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Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2006 23:40:22 -0500
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Subject: Runway checks, passes, flybys
Thread-Topic: lml Digest #1489
Thread-Index: AcYdsNqc/HcN8MEDQuuUtcdH9pQB5QAKZ8mg
From: "Halle, John" <JJHALLE@stoel.com>

OK, we've heard from the pros (I live to show off and have a =
constitutional right to fly low passes whenever I want) and the cons =
(the only legitimate purpose in flying is to show how safe you can be.)  =
As usual, I find myself in the middle.  It is perfectly safe to fly a =
low pass in some circumstances and not in others.  We do a particular =
kind of low pass every time we land.  Doing one faster has little effect =
on safety (assuming the pass was otherwise safe) and there is no =
altitude lower than the altitude when the wheels touch down.  It is =
certainly possible to argue that, if you are going to fly close to the =
ground, you should be going as fast as possible because it gives you an =
instant escape (upward) if anything goes wrong.  At one time in my life =
I occasionally went low-level sightseeing in a T-33 in Iceland.  We flew =
up valleys but only with enough speed to vertical out.

That said, there are times when shining your whatever is clearly dumb or =
worse.  You should never be in a traffic pattern under any circumstance =
unless you have a clear picture of where the other a/c in the pattern =
are and you have determined that you are not in conflict with them.  =
Obviously, if you can't meet this standard, you should not be doing a =
low pass.  Doing a low pass where you can run into power lines or towers =
is beyond dumb but it is not usually a problem if you are doing it down =
a runway.

99% of the time, it is not the airplane or the maneuver that is unsafe.  =
It's the pilot.  If you are the right kind of pilot, you can fly by my =
airport any time.  If not, I would prefer you don't come at all.