B17 flight appropriate for a little kid?

Four is pretty young and could actually scare him if he has never been up in an airplane. The engines do make some noise and there is quite a bit of vibration.
Ear protection would be a must and careful chaperoning.
They may not allow one so young unless they have safe seating of some sort.

 

I would say that 4 yo is too young for many reasons.

You will love it though!!

 

Too young. I agree with Spasso and SNj5 that 4 years of age is way too young to go up in a B-17. The sheer size of the interior alone would not only be over-powering but dangerous with many sharp edges and corners and crannies that could trap and injure a child. Then the noise is deafening and the vibrations would be frightening to a little kid. Besides, he couldn't see anything but the interior structure and there isn't adequate safety equipment or restraints. I would wait for 5 more years when he would understand what the B-17 is about. I hope that you can go, however, it is a great experience to get a little bit of what it was like 68 years ago.
Switches

 

I would say that 4 is too young to really enjoy the flight. Like it has been mentioned the engines are loud, the plane has a lot of vibrations and can be quite cold depending on the time of the flight and the local weather. Also during the flight the passengers are walking around to check out the various positions in the plane.

You might want to take the child to see the plane and get a chance to walk through it while it is on the ground, let them see it take off and land. Then go over to the FBO and see about taking a discovery flight for the child. This way the child can enjoy the thrill of flying get to see the cockpit in a more comfortable airplane.

 

I think that's best. YOU, though, really need to go up in one of the bombers. My ride was in "only" a B-25, and it was absolutely worth doing. If I can swing the cash next time they come through, I'm grabbing a ride on the B-24 or B-17

 

I have been up in all of those mentioned and the B-25 is a real kick, I think. That airplane did so many good things during the war and it was one of the most reliable, stabile, and competent airplanes in the USAAF. My brother-in -law flew them in the Pacific Theater along with the B-26 ( Martin) and he said that the B-25 was the most enjoyable of the two but if you wanted to get home from action, the B-26 was his choice for being the toughest. He said, though, that it was a ***** to fly if everything wasn't running in a coordinated manor. Taking a flight in the B-24 and B-17 is a good experience if it is a nice warm summer day. Winter at 27,000 ft. is another ball game.
Switches

 

4 may be too young, but you should definitely go!! I was in the pattern (at Chesapeake Regional here in VA) with Liberty Belle the other day, and she is a gorgeous bird that makes a gorgeous noise. Yum yum yum...

 

At 4 years of age I doubt he'd remember the experience. If he was 6 or 7 then I'd do it.

 

old thread, but last summer I had a flight in "Aluminum Overcast", the EAA's B-17 at Oshkosh.

As others have said I doubt a 4 yr old could appreciate the flight for what it really is (after the sheer giddyness of moving about a 60 year old, legendary war machine cruising through the sky, I got choked up during the landing thinking of what it must have been like coming back from a mission with the plane and crew shot up, spent bullet casings lining the interior, etc), but there was a boy of about 10 on my flight who seemed to grasp the importance. It's also pretty tricky walking around inside - have to be aware where you're putting your feet, especially walking through the bomb-bay section.

I received the flight as a gift. $400 is pretty steep for me to spend on 30 minutes, but having done it I can honestly say it's worth every penny. Bought my father a flight in a B-24 in New Jersey but they ended up not having enough people for that flight so he also went up in a 17. Bad knees kept him from crawling up to the nose, but he still had an unbelievable flight.

photos:
http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x155/kedelbach/2008%208%201%20Oshkosh/?start=all
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Several years ago a friend invited me to ride on a B-17 that had landed with a B-24 at a field outside of Sacramento, and we both made a donation towards the Confederate Air Force that went towards maintaining and refurbishing old warbirds. We had to wait quite some time before our group got to go up, and in the group before us, a father had paid to take his two boys up. One was probably 10, and the other was 5 or 6 years old and was wearing all sorts of airplane adorned clothing including a leather flight jacket with a bunch of patches from squadrons I'd never heard of. Anyways, as soon as they landed, out hops the 10 year old, and dad had to pull the second son out of the plane as he had been pretty much scared sh!tless, and proceeded to make the flight a nightmare for everyone on board. So don't just think about whether your child will enjoy the experience, also consider what will happen to everyone else if the child flips out.