Text from Hans Brown 20 Nov 2017.
The FAA Guide to Low-Flying Aircraft refers to CFR 91.119 but does not show it completely. When you read the actual CFR 91.119, there is one more paragraph at the end which states that powered parachutes and weight shift control aircraft are not bound by the 500 foot minimum.
Per paragraph c: Over open spaces like fields and water, also airplanes can fly right down to the surface. Helicopters are exempt from paragraphs b and c but weight shift is only exempt from c.
The tricky part about this subject is that the FAA does not define ‘congested area’ but the rule to follow depends on whether you are in a ‘congested area’ or not. There are three different cases:
- Congested area requires 1000 feet above the highest obstacle within a 2000 foot radius. Applies to all aircraft except helicopter
- Other than congested area requires the ‘500 foot rule’ for airplane but not for helicopter, weight shift control, or powered parachute.
- Over open water or sparsely populated areas, ‘500 foot rule’ does not apply to any aircraft.
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