Flying with a baby

"netnews.mchsi.com" wrote:

There would be four adults in a cherokee so I suppose
mom would have to hold him on her lap.

Hmmm... As a fellow pilot who often flies with young children and babies,
I would be very concerned about this particular scenario and recommend
strongly against it for at least a few reasons.

Ignoring the obvious safety during a crash issue for a moment, there is
also the more common issue of unexpected turbulence.

Two weeks ago, while flying VFR in clear skies to an airport just north of
Denver International Airport (in the flatlands of Colorado), I hit a single
downdraft that sent my box of charts resting on the passenger seat up about
two feet and down to the floor. My father, who had been sitting in the
back seat of the Bonanza with his lap belt too loose, actually hit his head
on the ceiling of the aircraft.

I shudder to think what would have happened had a baby been in someone's
arms at that moment.



--
Peter


















----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

Peter R. wrote:

"netnews.mchsi.com" wrote:


There would be four adults in a cherokee so I suppose
mom would have to hold him on her lap.


Hmmm... As a fellow pilot who often flies with young children and babies,
I would be very concerned about this particular scenario and recommend
strongly against it for at least a few reasons.

Ignoring the obvious safety during a crash issue for a moment, there is
also the more common issue of unexpected turbulence.

Two weeks ago, while flying VFR in clear skies to an airport just north of
Denver International Airport (in the flatlands of Colorado), I hit a single
downdraft that sent my box of charts resting on the passenger seat up about
two feet and down to the floor. My father, who had been sitting in the
back seat of the Bonanza with his lap belt too loose, actually hit his head
on the ceiling of the aircraft.

I shudder to think what would have happened had a baby been in someone's
arms at that moment.

Yes, that is a good point that I didn't address in my post. I was
thinking physiological issues, but I definitely would have the baby in a
good car seat. I never flew with my kids without a car seat when there
were young. Actually, that is one reason I sold my Skylane when my
third child was born. There simply wasn't room for three kids. and
anything else. I tried to get the baggage area seat and actually bought
one from a fellow poster here, but it wasn't complete (had no mounting
hardware) and I couldn't find that so I never got the seat installed.


Matt