Baby Mary's First Flight

At the ripe old age of 3 months, we took Mary on her first flight. It turned out to be a beautiful Sunday afternoon so we loaded up and headed for the airport.

My biggest concern for Mary has always been what to do about hearing protection. I scoured the web for help and not long after she was born I bought a pair of Peltor Pink Child Earmuffs. We tested them out last week at Abby's cheerleading awards night with marginal success. Mary seemed to tolerate wearing them, but you could see they were still just a little too big; the ear cups wouldn't seal around the top of her ears.

Since I don't feel comfortable sticking ear plugs IN her ear, we chose to use cotton balls placed over her ears that were held in place by a head band. It actually seemed to work pretty well.

The plan was to pre-flight, load the plane, and taxi out for the run-up. If Mary tolerated that, we'd take to the skies. Needles to say, we were airborne without delay or fussing! Mary actually settled in to falling asleep so southward we went for another visit to Flagler County Airport. Abby and I have been there quite a few times, but somehow we never brought Mom! We're fixing that today.

As we flew down, I took another step to look after Mary's hearing. Since we are lucky enough to have a constant speed propeller, I chose to fly at 65% power set with a lower RPM, but higher manifold pressure as per the plane's power setting tables. It made for a much quieter flight and only added a whopping 2 minutes to the flight as compared to running at 75% power and 2400 RPM. As an added bonus, the fuel flow was 1 GPH less too! Every little bit helps!


Lunch at High Jackers, as always, was good. Abby played on the playground while Kristi, Mary, and I enjoyedthe views from our table in the shade. As soon as lunch was over, we loaded up, took of for the skies again, and headed home. Again, Mary slept a little and I even caught Abby enjoying the views outside the plane more instead of playing her DSi!

With that successful flight, it is time to plan a trip. Who knows, weather and work permitting, maybe we'll get away very soon.

So Mary, what did you think of your first flight?????