Cross country with my family in 66' M20E: Any Advice?

[captd]

Hi all,

 

We're planning on taking the airplane, a 66' M20E, from Idaho to Cape Cod this June - me, my wife, our 6-month-old boy, and our small dog. My wife is also a pilot and up for the adventure. I've flown the airplane back to the east coast several times, though never with an infant. I could use any advice you might be willing to give.

 

We're planning on taking a 2-3 days to do it and making the legs no longer than a few hours each.

 

Some say flying with a baby is fine, others say you need to wait until they're older. I don't plan on flying higher than around 7,000 - 8,000 feet, so assuming he's not congested, I don't anticipate any issues. He's flow in airliners several times already. As far as noise, he's got my genes and has a large noggin, so will be wearing a small headset that seems to fit him comfortably.

 

Are we crazy for even thinking about flying that much (16 hours) in a few days with a small child?

 

Obviously, we're planning on doing some 'trial runs' before then to make sure we're all comfortable with the whole thing.

 

Have you done anything like this before? If so, any advice you have would be appreciated.

 

[carusoam]

Find the thread on kids and planes. It has been running since the site was new.

Things you may learn...

Kids fall asleep when the gear goes up

Child seats don't fit well in the back of an M20E, my kids learned it in a C.

Ear protection can be found at the hardware store

Blankets are appreciated (continental/united make nice ones for first class customers)

Plan on cleaning up after the first flight in turbulence, descending through the last, bumpy 3000' takes time

No matter what happens, the flight will be a lot shorter than the driving equivalent.

What cape locations are you planning?

Welcome to the board...

Best regards,

-a-

[Marauder]

I flew with my kids when they were around a year old. All of our flights were no longer than 2 hours long and nothing as aggressive as the flight you are planning. The biggest challenge is that other than crying they can't tell you what's wrong. I planned for slow descents (100 to 200 fpm) with periodic level offs to let things equilibrate. The pacifier also helps keep the tubes open. If you suspect they have any upper respiratory problems at the time of the trip, don't do it. You will want to make sure you keep him hydrated as well. Which also means being able to possibly change diapers in flight. And don't forget to use some of your useful load on toys.

[The-sky-captain]

My 2 year old has been flying for a little over a year now and has over 50 hours logged, with the longest flight being 3.5 hours. He generally sleeps the entire time. For the times he is awake we give him books, toys and snacks to entertain him. He loves flying and it's much easier on us to fly with him vs taking 3-4x as long in a car.

[Mcstealth]

One proper name.

 

Benadryl

 

 

Welcome to the Forum.

[RJBrown]

Every kid is different. I have 6. The only one I had as an infant after I got my PPL flew from 6 weeks old. We picked up a child size oxygen mask and it never bothered him. The little girls were 3 and 6 when I married their mother. The older one was never a problem even though she doesn't like to fly. The 3 year old was prone to motion sickness and refused to wear oxygen. Once asleep she got oxygen and was fine. She is now 20 and wont fly without oxygen. She gets motion sickness on a smooth day flying commercial. The 3 older kids were 10,12 and14 when I learned to fly all would fall asleep once airborn and wake up on approach. They rarely had motion issues and were great flyers. The little guy is now 13 and he wants to fly the plane whenever we go somewhere. When my youngest was little we flew all over the country, no issues with him at all. Our longest trip was Denver to Orlando area. 2 legs each 3 to 4 hours long. I would wake up the family and be flying by 4AM eat breakfast in Little Rock and be to Grandpa and Grandma's in Leesburg by noon. 

[captd]

Find the thread on kids and planes. It has been running since the site was new.

Things you may learn...

Kids fall asleep when the gear goes up

Child seats don't fit well in the back of an M20E, my kids learned it in a C.

Ear protection can be found at the hardware store

Blankets are appreciated (continental/united make nice ones for first class customers)

Plan on cleaning up after the first flight in turbulence, descending through the last, bumpy 3000' takes time

No matter what happens, the flight will be a lot shorter than the driving equivalent.

What cape locations are you planning?

Welcome to the board...

Best regards,

-a-

[captd]

Our 9 year old twins have been flying with us since they were 1 1/2.  First in our previous Cherokee 180 and, since 2006, in our 201.  We made some 5 hour flights with refueling stops in the Cherokee with them, but haven't had to do more than 4 hours or so with them in the Mooney.  Losing the refueling stop combined with the Mooney's higher cruise speed has been a real time saver.  Especially nice when the family is onboard.  Our primary mission is between Florida and North Carolina to visit their grandparents. 

 

Two of our high end car seats wouldn't fit in the back of the Mooney.  Too wide.  So I purchased a couple less expensive models specifically for use in the plane that were slightly thinner and they fit ok.  It was a challenge to install the second one but it was doable.  They have since outgrown them, and it was a welcome day to get rid of them.  The car seats did provide quite a bit of extra peace of mind, though, vis-a-vis crashworthiness.

 

My family has never been of the sort to just go to sleep when the engine cranks or even at altitude, and they complain about the thin air when I get over 10,000 feet or so.  So I've learned to fly lower.  Snacks went a long way to pacify the kids when they were young, and the DVD player remains a God send.   Now that they are older, books and video games are a welcome addition. 

 

Truthfully, now that the kids are older the hardest part is getting everyone onboard and the plane loaded and ready for flight.  When they were young, though, the kids could be a real distraction and I wouldn't fly with them without my wife there to referee.  Now I fly with them without my wife without reservation and we get along fine.

 

Welcome to MooneySpace, by the way.  Have you ever blogged about your flights in your Mooney?  If so I think that I used to read and enjoy your stuff.  It is good to have you with us here.

 

Jim

 

@

 

Our 9 year old twins have been flying with us since they were 1 1/2.  First in our previous Cherokee 180 and, since 2006, in our 201.  We made some 5 hour flights with refueling stops in the Cherokee with them, but haven't had to do more than 4 hours or so with them in the Mooney.  Losing the refueling stop combined with the Mooney's higher cruise speed has been a real time saver.  Especially nice when the family is onboard.  Our primary mission is between Florida and North Carolina to visit their grandparents. 

 

Two of our high end car seats wouldn't fit in the back of the Mooney.  Too wide.  So I purchased a couple less expensive models specifically for use in the plane that were slightly thinner and they fit ok.  It was a challenge to install the second one but it was doable.  They have since outgrown them, and it was a welcome day to get rid of them.  The car seats did provide quite a bit of extra peace of mind, though, vis-a-vis crashworthiness.

 

My family has never been of the sort to just go to sleep when the engine cranks or even at altitude, and they complain about the thin air when I get over 10,000 feet or so.  So I've learned to fly lower.  Snacks went a long way to pacify the kids when they were young, and the DVD player remains a God send.   Now that they are older, books and video games are a welcome addition. 

 

Truthfully, now that the kids are older the hardest part is getting everyone onboard and the plane loaded and ready for flight.  When they were young, though, the kids could be a real distraction and I wouldn't fly with them without my wife there to referee.  Now I fly with them without my wife without reservation and we get along fine.

 

Welcome to MooneySpace, by the way.  Have you ever blogged about your flights in your Mooney?  If so I think that I used to read and enjoy your stuff.  It is good to have you with us here.

 

Jim

 

@JimR, Yes, I did blog about my flights in the airplane. Back in 2004, I flew it to each of the lower 48 states and maintained a blog throughtout the trip. The blog was called AirportMainstreet.com. AOPA did a brief little writeup on the trip in one of their issues and I ended having quite a few pilots following that trip. In fact, I met my wife on that trip! I'll post some pictures of that trip and maybe it'll jog your memory a bit.

[captd]

One proper name.

 

Benadryl

 

 

Welcome to the Forum.

 

Yeah, I think we're going to have to experiment with this Benadryl you speak of.

[captd]

Find the thread on kids and planes. It has been running since the site was new.

Things you may learn...

Kids fall asleep when the gear goes up

Child seats don't fit well in the back of an M20E, my kids learned it in a C.

Ear protection can be found at the hardware store

Blankets are appreciated (continental/united make nice ones for first class customers)

Plan on cleaning up after the first flight in turbulence, descending through the last, bumpy 3000' takes time

No matter what happens, the flight will be a lot shorter than the driving equivalent.

What cape locations are you planning?

Welcome to the board...

Best regards,

-a-

 

@carusoam, My wife is from Provincetown, MA, so we're planning on spending a little time back there this summer with her family.

[captd]

I thought I'd wrap up this post and share pics from the trip. Everything went well. Thanks for all of your tips. 

 

http://mooneyspace.com/gallery/album/13908-idaho-to-cape-cod/

[Florg]

Very cool, looks like it was a great trip!  I recognize the last picture - based out of KCOE as well.

[RocketAviator]

Very Cool, looks like you had a great time.

[N33GG]

Err on the side of caution. Very slow descents with young children or infants. Ascents are no problem, usually. Fragile ears.