When flying a float plane in Canada I found that if you have inspected the surface sufficiently to ensure a safe landing, the only requirement was to avoid hitting the trees.
However, this type of flying comes with circumspection and responsibility. For instance, this includes inspection from height to ensure that you won’t hit any power lines, etc. Also, after bouts of low flying over rivers or lakes in the absolute wilderness, it is necessary to be responsible upon return to civilisation, e.g. 500 feet above a person, place, or thing and a minimum of 1000 feet above a built up area. This transition back to civilisation can feel like you are going to get a nosebleed from the altitude :-).
When I flew in Kenya the circut post first low pass (10ft?) over runway to scare the animals was done at circa 100ft. Just needed to be taller than giraffes necks
Timothy wrote:
Why is anyone doing this (except for training) in VMC?If you need to be at 200’, surely, by any definition, it’s IFR?
Yes, but no. “Legal” VFR fuel planning is “get to destination + 30min”. You get near destination, damn, the cloud ceiling is going down, below circuit height but still in the hundreds of ft AAL. The “SCT030 NOSIG” in the METAR when you departed has become
BKN030", or the SCT is actually looking like 3.95 oktas, so as a VFR-only pilot you really, really feel you should stay below it. Not enough fuel to go elsewhere, so in the choice between an off-aerodrome landing and a low circuit, you do the low circuit.
That’s why you train for it :)
Jacko wrote:
Except for mountain flying where 100 to 300 ft good weather circuits have been de rigeur since the technique for safe landing on glaciers and other slopes was established by Hermann Geiger.
But then again "- except when necessary for … ". However, “safe landing on glaciers” (with a fixed wing aircraft) sounds a bit contradictory to me 
It involves a bit more “research” and planning than doing a special circuit, I would think.
The largest danger at desolate strips is animals. All plant eaters love flat open surfaces with nice green grass. It’s customary to do at least one at least one slowish flyby slightly off center to look for animals, then try to scare them off with a low pass or two. Then there is the terrain. Desolate strips are very seldom made and placed to do proper circuit work, unless of course the terrain is flat.
Touché. I should perhaps substitute “successful” for “safe”, which seems a bit subjective.
Point for discussion: as airmen, we usually feel “safe” doing what we think we know how to do. But what about things that other airmen know how to do?
