Stupid Pilot

That's doing it like a boss though....
 
Hmmm 2 seater and "not required to have a license". Some strong reporting there.
 
bartmc said:
Hmmm 2 seater and "not required to have a license". Some strong reporting there.
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"The FAA has restrictions about landing ultralight planes in areas where large groups are gathered. Ultralight pilots, however, are not required to have a license."

Well, more accurately, that statement makes no sense.
 
I'm going to ask my friend on the Sheriff's Department what the ticket was for. Probably for trespassing on the school grounds or something like that.
 
I can see no N number on that airplane. There are no two seat "ultralights" since 2008. There was a time window for all existing two seat ultralights to be registered experimental but it had to be done before the deadline. Any of them that didn't meet the deadline are illegal and are not eligible to ever get an airworthiness certificate. Also after registered they require a Sport Pilot ticket. Don
 
Personally, I think it was awesome.

Sadly, the FAA will probably crush this guy, for all the reasons outlined above.
 
Jay Honeck said:
Personally, I think it was awesome.

Sadly, the FAA will probably crush this guy, for all the reasons outlined above.
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What will they crush him with? They have no leverage. fWIW, I landed at a Flying J once for fuel, I got a call over it later, all the inspector wanted to know is if the plane had a MoGas STC.
 
Put me in the camp that if this was done safely, it was pretty cool.

The knee-jerk condemnation of it by some fellow pilots kind of surprises me.

I'm also curious about the exact charges. Some counties and municipalities may have statutes forbidding off-airport landings. Barring that, I can only imagine some general, catchall, and vague statutes like "disorderly conduct" or one regarding threats to the general welfare. Dig deep enough into a statute book and one can almost always come up with something to charge.
 
Pretty cool, IMO. We had a R44 land at one of our local restaurants here in TX. No one said anything. Definitely worth the trouble for my kid, if she wanted to do something like this.
 
Maybe the ticket was for leaving the ultralight in a no parking zone. I don't know what other authority the local police would have. I would have been more concerned about some uninformed person on the ground rushing in to greet them and getting hit by the prop. If they had considered how to keep gawkers at a safe distance, I'm OK with the stunt.

On the flip side of the landing spectrum, I flew my Maule into DC's Dulles International on Saturday to participate in the Smithsonian's "Become A Pilot Day" celebration. Airport security opens the perimeter fence between the airport and the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy center. I thought I likely made the shortest landing ever at Dulles until I saw the Quicksilver Ultralight on the ramp at the museum. That little thing also flew in to the 11,500 foot runway 01R. It was a pretty cool day.
 
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ClimbnSink said:
Cool stuff like that might actually inspire someone to fly. The idiots are the people getting their panties in a wad over grand human achievement and cheap cool stunts.
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Only one comment on the news site was negative. From my view the vast majority of folks with 'their panties in a wad' are on this site.
 
The guy did a great job, and it was a pretty cool story. He was a good pilot, had a good day and everyone went home happy.

The next guy might not be as good a pilot, or he might not have such a nice day. The FAA's biggest job is to try and make certain that airplane don't plow into a school full of kiddies, exactly where the guy was landing. One thing goes wrong and lots of bad headlines. That's why it's against the rules, and why the guy was a tool for doing it.
 
I don't have an opinion without more details. How did the field length compare with his minimum needed? How far was this field from "the congregation"? etc.

Passing judgment is just throwing darts at the wall without much more detail.

It may have been fine. It may have been stupid. I can't determine from here.
 
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How about William F. Buckley? Years ago he flew an air coupe to his future wife's college and landed on the lawn, as he missed her, wanted to see her. Pretty bright fellow overall. Then there was the pilot who landed a supercub in the infield of a race track, here in maryland, between races, to drop off a jockey who had committed to an earlier race in penna. Dropped him off, took off, no problem. This happened in the 60s.
 
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Lots of folks did these things plenty of times with no problem, but I guarantee you someone did it and crashed into bystanders. Our rules are written in blood.
 
steingar said:
Lots of folks did these things plenty of times with no problem, but I guarantee you someone did it and crashed into bystanders. Our rules are written in blood.
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Meh... Some are written by bureaucrats sitting in an office asking "What if?"
 
If one watches the monthly FAA accident reports, one finds decisions made by supposed experienced pilots, many with very low time instrument tickets making decisions that would make this guy look like a genius!
 
steingar said:
Lots of folks did these things plenty of times with no problem, but I guarantee you someone did it and crashed into bystanders. Our rules are written in blood.
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Then ban all private aviation. Folks flying exactly as you do have crashed and killed people on the ground.
 
steingar said:
Lots of folks did these things plenty of times with no problem, but I guarantee you someone did it and crashed into bystanders. Our rules are written in blood.
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Only thing is, he didn't violate an FAA rule, the FAA does not care where you land so long as you do it safely, and that is your discretion; until you mess up. Don't mess up, no problem. The FAA is actually really good about giving you rope to hang ourself with.
 
Didnt someone drop off his daughter for graduation in a helo a couple of years ago ?
 
Doggtyred said:
Thats effin awesome...

You just became my new hero...
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You missed the part about there being a 70kt headwind; that a 70 degree bank was required to turn base to final; that he had to land in a knife edge to squeeze in between two trucks and get under a canopy because a thunderstorm with 6" hail was fast approaching.

Yeah, that's the ticket! :goofy:

http://youtu.be/Mx3wrfhQaqk

:rolleyes2:

.....

.
 
RotorAndWing said:
If BS was brass you would be a band...........:rolleyes2:
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There is a relentless wave of WTF being typed around here recently. It seems impossible for some here to carry on a conversation that's not loaded down with manure.

"People are not who they say but rather who their actions reveal them to be....Be smart about it. Don't fall for the bullsh!t.”
 
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steingar said:
Lots of folks did these things plenty of times with no problem, but I guarantee you someone did it and crashed into bystanders. Our rules are written in blood.
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Fine, bust the guy who does damage, not everybody who gets it done safely.
 
bullwinkle said:
Fine, bust the guy who does damage, not everybody who gets it done safely.
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They make the rules to avoid situations with an increased likelihood of causing damage.
Not saying it's the right thing, but by the same token you could say they should fine the drunk driver that does damage only, not the one that gets hammered but still drives safely.
 
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