George, you nailed several points about GA and families. While it is
certainly possible to involve the whole family in GA activities, in many
cases, it's hard to do. Like you said, when they are really small, they
fit
the W&B, but they are very needy and may actually not like it. When they
get
older, they have this way of getting big (and heavy) and I just can't
afford
a Cherokee Six, at least right now.

You need a Pathfinder, Trent. No W&B issues, ever, and a 1460 pound useful
load.

GA is awesome, but my opinion is that it isn't the ideal family activity.

Since April, as a family, we have flown to Florida, Seattle (commercial),
Washington, D.C., Mackinac Island, Door County, WI, Oshkosh, and the Ozarks,
with many other shorter trips in between.

With the exception of Florida and Seattle, NONE of these trips could have
been done without GA. Our time schedule and the ability to return on a
moment's notice make the airplane an absolute necessity, if we ever wish to
leave home at all.

Our children's lives would be dramatically diminished without GA, and every
time we're stuck driving somewhere they realize it. They have seen and
done things that none of their peers will ever experience, and the older
they get the more they realize how special their lives really are. The sad
thing is, people choose not to fly GA for many bogus reasons, ranging from
cost to "it's too hard." NONE of these reasons are valid, but we in the GA
world have done a terrible job of spreading the word to the non-flying
public.

Enjoy your boat, but don't label GA as being "family unfriendly" simply
because you haven't been able to make it work. Flying is one of the
greatest (and, for a change, useful) family activities there is.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"