MarkGrubb wrote:Zane:

My post is spot-on. Mt Whitney, is populated by dozens of hikers and climbers each day during the summer and their response is very positive (applause, cheering, thumbs-up) when a pilot shares time and space with them. Similar situation on White Mt and the literally dozens of overlooks in the Appalachians and Rockies. ....

Were you close enough to be sure it was their thumb?

well we've exhausted this topic.... Onward and upward....

me think you should give that trouble maker hicountry 30 days in the penalty box for starting such a contentious topic. and who jacked the thread making statements about the AOPA. DOH

I guess I'm slow or missing something, Rob. What's the point of the third picture above the clouds???

I understand the middle picture!!

No point, just beautiful. Oh, and you can't see the tower sticking out of the fog.

I was reading the BCP thread LOWFLYBYS before work. I thought they were full of cow pies. I guess not.

EZFlap wrote:
So if you are flying at 25 feet above the ground instead of 2500, and you get hit with a "sudden downdraft", you will see a headwind from the air splashing outward, but you will not feel the "fist of God" smashing you downward. (Unless God is purposely trying to move the planet, or it's payback for that farmer's daughter incident).

Your statement makes it sound like down low might be the place to be in strong convective stuff. Unfortunately, what you say is only about 25% right. A downdraft *ahead* of you may be easy enough to take until or unless you fly through it and then get a strong tailwind component. Worse, if the downdraft occurs behind you it can result in a loss of airspeed without much opportunity or options other than the dirt.

Note too, this sort of thing not only happens during weather, microbursts etc, but also during summertime thermals with their in-rushing air to replace the air moving upwards. When a glider or power plane is flying parallel to a ridge or mountain, and a thermal trips up ahead and downslope, the situation can prove fatal. The glider's outboard wing enters the thermal's upflowing air while the wing closest to the slope enters down slope air feeding the base of the thermal. The resultant rolling towards mother earth, sometimes exascerbated with tailwind component, has likely been a factor in many crashes in mountainous terrain.

I fly low a lot. But it's generally not a place to be during turbulent times.

This thread has my name all over it. I guess I should add a few low passes to the group...

Solo is fun, but in formation is even better

Hello Backcountry pilots,

The picture below is the aftermath of a “Look at Me”/”Buzz Job”. I’m sure the ATP rated pilot thought he was a good stick too. This pilot almost crashed into a crowd of people at a RC Airport. There are no special “Nap of the Earth” flying skills required to perform a buzz job. A lot of Student Pilots and Private Pilots at the 41 hour level and above perform buzz jobs with varied levels of success.

Bottom line, buzz jobs over people and or structures are illegal. Is it worth risking your pilot’s license? Would you speed though a school zone just because you’re an "American"? As airplane owners and pilots I think we can still have a pretty good time without buzzing folks on the ground.

Personally I enjoy flying the backcountry and prefer flying by myself. I think most of us will push the weather and land at places where we wouldn’t take passengers. A little advice is that everyone has a camera on their cell phones these days. A picture of your plane doing a “buzz job” becomes that much easier for the FAA to prove.

My two cents

James

Why are we equating flying NOE with "buzz jobs?"

Like James says, any idiot student pilot can "buzz" his buddies, Sorta...

NOE is a whole different area of flying, and a discipline all unto itself. It takes flying smarts, sometimes intense concentration, always working that "what if" Plan B. And that is where you get the TRUE sensation of flying. The speed and the three dimensions of flight. It is awesome!!!

I can appreciate a warning from someone who doesn't understand it or practice NOE, as on the surface it may look dangerous. But I'm not alone here in knowing and assuming the risks of what we do.

Gump

GumpAir wrote:Why are we equating flying NOE with "buzz jobs?"

Exactly. Two topics crossing wires here.

What does NOE stand for? I get your drift but the abbrev escapes me.

Nap Of the Earth.

[quote="RobBurson"]

What airplane? Didn't see it! I was looking at the blue bikini!

Lets make sure we dont cross three lines here and get ground hugging mixed up with tree hugging or we will all be in hot air

mr scout wrote:Lets make sure we dont cross three lines here and get ground hugging mixed up with tree hugging or we will all be in hot air

I knew you were a tree hugger, by some definition of the term.

james wrote:Hello Backcountry pilots,

The picture below is the aftermath of a “Look at Me”/”Buzz Job”. I’m sure the ATP rated pilot thought he was a good stick too. This pilot almost crashed into a crowd of people at a RC Airport. There are no special “Nap of the Earth” flying skills required to perform a buzz job. A lot of Student Pilots and Private Pilots at the 41 hour level and above perform buzz jobs with varied levels of success.

Bottom line, buzz jobs over people and or structures are illegal. Is it worth risking your pilot’s license? Would you speed though a school zone just because you’re an "American"? As airplane owners and pilots I think we can still have a pretty good time without buzzing folks on the ground.

Personally I enjoy flying the backcountry and prefer flying by myself. I think most of us will push the weather and land at places where we wouldn’t take passengers. A little advice is that everyone has a camera on their cell phones these days. A picture of your plane doing a “buzz job” becomes that much easier for the FAA to prove.

My two cents

James

If this picture was taken right after the crash...........kinda looks like it was IFR.

If this picture was taken right after the crash...........kinda looks like it was IFR.

No the picture was taken the morning after the accident. It was clear the on the afternoon of the crash.

James

Ya know what they say...if you crash in bad wx, they will bury you on a sunny day. I think this thread got way out of hand..I posted this video for something of interest.

If you fly low enough, you can't spin.