Advice for aviators and YouTube users
Please forgive this interjection into the topic at hand, but it IS related.
In my mind, there is "risky" flying and there is "blatantly illegal" flying. I see them as two separate issues, albeit linked by some common factors -- one of which being the way other people view the activity.
Hypothetically, if I went out and videotaped myself flying an RV at 50' AGL across a sparsely-populated area with smoke on, then did some Extended Trail aerobatic maneuvering with another RV, flew a low-level route through the mountains, then performed some low approaches and aggressive pullups at my home airport, I could probably edit together a pretty impressive video that would make a certain percentage of pilots say, "Wow, that guy's really good (or crazy, or skilled, or awesome, or idiotic, etc)." All while staying strictly within the Federal Aviation Regulations. Is any of that particular flying too "risky"? That's for the pilot to decide. "Risk" is a highly subjective term, as has been pointed out.
With certain qualifications and restrictions, I could also utilize a legal, low-altitude aerobatic box and perform low-altitude aerobatics, legally.
Or, because I'm instrument rated, I could get an IFR block-altitude clearance and zigzag my way around the clouds, performing rolls over the tops of the cumulus clouds and weaving my way through the holes and canyons. All legally.
But what would be missing from my resulting hypothetical video (and what is missing from 99% of the YouTube "flying videos" out there) is context. And that's what gets some amateurs in trouble. Some people watch videos and think they can (and should) replicate what they see others doing, without the slightest idea of what the other person's qualifications, training, and skill level are -- or even the knowledge that what they were doing was entirely legal and/or waivered!
It may be that Burt and Dick Rutan got a waiver to perform a low-altitude flight over a highway for their 1980s-era promotional video -- I don't know. But when I see a more recent online video posted by a person who does not have an instrument rating performing aerobatics in and around the clouds, or a guy buzzing his buddies' boat on a crowded lake, or whatever, that crosses a line into illegality, and now the activity is not just "risky," but blatantly stupid.
Both types of flying create risks for the pilot and for all of the General Aviation community. Risky (but legal) flying will make some people shake their heads and say "tsk tsk," and that's just fine with me, as long as the activity does not endanger passengers or those on the ground. However, illegal and blatantly dangerous flying can, and should, land you in big trouble, and also earn you the censure of the entire community. I grind my teeth every time I see someone enthusiastically busting VFR cloud-clearance restrictions and then posting footage of their infraction online like it's no big deal. It's a huge friggin' deal. My family could be in an airliner on the other side of that cloud.
As the saying goes: Aviation is inherently unforgiving of any incapacity, carelessness, or neglect. People who advertise their incapacity, carelessness or neglect by posting footage of it online surely shouldn't expect any reasonable person to applaud them for it.
Unfortunately, our nanny-state mentality might now make it necessary for anyone who intends to post creative flying-related videos in a public forum to qualify their work with an explanation of the conditions under which it was filmed. (You'll notice that several of the professional aviators on this forum wisely do exactly that. They feel compelled to a). explain that what they were doing is was legal, and the reasons why it was legal, and b). remind others that they should not try this at home.) I hate that we have to think like this, but the small percentage of knuckleheads out there ruin it for everyone.
So while I love watching flying videos, people should remember that making cool videos can encourage others to "take it up a notch" in their own productions, and their own flying. And if you like videotaping yourself, but don't have a good idea what constitutes poor judgement or illegal flying, you've got the wrong hobby.