Flying with kids- how young is too young?

Pilots?

Paul

"Snowbird" wrote in message
I've un-invited a couple of
large adult males when I got the sense that they thought they
knew more about flying than they did, and that they might not
be willing to accept me as pilot-in-command and the ultimate
arbiter of 'what goes' on the flight.

$10 ear defenders (mentioned in another post) vs. $400 Lightspeeds.
She's starting this expensive taste thing young...

Paul

"Snowbird" wrote in message
om...
My 3 yo daughter wears Lightspeed 20Ks.

"Paul Sengupta" wrote in message . ..
$10 ear defenders (mentioned in another post) vs. $400 Lightspeeds.
She's starting this expensive taste thing young...

Could be. I'm not sure what "ear defenders" are, exactly, but
if they're foam ear plugs, standard adult size plugs are too
big for little ears, and if you've ever worn ear plugs for extended
periods you know that if they're not a decent fit and installed
just right they can be painful.

So we don't use ear plugs.

We did, when she was an infant and slept most of the time, use
hearing protectors sold for hearing protection on the firing range,
but now that she's older, there's a big advantage for all in having
her able to communicate with us and also to listen to music.

So it's $200 Lightspeeds vs $50 headsets. Expensive taste young
might still apply.

Cheers,
Sydney

In article , Snowbird
wrote:

"Paul Sengupta" wrote in message
. ..
$10 ear defenders (mentioned in another post) vs. $400 Lightspeeds.
She's starting this expensive taste thing young...

Could be. I'm not sure what "ear defenders" are, exactly, but
if they're foam ear plugs, standard adult size plugs are too
big for little ears, and if you've ever worn ear plugs for extended
periods you know that if they're not a decent fit and installed
just right they can be painful.

Sydney, the trick with foam earplugs is to cut them in half, lengthwise.
They are then small enough to fit in children's ears.

On Tue, 27 Jan 2004 23:39:55 -0800 "MRQB" wrote:

if you did that ware i fly out of your kids teeth would be rotten to many
airplanes (ohh mabye sugar free would work)


It's not a problem. We just make sure to be vigilant with the
toothbrush.

R. Hubbell



"R.Hubbell" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 28 Jan 2004 03:13:10 GMT Paul Folbrecht
wrote:

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.



As always it depends on the kids. Plan a short trip the first time to
get an idea if they like it or not. When I hear "Weeeeeee!!!" on steep
short final I take that as a sign they like it a lot! I also give out
a dollar or lollipop or candy bar to every plane spotted while we're
flying. Kids have great eyes! Especially with a sweet incentive.

I treat it like going for a ride in a car. The trickiest part is
walking the ramp with them.



R. Hubbell

"Snowbird" wrote in message
om...
Could be. I'm not sure what "ear defenders" are

Like a headset but without the electric bits.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?P2EB31E37
http://www.transair.co.uk/jepdoubles...ardefs_big.htm

We did, when she was an infant and slept most of the time, use
hearing protectors sold for hearing protection on the firing range,

Those sort of things.

but now that she's older, there's a big advantage for all in having
her able to communicate with us and also to listen to music.

Ah...

So it's $200 Lightspeeds vs $50 headsets. Expensive taste young
might still apply.

:-)

Paul

Never too young. The younger the better. That way they won't develop a
fear of it. My daughter flew from pre-birth on.
--
Gene Seibel
Hangar 131 - http://pad39a.com/gene/plane.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.



Paul Folbrecht wrote in message ink.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.

We take our daughter (4) and son (2) for long x-country flights.
Initialy there was a problem 2 hours into the flight but now we have a
portable DVD. Amazing nothing is heard on the intercom except the
movie sound track. They both go on the back in their car seats and
have headsets to listen to the DVD.

Before we moved a month ago, I was determined to give my kids (8, 5,
and 4) a ride, so they could see their house from the air. (I haven't
flown in a few years, and they were starting to doubt that Daddy
really was a pilot, I think.) So for my birthday I got myself a BFR
and a checkout in a DA-20 Katana. Plenty of visibility for a kid in
the right seat.

We went out to the airport on a cold, cloudy, and calm day. Took them
up one at a time for a short local flight. All of them had a great
time. Mom was a super sport hanging out in the FBO with the
non-flying kids and the baby.

I let the 8-yr-old have the stick for a short time (with my hand
hovering a millimeter away). This is the kid who kicks MS Flight Sim
up to 64x and flies around the Grand Canyon pretending to be a Star
Wars podracer. When I told him to turn left, he whipped us into a
near-horizontal bank of maybe two degrees. :-D. Something about the
Real Thing got him real serious, and real cautious. But golly, they
all had a good time. Not as much fun as me, of course, getting to
watch them.

Paul Folbrecht wrote in message ink.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).

"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).


My six year old thinks flying is boring. He can read the flight clock,
and on local trips when it says more than 1/2 hour he starts to
complain. Near as I can tell he's decided that 1/2 hour is the correct
amount.

Of course when we actually fly somewhere he's better. Then he reads the
GPS ETA window and tells me how much longer we'll be in the air.

One trick is to let him talk on the radio. He requests clearences, demands
emergency action, and I think has even talked to fighter pilots.
Luckily the transmit button is in my hand, and I sometimes forget to
push it. :-) It was an unfortunate day when he discovered this.

Also, he likes to play with flashlights, even in daylight. Gameboys
work well too.

I would not worry. Three year olds will be fine. They believe everything
is safe as long as a parent is watching.