How close?

On Saturday, December 27, 2014 5:39:03 PM UTC-6, wrote:
Was just thinking how deadly a stall/spin would be at that altitude.

A stall/spin can be deadly regardless of how you enter the pattern - and is probably a lot more likely to happen during a low altitude thermalling attempt than during a well-flown low pass.

At the risk of starting up the annual low-pass flame war, if flown intelligently in a suitable glider at a suitable location and time, the low pass is one of the most exiting aspects of our sport - and is not inherently dangerous; unlike off-field landouts, to name another accepted but risky aspect of our sport.

But, like XC over tiger country, it must be approached with caution and training, with a plan for aborting if needed (traffic in the pattern, not enough energy at the go/no go point, turbulence down low, etc.). And it should NEVER be flown in a way to expose others to risk - it's just a different way to fly a pattern and landing, after all.

Those of you who don't like them - tell the pilot why. He may be doing something wrong (low over people on ground, not down the runway, too slow and low, etc) and your input may be important. But just as some pilots will firmly state that they never want to race, or fly in gaggles, or do aerobatics, or even fly XC - just because YOU don't like it doesn't mean I can't do it.