Flying with a toddler (including over water)

YMMV.

Literally! That said, on the Dover Calais crossing, if one flies as high as the airspace Alpha allows, then one must be flying quite a brick to not be able to land back on land. And the only reasons requiring the pilot fly lower could be clouds (if not instrument capable) or convectivity / ice that one wants to stay out of (even if instrument capable).

So, if instrument capable, one can pretty much rule out the possible need of going into the water on crossings to and from the continent.

Jujupilote wrote:

Interesting note on no-headset flying from udo.

They took quite some effort in the sound proofing of the later model C Comanche. There is lightweight insulation material, double pane windows. One has to have it flown to realize it. But the RPM is important, too. At around 2200 RPM it starts to get a lot louder.

Of course one has to take into account that power settings are comparatively low. But we still do around 150 knots true on 2000. However, with much less noise things are less stressful, and to have the kids to be able to move freely in the plane is a relief for all of us.

What IS funny is when they start to play something, like clapping with the hands, you can feel the little movements, or when you constantly have to readjust the trim. It’s a huge difference if the kids play in the third row and then climb forward to see what’s happening in front. I don’t have altitude hold, so first thing is that nose goes down and I have to counteract

Love that cabin…

In Northern European waters, I think a toddler would be likely to die of exposure unless you were rescued very quickly. I think they would need to be in a liferaft cuddling with an adult, to have a decent chance of lasting more than a few hours. I appreciate that’s the plan, but I’d want to be very sure of making it jnto the raft.

First flight with the 3.5yr old went brilliantly. 25 minutes from EGLM to EGTN in a TB10.

He spotted other aeroplanes, loved his headset, and even pointed out a golf course. Though how a boy of that age should know what a golf course looks like from the air, I don’t know….

To the OP: what are your wife’s thoughts on the matter? She’s probably the best placed of all of us to advise!

Just as a reminder, the probability of your engine quitting on a 1h over-the-sea flight is in the order of 1/200000.
This may suggest the comfort+anxiety+enjoyment and other items above should take precedent over the possibility of a ditching. Great to brief and prepare for it, but it should not be central to the conversation for a flight as intended in the OP.

As a data point our three kids have been flying since 1-mo-old following similar precautions as listed above. Now that they are teenagers they are not any more deaf, weird or stubborn than all the other teenagers so it does not seem to have affected them. Having said that it has affected mum whose anxiety has grown over the years…make sure you avoid turbulence as much as possible in your flight planning!