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My oldest daughter's first lesson

crabandy

Well Known Member
It's not her first time at the controls of an airplane, she's flown "under the panel" several times before. I've been removing the copilot stick so she can use the booster seat to see outside. I visited with _______ (I forgot his VAF name, he has a really nice orange/blue RV8) at OSH that had modified a booster seat for his kiddos and I decided to do the same.
I've got several booster seats laying around and picked one with an open bottom and numerous plastic ribs. A few minutes with a die grinder gave the desired clearance between the booster seat and the copilot stick.
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With the booster she could see over the panel and fly via the horizon, in addition she now has a PTT! She made every transmission for the flight, not to bad for a 4th grader.
03D0E03B-4D54-4EBC-ACBA-6382986427DA_zps1gzlcrrl.jpg


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EF47736F-6C7E-41AF-BFF8-6EC0C4BDDDA0_zpsh6ctgknk.jpg


Of course the lesson included a little breakfast and a lot of fun for both of us!

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Awesome! Can't wait to do the same with my girls (though both will be 15+ when my baby flies.)
 
What a great memory. Taking a booster seat and modifying it so she could see well enough - your daughter will remember that forever.
 
She's gorgeous!!:)
My oldest one just lacks a couple hrs being ready to take her PPL check ride.:) She's 26.
Hope your daughter continues to fly.
 
Awesome!

Andy,

It's great to see you sharing the gift with your daughter. I hope to do the same with mine. She's only 3 right now, but I am helping her build a pedal plane and she's really loving it. Her progress is posted on my Kitlog site.
 
Great. Keep her at it, and one day she may decided to become a professional pilot. My daughters were in diapers when they started flying. And then, no: 2 announced to us while in high school that she wanted to fly professionally. She flies an A-310 for a living.
 
That Smile!

I noticed in every photo her little confident smile that seems to say, "I am so enjoying this!" It may not be what we call the "RV Smile" but it is certainly the beginning of one!

My daughter, now grown, wanted to take flying lessons when she was 16, so I carefully chose the instructor and the C-152 she would use. She got up to the point of solo, and she announced, "Dad, I enjoy it, but I have other things I'd rather do!" So she never soloed. Do I regret it? Absolutely not. As I told her, there were two things I hoped she would get from taking flying lessons. If she were ever in a plane with some hot dog pilot who was trying to impress her, she would know right away he's not a good pilot. Secondly, if she were ever in a plane where the pilot became incapacitated, she would have the confidence to talk to ATC and probably be able to get the airplane to a runway safely. Even now, over 20 years later, with two little boys and a developing law practice, she says she doesn't regret it and may go back to flying lessons some day.

Great post, Andy! Thanks for sharing with us.
 
Thanks everyone, I'm really hoping all my kiddos catch the aviation bug. If they can make a living at it even better! The bigs (oldest 2) really enjoy the flying time but begrudgingly put up with hangar time. The littles (youngest 2) on the other hand prefer hangar time where they can "reorganize" stuff and play in the dirt outside.
 
It's not her first time at the controls of an airplane, she's flown "under the panel" several times before. I've been removing the copilot stick so she can use the booster seat to see outside. I visited with _______ (I forgot his VAF name, he has a really nice orange/blue RV8) at OSH that had modified a booster seat for his kiddos and I decided to do the same.
I've got several booster seats laying around and picked one with an open bottom and numerous plastic ribs. A few minutes with a die grinder gave the desired clearance between the booster seat and the copilot stick.
E18735EC-EB8F-4DD8-BB72-B0A4F15F9EF7_zpsupb6pmuh.jpg


616984D8-0BF2-4D76-8D7C-F7264B8F8290_zpszyw1qrvs.jpg


6321AF97-FC4D-41CE-8994-1206412A2CA3_zpslhtg6f8a.jpg


With the booster she could see over the panel and fly via the horizon, in addition she now has a PTT! She made every transmission for the flight, not to bad for a 4th grader.
03D0E03B-4D54-4EBC-ACBA-6382986427DA_zps1gzlcrrl.jpg


EBE527D4-EC30-42E5-8087-E482D49D93A0_zpsnzdm9elg.jpg


EF47736F-6C7E-41AF-BFF8-6EC0C4BDDDA0_zpsh6ctgknk.jpg


Of course the lesson included a little breakfast and a lot of fun for both of us!

F218FE60-CD2D-4538-B1A1-47A2CE9682FA_zpsiafhw250.jpg


B07E6601-970D-455C-86A0-246645384E22_zps6v1kqjeh.jpg

Crabandy (and eldest daughter),
After seeing the adventure you shared together at OSH, you are steeping her well in you rich traditions.
Even if she never becomes a pilot herself, she will look back and cherish those memories.
My Dad did the same for me in his Ercoupe when I was 6 y.o.
Now I have memories of my own that I've passed onto my kids.

Daddyman
 
Smiling here.............

Just does the heart good. Great story of Dad and his daughter taking a moment to enjoy..... thanks!
 
My son started flying with me as a baby. He's a pilot in the RCAF now and and a standards officer on the Harvard II (T6 Texan II to Americans). These early flights have a real impact on kids, even more than we realize at the time!
 
everyone is smiling at this!

what great fun and you have a real student. teach her well.
 
Logbook

Andy,

One thing I did with each of my kids was buy them a logbook. I've recorded each flight they've taken with me and it's fun to look back on where we went together. I hope it's something they cherish as they get older, even if they don't take up flying themselves. Skyler's got over 250 hrs in the back seat of the -8A and lots of great memories!
 
I'm Jealous!

My grandkids are parents now, so If I want to take a little one flying it will be a great-grandchild.

But really, I'm jealous because the RV is years short of flying.
 
Priceless! - But wait until she gets her ticket and wants to borrow the RV! It's very unnerving to wonder where your child and plane are for several hours or days.
 
I remember the first time I took my son flying. He was 5 years old and we flew to a nearby airport for lunch. The tarmac around the FBO was rather uneven so I had chocked the front wheel before we went into the restaurant. After a nice lunch and answering the 1000 airplane questions my son had we got back in the plane to depart for home. I was about to crank the engine when my son says "Ummmm dad? - don't we have to remove the wheel chock?".... YIKES!!!!...

We still talk about it some 23 years later... lots of great flying memories with my kids - enjoy!
 
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