Babies on Board...

AirBaker

AirBaker

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AirBaker
I was thinking of doing a flight out to Catalina with a friend and his 18 month old son. Anyone have any experience with really young kids on board? I was thinking some earplugs would be sufficient for the noise reduction.

Any thoughts?
 
All of mine have been flying since before birth. Cut down some expandable foam plugs. They'll fall asleep during taxi and wake up when the engine shuts off. No problem, mon.
 
Chris, I suggest you speak to a pediatrician directly or perhaps e-mail Dr Chien.

I know nothing of flight physiology for babies but I would think there are enough potential risks to warrant speaking directly with an MD.
 
AirBaker said:
Anyone have any experience with really young kids on board?
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I had my kids wear shooters' earmuffs when they were very small (2 - 4 yrs old or so). They sat in the back of the Archer we rented and enjoyed it a lot. Both are pilots now.

That's my experience:D
 
Richard said:
Chris, I suggest you speak to a pediatrician directly or perhaps e-mail Dr Chien.
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Most pediatricians are clueless about flying and so they make up an answer that sounds good. At least, that's what the pediatrician who used to live across the street from me told me.

Keep descent rates slow -- 500 fpm or less; 300 is better. The slightest sign of a head cold or stuffy nose is a no-go. I once flew home 600 miles by myself while the wife and son waited a few days and then paid for a last-minute coach fare home.
 
Ken Ibold said:
Most pediatricians are clueless about flying and so they make up an answer that sounds good. At least, that's what the pediatrician who used to live across the street from me told me.

Keep descent rates slow -- 500 fpm or less; 300 is better. The slightest sign of a head cold or stuffy nose is a no-go. I once flew home 600 miles by myself while the wife and son waited a few days and then paid for a last-minute coach fare home.
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Well, yeah. Just after I posted I figured I should add that when looking for a doc to ask a question WRT flying you'd look for a doc who KNOWS about flying. Then I thought you folks are smart enough for that:)

Like when I asked my dentist after capping a tooth if diving and flying would be a problem. The problem is they are disinclined to say, "I don't know", rather, they say whatever pops into their head. So I found a dentist who was also a diver--question answered.


My original concern when reading Chris' post was what problems the thinner, dryer air would cause for a babies frail respiratory system and eyes.
 
Based on experience, the biggest problem is the ongoing need for attention. That pretty much means you cannot put mom and dad up front and the baby in the back. There must be a person willing and able to meet all inflight needs seated next to the kid. "Over the back of the seat" does not work. If that means putting a large rock in the right front seat for ballast to keep the cg in limits, so be it.
 
My two girls, now age 20 and 16, started riding in the back seat when they were 14 and 7 days respectively. We used swimmer's wax initially, then as they got older they started using foam plugs. No ill effects physically so far, as far as we can tell. The both can still hear a quarter drop.

My wife, when she was actively flying, once flew our oldest when she was 18 months (the daughter, not the wife) with our preacher's wife and their 18 month old daughter to SC from MS. With a child secured in a car seat in each of the back seats of the Cardinal they had no problem making the 5 hr trip. They did get some disbelieving looks from the line guys at MCN and CHS when they strolled up the ramp to the FBO with babes in arms, though.

Being healthy and well-fed before the flight will make the trip easier, for sure.
 
Steve, your mention of a 5 hour flight with babies raises my curiosity. What influence would babies on board have on flight planning for such a flight? Also, any special considerations involved for wx avoidance?

Seems to me a long x/c with babies would take a long time. Diaper changes, pee stops, food & water, landing to retrieve a stuffed animal kicked under the pilot's seat, etc not to mention any wx related diversions would make for a loooong day.

Chris, sorry for the thread jacking but I am curious.
 
Richard said:
Steve, your mention of a 5 hour flight with babies raises my curiosity. What influence would babies on board have on flight planning for such a flight? Also, any special considerations involved for wx avoidance?
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Make sure the ventilation systems work! IME (actually my wife's) changing diapers, feeding etc. isn't a problem unless the turbulence is really bad. Besides, in rough air most babies sleep anyway. In general I'd say they main thing is to keep all needed supplies within mom's reach. And like Ron posted mom (or Mr. mom if mom is doing the flying) must sit next to baby in the second row.

Seems to me a long x/c with babies would take a long time. Diaper changes, pee stops, food & water, landing to retrieve a stuffed animal kicked under the pilot's seat, etc not to mention any wx related diversions would make for a loooong day.
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Not really. The planning and loading/unloading takes longer but in the air there's no real difference IME. OTOH most expecting mom's need real short flight leg times. One "advantage" of the noise level in the cockpit is that the pilot won't be cringing whenever baby cries which won't be often in the air unless there are ear/sinus problems, in which case you'd better stay on the ground.
 
Richard said:
Steve, your mention of a 5 hour flight with babies raises my curiosity. What influence would babies on board have on flight planning for such a flight? Also, any special considerations involved for wx avoidance?

Seems to me a long x/c with babies would take a long time. Diaper changes, pee stops, food & water, landing to retrieve a stuffed animal kicked under the pilot's seat, etc not to mention any wx related diversions would make for a loooong day.

Chris, sorry for the thread jacking but I am curious.
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Richard, I'll grant my with-kid flying did not start until my son was 7-8 years, but it was never a problem. Game Boy is your friend, as well as the fact (now) that my son loves to read.

As for peeing, etc., for no. 1, there's always either the mason-jar method, or (my preference) the Restop 1, with people-litter in it.

Only unplanned diversion: 15 minutes into a 4.5 hour flight, just about at cruise alt, and "Dad, I have to go number two!"

No "Restop 2" that I am aware of, and I do not want to know, so that was a grudgingly-necessary diversion. None since then.
 
Richard said:
Steve, your mention of a 5 hour flight with babies raises my curiosity. What influence would babies on board have on flight planning for such a flight? Also, any special considerations involved for wx avoidance?

Seems to me a long x/c with babies would take a long time. Diaper changes, pee stops, food & water, landing to retrieve a stuffed animal kicked under the pilot's seat, etc not to mention any wx related diversions would make for a loooong day.

Chris, sorry for the thread jacking but I am curious.
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we regularly make trips of that length, I ride up front alone, wife and now-9 month old daughter in the center row, 3 year old daughter in the 3rd row. small DVD player in between the middle seats for the 3 year old to watch. Mom and baby have rom in the middle to eat, change diaper, whatever. It works well in a PA-32/34 since you are always trying to get the CG further back anyway. We have made several trips like this to texas and florida since the girls were very young. The only thing irregular about flight planning is that I try to stay under 7000 ft to lessen ear problems. We have never had an issue even on slam-dunk approaches, but my kids might just be blessed with good ears. I have also missed a few radio calls while helping change a diaper, but the explanation gets a laugh and no harm, no foul. We have not used hearing protection, a friend who is an audiologist and pilot advised we were more likely to cause harm than do good when they are very young. (This advice seems to vary widely so by all means consult your own doctor.) I do have a headset for the three year old but so far she won't leave it on.

We also fly commercial when going international or over the rockies. Compared to taking the kids on the airlines, flying ourselves in the old piper has been a breeze.
 
They didn't have much influence on the flight planning because we would stop for fuel and stretch anyway after about 3 hrs. As mentioned previously, kids at a young age tend to doze off to the drone of the engine if they're not hungry when they get strapped in. Maybe my girls were exceptions, but they only time they fussed was when they were hungry. We kept them warm with blankets, kept a bottle handy, snacks as they got older. I think I started them early enough that they got use to the routine so by the time they were old enough to voice their desires they already understood the necessities of light plane flying (pee before you leave the house and pee again before you get in the airplane, take a book if you don't plan to sleep). We took some pretty long x-c's to SC, OH, FL, MI, OK, and TX when they were little and they managed quite well. I think my growing up in the back of a PA-12 on 4-5 hr flights made long stretches in a plane nothing out of the ordinary for me. The girls seemed to acclimate to the activity very easily, especially when they knew they were going someplace interesting to them. They understood I needed to fly the plane and they needed to entertain themselves without much discussion. They certainly did better in the plane than the car considering the time enroute for a given destination via either.

Wx diversions weren't influenced by having the kids onboard. If it was so bad I wouldn't want to take them through it, I wouldn't be going through it anyway by myself. I wanted get home in one piece just as much as I wanted them to, so what if I had to fly around the bad stuff if I could, or pull over and wait an extra hour or extra day if I couldn't, the object was to arrive alive, not set a speed record. So there was no additional consideration given to having them onboard in that regard. Every flight I've ever made was/is discretionary, even after my instrument rating. I've waited out wx plenty of times. It's part of the adventure of flying.

Richard said:
Steve, your mention of a 5 hour flight with babies raises my curiosity. What influence would babies on board have on flight planning for such a flight? Also, any special considerations involved for wx avoidance?

Seems to me a long x/c with babies would take a long time. Diaper changes, pee stops, food & water, landing to retrieve a stuffed animal kicked under the pilot's seat, etc not to mention any wx related diversions would make for a loooong day.

Chris, sorry for the thread jacking but I am curious.
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I once had one start to fiddle with the door handle. Make sure mom/dad keeps a CLOSE eye on them!
 
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