Why do sadistic freaks always fly their airplanes around 50ft above the ground?

[Minsc]

I've lived in lots of places.  Rural, residential, never near airports.  And yet all these people with airplanes have to fly them about 50 feet above the ground.  I'm not talking police helicopters, but regular airplanes.  Law is they must fly them 1000 feet above the ground.  But they just fly their airplanes 50-100feet off the ground and do that whenever they fly them.  And it's very common, dozens of them each day.

Why... is it just to be noisy?

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[happycamper]

Maybe they were trying to fly under the radar?   

[onesalt]

I've literally never seen this but it sounds like whichever shithole you live in needs better air traffic controllers.

[greyhawk]

Maybe you should try living not right next to a landing strip.

[PseudoCode]

Having been a pilot myself in the past, I would suggest probably because its much more interesting and fun to fly close to the ground (although more dangerous).

Yes, it is selfish and annoying to people on the ground.  When I flew (Gyrocopters) we werent allowed within 300ft (horizontal) of any dwelling and not over built-up areas (suburbs), only out in the country.

If you are hearing recreational flyers and not commerical pilots, they are in it for the fun, and buzzing along just above the trees is much more fun than up high - Its like Rally/Street Driving.   Commercial pilots will be up high where its safe and clear riding the freeways boringly.

Flying up high is just sitting in a noisy box, looking out the window at clouds.  Even in an open ultralight its not much fun.. everything looks tiny, far away, and opening the tap and flying faster just makes the wind beat on you harder without actually *looking* / feeling like you are going faster.     Going faster just off the deck is exciting - canyon flying is the most exciting

So thats why.. Im not saying its good/friendly, but thats likely the reason.

[Valalvax]

While there might not be an airport, there might be a personal runway somewhere

My brothers uncle in law has a runway in his backyard, owns two planes

[Minsc]

I mentioned before and I'll mention again, each time I lived very far from airports.

These are also little tiny planes, not jets people are flying low.

I have even called the FAA and they said they have no idea why people are doing this.

[Oldminer]

Sounds illegal

[ribuck]

Is it farmers who are crop-dusting? They need to fly low. In my part of the world the low-flyers are military jets doing pilot training.

[pekv2]

Maybe crop dusting, I've seen a quite a few nice biplanes being very low in my area. Some times you can catch them while driving zipping up and over power lines to hit the next field with crop dust. Them biplanes are some baddass.

[Minsc]

No farmers.  When it's rural, it was desert and no farms.  Else it was in the city with no farms either.

[rainingbitcoins]

No farmers.  When it's rural, it was desert and no farms. 

Probably sand dusters then. Their spray keeps the sand alive.

Else it was in the city with no farms either.

House dusters.

[bitconformist]

They have full rights to buzz your house provided they are not touching your actual property. You do not own the airspace over your house, you own the right to stand upon your own plot of land and shake your fist at those carefree supermen zooming overhead. They have a right to fly their aircraft wherever they wish in this grand Republic.

[Minsc]

@bitconformist

Everyone is skimming what I said.  Law is they must be at least 1000 feet.

[TiagoTiago]

I'm surprised there hasn't been any suggestions of flying kites or RC aircrafts in the path as revenge; i mean not even a mention of high powered blinding pocketable laser emitters? Just when i thought i shouldn't have any hopes for the decency of internetfolk...

[bitconformist]

@bitconformist

Everyone is skimming what I said.  Law is they must be at least 1000 feet.

The "law" is ridiculous. Who has the right to restrict my freedom? The free market - free individuals - should decide what is "unsafe."

[PseudoCode]

Free Market huh - Surface-to-air missles maybe ? 

Or perhaps Fireworks/Skyrockets aimed at them ?  Cheaper and should discourage them

- just hope its not law-enforcement or someone with an attitude, or they might start dropping things out of the aircraft onto you or come pay you a visit.   

And remember, in that type of fight, whoever is at the top of the gravity well generally wins.

One of the Gyro pilots I knew flew over a big haystack out in the country once that had a strange green center in the middle of all the yellow....  until someone came out of a house and starting shooting at him !  (I wonder why ?)

[voodoo]

@bitconformist

Everyone is skimming what I said.  Law is they must be at least 1000 feet.

Actually, no. The rule is 500 feet from any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure except as required for takeoff and landing. In congested areas, MSA is 1000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2000 feet.

http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&rgn=div5&view=text&node=14:2.0.1.3.10&idno=14#14:2.0.1.3.10.2.4.10

So, an airplane at an altitude of 400' above ground level displaced horizontally 300' from you would be flying IAW the rule. 500' is actually pretty close (less than two football fields). However, if an airplane can fly at 50' AGL and maintain the 500' separation from any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure, that pretty much defines a "sparsely populated" area (at least as the FARs apply).

Having said that, polluting OPP with noise from operations strictly IAW the rule is still violating the good neighbor policy that one would expect.