COLIN LAMB wrote:
Hey, I was the kid that aksed questions in school that made the teacher
wonder if they were in the right class so here goes:

1. If I built a large domed building, could I fly my helicopter inside
without a helicopter license? I know there is some debate about needing a
pilot license if you do not carry passengers - but in our state, at least,
you do need a pilot license to fly.

As a practical matter, yes.


2. Someone told me that if you dragged a rope behind an airplane and it
touched the ground at all times, you are not actually flying according to
the FAA. Unfortunately, I could not find this statement in the FAR. I
guess this might be answered by the question of needing a license to pilot a
tethered balloon (with passengers)?

Simply dragging the rope is not enough. You must have one end solidly
secured to ground.


3. If I am in a glider connected to an airplane by a rope, and the pilot ot
the airplane controls where I go, and I never detach, why would I need a
glider license?

Because you are pilot in command of an aircraft. HOWEVER, if you are
on a car or boat tow, it is not an aircraft. There were plans in
Popular Mechanix for floating primary gliders in the old days, the big
attraction was you could "fly" with no license. It was illegal to pull
the release except in an emergency, but since neither the nonaircraft
nor the nonpilot were licensed, no one including the FAA much cared.