They might be terrified, 20 minutes into a 5 hour flight is no tiem to find this out!
Plan a ';fuel stop'; 1/2 way.
Hearing protection is a must.
Assign them ';jobs'; while flying..ie: spotting traffic, keeping up with the time for switching tanks, taking pictures, etc, this keeps them occupied instead of being dreadfully bored.
DONT forget the sic bags, drinks, snacks etc.
HAVE FUN!!!!!General Aviation Flying with Children any advice?
If you don't already fly with a bottle of Afrin for yourself, you should have it in your flight kit. A child screaming in pain from a sinus ';squeeze'; would be dangerously distracting.General Aviation Flying with Children any advice?
I agree with all the above, and will only add... DON'T FORGET THE EAR PROTECTION!!! Small airplanes are noisy machines, and the constant droning of the engines on a long trip can cause long-term damage to those little ears. Make sure they have proper fitting hearing protection and make sure they use them!
There are a number of challenges in flying with kids. The first is the lack of facilities for going to the bathroom. There is no ';stopping'; for a pee break. If you have the room you can bring along a ports potty. If not then they all get diapers like the astronauts.
The next thing is that the noise level in most general aviation planes is detrimental to any conversation. Unless you have headsets and an intercom, then they are going to be out of communication with the front seat passengers.
Also they are going to have a difficult time seeing out of the aircraft and will be sitting for a long time, so bring games and such to keep them entertained.
I have flown with children and they are very trying passengers. I would suggest if they have to come along, that they have someone who can tend to their needs at all times.
My initial answer is something that involves tranquilizer darts, (of course, if you knew my nephews, that would be your response, too.)
A pack of chewing gum is invaluable. The kids love it, and it helps them pop their ears as they deal with adiabatic pressure changes; just be sure they have a place to spit it out and ration it so that you've got at least a stick per kid, altitude change.
A bathroom break before closing doors and clearing props is a must. Make sure they know it's the last chance they're going to have for a few hours and a stop along the way should help.
A buddy of mine tried the 5 gallon bucket and toilet seat trick. I think he has nightmares to this day about that.
I'd probably switch the kids out in front seat positions. Granted this means that the spouse is in the back the whole way, but she's tall enough to see everything and know what to look at. The front seat kid will be so mystified by all the moving instruments they'll forget to complain that it's hot, they're ears hurt, they didn't need to go at the FBO but do now, or shred a sectional because they're bored.
Mom can entertain the backseat kid and if you have her sit in the left seat, she's not as likely to kick your seat from boredome while in flight.
A small snack is a must. And everyone else has had some great suggestions.
I hope your kids learn to enjoy flying as much as you do.
JT
Keep your descent rate slow. Young kids have a harder time equalizing ear pressure than adults. If you try to descend too fast, a painful experience could turn them off of flying for years.
I second all the excellent advice and observations by the previous writers. I'll just throw in this little humorous truth: Just as in long cross-country car trips, you can count on one of those sweeties to pipe within the first hour of the flight saying, ';Are we there, yet?'; :o)
I would simply make sure they are belted in, just like a car.
We've been flying for about 10 years now. First in a Twin Commanche, we still have it, but most of the flying is in our Piper Cheyenne II.
Typical flights for us are 1.5 to 2.5 hours and not only do our kids love it, they do a great job as passengers. Get them a movie player they can sit in their lap and watch movies during the flight. Be sure to charge the batteries. Bring coloring books, books to read, etc. If it's a more noisy piston engine plane headsets are a must, or at the very least ear plugs.
There are always airports along any route so plan on at least one stop to let the kids out, and stretch their legs. I know it's going to cost a little bit more to make an extra cycle, but unless the flight is going to take place during nap time and if nap doesn't last a couple of hours you need to stop once.
We took our now 7 year old on her first trip at 2 weeks old and she is spoiled on what is undoubtedly the best way to travel - flying in your own plane. She moans and groans whenever we have to take the 'big (commercial) plane.' Her sister started at about the same age and both are great about flying.
Finally, make sure to have some means for emergency potty relief. And if someone has to make an emergency 'number 2' stop you just might have to land an extra time. Take this from an adult who has had to make just such a stop!
Have fun and be safe.
What kind of aircraft?
Would it be much differnt then taking them in a 5 hour car ride.
Restroom before you go, take plenty of sick sacks, and something they can occupy themselves with as they will probably get bored after a while.
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