Low Level Nuisance flying, near Wintervogel

[AndyG]

the ANC Youth League.

and no, contrary to expectation, my real name is not Julius

And just as he will close down Twitter he will close down microlighters

[Alpha]

Hi All,

I can see this issue raises a lot of anger and indifference. I would like however, to add my 2c worth. I remember as a kid growing up and as an adult, i would look to the skies and see these people in their trikes and planes and would say quietly to myself..."WOW, what I would give to be part of that crowd". You see my perception of Pilots was and still is one of "true gentlemen and intellectuals without reprise, people who have earned respect and demand respect in all aspects of life..." This is a dream come true for me to be here and be flying...

I do still believe that youngsters and wanna be pilots feel the same when they see us flying through the sky dreaming about what they want to do one day.

My question and point is this, what example do we want to portray to these kids and wanna be pilots....imagine you standing in a reserve or on a farm or by a dam or lake enjoying God's creation and you see someone come down out of the blue and spoil that sight by doing things that can be avoided and enjoyed from a different view point. Take the scenario where these pilots...perceived by those watching, are irresponsible and leave the area with no regard to the wake behind them, leaving some of these birds on the ground...dead due to the stress and fright they have just experienced...

These youngster and wanna be's dreams will become warped and the "pilot" image and heir will become tarnished. That was not part of my dream and I am sure not part of any pilots dream...

So all I am saying we are all pilots for a reason...and I am sure flying is not the sole reason... Let us live up to the expectation of those who dream about what we do...and lift the name of "microlighters" and "pilots" to the staure of where it belongs...

Fly safe

[Morph]

No birds were hurt or killed during the filming of this episode

[Nkwazi]

The regulation does not state anything about a nuisance to wildlife. This is not a national park, neither is there any lower altitude limitations. It is in the newly declared "General Flying Area".

Gert, does this imply that there is therefore nothing wrong with being a nuisance to wildlife? I hope not

[Grumpy]

Enough now !!!

[wildthing]

A difficult one, since I have also been guilty. But not this Saturday. Not there. And pictures of flamingoes in flight are beautiful. Especially from above.

The regulation does not state anything about a nuisance to wildlife. This is not a national park, neither is there any lower altitude limitations. It is in the newly declared "General Flying Area".

(b) when flown elsewhere than specified in paragraph (a), shall be flown at
a height less than 500 feet above the ground or water, unless the flight
can be made without hazard or nuisance to persons or property on the
ground or water; and

This statement is in fact incorrect, If the regulation is not read in its entirety then we have this type of misinterpretation, as is often seen.

Whereas if the first part reads;
91.06.32 (1) Except when necessary for taking off or landing, or except with prior written approval of the Commissioner, no aircraft
Together with paragraph (b):

(b) when flown elsewhere than specified in paragraph (a), shall be flown at a height less than 500 feet above the ground or water, unless the flight can be made without hazard or nuisance to persons or property on the ground or water; and

The regulation has an entirely different meaning.

i.e. except for Take offs and Landings you may not fly below 500ft when flown elsewhere (elsewhere refers to away from build up areas or open assemblies of person as in paragraph (a)

and

without hazard or nuisance to persons or property on the ground or water; and

The fact that there was a complaint the land owner is disatisfied suggests that it was a nuisance to persons, the fact that the birds were disturbed suggests a hazard or nuisance to property. The birds or any wildlife or farm animals can be considerd as the farmer or landowners property.

The area does not have to be a national park, in fact if it was a national park then the lower limit of flight would be 2000ft above the highest terrain or obstacle within five nautical miles.

As a microlight may not fly over a built up area in the first place, paragraph (a) is not entirely applicable, but the part in paragraph (c) is;

(c) shall circle over or do repeated overflights over an open-air assembly of persons at a height less than 3 000 feet above the surface.

So no matter where or how many people are present i.e. two or three people can also constitute an open-air assembly of persons, and flying below 3000 ft agl may also be considered illegal.

[John Boucher]

Pierre

Thank you for clarifying the law and trust that all those that read this thread.... take it to heart!

[Tobie]

Why don't we close whe world? The photographer in his own capacity parking nearby and walking up to the birds to get as close as possible can create stress with the birds and spoil their peace of mind. Nobody battles for months to get permission from a farmer, you ask and it is yes or no. I think he was just pissed because the trikes timing was bad and he missed his sequence. The trikers also did not know about the photographer and surely wouldnt have flown close to the dam if they did.

None of these trikers are cowboys, I have flown with them for a few years and some are avid amateur airial photographers themselves. They have integrity and I do not believe that they would purposely buzz flamingos on a dam other than enjoying a beautiful sight themselves during a flyabout. Take the man for a flip, it might open a new world to him as a photographer.

[Africa]

at Tobie!!

[Barryathome]

Yup Tobie - agree!
This molehill has now successfully been expanded into a completely useless mountain.

The pilots concerned are not irresponsible blokes. We Wintervogelers will discuss the incident and if required will do what is necessary to turn the outcome to a constructive conclusion.

Fly safe this weekend!!

[zucac]

I cant see any law been broken ,this is not a game park.I have flowen low over dams,rivers and wetlands this is why we fly.
Ducks, geese and at large birdlife ignore me ,they may fly a few meters but settel very soon.know your area .
My best is crock spotting

[Gyronaut]

scream fowl

While I agree with everything that has been said - I would like to say this. Ours is RECREATIONAL flying. This is in a GF. If you can't do some early morning recreational (low) flying in a GF, where the hell can you?

No birds were hurt or killed...

Nor were any pilots which meant they were doing it safely.. no?

Why don't we close whe world?

Seems that is the next step Tobie... If the stickinthemuds had their way.

Come on guys, lighten up a little, live a little. Its called Joie de Vivre.
Take him for a flip yes and convert him. Good call.

Len

[ZULU1]

Brett hows this wildlife...its Africa in the kalahari !!

[Nkwazi]

[Morph]

I hosted the complainant this morning at Morning Star for breakfast. I introduced him to the one "bad boy" and they got talking about cameras and stuff. Very quickly they became big mates. Later after breakfast he got to go up in the air with the guilty one, and came back a convert. He was surprised to hear that a good second had trike is cheaper than one of his lenses

He also presented me with a DVD full of hi res pics, that ovecomes any doubt as to who was involved.

A Canon 60 D with a 500mm lens takes very nice clear pics, I must say.

Nobody battles for months to get permission from a farmer, you ask and it is yes or no.

Discussing the incident further he explained that there are only 4 places in the Western Cape where the Greater Flamingo can be seen, Flamingo Vlei in Cape town (surrounded by houses and not ideal for photography), a very small population in Langebaan Lagoon, a healthy population in a damn near Paarl (unfortunately this one has a security risk with camera equipment being hijacked), and this dam which is clear of houses in the background and ideal for photography. As a result this dam is highly sought after and difficult to get access to, due to the volume of clubs trying to get in. He told me it took him months to get access. He was thus in full camo gear was ready for his shots when they flew over and chased the birds up and away. As a result he was very upset. These birds are migrating birds and are here for about 3 to 4 months.

With this in mind, let's allow these guys to enjoy their hobby, until the birds have left and then we can go back to our normal tricks

This is all I ask