Flying with kids- how young is too young?

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

take them one at a time... put the parent in the back with the kid.. and
don't put the kid behind you.. front seat with a little one cannot see over
the glare shield.. use a high wing airplane so he can see the ground under
the wing.. a 3yr old may need a "car" seat.

expect them to start crying for mommy at any second.. cars are not as noisy
on the inside as airplanes are.. and headsets don't fit the little ones very
well.. especially 3yr olds.

BT

"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.

Paul
I have flown children as young as three.
Several key items:
Take it easy in everything your do. An airline style smooth ride is your
best chance at success. Slow acceleration, slower climb out and decents
and the softest landing you can muster.
Explain everything before it happens!
Make sure there is a trusted adult on board. The child will definitely
take the lead from a trusted adult. If they are nervous then the child
will be nervous. If they are comfortable and having a good time then the
child will most likely enjoy the flight.

Take several test flights. Be prepared to make it a short flight. If the
child is not comfortable do not go or end the flight early. This
increases your chances of them going again. If you keep going and they
are not happy it could set a bad precedent for future flights.

Michelle

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.


--

Michelle P ATP-ASEL, CP-AMEL, and AMT-A&P

"Elisabeth" a Maule M-7-235B (no two are alike)

Volunteer Pilot, Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic

Volunteer Builder, Habitat for Humanity

My three kids fly all the time 5, 3 and 1. Mainly they get sleepy.


"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 took a friend, his wife, and their 5 year old son up last spring. The
kid sat in the back seat with his mom, and he loved it.

A fogbank cut the flight short, and I've been promising them a full length
sightseeing flight since. The kid's eager to go, but his mom is probably
going to bow out.

Aside from airsickness (I took extra bags!) I was most worried about the
kid chattering constantly over the intercom, because he talked non-stop on
the car ride out to the airport. I managed to impress the importance of
being quiet most of the time on him, though, and he was fine. Even asked
several times if it was OK to talk then...

(Along with 'no walking on the apron without holding an adult's hand',
because I could just picture him dashing off into another Cessna's
prop...)

I also took another friend & his 8 & 11 yr old kids up, and that was great
too. I've had more trouble from a few adult pax than the kids!

Brian.

Kids usually love to fly. It is their parents that cause all the trouble. I
also would go with putting the 3 year old in back with a parent and the five
year old in front. Do not let the 5 year old have the yoke, no matter how
tempting it seems. A 5 year old will like as not nose the thing over saying,
"I'm gonna crash this thing!" They are old enough to know the plane could
crash, but too young to understand that this might be a bad thing.

As far as headsets go, get some childrens' headsets if possible. If they
refuse to wear headsets it is unlikely that a short flight will cause any
significant hearing loss. The rock and roll they will listen to later will
cause much more damage.... The flight should last no longer than half an
hour. Fifteen minutes is probably better. They will quickly get bored after
that.

Small children have a tough time seeing out of any plane. Seat cushions are
all right for the 5 year old, but the three year old might be better off in
a car seat. Anyway, the novelty wears off real fast, so keep it very short.
It is far better to land with them begging for more than to have them come
away with the memory of a long, boring flight.

Once kids reach 10 or 11 they start to have a better understanding of time
and distance. They will then want to see their house, their school, their
day care, their friend's house, etc. A 5 year old will want to see all those
things, too, if you ask him, but he will be completely unable to see them
and just get frustrated.

I am particularly fortunate at Tacoma Narrows when I take kids flying. There
is a shipwreck about 10 miles south of the field. I fly out, show them the
shipwreck, and return. It is real easy to spot and they get a big kick out
of it. If you know of something way cool like that, by all means point it
out.

I have one rule that I make clear to all new passengers: If anyone, for any
reason, is not enjoying the flight, then we will return immediately.

"C J Campbell" wrote in message ...
Kids usually love to fly. It is their parents that cause all the trouble. I
also would go with putting the 3 year old in back with a parent and the five
year old in front. Do not let the 5 year old have the yoke, no matter how
tempting it seems. A 5 year old will like as not nose the thing over saying,
"I'm gonna crash this thing!" They are old enough to know the plane could
crash, but too young to understand that this might be a bad thing.

FWIW, we let my daughter handle the yoke starting at age 3 1/2.
She was warned not to touch anything without explicit permission,
to stop touching immediately when told, and that if she had
any trouble remembering that or following instructions Daddy
would pull her into the back seat poco pronto. So far she's
been very good.

She doesn't nose the plane over, but she does have a hard time
flying level. We must present what a friend calls a "walrus"
track on the radar ("Wandering Aimlessly Lost over Rural US").

Of course, that's not to say there aren't 5 yr olds who
might behave as you say, and adults who would be incapable
of controlling them. I've met 5 yr olds I don't want w/in
100 ft of my plane.

Frankly, if I have doubts about the behavior of any of my prospective
front-seat pax I don't go. I have confidence in my ability to
undo or overpower a 5 yr old, but 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.

Cheers,
Sydney

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.

"Paul Sengupta" wrote in message . ..
Pilots?

Former student pilots who had soloed and then quit. I just
got a "feeling" from them. And while I'm quite able and prepared
to backfist someone in the face and knock them out if that's what
the safety of flight requires of me, I'd strongly prefer to just
avoid situations which might require this.

S

"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.

Paul

Prior to taking my grand son up we did two things. First we went out
to airport and watched birds taking off and landing and he heard the
noise and saw what was happening.

We also played with his toy airplane and did all the things a boy does
with a toy airplane and emulated what he saw.

When we got airborne I sat him on my lap and let hem fly just like he
did with his toy airplane and me telling him what to do..

Loved the flight and didn't want to land. G

Big John


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.