Aerobatics Regs and Requirements?

Greebo

N9017H - C172M (1976)
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Messages
10,976
Location
Baltimore, MD
Display Name

Display name:
Retired Evil Overlord
Aside from having access to an airplane which is rated for the maneuvers...

What regulations govern Aerobatics, and what requirements exist, if any, for pilots who wish to learn more about them/get rated/certified/??? ?
 
Most of what you're asking about (I think) is covered in FAR 91.303:

No person may operate an aircraft in aerobatic flight--
(a) Over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement;
(b) Over an open air assembly of persons;
(c) Within the lateral boundaries of the surface areas of Class B, Class C, Class D, or Class E airspace designated for an airport;
(d) Within 4 nautical miles of the center line of any Federal airway;
(e) Below an altitude of 1,500 feet above the surface; or
(f) When flight visibility is less than 3 statute miles.
For the purposes of this section, aerobatic flight means an intentional maneuver involving an abrupt change in an aircraft's attitude, an abnormal attitude, or abnormal acceleration, not necessary for normal flight.

Rules regarding parachutes, etc. also apply.

There are no certifications, ratings or endorsements required, and anyone can teach aerobatics - CFI not required. Go figure.

Chip
 
gibbons said:
There are no certifications, ratings or endorsements required, and anyone can teach aerobatics - CFI not required. Go figure.

I know! This kills me! WHY is there not even an endorsement? WHY is it permissible for someone who is not a CFI to teach maneuvers that involve this kind of risk, that require such precision?

I know you don't have the answers, Chip. I'm just venting. It amazes me that there are no standards for performance for an endorsement.
 
Greebo said:
What regulations govern Aerobatics, and what requirements exist, if any, for pilots who wish to learn more about them/get rated/certified/??? ?

On the parachute issuse:

§ 91.307 Parachutes and parachuting.

(c) Unless each occupant of the aircraft is wearing an approved parachute, no pilot of a civil aircraft carrying any person (other than a crewmember) may execute any intentional maneuver that exceeds—

(1) A bank of 60 degrees relative to the horizon; or

(2) A nose-up or nose-down attitude of 30 degrees relative to the horizon.

(d) Paragraph (c) of this section does not apply to—

(1) Flight tests for pilot certification or rating; or

(2) Spins and other flight maneuvers required by the regulations for any certificate or rating when given by—

(i) A certificated flight instructor; or

(ii) An airline transport pilot instructing in accordance with §61.67 of this chapter.


Then then there are waivers for pilots, and waivers for airspace. A pilot may obtain a waiver for aerobatics at different altitudes below 1500' after meeting certain criteria. Like airshow performers.

I have an airspace waiver for the airspace (aerobatic practice area) over our farm for aerobatics at an altitude below 1500', and also a waiver for aerobatics within 4 miles of the centerline of an airway.
 
Last edited:
Steve said:
Keep in mind the FARs are by in large there to protect the non-aviator, not the pilot. As long as you don't present an adverse risk to the non-aviator they tend not to get involved.

You are shattering my illusions, Steve. But now I'm wondering why we have practical test standards for the private certificate. Lots of private pilots fly just themselves around, or they fly their families and friends, who are not usually aviators. We have standards for the instrument and other ratings, too. I guess I thought the standards were there to protect us and all the other people in our flight environment.

I worry mostly about non-airshow people, like me. The airshow folks have a tremendous amount of practice and training. It's the halfways folks, the ones doing it for fun, the ones getting intermittent training, people like me. And if the training is not standardized, which I know it's not, a lot of people can end up doing something stupid without intending to be stupid.
 
Toby said:
You are shattering my illusions, Steve. But now I'm wondering why we have practical test standards for the private certificate. Lots of private pilots fly just themselves around, or they fly their families and friends, who are not usually aviators. We have standards for the instrument and other ratings, too. I guess I thought the standards were there to protect us and all the other people in our flight environment.

For the most part the regs are to protect the public and that includes your passengers. Many of today's rules can be traced to an event where the public was endangered by the actions of a pilot or controller, or at least that was the perception of someone involved. If there were a spate of accidents where passengers or ground bound persons were injured by an "inexperienced" pilot performing aerobatics, you can bet there'd be some new regulaltions thrown at us to "solve" the problem. Of course the new regs probably wouldn't actually solve anything or improve the public's safety, but appearances are all that really matter sometimes.

Toby said:
I worry mostly about non-airshow people, like me. The airshow folks have a tremendous amount of practice and training. It's the halfways folks, the ones doing it for fun, the ones getting intermittent training, people like me. And if the training is not standardized, which I know it's not, a lot of people can end up doing something stupid without intending to be stupid.

Self preservation instincts seem to be working OK here. And for the few Darwin Award candidates who manage get over their heads aerobatically the consequences tend to be limited to themselves.

For the most part all you really need to fly acro safely is sufficient altitude, the knowledge and skill necessary to safely recover from any botched maneuver, the knowledge of how to avoid unrecoverable situations, and a little common sense.
 
Steve said:
I'm looking for financial backing to do this:

http://www.incredible-adventures.com/halo-jumping.html

Not any more (from what I understand). The new vertical separation rules have apparently stopped high level skydiving. I was at the skydiving ranch at a local airport a couple of weeks ago and they were complaining about it.

I'm sure there's someone on the board who knows more about this but that's what I've been told.

Chip
 
Back
Top