What age

[crazydoc]

Hi
Its time my daughter come fly with. 4years old. No permission from mother yet . Needs helmut for kids . Have headset.
Where do i start?

[nicow]

Hi
Its time my daughter come fly with. 4years old. No permission from mother yet . Needs helmut for kids . Have headset.
Where do i start?

Paul at Airmagic (ZULU 1 on the forum)

[witwillem]

I thing your daughter is still to small, to fly i will rathe rwait till she is a bit old rr willempie

[crazydoc]

Thanks for advice. So witwillem .What age is right?.I realy need advice Have been struggling with this for long now? Its a tough one. I know she will sit still and behave. Its all about the crash.I wont take her on my bike on public road. Probable never, at least not in town.. But i feel 1000% more safe in air than on road. I tested her and she can release the buckle with ease. Will she still be able to after crash? Maybe ,maybe not. 4 years old sounds young but at what age do they fly in fixed wings without raising eyebrows. 5?, 6? 10? I fly gyro.

[vernon11]

I took my grand daughter up, when she was about 9. At that age, she was able to fully understand the instructions I gave here, and also understood when I explained what I was doing during take off and landing, so that she would feel relaxed.
My opinion is 4 yrs old is a tad young.
Just my opinion.
Vernon.

[pietmeyer]

My daughter started flying with me from the age of 4 and she loved it. I used and extra shoulder belt that fitted around the pilon and formed a 5 point harness as the lap belt only is not enough. We then taxied up and down the runway first to see if she liked it, only to be told "This is boring, when can we fly?" Took off and stayed in the circuit a bit to make sure she is comfortable but after 5 minutes we were all over the place. She is 10 years old now and still love the trike.

If the child is not too small body wise and you can have a shoulder type harness that fits over both shoulders and the lap belt, go for it. The shoulder harness Velcro around the pilon with then two straps coming down to the lap belt. The lap belt fits trough these two shoulder straps and forms a nice harness. Once the kids are big enough or you have a normal size pax, it is easy to remove the shoulder straps.

For a helmet, I use the condor helmet that is completely adjustable for the kids. Fits perfect all sizes

Cheers
Piet

[pietmeyer]

As for the safety part...my daughter has two older sisters with 8 years difference so she was a tad older for her age. She understood completely when I explained what to do and not to do. Practised releasing the seat belts etc in the event of emergency.

I would therefore first see if the child is old enough to understand all things before going flying. I refused to take a 7 year old child flying as he was not yet ready an "mature" enough and did not want to take the risk.

[crazydoc]

Thanks Piet and Vernon.Really appreciate your advice Any more opinions and experiences out there?

[Luan]

I don't know if I am mistaken, but I remember reading something about a minor not yet having had their 12th birthday and some legislation around it. It might be worth phoning up someone more knowledgeable, as it could have some legal implication should there be an incident.

[Bundy]

There is no restriction to my knowledge re "legalities"... if the child is securely seated I don't think there is any legal reason why you cannot fly a 4 year old? It's a personal choice.

It is probably an emotive issue more than anything else? I have an 8 year old son, and he still has not flown with me. I personally am just not yet comfortable with that...but sooner or later I will be I'm sure? It's an emphatic NO from Mommy at this stage so I would not go against her wishes...it is afterall her son's life too.

I would say to you, that there is no real "right time"? If you are asking this kind of question then you must admit that there is already a bit of doubt in your mind?.... So my advice is wait a while...until YOU feel confident enough to do so. None of us can really say to you when that will be.

"If there is doubt...there is no doubt"

[CraigL]

The key here is safety. If you are talking about a closed cockpit aerie, there is no real issue. I have flown with my daughter since she was a year old in the Mooney, with cotton wool in the ears, and now that she is 2 she wears a headset, and absolutely loves the flying. We fit her car seat in the plane, and she stays strapped in. A trike is a bit different - with a lapstrap it's not enough safety with a little one, and they need to be old enough to understand not to undo the straps and climb out at a 1000ft if they don't enjoy it. My sons flew on the trike with me since age 6 or so (only got one at this point) and as soon as my daughter is ready (and will stay seated) she will definitely go along. I'm lucky that my missus trusts my judgement and won't stand in the way when she is ready. I think you need a 4 point harness at least, and a calm, relaxed child who is used to sitting on the trike and taxiing around with Dad until you start with short hops and circuits...but I have a sneaky suspicion you might find her standing at the door every time you go flying with her helmet in her hands!! Enjoy it.

[crazydoc]

Thanks all, for great advice. It really helped a lot. I am very ready and excited to take my daughter up but yes it is a very emotional thing with family and mommy .As the insurance companies says"its a hazardous persuit" so they all just expect the worst. I agree, your daughter/child must feel comfortable,you must feel comfortable , she must be properly restrained offcourse , but there is always the possibility that something can happen . Do i feel comfortable that she will remain calm then and be able to ? help herself . Impossible to say ,it depends on circumstances but for peace of mind i think that mommy should be at airfield ready with takeoff and landing(most critical phase) just incase. Probably always, except off course for the first few flights. Thats how i think i must do and after carefull thought i will wait a couple a months more (thanks Bundy ) and then go for it.

[Stan]

If you are comfortable with your flying and your plane is running well, go for it. My daughter flew with me in an old American Aerolight Eagle when she was about two years old. i would just fly around the circuit with her. Obviously ear protection/headset is a must. The Eagle was a single seater with a sling seat hanging from the keel. She sat on my lap and was fastened in with my safety belt directly under my control. In a trike she will have to be able to sit still and do what you tell her to. The four point harness sounds cool. In an enclosed aircraft there should be no problems. Also give her a lollipop to suck on to help with equalizing the ear pressure. They don't understand that concept at all. You will soon know if she is unhappy and you should just land then. They normally love it and will drive you crazy to go again. BTW my daughter is now 25 and has kids of her own.
Cheers
Stan

[KFA]

Both my kids started flying trikes with me when they were 18 months and 20 months respectively. I would also only fly in the circuit at first.

[Blue Max]

When you take a child of 4 yrs up in your trike I suppose you will want her to enjoy it the way you do.?
I do not think she can or will, simply because she/ he is not developed enough.
Take her to a swing in the playground and she will enjoy that more.
The brain needs to translate that what the child feel, see and hear when she is in the air with that of her limited experience,s on the ground.
Nee, kan nie werk vir n vierjarige nie.
Sorry, wag tot sy ouer is.