No aerobatics below 1,500'?

1500 feet is clearly a scientifically-determined altitude that makes it safe for all aircraft. Even 1499 feet would probably be fatal 99.73% of the time. At 1499.5, the statistics improve, with fatality dropping to 23.49%, but they chose to round up to 1500 in deference to us old guys whose eyes can’t discern 6” on the altimeter.
 
I suspect they want you to have sufficient altitude to recover should your maneuver go wrong.
 
MauleSkinner said:
1500 feet is clearly a scientifically-determined altitude that makes it safe for all aircraft. Even 1499 feet would probably be fatal 99.73% of the time. At 1499.5, the statistics improve, with fatality dropping to 23.49%, but they chose to round up to 1500 in deference to us old guys whose eyes can’t discern 6” on the altimeter.
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:D Nailed it.
 
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And why can't I fly over a wildlife refuge at 1,999'?

I need that extra foot to get a good pic of that crane.
 
Its not so much that you might hurt "you". Its that we don't want to have to spend the taxpayer's dollars to go scrape you off the desert floor when you screw the pooch.
 
FAA doesn't care about you, they care about some poor passenger riding with a Darwin award pilot...as if the 1,500' rule will protect passengers from them. It is true that acro is riskier the lower you go, but there is zero magic to 1,500'. Many pilots are unsafe flying acro at 10,000'.
 
Deelee said:
And why can't I fly over a wildlife refuge at 1,999'?

I need that extra foot to get a good pic of that crane.
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Actually, you can. There's no special "law" prohibiting low flight over a wildlife refuge. No doubt, our nannies will come up with one at some point, though.
 
birdus said:
Actually, you can. There's no special "law" prohibiting low flight over a wildlife refuge. No doubt, our nannies will come up with one at some point, though.
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I think you’ll find you’re wrong on that. It’s not an Faa regulation, but there are certainly regulations already in place regarding operations over a designated sanctuary.
 
birdus said:
If I'm over the desert or miles from the nearest human being while over the forest, why does the government care if I do a loop or a roll at 1,000 AGL?

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/91.303
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Icon Aircraft don't care.. their typical operating altitude is 100-300 ft anyway showboating on busy lakes and waterways.


-sorry, I couldn't resist
 
PPC1052 said:
Is "easy" really the way you would want to go, though?
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Inside acro joke, guess you're not as close to it as I assumed. You seem to be referring to the SAC card process that allows pilots to fly acro in waivered airspace that is specifically (and only) in place for a particular airshow. It is not a personal pilot waiver anywhere they want to use it. The other ways to legally fly acro below 1,500' AGL are to attend an IAC aerobatic competition, a chapter practice day with a "box", or to apply for an aerobatic practice area (APA) "box" from your local FSDO. There are no real aerobatic qualifications required of the latter three "methods", but trust me, it's a non-issue. Folks who find their way into this territory are by nature not the Darwin award types, are not beginners, and if if they are beginners (at a competition) they are typically flying with a safety pilot in a category that does not allow flight below 1500' AGL anyway. I assume this is more than you cared to know.
 
RoscoeT said:
Inside acro joke, guess you're not as close to it as I assumed.
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I have a very weird experience set on this, admittedly. For professional reasons, I am extremely knowledgeable about certain aspects of the regulatory process for acro, 8900.1, etc., but incredibly ignorant about others, and have zero acro flying experience myself.

RoscoeT said:
You seem to be referring to the SAC card process that allows pilots to fly acro in waivered airspace that is specifically (and only) in place for a particular airshow.
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Yep. And the rest of your post is also what I am referring to. I guess where we mis-connected is that I see all that as not "easy" and you see it as "easy." Chalk that up to my above described lack of acro experience.
 
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The rule that drives me crazy is the "within the lateral boundaries of the surface areas of Class B, Class C, Class D, or Class E airspace designated for an airport". I have an airport that is 3.5 miles from an airport with Class E airspace, that is perfect to practice over. It gives a North-South reference and is a safe place to land if something goes wrong. It's also SE of the airport, and the airport has Right Traffic for 17, Left Traffic for 35, so the traffic is away from this airport. Guess I can apply for an aerobatic box!
 
Lowflynjack said:
The rule that drives me crazy is the "within the lateral boundaries of the surface areas of Class B, Class C, Class D, or Class E airspace designated for an airport". I have an airport that is 3.5 miles from an airport with Class E airspace, that is perfect to practice over.
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Why? It makes sense to avoid doing acro inside the "wedding cake" of B/C/D airspace. The FAA clarified years ago that you can do acro below a B/C shelf. Regarding Class E, the airspace "designated for an airport" ends at 1200' AGL, so there is no issue doing acro over a Class E airport (surface or 700' based) assuming you're following the separate 1500' AGL rule.
 
RoscoeT said:
Why? It makes sense to avoid doing acro inside the "wedding cake" of B/C/D airspace. The FAA clarified years ago that you can do acro below a B/C shelf. Regarding Class E, the airspace "designated for an airport" ends at 1200' AGL, so there is no issue doing acro over a Class E airport (surface or 700' based) assuming you're following the separate 1500' AGL rule.
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Okay, that makes more sense to me. I was thinking anything inside of the Class E area, including above it. Not sure why I was thinking that... thanks for the clarification!
 
RoscoeT said:
Why? It makes sense to avoid doing acro inside the "wedding cake" of B/C/D airspace. The FAA clarified years ago that you can do acro below a B/C shelf. Regarding Class E, the airspace "designated for an airport" ends at 1200' AGL, so there is no issue doing acro over a Class E airport (surface or 700' based) assuming you're following the separate 1500' AGL rule.
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Do you have a link to the FAA clarification? I had a fed tell me something about that once that I want to verify (or more appropriately, poke holes in) what he said.
 
Unit74 said:
Did he pass the guy on his checkride though..... that’s the question.
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He was solo and long before he was a DPE.

But he did pass a guy who had the prop come off on a Private ride. Haha. They’d completed all the tasks and were headed back and bang, no prop. Candidate landed it in a field.
 
I think I would need 4 or 5K just to feel comfortable recovering in time LOL
 
Clip4 said:
Because most main parachutes take 600 to 1200 feet of free fall to open

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/91.307
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You're assuming I would be wearing a parachute. Obviously, if one is doing aerobatics on the deck, a parachute would be extraneous. By the way, a parachute isn't required if there's no passenger in the airplane. Otherwise, BOTH of you have to wear one. Go figure.
 
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birdus said:
You're assuming I would be wearing a parachute. Obviously, if one is doing aerobatics on the deck, a parachute would be extraneous. By the way, a parachute isn't required if there's no passenger in the airplane. Otherwise, BOTH of you have to wear one. Go figure.
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I don’t wear one, but only because I can’t fit in the plane with one on!
 
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