Pixels
New member
I flew with DD's Radian. Forward faced her on some flight segments, rear faced her on others. Between the upright-ness of the RF install (which I did do against manufacturer's instructions, I left the boot off, and there was a good chance it was more upright than 30 degrees, but it was reclined as much as possible in the space available and I used the top tether to add stability) and the natural lean of the plane (nose is higher than tail), the RF install was at least as upright as the FF install.
Another time, I flew with the ComfortSport and RFed her. That was fairly upright as well, and again I'm sure it was against manufacturer's instructions (too upright) but it was the best I could do. At the time, DD was less than a year and less than 20 pounds so FF was not an option. There was no way for me to use that carseat 100% correctly on that plane.
Depending on the pitch available and the carseat, RF might not be any more reclined than FF.
The first question is a personal question. Different people have different comfort levels. Some people look at the statistics, see that flying (even unrestrained) is significantly safer than driving (even properly restrained), and not worry about it. Those same people will also be comfortable with a lap child, usually.
Other people will forward face a 1 and 20 child on the plane, but not take a lap baby nor would they FF a 1 and 20 in the car. That's their comfort level.
Yet others want best practice at all times under all circumstances, and will RF in any situation as long as the child is able to fit.
There's not really a right or wrong answer, I don't think. Just different opinions.
For your question about FFing with the harness below, I think partly it depends on how far below (a millimeter? three inches?) and partly on what happens during your flight. The majority of flights are uneventful, with minor turbulence at worst. You could probably do everything wrong and everybody would be fine. Same with in the car, the vast majority of trips are uneventful, and everybody could be unrestrained and arrive at the destination unscathed. In a worst-case scenario, with severe turbulence or a runway incident, it's certainly possible that having the harness improperly routed would be deleterious.
To give you additional information, since it seems like you're trying to make a decision, there is some evidence that RFing on the plane may be even more important than in the car, due to the reduced head excursion room. For the same reason, using a child restraint at all (FF vs lap-only belt) may be more important. Planes don't provide upper torso protection, making a lap belt only child's head more likely to strike the seat in front.
Another time, I flew with the ComfortSport and RFed her. That was fairly upright as well, and again I'm sure it was against manufacturer's instructions (too upright) but it was the best I could do. At the time, DD was less than a year and less than 20 pounds so FF was not an option. There was no way for me to use that carseat 100% correctly on that plane.
Depending on the pitch available and the carseat, RF might not be any more reclined than FF.
I've got a question that may seem silly to many of you.
From a safety standpoint (ignoring comfort), would it be enough less safe to forward face on a plane that you would refuse to take your small infant/toddler if you knew you had to forward face on the plan? Also, would the risks of injury due to 'improper installation' be bad enough if the harness were adjusted for rear-facing mode, but used forward facing on a plane that you would have to completely rethread your harness before and after the flight? Or would the fact that junior is restrained be enough?
The first question is a personal question. Different people have different comfort levels. Some people look at the statistics, see that flying (even unrestrained) is significantly safer than driving (even properly restrained), and not worry about it. Those same people will also be comfortable with a lap child, usually.
Other people will forward face a 1 and 20 child on the plane, but not take a lap baby nor would they FF a 1 and 20 in the car. That's their comfort level.
Yet others want best practice at all times under all circumstances, and will RF in any situation as long as the child is able to fit.
There's not really a right or wrong answer, I don't think. Just different opinions.
For your question about FFing with the harness below, I think partly it depends on how far below (a millimeter? three inches?) and partly on what happens during your flight. The majority of flights are uneventful, with minor turbulence at worst. You could probably do everything wrong and everybody would be fine. Same with in the car, the vast majority of trips are uneventful, and everybody could be unrestrained and arrive at the destination unscathed. In a worst-case scenario, with severe turbulence or a runway incident, it's certainly possible that having the harness improperly routed would be deleterious.
To give you additional information, since it seems like you're trying to make a decision, there is some evidence that RFing on the plane may be even more important than in the car, due to the reduced head excursion room. For the same reason, using a child restraint at all (FF vs lap-only belt) may be more important. Planes don't provide upper torso protection, making a lap belt only child's head more likely to strike the seat in front.