Night flight 4th of July

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Kevin87

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Kevin87
Hey everyone.

I was thinking of doing a night flight on the forth of July to see the fireworks from the sky.

Has anyone done this before?
 
I haven't, but I've always heard it's really not as cool as you'd think. Plus the safety risk of flying at night while fixating on a fireworks show (focus on being the pilot while a passenger takes pictures for you).
 
I have. It isn't as exciting as I had hoped.
Flew around Dallas and could see 10 or so different firework shows going on.

I don't think fireworks go as high in the air as they seem to from the ground.

Christmas lights are kinda cool. Not breath taking by any means but large neighborhoods with a lot of people plugged in look cool.
 
Did it once and was glad we did but the show is much better from the ground.
 
pilot_dude said:
Did it once and was glad we did but the show is much better from the ground.
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Agreed. Not much to see from up there.

Add in the local backyards having their own little fireworks shows, and I was struck how tough it was to see the green/white airport beacon light among all that clutter.
 
Thanks for the input. I think I'll just enjoy the show from the ground.
 
You might do it to see for yourself, but as others have said ... not impressive from the air.

My field is out of town with no homes near it (i.e. boonies). On approach with my CFI years ago someone launched one of the big ones near the threshold while we were on short final. It was at our altitude and a few hundred feet off our left wing when it went off. Landed safely and reported it, but no action taken.
 
I do it every year. It is a blast! Smoke, color, people shooting fireworks off every where. The city looks like a freaking war zone. Wouldn't miss it.

Dangerous? Really? :rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
Kevin87 said:
Thanks for the input. I think I'll just enjoy the show from the ground.
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Kevin, don't listen to these super weenies. If you live in an area where fireworks are legal it is just not the big shows that are cool. See for yourself, don't listen to people who don't like to fly in the first place! Plus, you are flying for Pete's sake! What can be better?? :dunno:

How many fireworks displays can you nay sayers see from the ground before it gets old? :rolleyes:
 
nddons said:
Agreed. Not much to see from up there.

Add in the local backyards having their own little fireworks shows, and I was struck how tough it was to see the green/white airport beacon light among all that clutter.
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:mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2:

You need to then in your cert. by the end of today. Seriously, please do not ever fly again. :no:


I can't believe what I am reading here. :mad2:
 
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I was putting in some night landings a while back on a weekend and someone near the airport within the pattern was shooting them at me on downwind. They didn't make it near pattern alt so I just let them have their fun. I had a night lesson near the 4th on a weekend and remember seeing a lot of them in the distance all over. Seemed cool enough that I may give it a try someday. Still have that story about the guy that got shot, pulling me away from it..
 
Kevin87 said:
Hey everyone.

I was thinking of doing a night flight on the forth of July to see the fireworks from the sky.

Has anyone done this before?
Click to expand...


I used to fly helicopters in the Los Angeles basin regularly and often times was working (flying) on the night of the Fourth of July. I always thought the visual display was very impressive, as we could see multiple fireworks shows in virtually any direction we looked. There was also the wow factor of seeing the reflections of these fireworks displays in the patchy, wispy marine layer that was often present. The only issue we had was trying to avoid being hit by the aerial gunnery of certain cultural elements residing below us - celebratory bullets fired in the air, very common in some areas of Los Angeles - so we just flew higher (as in 2000' AGL instead of our normal 500' AGL), which coincidentally made viewing the fireworks displays even better AND limited the amount of bullet holes in our helicopters. So if you have a nice VFR night, and live in an area where shooting guns in the air for celebratory purposes is not common, then I'd say consider doing it!
 
Geico266 said:
:mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2:



You need to then in your cert. by the end of today. Seriously, please do not ever fly again. :no:





I can't believe what I am reading here. :mad2:
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Five mads and a no? On this topic? Lighten up, Francis.

I hyped the 4th of July flight for my two pax, and let's say they were underwhelmed. That's just my experience. The best part of the flight was chatting with the KOSH tower thanking them for working on the holiday.
 
mswmsw said:
I used to fly helicopters in the Los Angeles basin regularly and often times was working (flying) on the night of the Fourth of July. I always thought the visual display was very impressive, as we could see multiple fireworks shows in virtually any direction we looked. There was also the wow factor of seeing the reflections of these fireworks displays in the patchy, wispy marine layer that was often present. The only issue we had was trying to avoid being hit by the aerial gunnery of certain cultural elements residing below us - celebratory bullets fired in the air, very common in some areas of Los Angeles - so we just flew higher (as in 2000' AGL instead of our normal 500' AGL), which coincidentally made viewing the fireworks displays even better AND limited the amount of bullet holes in our helicopters. So if you have a nice VFR night, and live in an area where shooting guns in the air for celebratory purposes is not common, then I'd say consider doing it!
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Thank you! :yes:
 
I think the quality of the show depends on which state and local ordinances you are flying over. I flew home solo last year in an old 63 C-172 from Sioux Falls, passing Vermillion, Sioux City and a pile of other small towns seeing the commercial fireworks flicker and whatnot then was quite shocked at the amount of flickering light I saw while approaching Lincoln. As I came down to pattern altitude the sight was pretty insane, like descending passed a colorful flashing carpet over essentially the entire city.


+1 for fun
 
Ha ha, I've never seen a pilot board where this topic didn't pop up in June.

It stands to reason that fireworks would be cool to see from the air. As others mentioned, the coolest thing is seeing the multiple displays going off simultaneously across a large area.

The down side is that you don't hear the boom, and to be up high and far enough to not be a nuisance, you don't get much of a show, particularily in an urban area with light polution in the background.

Personally, my favorite summer fireworks display can be seen throughout the summer, and the show is still great from a distance. Find a night with widely scatter thunderstorms and watch from a distance--mother nature puts municipal fireworks displays to shame and no tax dollars were spent either. Just maintain sufficient distance.
 
Maybe I was too high. I believe we were 3500 while flying over the fireworks shows.
I took photos with a reasonably nice DSLR and none of the photos were worth keeping.

At any rate, do it and report back.
 
Geico266 said:
Dangerous? Really? :rofl::rofl::rofl:
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I think it's reasonable to discuss doing this safely if you're going to do it. I can totally see someone flying around 1000 AGL in order to see the fireworks and circling over one area, with their head looking out the side window. Throw in some bright flashes from fireworks and it's not a stretch to imagine a new pilot either losing control or flying into a hill/tower (or another plane doing the same thing).

It's not a tremendously stupid thing to do -- I never said it was, and in Nebraska it may not be a big risk. But if it was me I'd just be flying the plane while letting my passengers enjoy the sights and take pictures.
 
Yeah, in the air isn't very interesting, I've seen it.

The better view as to sit on top of the seven story office building I used to work at in north central New Jersey which afforded a 360 degree view of several fireworks displays at the same time.
 
This year I am installing roman candles on the leading edge of the wings. I hope to get a couple of other pilots in the area to do the same so we can do some combat.
 
Geico266 said:
Kevin, don't listen to these super weenies.
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Kevin, listen to those that say do it once to see what you think. Your mileage may vary but I am in the camp that says it is more impressive from the ground.

Who knows? You may like it, but it is an individual thing.

FWIW, the fireworks are designed to be seen from the ground.
 
Skip Miller said:
The biggest danger is that the pilot will become a spectator and ignore his PIC duties.

-Skip
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I think the biggest danger would be an in-flight fire and losing the engine then crashing in the middle of an oil refinery next door to an orphanage / nursing home.

Probably not as likely but waaaay more dangerous.

:D
 
I've done it a couple of times and really enjoyed it. You do miss the bang, but you also miss the mosquitos, crowds, and parking hassles.
 

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Yellowbird said:
I've done it a couple of times and really enjoyed it. You do miss the bang, but you also miss the mosquitos, crowds, and parking hassles.
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Ok, yeah, I don't fly that low at night. I saw nothing compared to what is in your photo there. That is pretty cool.
 
Well, now I think I want to fly :)
 
Was able to witness the fireworks display from the sky one year. I remember thinking it was cool but being on a boat near the beach watching from the water kicked back relaxing with friends and able to have a tasty beverage would be much more enjoyable.


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Seeing from the air is cool. Agree that seeing on a boat would be even better. Anything that gets me away from the massive crowds and gets me a good view is a +1.
 
Saw a ton of planes doing it last year here on the jersey shore wanted to be up there but agree danger and from what people are saying not a great view so no point


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Christmas lights from the air are cool. Fireworks from the air are a waste of fuel.


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Kevin87 said:
Hey everyone.

I was thinking of doing a night flight on the forth of July to see the fireworks from the sky.

Has anyone done this before?
Click to expand...

Yeah, fireworks are much better viewed from the ground. To get as cool or better of a view from the air you'd have to be in the middle of it.
 
I flew from Galveston to Austin on a crystal clear July 4th evening a few years ago. I could see dozens of fireworks displays, but they were not all that impressive, being tiny little things from ~3000' agl.

I suppose if you were down just above the displays it would be more interesting. Probably too interesting for me, YMMV.
 
It varies. Over Vancouver Washington one year it was spectacular.

Over Seattle a decade later it was not so great, and there was way too much traffic to be safe.
 
I can hardly believe it when I see threads like this. Yeah, fireworks from above are so-so. I watched fireworks from the John Hancock tower one year in Chicago, and it was ok, BUT, I still talk about it today.

But, more to the point... IT'S A REASON TO FLY! Do it, check the box, and do it again if you like it! I'll likely go if we don't participate in an even this year. MSP has a TON of simultaneous firework shows going on around the Bravo.
 
Well, I have done it, and both the passenger and I found it thoroughly enjoyable. Plus, there were no drunks, cigarette smoke or 20 minute waits in traffic to get out after the show. To each their own, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
 
BrianR said:
Well, I have done it, and both the passenger and I found it thoroughly enjoyable. Plus, there were no drunks, cigarette smoke or 20 minute waits in traffic to get out after the show. To each their own, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
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Well, there's also no beer, so you have to weigh the pros AND cons. ;)
 
Have done this several times back in the 90's when I lived in SE Wisconsin area. Used to take a load of 5 up and had many shows to choose from. Nice part is they all don't start at the same time so you just head to the bigger looking shows and orbit until you see something better. The look of the shell breaks is quite different then from on the ground, appearing more spherical, three dimensional and in slightly slower motion compared to from your lawn chair. You have the control of staying on the upwind side so smoke obscuration is a non issue as can be with terrestrial viewing. In this case size really matters! Smaller shells, 3" through 6", like local fire departments shoot are not at all amazing from the air. In larger area they will fire 8" and 10" and giant 35lb 12" bombs, sometimes 16" or whopping 24 inch for very special shows. Watching those from the air is a WAY better view then from down in the mud.

A large part of the sensory appreciation of fireworks is the sound and concussive feel of the shock waves. Of course that is lost from the air but still is something one should do at least once.
 
did it, loved it, no t-shirt was supplied.

know what my biggest surprise of the night was?

out of all the planes circling lake minnetonka and waconia... I was the only one using flight following.

I got on with approach, asked if they were too busy to help; they weren't busy at all, asked my intentions, then told me what altitude everyone else was at.

it was a very fun and memorable flight!
 
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