Night flight 4th of July

[txshooter]

For me I have done it a couple of times.

Pro: You see a lot of different fireworks going on simultaneously. (for me I got to see three different large scale major displays happening from adjacent cities, plus some pretty impressive smaller 'private' events)

Con: Fireworks look alot smaller from the air. The fireworks tend to get lost in the background of all the bright city lights below.

I recommend that you go do it once. Then judge for yourself whether it worth it to go back again the next year. You can then say been there, done that...

 

[Jim_R]

For me I have done it a couple of times.

Pro: You see a lot of different fireworks going on simultaneously. (for me I got to see three different large scale major displays happening from adjacent cities, plus some pretty impressive smaller 'private' events)

Con: Fireworks look alot smaller from the air. The fireworks tend to get lost in the background of all the bright city lights below.

I recommend that you go do it once. Then judge for yourself whether it worth it to go back again the next year. You can then say been there, done that...

Exactly this. If you have a good vantage point from the ground, you might be only ~1000-1500' from the shells exploding. You're looking up, so you see everything against a black backdrop.

From the air, you're going to be way farther away than 1500', so everything will be smaller. And unless your venue is very rural, the show will be competing against the backdrop of city lights.

It's worth doing, just to see for yourself. Having seen it for myself, I prefer watching from the ground, like most others who've had both experiences.

YMMV.

 

[SixPapaCharlie]

OP going to do this tonight?

 

[Zeldman]

...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.

You are flying too far away...

 

[Dav8or]

I did it once and I thought it was just OK. No big deal, but I am perhaps an overly conservative pilot and I flew at an altitude that I was comfortable flying at in an urban area at night, probably around 2500'. I also live in California where fireworks are mostly illegal, so the only ones to see are the officially sanctioned ones.

Most of the good fireworks go what, maybe 300-400' up? So when you watch them from the ground you are likely only 1000' away. If you were to watch them from the air at 1000-1500 ft it could be much better, but that's lower than I care to loiter at night personally.

To the OP- go for it! Check it out and see what you think. Have fun! Just remember to fly the airplane! More than one photo mission, buzz job, or low level observation has ended in an NTSB report.

 

[Henning]

OP going to do this tonight?

Get in there and pretend you're on a bombing raid over Tokyo and the AAA is coming up at you...

 

[RussR]

At out flight school, someone (non-pilot, member of the local public) entered some kind of contest and won a fireworks flight tonight (as a marketing tool). I was asked to fly it, and I've never done one before, so I said sure! I realize that it will probably be a let-down, and I won't get to see the fireworks that well because I'll be putting both passengers on the right side for better viewing for them. Fortunately, that will mean I can pay more attention to aviating.

I hope they like it, it sure is going to be a late night (shows start at 10 here).

I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Henning]

Keep it as low as you can get away with.

 

[mcmanigle]

Looks like it's quite a sight if you're willing to fly inside the fireworks... This guy used a drone.

http://gearjunkie.com/drone-through-fireworks

 

[Geico266]

Looks like it's quite a sight if you're willing to fly inside the fireworks... This guy used a drone.

http://gearjunkie.com/drone-through-fireworks

That is amazing. Thanks.

 

[Neal Howard]

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 did it in my old Cherokee 140 but the slipstream kept blowing the sparks from my roman candle back inside the little storm window and setting my shirt on fire.






I'm joking, of course!!!

Seriously, the regular fireworks that mere mortals buy and shoot are not all that impressive looking from 1000' AGL, and I wasn't about to fly directly over Sheppard Air Force Base where they had the commercial-grade fireworks show going on.

 

[RussR]

At out flight school, someone (non-pilot, member of the local public) entered some kind of contest and won a fireworks flight tonight (as a marketing tool). I was asked to fly it, and I've never done one before, so I said sure! I realize that it will probably be a let-down, and I won't get to see the fireworks that well because I'll be putting both passengers on the right side for better viewing for them. Fortunately, that will mean I can pay more attention to aviating.

I hope they like it, it sure is going to be a late night (shows start at 10 here).

I'll let you know how it goes.

Here's how it went:

It went great! As said, I've never flown to look at fireworks before, and obviously neither had they. We both thought it was spectacular. Now, it was also her first flight in a small airplane, and it was a beautiful night, so that might have added to the effect.

I flew at about 1500 AGL and just made a (large) slow circle around the largest show. Fireworks were easily visible against the background lights and really neat to see. We also got to see from a distance 2 or 3 other city shows.

Added to this, we live in an area where fireworks are mostly legal. So not only did we see the big shows, but we saw literally hundreds of neighborhood shows ranging from Jim-bob in his driveway to larger, but still small-scale displays at local parks or baseball fields. The flight lasted an hour and the entire time there was continual firework "flak" coming up at us, stretching out to the horizon.

When we landed, they both thanked me over and over and said it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I thought so too.

 

[nddons]

Here's how it went:



It went great! As said, I've never flown to look at fireworks before, and obviously neither had they. We both thought it was spectacular. Now, it was also her first flight in a small airplane, and it was a beautiful night, so that might have added to the effect.



I flew at about 1500 AGL and just made a (large) slow circle around the largest show. Fireworks were easily visible against the background lights and really neat to see. We also got to see from a distance 2 or 3 other city shows.



Added to this, we live in an area where fireworks are mostly legal. So not only did we see the big shows, but we saw literally hundreds of neighborhood shows ranging from Jim-bob in his driveway to larger, but still small-scale displays at local parks or baseball fields. The flight lasted an hour and the entire time there was continual firework "flak" coming up at us, stretching out to the horizon.



When we landed, they both thanked me over and over and said it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I thought so too.

Congrats! Pics of you and your pax?