" writes:
Jay Honeck wrote:
That said, flying cross-country at 500 AGL, just because
the view is better, strikes me as tempting fate a wee bit too much.

I've done that before for other reasons (low ceilings, high winds)
over suitable terrain. I actually felt more comfortable with regard to
emergency options when flying 500-700 ft. over Kansas or central
Alberta than I usually do when flying 3,000 AGL over the mountainous
terrain I usually fly over.

Most of Kansas, for example, is one huge emergency landing site as far
as the eye can see.

You left out Oklahoma, most of Texas, Nebraska, the Dakotas,
eastern Montana, Saskatchewan, eastern Alberta,...