Comments on: Permission to Buzz the Airport?

By: paul miller

paul miller — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:26:56 +0000

Excellent info.

By: Mike Noel

Mike Noel — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 18:38:09 +0000

The reason I don’t do high speed/low altitude flights is related to the conditions spelled out by Jeff. Most bird strikes occur at low altitudes. Why increase your chances for a serious bird strike by flying at high speeds just above the runway?

By: Jeff

Jeff — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:58:21 +0000

I was trained at an uncontrolled field with a heavy population of wildlife which would love to hang out on the runway. My instructor taugh me to always make a low pass to ensure no animals were present before landing. We would clear the runway then land. I think you can’t cookie cutter all rules and regs for all fields.

By: Douglas

Douglas — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 16:21:44 +0000

I only pose the question then: What of banner towing??? They are under 1000 ft and near the beach…

By: Dennis Stephen

Dennis Stephen — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 20:46:39 +0000

I live on a public grass strip where deer are often seen day and night on the runway. I have a habit of calling a “clearing pass” on the radio whereby I make a high speed pass at 10 to 50 ft above the runway and then return to land in the opposite direction. All announced on the radio. The “clearing pass” is to scare off any deer that may be on the runway, or about to come out of the woods at the side of the runway. Oh yes, its not only for safety; its also fun.

Dennis Stephen

By: Denny Cunningham

Denny Cunningham — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 17:40:34 +0000

As an air show air boss, I worked with a lot of different FSDO inspectors, and have had this discussion with a few of them– and while they have discretion, they are unanimous in their opinion that a low pass within 500′ of any person, vehicle, or structure (which can include the localizer shack alongside the runway, or the people occupying an airplane in the runup pad), CAN be the basis for an enforcement action.

It doesn’t happen much, but it does happen. Example: I was working a show on a Saturday, and most of the airplanes performing in the show were arriving on Friday. It isn’t uncommon for the pilots of warbirds and other show planes to ask for a low pass prior to landing when they arrive, and a P-51 pilot did just that, and was approved by the tower. Three times.

When he landed, he was greeted by the FSDO inspector, who was at the airport doing preparation for the Saturday air show. The inspector gently chided the pilot about the low passes, reminding him that the air show waiver wouldn’t be in effect until the next day. The P-51 pilot responded poorly, insisting that they were not low passes, they were “go-arounds”, and thus perfectly legal.

The FSDO inspector was not amused, and responded that if it took four tries before the pilot was able to get the airplane on the ground, there was an even bigger problem here than he’d originally suspected. Things went downhill from there, paperwork ensued, and the pilot eventually found himself relieved to be able to resolve the situation with only a 709 ride.

By: John Wilson

John Wilson — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:32:42 +0000

The “buzz job” advocates always seem to concentrate on the legality and FAA angles but ignore what can be termed the social aspects. I prefer to believe this is because it simply does not cross their mnds, because I would hate to think a member of our elite fraternity simply doesn’t give a d%&# about their effect on others.

At a majority of small airports today there are ever-present concerns regarding how the neighbors perceive aviation and the noise it generates. An annoyed group of citizens can create untold grief for airport management (and by extension all users of the airport) and nothing is more likely to set them off than noise created by some activity they perceive as unnecessary.

Most everyone probably enjoys or at least will tolerate a occasional buzz job by some unusual aircraft, say a P-51, but even pilots tend to get annoyed at “hey, look at me” noise when it becomes a routine thing generated by routine aircraft.

By: Mac McMillan

Mac McMillan — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 14:13:08 +0000

Being a helicopter pilot, I’m not that worried about a stall in the rapid pull up. It seems to me that at an uncontrolled airport, use common sense, announce your attentions and see and avoid.

As far as enforcement actions, my experience has been there is no FAA standard. You are at the mercy of opinion of the FSDO inspector and thats just a fact of life.

By: Bruce Liddel

Bruce Liddel — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 12:16:56 +0000

Back before the Clinton Administration, when the dual mission of the FAA was to promote and regulate, the regs were mostly about safety. Anymore, the regs are all about scoring political points at the expense of mostly hapless pilots. The FAA/NTSB has become like the TSA, whose motto is: Intimidate, Dominate, Control.

Is it any wonder so many pilots have called it quits?

By: Eric F

Eric F — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 15:17:00 +0000

I’d write it off as a training maneuver.
Have you ever been asked to maintain best forward speed during an approach, so they don’t have to resequence a heavy behind you?
Ever see an AG sprayer flying a field?
Makes sense for me to train so you know what you and your plane can do safely and act accordingly.
Makes sense to practice over a runway where you know there’s no wires/towers/obstacles.
Personally – communicate intentions, stay within load/gforce limits, 30 pitch 60 bank, watch for accelerated stalls and keep an eye on airspeed on the way back up, remember safety and have fun