Anyone with a hubby who is a private pilot?

HI,

My husband is a private pilot and we are eager to start traveling in a Cessna 172S (skyhawk) with our kids. Has anyone done this? At what age did you start? What headphones have you found to work the best for the kids? Any pointers, thoughts, etc. are greatly appreciated.

Teri D

 

Teri, this is a great question. I'll have to ask my Dad what they did with us. I think by the time we came along it was all commercial flights.....

I come from a community (all my parents friends etc.) of pilots and I probably wouldn't put my kids in a Cessna for a VERY long time. I have too many bad stories to be able to enjoy it myself and the kids would pick up on my fear, so I would wait for a long long time.

It's going to depend on your comfort level. My discomfort is not with the pilot (as I am SURE you trust Dh implicitly) it's with the small plane. Good luck!

 

My dad is a pilot and has a small 4 seater Cessna. I've only been up once with him, pre kids, and it was a lot of fun. Both my DH and I are scared to put the kids up there tho, and that has nothing to do with my Dad, just all the stories you hear about small planes (and my DH works in the aviation security industry, so he's got the horror stories memorized). Mom and Dad fly all the time, and I think that's it really awesome that they've found this fun hobby now that the kids are out of the house. Mom's even started flying lessons, ostensibly so that she can land the plane if Dad has a heart attack, but she keeps taking more and more, and we're encouraging her to get her full license too.

But I'm still scared, I'm scared everytime they fly. Don't know how to get over that fear. Don't know if or when we'll let the kids go up with Dad. So I can't help you. But I'm curious to know the answers. Ringing edorsement here, huh?

 

I think I'm more scared to have my husband jump in the car here in Boston -- the statistics on accidents are much higher in cars than in planes.

My hubby trolls the accident reports for small planes -- when you really get down to it -- most crashes of small planes are caused by "get ther-itis" or pilot error... Like the weather's not so good, but we gotta get home... or I want to fit all the guys and our golf clubs in the plane... etc. you should start reading these reports -- as it will make you feel much better than the plane RARELY has issues -- man, the technology of a cessna hasn't changed in many many years. it's the pilot who makes a mistake..

My husband (and likely your dad/mom) are very conscientious and would rarely have a problem. I really don't see an issue flying with my kids -- I figure there's more risky things we can do with them.

Teri D

 

Ditto everyone else. My cousin is a pilot (both private and commercial) and I have been up with him several times (pre kids!) and loved it. But both he (he has a daughter now too) and I will NOT take our families up in a small private plane. Sorry no help here either but I believe the small plane accidents have more to do with the PLANE not the pilot, too. :mellow:

 

I don't know but looking at your sig I wonder if the plane is housed where I live? If so, we would love to know when he takes the plane out. K&K have spent hours at the airport hoping to see a plane and we never do. It would be great to actually catch one!!

 

My dad used to love to fly, and my mom is a huge scaredy-cat (would never fly in anything but a commercial jet!). A classic story in my family is that when my sister was 2 my dad took her flying, and swore her to secrecy. Of course 2 year olds don't really understand secrets. As they drove up the driveway back at home my sister called out the window to our mother "Mommy, I fly in de plane!"

I think that was the beginning of the end of my dad being "allowed" to fly at all (now at 70 he STILL talks about picking it up again).

-Rachel

 

My dh is/was a privat & commercial pilot (furloughed after 9-11). I was a flight attendant and even though we are both very comfortable in airplanes, I personally am not comfortable with him taking any of our kids up yet. He and I have gone up in the Cessna's before we had kids. I am just so not prepared for it yet. My dh would do it in a minute. He really wants to take my son up and my son would probably love it. It just scares me. We have lost some friends who were great pilots, in small plane crashes.... I guess when it feels right to you...thats when you will know its time, that will be different for everyone.

 

Hi. I see you have had a lot of opinions on why not to fly, but no answers to your questions. I am a commercial airline pilot and a mother of 1 year old twin girls. I do not see the ages of your children, but some suggestions for ear protection would be: there are lightweight ear protection made for shooting that comes in child size and are very lightweight, there is a model called Cadet, a store called Spinners Pilot Shop that is supposed to sell softcomm prince headsets, you can also check the AOPA website for information, or try foam insert earplugs if they will not keep on the heatset. My girls just turned 1 last week and I have not had them in a small, private plane yet, only commercial. Mostly this is because my schedule doesn't allow me a lot of time to fly privately. For me the only hesitation I would have is that with 2 kids and me being the pilot, I would need to have another adult to watch the kids while I was flying so I would not be distracted. I am sure you are aware that if their carseat is approved for airline you may use it in your Cessna. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

Hi - My husband is a private pilot, too. Pre-babies the two of us did quite a bit of flying together. Lots of fun. Unfortunately, we have a two seat airplane which no longer works for all of us. It was probably about 6 months ago or so that DH took each of the kids for their first short ride (so they were around 2.5). Both have gone up a time or two since then but always for just a short time (15 minutes maybe?). As a combination Christmas/birthday/every-occasion-for-the-year gift I got DH some lightweight, noise cancellation headphones for the plane. They are great and are what we've used for each of the kids when they took their rides. I admit to being pretty nervious while I waited for each of those first airplane rides to complete. DH is extremely cautious as a pilot; even more so with his most precious cargo in the plane. If things weren't just perfect, DH wouldn't take them in the airplane. I was concerned that DS in particular wouldn't like the experience (he's not big on noise) but both kids were very relaxed and DS almost falls asleep during his rides. Of course, DS can hardly make a short ride in the car without falling asleep either. We used one of the car seats in the plane so we could strap the kids in securely. Our plan is to get a four seat airplane so that all of us can go places together.

 

My husband is a flight instructor. While a normal flight in an umpressurized, small airplane poses no real risk to young children, the biggest thing you want to consider is the noise level they will be exposed to. There are several headsets on the market specifically designed for young children. On a personal level, we feel that there is less risk of injury in the plane than there is in a car, but we will probably wait a bit longer. We want them to be able to enjoy the experience and develop a love for flying. When we do take them, DH will climb and descend at lower rates than he normally would. That will help with the pressure on their little ears.