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Low & Fast: Is it safe and is it legal?

As a Lancair owner, I used to belong to LOBO. Before my first flight, they hooked me up with an instructor so I could get some training before flying my project for the first time. Also, Bob Pastusek's talk on maintenance issues was most excellent. I'm forever grateful for LOBO getting me off to a good start but, since then, it has became apparent that the only purpose of LOBO these days is to keep insurance rates down for the high-dollar Evo's and the L-IVP's. I told Jeff Edwards that very thing at one of their fly-ins after he bombarded us for over an hour with statistics proving that all Lancair pilots are going to die very soon. I really didn't need to pay good money to hear that. I no longer participate in Lancairtalk, either. There's much more useful information available here at VAF.

P.S. I highly recommend Don's blade-type ADS-B/Xpndr antennas.
 
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I would hope RV-think has trended more toward safe ops than when the ten-year-old VAF thread he referenced was current. RV flights I see at various airports and discussed here lead me to believe there isn't as much cowboying taking place as there was a decade or so ago.
 
"Open water"

+1 on Sam's comment.

I also learned something new from the video - "open water" for purposes of 91.119(c) is depicted by a (very slightly) lighter shade of blue on sectionals, differentiating it from "inland water" (see ~24:45 in the video). This information is not included in the Sectional Chart Legend, but does appear in the Chart User's Guide.

Oceans and the Great Lakes are charted as open water. So are lakes Ponchartrain, Okeechobee, and Great Salt Lake. Most other water bodies are not, including some fairly large lakes such Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin (roughly 10x25 miles).
 
Alan Carroll said:
+1 on Sam's comment.

I also learned something new from the video - "open water" for purposes of 91.119(c) is depicted by a (very slightly) lighter shade of blue on sectionals, differentiating it from "inland water" (see ~24:45 in the video). This information is not included in the Sectional Chart Legend, but does appear in the Chart User's Guide.

Oceans and the Great Lakes are charted as open water. So are lakes Ponchartrain, Okeechobee, and Great Salt Lake. Most other water bodies are not, including some fairly large lakes such Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin (roughly 10x25 miles).
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I didn't know that. Cool, thanks.

Interesting to think about. I'll venture to say very low flight over large expanses of water is probably a lot less safe than ripping along over a small lake or a river. The shorelines offer a visual clue as to height above the water.
 
DanH said:
I didn't know that. Cool, thanks.

Interesting to think about. I'll venture to say very low flight over large expanses of water is probably a lot less safe than ripping along over a small lake or a river. The shorelines offer a visual clue as to height above the water.
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I'd worry about power/phone lines strung across the river, the ones that you don't see until you've hit them. :eek: Of course, if you're familiar with the route, it's not an issue. The view's great down low, but the comfort factor for me is 3500+ feet agl.
 
Also you're not supposed to be closer than 500 feet to people. In the video the Cessna that crashed going down the river was flying past people on the river banks. Way closer than 500 feet!
 
There is...

Sam Buchanan said:
I would hope RV-think has trended more toward safe ops than when the ten-year-old VAF thread he referenced was current. RV flights I see at various airports and discussed here lead me to believe there isn't as much cowboying taking place as there was a decade or so ago.
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There is at my airport - though its not RVers. Exactly the attitude mentioned in the vid.
 
temporary wires and cables

rightrudder said:
I'd worry about power/phone lines strung across the river, the ones that you don't see until you've hit them. :eek: Of course, if you're familiar with the route, it's not an issue. The view's great down low, but the comfort factor for me is 3500+ feet agl.
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The problem is even if you know the route well, sometimes people string temporary wires or cables. That is a very frequent problem in the mountains - could be logging or even simple transport of equipment or supplies up or down when roads are not adequate. These can pop up in minutes, so even if you flew the route in the morning, flying it after lunch it can be different.
 
rv8ch said:
The problem is even if you know the route well, sometimes people string temporary wires or cables.
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True story. About 20 years ago one of my friends came back from a local flight in his Drifter, and told us he had nearly hit a power line while flying low across some very familiar fields. He was particularly disturbed because he worked for the power company, had done lots of maintenance on that particular line, and knew exactly where it was located. None the less, he had lost track of his position and nearly nailed it.
 
A friend was killed last year hitting a cable across a river south of here. Fun but maybe not a great idea. That cable was at about 15-20 feet where he struck it.
 
The drone risk is also real. After participating in that hobby and as a commercial drone pilot, I realized just how big of a risk it is for aircraft. Don't assume that crowd is following the rules because my experience is that many don't or are oblivious of them and the danger their toy presents to aircraft!
 
I also lost a friend to power lines in 2106 in South Carolina. He was flying his new Harmon rocket along a river in a familiar area. He was a navy trained pilot and captain with Delta. No one is immune from this stuff.
 
if you like this type of flying, I would recommend a powered paraglider. I love mine and you can avoid everything at 22mph. Just don't **** off birds of prey!
 
his engine had quit. im thinking he saw them but couldn't avoid. looks as if he misjudged his glideslope. But I'm sure somebody has hit one, as there are all types. I know one guy who flies them that is legally blind!
 
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well...

There are many more to choose from, if you don't like that one...

The point is, it doesn't matter WHAT kind of aircraft is involved, the potential for an accident is still there. What matters is what the operator of the aircraft does...the aircraft is but a tool.
 
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