't subject a baby or small child (or animal ) to the sound levels in a PA 28 or any other small aircraft. You could be doing all sorts of damage to their ears. You of course wil be wearing a sound deadening (maybe ANR) headset. There is no way of providing a quiet environment for a baby.

[gfry]

I have taken all my kids flying since they were younger than 6 months. It never done them any harm. Sometimes they would wear kids peltor headsets sometimes they would not. Before I took my first child flying, I had a chat with my AME to get their opinion....they didn't see any medical reason as to why I should not.

[Joshcrane]

A set of these below coupled with baby ear plugs, with Mum in the back ensuring they stay in position, he should be grand.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01FR0R78U/ ... 1771991688

[Lefty]

Ensure the car seat is facing backwards
Use the fitted lap strap to restrain the car seat from forward movement
Buy a couple of additional luggage straps fro Halfords and use these to secure the car seat from upwards, backwards and side - side movement. Tension it under - and behind the aircraft seat.

Basically, get the seat as tight as you can - so that it can’t move in any direction.
You can put some cotton wool inside a babies bonnet to reduce the noise.
My son was flying 5 hour trips from age 4 weeks.

[jerry_atrick]

I had a quick look on the CAA website and didn't yield anything, but CASA (Australian CAA) have a rule requiring car seats to meet EU safety standards (see section 10): https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=2ahUKEwj7zpSs6MzdAhUlBMAKHTUVBUEQFjACegQICBAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.casa.gov.au%2Ffile%2F104866%2Fdownload%3Ftoken%3DUTchjlft&usg=AOvVaw1bgLenqEnmqqmpEnDHCeWw

[Danskora]

Maxi-cosi car seat all the way to Quiberon stopping in Cherbourg when my daughter was one, the rear lap belt was exactly the right size.
I have some great pics her looking out of the window wearing an A20 Headset.

[timjenner]

There are car seats certified for use on aircraft by the FAA. I used a rear facing Maxicosi which had that certification and worked with the lap belt, along with kids Peltor ear defenders. I did need to use a folded blanket to pack the gap between the car seat and the aircraft to make sure the belt was tight. Mum in the back, daughter promptly went to sleep!

[RisePilot]

Both of my sons have been flying in helicopters since 3months old. I can confirm that a Maxicosi car seat is a perfect fit in the back seats of a R44. We put the Bose headsets on them (with mics tilted up), but sometimes they took them off - neither child has gone deaf.

[timjenner]

My daughter is now 4 and about to out-grow her current lap belt & aircraft approved car seat (for the OP, works from 9 months and well recommended when you reach that stage: https://www.britax-roemer.co.uk/car-sea ... /1070.html). The next size of seat up are basically just boosters so the child can use the car's 3 point seat belt and I can't find any which are either aircraft approved or which work with a lap belt.

Anyone have any suggestions? By this age they are just meant to use the normal aircraft seat belt on airliners, but I'd feel a lot more comfortable with something better in the back of an AA5.

Cheers,
Tim

[NDB_hold]

Why don’t the booster seats work? I’ve used those for years (even 10yo still likes one so she can see).

[Flyin'Dutch']

Another vote for the Britax Roemer as it allows use with both a three point seat belt as those cars/aeroplanes which have just a lap strap.

What I did when we were in the market for this have a look at the cars and aeroplanes where the seat was going to be used and then go to one of the shops which supplies these seats and see which one will fit.

We used kid size head sets which almost invariably would come off at some point - I can confirm that these kids now don't listen to us, but whether that is because they cannot hear, I am not sure!

[rikur_]

Why don’t the booster seats work? I’ve used those for years (even 10yo still likes one so she can see).

I convinced myself that
Our kids have been flying since age of 3 with booster seats (so they can see out better), or just the normal seats (e.g. in the Firefly where visibility is fine anyway, but booster seat would impair control movement).
If I understood correctly, most of the structure of larger child seats is to (a) make the diagonal belt fit better across a child; (b) provide side impact protection (i.e. reduce sideways head movement in the event of a side impact. If there is no diagonal belt then point a is irrelevant, and side impacts in aircraft are not the main threat.