Child Restraints

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alexl

Pre-Flight
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Jun 13, 2014
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Alex
Hey all,

Planning the first flight as a family of four, taking the club's PA28-180. No issue with the 2 year olds seat, but the baby's infant seat will not fit in the tight rear seat area of the PA28 in its normal backwards configuration, only forwards as pictured.. I am opening myself up to all sorts of internet safety jockeys, but what say you? Even if the seat did fit backwards, it would be nearly impossible for the kiddos mom to reach back when necessary. I am all about making this as safe as possible with my family, but the alternative is likely waiting 2+ years before taking trips as a family.



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I would find a way to secure the seat without the seatbelt going over the top and make sure the child is secured into the seat properly. As pictured, I can see the seatbelt crushing the sides of the seat, if in an accident, and injuring the child.
 
seat belt over the seat is actually the approved method per the manufacturer for when the base is not used. Granted in this configuration, the seat belt is in a [slightly] different location than in the rear facing configuration. but agree with your premise and will consider alternatives. Thanks!
 
Hell, the airplane (at least my 1966 C150) was certified (and still allowed by the FAA) to take two year old passengers sitting in the front seat with just a lap belt, or younger ones even held in a lap. I don’t have any chance of fitting even a regular small sized car seat in the factory rear child seat in my 150. My 3 year old survived his first emergency landing (on the runway, not in the trees, so I worry about flying the airplane and not crashing it more.

So you do what you can and if you have the means, go spend a million and buy a nice big Cirrus with a parachute. Otherwise go fly and roll the dice, just like you do every time you walk across a busy street or drive a car. Have fun.
 
This has been, more or less, my attitude as well. It is this or roll the dice on travelling by car on the busiest travel days of the year (Wednesday and Sunday on either side of Thanksgiving. Flight will also be over the plains of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas - plenty of flat ground that is also peppered with airports.
 
AFAIK, the only regulatory issue is the child seat needs to be in a forward-facing airplane seat. The Ge/weight restrictions on whether the child seat faces forward or aft are state laws for cars.

As far as safety, well,...there are reasons for the state laws, and the baby will possibly be injured in a sudden deceleration because his/her head isn’t supported.

These kind of decisions are the reason parents get paid the big bucks.
 
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