Flying with little ones

[Scott Will]

Does anyone fly with small kids? How do you provide hearing protection for their young ears? Are headsets made to fit kids this small?

my lovely Ms. Heather this past Dec. 2006 - future RV driver

[n700jl]

Scott,

My daughter is 2 and she has been with me alot in my -6. I was also concerned about hearing protection. I just found a new item that maybe of good use. http://www.take-care.com/hear/hhc/earplanes.html they are called earplanes and you can get them in child sizes. Also I have used EAR yellow foam ear plugs but I ran them through a single hole punch to reduce the size. You can also poke a hole in them and tie on a piece of string so they are easy to get out. I know my -6 is very noisey on the inside. I have taken my headset off before and I had to scream to hear myself. I have not been able to find a headset small enough or light enough for her to wear. she just pulls it off after a few minutes of flight.

Best regards
Jon Hubbell
RV-6 Flying
RV-10 building

[ZU-RVZ]

My three kids all had their first flights at 2 weeks old and fly often.

Admittedly this was in a Saratoga that is considerably quieter than an RV. Initially I wrapped a blanket around their ears but from a year onward I purchased kid's headsets (AvComm I think) that work well.

They now all fly the RV, ages 5, 2 and 1.

The oldest 2 (girls) LOVE aeros!!!

[fliier]

I also did what Jon did, using the hole punch on a set of foam plugs. When my daughter was really small we found a small bonnet, same shape as a flying helmet, to tie onto her head so she couldn't pull the earplugs out.

John Allen

[alpinelakespilot2000]

AOPA has a link somewhere on their website that provides a complete pattern for making a bonnet style hearing protector. Used it for my daughter. It seems to have worked OK. She's now 6 and can still hear me, although I'm told that will change when she turns 13.

[Low Pass]

My kids didn't fly with me until they were around 6 or 7. Couple of point here:

1. Don't take them up until they can effectively equalize the pressure in their ears. Inflict that kind of pain and you may burn them on flying for life. My 13 yr olds still have problems with the issue, so I am very careful with altitude variation rates.

2. I see no good point in taking a child up for a pleasure flight (excluding travel) that cannot sit up, wear a headset and look outside the plane. Not being able to see out, and their very likely going to get vertigo and become ill. More chance on souring them on flying, not to mention inflicting physical discomfort on your child.

[phil9diesel]

WW2 headsets are suede with light bands.=light, adjustable, and comfortable. Ear plugs hurt! Look into ground crew covers. You might have some success with target practice earphones. What kind of muffler system's on your plane?