Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Okay! I’ve got a question for all you pilots!

Last Saturday a pilot landed his small airplane at the new restaurant in town. Taxing up in the parking lot, went in ordered some lunch, ate it , then taxied back out to the driveway. And took off. Is that legal?????.

I have not a pilot , but I have seen the movie Flight with Denzel.

What kinda a restaurant?

Golden coral?

76 dinner in Coopersville Michigan.

Cici’s!

There is a certain distance a pilot cannot take an airplane over an occupied building. If he did not fly over any occupied buildings below the minimum I see no violation. If he used a County or State highway or road it would be up to them to enforce that and not the FAA.

kwg

He landed and took off on the driveway.

Must be a great drive way and a hell of a restaurant. Did he carry out? 👍

Too many unknowns for me to judge. The FAA regs that cover such things but they mostly deal with minimum altitude over occupied lands, not lateral offset. What kind of little toy was this? Fabric arrowhead wing?

As far as I know there are no specific FAA rules or laws on where I can land or take off. The FAA does have a catchall for anything they want to regulate. There is a general statement that says no pilot may operate an aircraft in a careless or reckless manor to endanger people or property. There are several restaurants that I land and taxi up near the front door. It's private property though. Haven't taken to using any state highways for runways but there are plenty of places I wouldn't be worried about doing it.

Some states may have specific rules against it though.

Yup. "A plane, a restaurant, a driveway" are simply too vague to make any kind of statement.

Was it an ultralight, or what?

14CFR Part 1 Subchapter F Part 91.119

500 feet from any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure other than to take off or land, otherwise it is up to the pilot to determine if it is safe, assuming it is a rural area

For those who question the driveway.
STOL Aircraft

That is a serious short take off.

Jetboi is a supposed pilot 🥴 maybe he’ll shed some light

I don’t believe that is illegal, but the Feds can always charge him with violating FAR 91.13(a):

§ 91.13 Careless or reckless operation.

(a) Aircraft operations for the purpose of air navigation. No person may operate an aircraft in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another.

A good STOL plane could have used the parking lot.

FAA order 8900.1A is the manual that examiners are supposed to use for all guidance but I can not open it on my phone. The FAA.GOV website sucks worse than the fedboys themselves, if that is possible.

Landing and taking off on the driveway didn’t look safe, I bet the FAA won’t like that.

Oh my this reminds me of flight if the intruder. My ass barely fits in size 46 pants and I’ve watched this movie 113 times.
Oh my what is your favorite john wayne movie thread?

Not the movie….the thread?

We get one weekly from styrofoam brain dudes on here.

Where was that posted? The video on the driveway?

Alaska, as most know, its legal to land on the roads. In fact as I understand it aircraft have the right of way and vehicles have to yield as I would hope they would anyway.

I've seen em do it at Sheep Creek Lodge a couple of times.

Looks like 550' max. in the driveway ?
Doesn't seem safe in a parking lot?, Who's looking up for planes ?

I was flying in to the wilderness of British Columbia with a wild ass bush pilot named Midnight Jim Anderson. His house was right on the Alaska Highway. He had no air strip. He used the highway for his takeoffs and landings.
His airplane, I think a Cessna was parked in his driveway where a car would normally be. I was in the front seat. As we pulled out onto the highway, he said "Keep a good lookout to the right, we don't want to get hit by a semi!"

Apparently it was legal, aviation law of British Columbia.

550. I'd be happy to see 550 where we land and take off. That would be gravy. Often there is about 200- 300 feet max and that depends on the tide level and wind vs what the water level on the sandbar island is doing at any given time.