Baby Gear for Mooney Owners

[mjc]

When we first took our little one flying, I found there weren't a large number of resources on the subject. This was particularly true for baby gear. Hopefully this will help the next family that needs it.

Hearing protection - Actually, this was the subject best covered. The consensus was for the Peltor/AOSafety Junior Ear Muffs. They are available from a couple of online stores (envirosafetyproducts and ear plug store) in royal blue, pink, and power blue (which we bought). They fit at 4 weeks, and will probably work until we're ready for a real child headset. $18.

Car Seat - This is surely the most important item; without one, I wouldn't carry a baby in an airplane. With the C model, we were unable to use any car seat in a rear-facing arrangement due to space constraints. Of forward-facing models, we've had success with the Sunshine Kids Radian 65. It is the narrowest convertible car seat we could find (due to steel construction as opposed to plastic), and if needed, one could put two of them next to each other in a Mooney's rear seats. Other pluses are a removable attachment that allows it to be used rear-facing in a car and that it folds completely flat. The minus is its 20 lb. weight. $180.

Crib - We use a Graco Pack-n-Play. We bought the most basic one we could find, without the changing pad or mobile or really anything. The result is that it folds down very small and can even fit across the baggage area. $70.

Stroller - We had to try a few different ones before landing on the Summer Infant Quicksmart. Most travel strollers fold into a long, thin tube a bit longer than a golf club. No problem in a car, but too long for a Mooney baggage area. The Quicksmart folds into a flat square that fits through the baggage door and can be stored in the baggage area, on the hat shelf (if you lash it down), or behind a front seat. It's inexpensive, but has surprisingly high quality. The downsides are the cumbersome steering and folding process. $60.

High chair - We only just got a Phil and Ted's Me-Too chair, but it seems perfect for traveling. It is a chair that clamps to the table, and it folds completely flat when not in use. So the downside is that you need a table to use it. $40.

 

[hansel]

Very useful information Michael. Thanks!

This will certainly avoid store returns and the ensuing awkward conversation:

"So why do you want to return this stroller, sir"

"It doesn't fit in our Mooney"

"Your what?"

"Our airplane"

"ah-ha" [said with a glare that reads: you're a bad parent and have way too much money] 

[GeorgePerry]

Quote: mjc

When we first took our little one flying, I found there weren't a large number of resources on the subject. This as particularly true for baby gear. Hopefully this will help the next family that needs it.

This is a great thread and I'm surprised it hasn't come up before.  Most of my flying is with the family on board.  I have two small ones a girl who's 3 and a boy who's 5.  Both love the plane but we do follow some guidelines for making the trips fun.  The great part is the kids 'intuitively' understand that it's too loud to communicate while flying and don't seem to mind, so the trips are very peaceful...unlike a car.  In no particular order, here are our list of planning factors...

1. I have an extra car seat that gets installed the day prior if possible.  My son is big enough for a booster so he sits on that and uses the front shoulder belt for TO and landing.  It also gets his eye level up high enough to see outside which he likes.

2. Games for the kids...Magnetic drawing boards are a favorite (they are small, no mess and doesn’t require batteries)

3. While in diapers, no worries, now my kids are out of diapers, Mandatory bathroom stop before getting airborne

4. So mom doesn't have to constantly turn around, we don't put the kids side by side in the rear.  We split them up.  Girls in the back and boys up front.

5. Keep the altitude below 10K.  Kids seem more susceptible to headaches from reduced O2 Levels at altitude.  (I target 8K max for most trips with the little ones)

6. The wife and I use ANR head sets so we can talk...or she can listen to an Ipod and the kids use ear muffs (Peltor Jrs's $13) http://www.envirosafetyproducts.com/product/Peltor-Junior-Earmuffs.html

7. Lightweight folding aluminum stroller, nice to have for mobility at our destination

8. Personal choice, but we fly only in the day time.  In the unlikely event of an engine out, seeing where you want to land is better than not

9. Fly during Nap times, since the young ones quickly fall asleep to the drone of the engine

10.  Garmin 496 with XM weather to avoid the bumps as much as possible.  Kids don't seem to mind but my wife hates turbulence.

11.  Flexible schedule.  For short trips wx is easy to predict, but any longer than a few days and I like to have a couple of extra days on the back side to get home incase a delay for WX is called for.  My comfort factor is much different than the wife's.  I default to her's to keep things fun. 

[carusoam]

Thanks for the great memory jogger.

We bought our '65 C just before my girl was born in 2000 (boy was 3 already). 

Thinking ahead, we bought the plane before money got "too tight".

Now the only thing "too tight" is the leg room in the back seat!

The C was good for 10 years.  Now we're looking for a J or longer.

I wish I knew then, that the family loves flying in the mooney. 

I would have committed more capital for something newer and longer.

PS: Skip the stroller go right to the back pack.  You never have to park the back pack like a stroller, it fits in the smallest of shops.  Just be careful, little hands can reach things that are put up off the ground.  Two back packs were required for a while.

PPS: Baby wipes, roll of paper towels and a ziploc full of ziplocs.

PPPS: Keep an eye on what Nana sneaks to the kids for snacks.

PPPPS: It is smooth at 11,500 ft, kids are sleeping, everything is wonderful.  The last 3,000ft  is why they invented baby wipes, paper towels and the ziploc full of ziplocs....

Thanks again.  Let me know how you smooth out the last 3,000ft.

 

- anthony -

[Amelia]

Great suggestions! Here are mine:

1. Mild hypoxia is a great alleviator of sibling rivalry. Nevermind threatening to pull this car over right now if you two don't cut it out. Just climb. Gets real peaceful at about 12,000 feet.

2. Just a couple of weeks ago, I discovered the wonders of the new mini-laptop and a thumbdrive full of old Tom and Jerry cartoons. Kept our two-year-old granddaughter transfixed for several hours. Load up the drive with Disney movies, favorite TV shows, cartoons, etc.

3. Mega-dittos on the preflight diet and inflight snacks warnings. Goldfish and animal crackers are good during the ride-- a single-bite, easy on the tummy, non-crumbly, non-sticky. Juice-boxes in the right small hands, maybe ok, but sippy-cup of really cold water, maybe melting ice chips, is best, I think, for toddlers. Nix on the frozen grapes we thought were such wonderful car snacks. Very popular on a recent flying trip-- at first, but we soon got 'em back from the 4-yr old- with interest.

4. Baby wipes, paper towels, plastic bags at the ready, Oh, yeah. And carpet/upholstery cleaner might not be a bad idea.

5. Less baby equipment is more- it's amazing how easily you can pare the cargo manifest if you put your mind to it. (amen to the backpack vs. a bulky stroller! More than once we bedded our baby down in a hotel bureau drawer. The kid didn't care, and we didn't have to figure out how add a porta-crib to the already full baggage area.) And if you really find you need more stuff, it's probably readily available at your destination.

6. Teach the little ones hand games like rock-scissors-paper and thumb wrestling. Remind them how to find animals in clouds, and during a late afternoon on top, look for the 360 degree rainbow somewhere nearby,  with a Mooney shadow right in the middle. Older kids may get a kick out of identifying geographic features- rivers, hanging valleys, granite quarries, ski slopes, circular irrigation patterns, and so forth. And then again, maybe not. My young teenagers insisted on snoozing as we flew for maybe an hour just below the rim of the Grand Canyon, back when that was still legal. (Just more rocks, Mom. We saw 'em already. Duh.)

7. The last 3000 feet? If you're lucky, they'll still be sleeping off their altitude. Not? Then the plan is Distraction. Help us find the airport? Can you see the water tower? How many  boats do you on that lake down there? Are there any other airplanes near us? Which way is the wind blowing on the ground?  And increase the challenge of the distractions as the kids get older or get wise to you.

 

[mooneygirl]

This is a great thread. We have been flying with Gabriel since he was about four.  One thing that I haven't seen mentioned is a frozen washcloth in a ziplock.  It is really refreshing if you fly a Mooney without airconditioning. 

We also have taught Gabriel that we do not talk in the pattern. We use a "quiet" hand signal to let him know that we are focusing on landing.  This is also a time when he can clean up his area. 

Just a few more thoughts here.  I just make flying a part of our routine. Not a choice for the kids.  It is our primary mode of transport these days.

Happy flying everyone.

 

Jolie

[podair]

Great thread, we've been flying as a little family for a while now. I concur with all the advice above, and I ll add one thing: make sure your intercom has a pilot isolate button, or even better like on mine pilot/crew/all! We routinely fly 2-3hr legs at 9-10k ft, no issues at all. I try to avoid turbulence , but it helps explaining why the plane moves about.

[mjc]

Wow... this is quite a response. I had only really intended this to be a gear-centric thread, but flying tips are good to share. I did a fair amount of research on that as well before taking the little one in the airplane. Most of it has already been mentioned. Two more things to consider are if at all possible, do NOT fly with a sick child, and in any case, it helps to keep climbs and descents shallow (<500fpm).

 

[mooniac58]

We will be having our first child in about 2 months (eta Jan 27).  I have a question not addressed here.  What about infant floatation devices?  This will of course be necessary here in Hawaii.