Hypothetical Question about Small Planes

SpaceAngel

New member
OK, this has NOTHING to do with real life, but I write a bit and have the beginning of a story here.

To summarize, I need to know A. How many a small private owned will seat (the single engine variety, I suppose) and B. How many, if ANY, carseats will it fit.

The fictional children are petite 2 1/2, 5 and 8 year olds.






This must be one of the weirdest questions posted.
 
ADS

AdventureMom

Senior Community Member
There was a recent post on there about someone's child flying on a small plane - maybe this will help you some:

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=10283

I don't know much about single-engine planes, but I do believe the seating arrangements vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and from one model to the next.

Hope this helps :)
 

ktmo

New member
We have a Cessna 182 and it is a four passenger plane. It has a bench in the back, and I could put two car seats back there. No, way three. I have had a RF SnugRide and a FF Roundabout in the back, not at the same time. My DD is 21 months old, and when we fly, I have to sit next to her to keep her headphones on, maybe by 2 1/2 she will be able to keep them on her self, but she doesn't like them at all. There are small planes that have three rows of seats, I can ask my DH if you want specifics.

Katie
 

beeman

Active member
When some seats say "not for aircraft use" is this refering to commercial jets and personal planes, or just one or the other?
I've seen planes that seat from 2 to 6, and there might be some that seat 8, but don't quote me on that.
 

AdventureMom

Senior Community Member
The test they do on carseats for FAA approval is an inversion test (whether or not the child stays in the seat when it's inverted). They say that this is for extreme turbulence so I would think you would want a child in an FAA seat even if it's not a commercial airline... :)
 

Dreaming_of_Speed

Senior Community Member
My fiance is a pilot and we fly a 6 place plane (this mean it has 6 oxygen masks and it has 6 seats) A, it depends on the plane. B, it depends on the plane. A single engine plane could seat 2 to 12. Some planes have rear facing seats which limit your positions. Never put any child in a position where they could reach the controls. Some planes have airbags in the harness system (either in the lap belt or the shoulder harness if its a 4 point) and are not suitable to install a child seat.

Our usual plane has 6 seats 2 in front, 2 that sit backwards against the front, and 2 that face the front in the back. When we fly everyone I put the twins rear facing in their keyfits in the rear most seats then put Ryan in a SS1 in the passenger seat. If anyone else flies along I put ryan FF in the middle row since its not fun to travel with an infant seat hanging over your lap (but infant seats make impromptu travel so much easier. No more uninstalling and reinstalling the seats at every destination.)

ETA: oh i forgot the hypothetical question. Lets use our plane as mentioned above. All the seats in our plane have lap and shoulder belts and the front 2 rows have headrests, it does not have any airbags. i would put the 2 year old in a FF harnessing seat in the rear most row. The 5 year old could be in either a harness or a booster as the belts are not retractable and will be locked. I'd probably put this child in the rear row also. The 8 year old could be in a booster or not depending on if he needs it in the middle rear facing row. I would not put an 8 year old in the front seat.
 

Dreaming_of_Speed

Senior Community Member
The test they do on carseats for FAA approval is an inversion test (whether or not the child stays in the seat when it's inverted). They say that this is for extreme turbulence so I would think you would want a child in an FAA seat even if it's not a commercial airline... :)

Most defiantly, turbulence is more frequent and forceful in a small plane than a jet (but its easier to go around in a small plane since you dont have 200 passengers worried about getting somewhere on time) But not all seats are stamped not FAA approved b/c they failed the test. Any seat over 17 inches wide are failed b/c they wont fit in an airline seat.
 

SpaceAngel

New member
Thank you for your help! I think the fictitious plane will have to be a six seater. I guess it really isn't so important, but I wanted to make sure I got the small details correct, not writing about kids in car seats and come to find out such a thing isn't even possible.
 

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