Flying with kids- how young is too young?

"Paul Folbrecht" wrote in message
nk.net...
I have a friend who really wants me to take he & his two boys up- they
are 3 & 5. I am worried about them "freaking out"- especially the
little one. They have never flown before (commercially or otherwise).

Of course they need to be in back of the 172, which would make it
difficult for my friend to reassure them, etc.

I'm especially concerned about the younger one for the obvious reason
that 3 is pretty young. To the folks that have a lot of experience
taking up little kids- what are the rough odds that he'll be just fine
vs. having a cow? I need to decide if I should suggest that this isn't
a great idea or not. TIA.


I've talked to half a dozen people lately about flying with the kids.
Cherish F. has a four month old that she put in the back seat at three
weeks. Mike M. took his pregnant wife up and the baby right after it was
born. Richard M. had no problem with his boys when they were
toddlers --sometimes they were sound asleep before he could get the engine
started. Dr. Marcia M. (pediatrician) says to take it easy gaining or giving
up altitude so the kids can clear their ears. That is less than 500 FPM. She
said the kids are better at doing that than adults. She also recommended
something to suck on -- includng pacifiers and candy. Breast feeding would
be even better.
One crusty old geezer around here said it is important to tell the
newbie kids what to expect BEFORE you do it, including the takeoff noise,
pitch-up and so forth. He also suggested to NOT stick kids in the back seat
by themselves for the first couple of trips.
With that in mind it sounds like maybe a good idea to put one in the
front and then you get in the back with the other for a couple of trips, evn
short ones around the patch.
In short, it is a great idea. Paul F. got his PPASEL certificate in
1976 following in the propwash of his dad. Paul never hesitated taking his
kids flying with him. Now, five of his eight children has private pilots
certificates and they take their kids along. Well, three of them... the
other two aren't married yet.
On the other hand, I have a ten-year-old granddaughter that won't even
drive to the airport with me. But then, she won't ride a roller-coaster
either.

In article , Casey Wilson
wrote:

She also recommended something to suck on -- includng pacifiers
and candy. Breast feeding would be even better.

Yes, but then I wouldn't be able to see where I was going! :-))

The best advice I was given when my children were young, was to wait
until they were old enough to understand and follow directions.

Okay... we all know how difficult it is to get kids to do both at the
same time, but one or the other will suffice.

Both my kids had their first rides when they were between 2 and 3 years
of age. My son got his ride in a booster seat of a Champ. He wore a
DC10-13Y headset (and actually kept it on!) plugged into the portable
intercom.

My daughter got her ride in the backseat of a Beech Sundowner while
transporting my wife to be with her mother following my father in law's
death. The kids then rode home in the back seat while I flew. Each was
given a grease pencil and happily drew on the rear windows, which
occupied them during the hour and a half flight home.

After that trip, each time we drove past the airport, my daughter would
ask, "Daddy, are we going flying now?"

Now, when we go on trips, all they want to do is play their GameBoy's.
The one item that got their faces pressed up against the windows was
the flight along the Chicago lakeshore to and from Oshkosh last summer.