Quickly getting a toddler into/out of plane

SkyHog

SkyHog

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Everything Offends Me
Anyone have any experience on best practices for quickly getting a child out of a car seat in the back seat of a plane? I'm a bit concerned that in case of emergency egress we could waste precious time getting my son out....car seats aren't the easiest things in the world to maneuver a child out of.
 
SkyHog said:
Anyone have any experience on best practices for quickly getting a child out of a car seat in the back seat of a plane? I'm a bit concerned that in case of emergency egress we could waste precious time getting my son out....car seats aren't the easiest things in the world to maneuver a child out of.
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When we fly, wife is in back seat with son in car seat next to her. No turning/twisting from front seat to back seat to try to get him out.

If you're really concerned about it, you could get one of those 'emergency evacuation' tools that has the blade to cut the seatbelt straps so you don't have to worry about unbuckling.

exitool01.jpg
 
SkyHog said:
Anyone have any experience on best practices for quickly getting a child out of a car seat in the back seat of a plane? I'm a bit concerned that in case of emergency egress we could waste precious time getting my son out....car seats aren't the easiest things in the world to maneuver a child out of.
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Ejection seat. :D

Get a better car seat. Seriously. You should be able to just push the button and pull the kid out. The issue isn't different in a car. Or you can get one of the ones with a separable base PROVIDED you can disconnect it from the front.

If the seat has any sort of tray, dump it. They aren't safe anyway, as the kid tends to whack it hard during a crash.

Car seats are always an egress issue. To at least some extent, it's unavoidable.
 
MAKG1 said:
Ejection seat. :D

Get a better car seat. Seriously. You should be able to just push the button and pull the kid out. The issue isn't different in a car. Or you can get one of the ones with a separable base PROVIDED you can disconnect it from the front.

If the seat has any sort of tray, dump it. They aren't safe anyway, as the kid tends to whack it hard during a crash.

Car seats are always an egress issue. To at least some extent, it's unavoidable.
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Our car seat is one of the permanently installed ones since he outgrew the one he had when he was a wee little baby. This one has a button that unbuckles the safety harness, but then there's a separate slider that keeps the shoulder straps together, and then after popping that, I have to maneuver his arms one by one through the shoulder straps to get him out....

They all looked the same, so I didn't realize there was a better system....

If I can find one, I'll do it, otherwise Chris's idea of the seatbelt cutter might have to do.
 
A rocket is a little dramatic. All you have to do is duct tape any lose appendages before you put them in the back seats, then they're very easy to remove.
 
SkyHog said:
Our car seat is one of the permanently installed ones since he outgrew the one he had when he was a wee little baby. This one has a button that unbuckles the safety harness, but then there's a separate slider that keeps the shoulder straps together, and then after popping that, I have to maneuver his arms one by one through the shoulder straps to get him out....

They all looked the same, so I didn't realize there was a better system....

If I can find one, I'll do it, otherwise Chris's idea of the seatbelt cutter might have to do.
Click to expand...

Your seat is actually three different systems. First you have the support system, which is the mounting frame, shell, seat pan, etc. Then you have the padding. Last, you have the harness, which is the part that you need to replace (don't bother trying to make it work).

Call your nearest skydiving center, and ask for the phone number of someone who does custom harnesses. Take the seat and son to them and ask them to make a custom wearable harness made which you will put on outside the plane, set His Lordship into the seat, then attach the harness to the seat to secure him in place. Attachment might be with seatbelt buckles, Frost clips, etc., connecting to the "seat side" of the harness, which is held in place by pin/cone/grommet closures and either a D-ring or a Little Red Apple to release everything instantly.

The advantages of this are that you can adjust the size to fit over whatever clothing he wears or as he grows, and the harness makes a really good handle to pull him out of the plane if you're in a hurry (without dislocating his shoulder). It also means that you can replace the seat pan if a better one comes along. When he gets bigger, you can upgrade the system with inertia recoil attached to the regular seat with a booster seat for support.

It will cost you more money but will be worth it.
 
That is insane. By the time the harness and release system are built and the bugs ironed the kid will be soloing the plane. Either a seat that releases from the strapped in part or a hook knife. Or don't fly with the kid onboard.
SoloEqs said:
Your seat is actually three different systems. First you have the support system, which is the mounting frame, shell, seat pan, etc. Then you have the padding. Last, you have the harness, which is the part that you need to replace (don't bother trying to make it work).

Call your nearest skydiving center, and ask for the phone number of someone who does custom harnesses. Take the seat and son to them and ask them to make a custom wearable harness made which you will put on outside the plane, set His Lordship into the seat, then attach the harness to the seat to secure him in place. Attachment might be with seatbelt buckles, Frost clips, etc., connecting to the "seat side" of the harness, which is held in place by pin/cone/grommet closures and either a D-ring or a Little Red Apple to release everything instantly.

The advantages of this are that you can adjust the size to fit over whatever clothing he wears or as he grows, and the harness makes a really good handle to pull him out of the plane if you're in a hurry (without dislocating his shoulder). It also means that you can replace the seat pan if a better one comes along. When he gets bigger, you can upgrade the system with inertia recoil attached to the regular seat with a booster seat for support.

It will cost you more money but will be worth it.
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CJones said:
When we fly, wife is in back seat with son in car seat next to her. No turning/twisting from front seat to back seat to try to get him out.

If you're really concerned about it, you could get one of those 'emergency evacuation' tools that has the blade to cut the seatbelt straps so you don't have to worry about unbuckling.

exitool01.jpg
Click to expand...

In the Air Force, we called them Ripcord Knives
 
SkyHog said:
Our car seat is one of the permanently installed ones since he outgrew the one he had when he was a wee little baby. This one has a button that unbuckles the safety harness, but then there's a separate slider that keeps the shoulder straps together, and then after popping that, I have to maneuver his arms one by one through the shoulder straps to get him out....

They all looked the same, so I didn't realize there was a better system....

If I can find one, I'll do it, otherwise Chris's idea of the seatbelt cutter might have to do.
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How old? Even for normal egress from the car I don't pull the kids' arms out individually. Once the straps are unbuckled, I just reach between the straps to grab the kid and pull out. The straps just fall off the arms. You might go someplace like Walmart or Kids R Us that has a bunch of seats and see what you can get him out of most quickly.

I'm not even sure a cutter would be faster (unless the buckle is jammed), because you'd have to cut in at least two, maybe three places. Although if he's small enough and access is not an issue, a cutter would allow slicing the belt holding the seat in the plane and yanking him out seat and all.
 
ClimbnSink said:
That is insane. By the time the harness and release system are built and the bugs ironed the kid will be soloing the plane.
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No, it's actually very simple and easy. I did this for all 5 of my kids.

I made the harness (including the part that mounted on the seat) for my first daughter in about 3 hours (several different tries before I got it the way I wanted it), after that it took about 30 minutes each to make them as she grew (handing them down to her siblings). The first one was done with seatbelt buckles (cost me a buck at a yard sale), later ones were done just with strap sliders. One of my friends did them for his kids and used Frost clips, but that's expensive overkill.

Modifying the seat took me maybe 10 minutes to install the three cones (taken from a surplus parachute pack) and another 10 minutes to rig the LRA pin release the way I wanted it. One yank of the Little Red Apple and the harness was completely disconnected from the seat.
 
Car-Seat-Baby.jpg


This is the closest I can find to our system. You release the bottom latch, then release the top latch. That leaves his arms still through the shoulder harness. Pulling him straight out would leave his shoulders behind the belts and injure him. The only option is to pull his arms through the harness and then lift him out.
 
No, it wouldn't. You would have two loose shoulder straps connected only at the top. Take a closer look at that latch.
 
MAKG1 said:
No, it wouldn't. You would have two loose shoulder straps connected only at the top. Take a closer look at that latch.
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I don't have a take a closer look - I'm saying it, quite frankly - Tylers arms are behind very rigidly in place belts when both buckles are disconnected. If you look at the lap belt, which is part of the shoulder belt, when they are disconnected, the arm is still through both. Pulling him straight out leaves his arms behind. To avoid the removal of his arms, they need to be threaded through the straps first.

I can try to take a picture with him in the seat and the buckles disconnected tomorrow when he wakes up to illustrate what I mean, but if you look at the picture I included, you can see the arm is through the belt. The belt is tight against his chest (as is necessary to avoid movement in a collision).
 
MAKG1 said:
No, it wouldn't. You would have two loose shoulder straps connected only at the top. Take a closer look at that latch.
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Actually, this is not a perfect example since Tyler's monkey is about twice Tyler's size, but it does illustrate the problem I am describing pretty well.

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Kids are pretty flexible. Just pull the kid out, and yes I have a 19 month old so I do know what I'm saying. As far as I know, all car seats are as you pictured. Still just pull the kid and the arms will follow.
 
Can you try, instead of grabbing the kid by the torso when removing, grabbing him by the arms, pinning them along his sides? Hard to describe, but I'm thinking about you unlatch both releases simultaneously, one with each hand, then push the straps out of the way as you reach one hand in on each side, again simultaneously, grasping the kid by the arms instead of the belly/chest. Maybe a little rotation as well so things don't get caught up?

In the similar seats we had for our daughter, there was always a way to loosen and tighten the straps, collectively, on the front or side of the seat. That's how we got her in there - get everything buckled and pull it snug. Yours doesn't have this? Sounds like maybe you just need a different seat. I was certain I could get my daughter out of the seat in less than 5 seconds if I needed to.
 
Lots of fancy gadgets, but a sharp pocket knife works just fine.
Packing the kid in a tote bag is not an option? Makes everything easier. :D
 
In the seats that we use (22 mo old), there is a latch on the front for adjust the shoulder straps. That said, in an emergency egress, it wouldn't be that good since you would spend more time fumbling with that than just getting there arms out.

I have considered just getting a belt cutter after reading the story from a PA-46 pilots whose son was trapped when a belt bucket jammed with the plane on fire. With the belt cutter, just cut and pull. Much easier than trying to get the arms out of the shoulder straps when the kid is likely doing their best to fight it.
 
Having two kids who have flown since they were a week and a half old, I'm lost as to what the concern is here. Releasing them from car seats was never a concern of ours, as you push two buttons and it's done. Once you push those buttons, just pull the kid out, he won't break. There's no way trying to get kids out any other way would be faster (or safer), assuming that you have everything fastened properly.

If you can get the child's arms out without releasing the harness chest buckle, you aren't properly securing the child in the seat.


JKG
 
JGoodish said:
Having two kids who have flown since they were a week and a half old, I'm lost as to what the concern is here. Releasing them from car seats was never a concern of ours, as you push two buttons and it's done. Once you push those buttons, just pull the kid out, he won't break. There's no way trying to get kids out any other way would be faster (or safer), assuming that you have everything fastened properly.

If you can get the child's arms out without releasing the harness chest buckle, you aren't properly securing the child in the seat.


JKG
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Did you read the thread or look at the photos before posting?
 
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