We fly Carbon Cubs, which are ideally suited to off airport operations.   We love this type of flying, which opens up the world in between airports and provides a direct connection to the landscape and wildlife in California.  Flying low and slow, it isn’t unusual to see whales, sharks, hawks, deer and wild boar,    As we often tell non-pilots, or cross country pilots, most flying is measured by how quickly you can get from one airport to another.    We’re more interested in seeing what’s in between airports, as slowly as possible.
 
There are many grass or dirt airstrips in our area that allow for quick breaks, in between flying.  We love Frasier Lake, Mercey Hot Springs, Panoche and Monterey Bay Academy.  Our large diameter bush wheels make these landing possible and safe. 
 
In September of 2020, a friend and I were exploring BLM (public) land southeast of Hollister, CA, when we discovered an open valley that provided a much needed break (and pit stop).   We had no cell coverage at this low altitude,  so we couldn’t confirm that we were still over the BLM land.   In our haste to land, we had inadvertently landed on private property and now faced the consequences of landing on one of the largest private land holdings in the western U.S. (see below)
 
Public BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land can be explored through apps like OnX Hunt, but require connectivity to be useful.   Throughout the U.S., public land is interspersed with private property.   In our haste to take a break, we had crossed the line.
 
We  don’t want you to make the same mistake that we did.   If you aren’t sure of your location, don’t land, especially on private property (unless, of course, it’s an emergency).  The Las Aguilas ranch and Quien Sabe Valley are definitely off limits.   This ranch has been  been negatively impacted by countless low flying airplanes and helicopters in the past.   In one egregious example, a pilot incited a full scale stampede that destroyed over a mile of expensive fencing and left organized pastures in shambles.    Other pilots have dropped off illegal passengers, to hunt.    The owners have every good reason to be upset and are deadly serious about illegal entry on their land.
 
As a fellow pilot who loves wide open spaces, we implore you to avoid landing on private land in general, and this one in particular.   It covers 60,000 acres, between Hollister and Mercey Hot Springs (see below).  Don’t even think about landing there, or flying down low on to the deck.   In fact, our advice is to avoid all private property, unless you’ve made prior arrangements with the owner.   
 
Safe Flying.

Been using huntwise ( https://apps.apple.com/us/app/huntwise- ... d645518545 ) for just this reason, think it can cache areas too.

I get the landing part but why are you advocating no "overflight", is there a TFR of some sort associated with the space as well ?

I know you can import maps into ForeFlight - if there were BLM maps in whatever format ForeFlight needs that would be a pretty slick way of doing it by just enabling the BLM map layer

I get the landing part but why are you advocating no "overflight", is there a TFR of some sort associated with the space as well ?


In California (and some other places) TFR can stand for "Terminally F***ed-up Resident", they think their property rights go all the way up to low orbit and don't want anyone flying over their land. If they have enough money and political connections they will bitch to the cops and you may get harassed for doing something completely legal. I don't suggest you intentionally fly over to provoke anyone, but if you maintain a reasonable altitude, let them bitch. Also have a plane with small numbers low on your vertical fin where they cannot be read from the ground if you can.

Crop dusting I learned to not let the homeowner be able to say, "He went right over me." Lateral distance is much more vague.

Dale Moul wrote: but if you maintain a reasonable altitude, let them bitch. Also have a plane with small numbers low on your vertical fin where they cannot be read from the ground if you can.

500' from any man made object. Small numbers help. ADS-B adds a whole new layer to the you are busted equation.

500' from any man made object?
That's a new one to me.

As far as stampeding animals, I think it would take quite an effort to make that happen. I fly low quite frequently, often there are cattle, elk, deer, and other animals. I have at times not noticed the elk right away and I look down and they are still laying down looking up at me at all of 200'. On occasion there are cattle at a water hole right before my hay pasture landing area, they run about 50 yards and stop, thats when I go over at about 50'. My experience is that if you are just cruising along most animals do not do much, they might run a short distance but by then you are gone.

If you are not being a jerk or doing something illegal, let them bitch!

Dale Moul wrote:I get the landing part but why are you advocating no "overflight", is there a TFR of some sort associated with the space as well ?


In California (and some other places) TFR can stand for "Terminally F***ed-up Resident", they think their property rights go all the way up to low orbit and don't want anyone flying over their land. If they have enough money and political connections they will bitch to the cops and you may get harassed for doing something completely legal. I don't suggest you intentionally fly over to provoke anyone, but if you maintain a reasonable altitude, let them bitch. Also have a plane with small numbers low on your vertical fin where they cannot be read from the ground if you can.

Also a reason to not have ADSB, or have one where it doesn’t send your tail number out when set to 1200

StillLearning wrote:500' from any man made object?
That's a new one to me.

As far as stampeding animals, I think it would take quite an effort to make that happen. I fly low quite frequently, often there are cattle, elk, deer, and other animals. I have at times not noticed the elk right away and I look down and they are still laying down looking up at me at all of 200'. On occasion there are cattle at a water hole right before my hay pasture landing area, they run about 50 yards and stop, thats when I go over at about 50'. My experience is that if you are just cruising along most animals do not do much, they might run a short distance but by then you are gone.

If you are not being a jerk or doing something illegal, let them bitch!

Different way of saying the same thing

“ §91.119 Minimum safe altitudes: General. ...
(c) Over other than congested areas. An altitude of 500 feet above the surface, except over open water or sparsely populated areas. In those cases, the aircraft may not be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure.“

I agree, if it’s not illegal, don’t be a jerk, but don’t let other jerks dictate what you do else risk setting a precedence

I agree, if it’s not illegal, don’t be a jerk, but don’t let other jerks dictate what you do else risk setting a precedence[/quote]
That right there folks. The call to self regulate is just warming you up for your sacrifice. They want you to walk, not have to carry you, to the top of the volcano before they push you in.